Some thoughts on the Trinity

The following is an attempt to summarize a discussion on the Trinity addressed in Kyle Strobel's book, "Jonathan Edwards's Theology: A Reinterpretation"

Edwards is considered by many to be the greatest theological mind produced in America. The above book is an overview and summary of Jonathan Edwards understanding of God as revealed in scripture. 

If you wish to read an excerpt from Strobel's book summarizing Edwards overview click here. It may help explain the comments that follow below. 

Because Strobel's book is not the easiest read I have summarized his thoughts below regarding the Trinity for greater clarity. Hopefully, you will find it helpful as well. 

Describing and attempting to grasp the infinite God with finite reasoning and words is limited at best but a task worth undertaking. 

There can be no greater pursuit than pursuing the beautifully mysterious, incomprehensible, infinitely glorious, majestic, all powerful, all wise God of love. To see and know him truly is to pursue him more fully. If you find the below helpful, you may wish to read Strobel's entire book.

You will note I use several words interchangeably and not always in the same order. This is deliberate in an attempt to better capture the fullness of meaning and nuances conveyed by the various words and different orders. I recommend you also read the footnotes after the article where I further clarify some of the main points. 

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·      The Son/Word (Logos Jn 1:1) is God's perfect [1]understanding of himself. 

An understanding so perfect and complete it issues forth (is begotten) into a separate person as God the Son of his Father (the begetter of the only eternally begotten Son Joh 1:14;1:18;3:16;3:18 ).

·      The Spirit is God's perfect love of himself. 

A love drawn out of the Father in perfect affections (as the Spirit) for the object of that love, which is the Logos, the perfect (complete) understanding of himself.

This drawing out of love involves God choosing what he has the greatest affections for and is most attracted to. He is attracted to what is most lovely/beautiful as he beholds the perfect understanding of himself i.e. The Logos/Word of God. 

How we are like God and not like God

We in turn, as his created image bearers, do the same i.e. we are attracted to and have affections for what we behold as most lovely/beautiful. In this way, loving and choosing (willing) are connected for both God as Creator, as well as us who are his created (vs eternal) image bearers. To love something is to have affections for it and be attracted or drawn to it. To be attracted to it versus attracted to something else is to choose (will/want) it over something else. 

[2]We only are able to see God as most lovely by the Spirit revealing his loveliness to us. The very same Spirit of love between the Father and the Son. This is due to our spiritual deadness caused by our turning away from God and cutting ourselves off from the very life of God. To see spiritual things we must have spiritual life which gives us spiritual eyes. 

In a similar way as the Son and Spirit, we are unique individuals with our own [3]understanding and will but as created image bearers (in contrast to the Logos who is the eternally begotten image bearer). Just as the Son and Spirit [4]issue forth from God so we too issue forth from God but as created persons; not as the eternal persons of Son and Spirit.
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[1] In a sense you can say Christ is God's "self-image." Of course unlike ours, which is warped and distorted by our brokenness, Gods " self-image" is perfect and complete. So much so that his issues forth into the person of his Son; the exact representation of his nature or being (Heb 1:3; Col 1:15) while also distinct from him in person. "... The Word (logos) was (equal to) God and the Word was with (distinct from) God..." Jn 1:1 i.e. The same while also distinct at the same time. The same in essence/nature/being, while distinct in person.

[2]The Holy Spirit is the holy breath or holy passion (emotion) of God. A passion between the Father and Son that issues forth in the distinct person of the Holy Spirit. 

Hebrew definition for spirit. 

spirit - H7307   רוּח  rûach

BDB (Brown-Drive-Briggs) Definition:

1) wind, breath, mind, spirit

1a) breath

1b) wind

1b1) of heaven

1b2) quarter (of wind), side

1b3) breath of air

1b4) air, gas

1b5) vain, empty thing

1c) spirit (as that which breathes quickly in animation or agitation)

1c1) spirit, animation, vivacity, vigour

1c2) courage

1c3) temper, anger

1c4) impatience, patience

1c5) spirit, disposition (as troubled, bitter, discontented)

1c6) disposition (of various kinds), unaccountable or uncontrollable impulse

1c7) prophetic spirit

1d) spirit (of the living, breathing being in man and animals)

1d1) as gift, preserved by God, God’s spirit, departing at death, disembodied being

1e) spirit (as seat of emotion)

1e1) desire

1e2) sorrow, trouble

1f) spirit

1f1) as seat or organ of mental acts

1f2) rarely of the will

1f3) as seat especially of moral character

1g) Spirit of God, the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son

1g1) as inspiring ecstatic state of prophecy

1g2) as impelling prophet to utter instruction or warning

1g3) imparting warlike energy and executive and administrative power

1g4) as endowing men with various gifts

1g5) as energy of life

1g6) as manifest in the Shekinah glory

1g7) never referred to as a depersonalized force

Part of Speech: noun feminine

A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H7306

The following is a list of some of the things implied by this definition. 

1. Spirit (or spirit) in the OT has the same general definition in every instance (see definition below). This general definition has no qualifiers such as "Holy Spirit" or "Spirit of God." When these qualifiers are applied, this determines a specific meaning outside its common use i.e. how do we know when this same word is referring to God versus man? When there are qualifiers such as "Holy", "of God" or "man's spirit..." 

2. Also note in the above definition, emotions themselves are common characteristics or attributes in defining "spirit." Unlike us, however, God doesn't have general emotions, such as anger, but only righteous or holy emotions. But they are still no less emotions. For example, the emotion of anger for God is a holy or righteous anger, not an unrighteous one.  

3. Lastly, it's worth noting that spirit in the OT is always in the feminine gender (and neutral in the NT). This may be significant since the Holy Spirit is the spirit of love (relationship) between the Father and Son.

It is also worth noting that generally (there are always exceptions), the emotional aspect of relationships is more a strength of the feminine gender than the masculine. This add's significance to the fact that "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Gen 1:27). Both feminine and masculine are rooted on God's nature. This may help explain the differences between the genders as men tend to be more cerebral and action/production driven or oriented and women more supportive, nurturing, emotionally and relationally oriented and driven; making neither gender superior (no more than Christ or the Spirit are inferior to the Father, though certainly different in role ...The Father sends, the Son is sent). Both are necessary to convey the full spectrum of God's nature and reflect unique aspects of each gender in God's makeup. 

The difference in gender is not a matter of value before God. Clearly, genders are equal in value and different only in role. This also corresponds with Edwards proposal of what constitutes a person i.e. understanding (reason) and will (emotion). Both genders have these attributes in various degrees and neither attribute is more important or significant than the other. Both are vital to personhood and male and female both being in God's image. 

[3] Edwards proposes that the two qualities of understanding and will are the essential characteristics of what comprises a person versus say, a body ("will" includes our affections. For more discussion click here). We, creatures, see ourselves as distinct because we have a body but God (prior to his incarnation) did not have a body, so his distinction lies (rests) elsewhere i.e. In having his own separate and distinct self-understanding (the Logos) and will (the Spirit).

We could say understanding and will correspond with knowing and feeling. What distinguishes one person from another is that each person has their own unique understanding (knowing) and will (choosing/feeling/affections). This too may be what distinguishes us as image bearers from other creatures not in God's image. 

As physical beings, we each have our own location but we can also know and choose God in a way other creatures can not and that knowing and choosing is our own, not those of *anyone else. 

*Maybe not even God himself in some mysterious fashion -- yet at the same time, all things are to, through and from him, just as the Logos and Spirit are distinct yet of the same essence as God. Only speculating of course. We may never know with certainty how these things work, at least not in this life. Then again for God to be God (infinite and unfathomable) we may never fully know since there is no "end" to him. He is truly distinct i.e. He is God. We are not.   

[4] Note: This would explain why the Bible speaks of God sending forth his Son and the Father and Son together sending forth the Spirit. John 17:3; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7. The Father first begets the Son -- not chronologically since God is eternal but in order of succession i.e. the Father initiates and begets the Son. The Son is begotten. By and through the eternal union/relationship/love of the Father and the Son/Logos/Word, they, in turn, beget/issue forth and send the Spirit.

      The Father gazes upon the Son and the Son gazes upon the Father in perfect delight. This beatific delight is so tangible and complete it issues forth (overflows) into the distinct person of the Holy Spirit; the very (and holy) affection/passion of God for himself as mirrored (imaged) back to himself in/by the Word/Logos of God, the perfect/complete understanding of himself.

Note: In order for the Spirit to be distinct and completely other, the Logos also had to be a distinct and completely other person; each person of the Trinity having their own unique and individual understanding and will.

Edwards himself -- as well as Strobel -- did not directly say the Son and Spirit had their own will and understanding. He simply says understanding and will are the qualities of distinct persons. I am suggesting they do based on Christ's prayer in the garden of Gethsemane "not my will but yours be done..." While at the same time the Son and Spirit's understanding and will were in absolute and perfect harmony with the Father's. 

The spiritual and our spirit.

The spiritual is that which addresses our spirit which is the essence of our being i.e. our identity, our sense of value, our glory, our capacity to love and be loved and partake of and participate in God who is love, value, and glory.

We are also told God is Spirit. This is not arbitrary but essential to who God is and to understand not only God but ourselves. What makes God a person is not his physicality (he not physical but is Spirit). Therefore, as his image bearer, it is not the essence of our being a person ¹either as image bearers. Since God is not physical, this can not be the essence of who we are i.e. how we are like God. To say it another way, we don't say we have a nose like God (He doesn't have one) but we can say we give and receive love and have value like God - though only in quality, not quantity.  

We are the way we are because God is the way he is. We are like God. To say it another way, if we wish to understand who we are as spiritual beings, we must understand who God is as Spirit. 

The love of God is manifested as the Spirit of God. We are told God is love, and he is Spirit. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love. The essence of God is love. When the bible says God is Spirit, it is saying God is love, and when it says God is love it is also saying God is Spirit. 

American theologian Jonathan Edwards says while ²the Word (Christ, the eternal Logos/Word) is the perfect self-understanding/ knowledge of God i.e. the light (truth) of God, the Spirit is the perfect love of God for himself as revealed in his Son. To say it another way, the Spirit is the "heat' or passion/love of God for Christ who is His perfect "self-image" if you will. Christ is the perfect expression of the truth/word/understanding
of God and the Spirit is the perfect expression of the love/emotion/ passion of God for himself as manifested in the Son. 

When the bible says God is love, it is also saying God is glorious. His being Spirit and glorious are primary ways of describing God as a being of love i.e. what makes God all glorious is because he is infinite love within himself as Father, Son, and Spirit, which overflows out to others like him i.e. us who are His image-bearers. 

The union/communion/ relationship that exists between the Father and Son is one of love manifested in, by, and through the Spirit. 

In order to partake in this exchange of love within the triune being that is God, we had to be like God i.e. have a spirit or be spiritual. This means we had to have the capacity to receive the outpouring overflow of love between the Father and Son in and by the Spirit and reflect it back to Him and out to others (other image-bearers of God).

This dynamic of who God is and who we are is encapsulated in the 1st and 2nd commandment to love God with all we are and have and our neighbor as ourselves.

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¹Though we are physical and our physicality is still good and not bad, it is not the essence of our being. The body can be dead, but we live on. 

And the value of the body is confirmed because we, as His children, will be given new bodies once our "earthly" body dies. So our body is important and will continue to be throughout eternity. We will exist through eternity as physical being but in a glorified state as Christ himself now does. 

Nevertheless, our body is the vessel that contains or holds the essence of who we are as God's image-bearers and will be glorified when we are with Christ face to face. 

Having a ³body is good and so significant Christ took on a body and is in that body to this very day and will be throughout eternity. Granted it is a glorified body and so will ours be as well.

²For a further discussion of these distinctions within the Trinity click here. 

For a discussion of how we are empowered by the Spirit click here.

³Christ existing throughout eternity in physical form says something of the goodness of creation as well as the value God places in it. 

It also demonstrates the humility of Christ and the willingness to be local and not everywhere present. 

But possibly most of all, the greatness of the love of Christ in being willing to thoroughly identify with us in this most complete way.  

Are we in the Spirit or not?

If you are a child of God, you possess the Spirit of God. His Spirit is a spirit of perfect love who now fully indwells you. This is further evidence and confirmation we are totally accepted and perfectly loved in Christ. The reality that the infinitely loving Creator and Sustainer of all things indwells us is an incomprehensible wonder. 

This isn't because of anything we have done. This is possible only because of Christ. 

Because of Christ's efforts, not ours, we are counted by God as a pure vessel (legally and objectively), perfectly worthy of His residence in His eyes - i.e. by his standards - not ours. If we were in any way impure before Him, He would not and could not indwell us. God simply ¹cannot indwell an unclean vessel. His indwelling is proof that we are pure and perfectly acceptable in His eyes. And because we are perfect, He indwells us. 

 

This is why Christ said he must go so that the Spirit would come. Without Christ going to the cross to address our impurity and make us a clean vessel legally for Him to indwell, the Spirit would not and could not come to indwell us. Because of Christ taking care of our uncleanness, the Spirit is ours and Christ is ours, and we are Christ's. We now fully possess the love of God, and His infinite care is forever set upon us. This can't be taken away, altered, or added to by us because it isn't based on anything we do, but on the work of God through Christ. 

Rom 8:9  You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 

According to the above verse, being "in the Spirit" is synonymous with being a believer. To "...not belong to him..." - or being in the flesh in this passage is the state of a nonbeliever. 

To say it another way, a true Christian cannot be "in the Spirit" on one occasion and "in the flesh" on another. This passage isn't describing a back-and-forth condition of a believer but the state of being in Christ or not being in Christ i.e. being or not being a believer, which is the same as being in the Spirit or not in the Spirit. 

According to this passage, if you do not have the Spirit, you do "not belong to him" and if you belong to him you have the Spirit, no matter how obedient or ²disobedient you are. This has nothing to do with our faithfulness. It is solely based on the faithful and completed work of Christ. 

If you are a believer and have accepted God's provision of righteousness through Christ, then his Spirit indwells you, period...full stop! You are now "in the Spirit" as well as the Spirit is in you. This is the same as saying you are fully accepted and loved by God; you are now under His perfect care and provision, i.e. God's love is in you and fully set upon you. He is fully available to you. The Spirit will not indwell you now or in the future to any greater degree than he did the first day you came to Christ. 

Shifting gears

The issue now becomes do we believe the Spirit is fully ours in this way i.e. never-ending, complete, without interruption, no matter what we do or experience. We don't always feel/experience his love in this way, do we? Why? Unbelief is the essence of sin and at the heart of all disobedience. By our unbelief, we grieve and quench the Spirit. Some think this means God's love stops in some way. On God's side, it never stops. But our sense of His presence may be suppressed by our rebellious unbelief and times of temporarily wandering away from Him - though He never wanders from us.

We as His children however can pull away from God in distrust, not receiving/ believing in His love that is fixed upon us. This leads to our unfaithfulness.

But this is only on our side of the relationship. When we do not trust Him, we no longer pursue Him diligently and therefore lose a sense of his love and presence. It's not that his love stopped and is no longer there and available or no longer fixed upon us, but that we are no longer in alignment with it, believing, receiving, participating in, and experiencing it. To say it another way, we may have all of God by His Spirit, but this doesn't mean He has all of us; all our focus and trust ³which drives all our obedience-faithfulness.

The key to experiencing God's love and presence is believing it is ours as described above and acting accordingly. As one 1887 hymn says, "trust and obey for there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus but the trust and obey."

In truth, disobedience is the fruit of unbelief. If we truly believed in the full extent and manner of God's love we would be so enthralled by it we would gladly do all he asks us to do; it would not be a burden. 

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.1 John 5:3 (ESV)

For additional posts on having his love vs fully experiencing it click here. 

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¹For God to indwell an impure vessel, He would have to go against Himself. God cannot go along with unbelief because it is rooted in distrust. It's not like we are refusing to believe something in general but something particular about Him, i.e. that God is not who he claims to be. In essence, we are saying God is a liar. God cannot approve of this or support it. For Him to not address this would be to go against Himself. To go against Himself would be to go against all things, for all things depend on Him being who claims to be and is.

It isn't whether we fully possess the love of God, but does the love of God fully possess us. And how does it possess us? By our believing that in Christ it is set upon us no matter what we do, feel or experience and then acting accordingly i.e. acting by faith for God's honor because we know (believe) we are totally loved and perfectly under his care and therefore now desire to honor Him. 

²If you are willingly and flagrantly disobedient, you may wish to search your heart to make sure you are His. We all sin but to knowingly, willfully, repeatedly sin might be evidence you don't know Him (and certainly don't trust Him and His love well, at a minimum) and a reason to examine your faith as to whether you are a true believer and have ever truly received God's love. 

³So does God's love, by his Spirit, drive our obedience or our faith? Yes...both! God's love moves us to obedience but without faith that His love is fully and perfectly ours, we will never participate in it or act upon it.

Walk by the Spirit, not under the law

What does it mean to be free in Christ and operate by or walk in the Spirit? 

Are these connected? If so how?

Also, how are the works of the flesh and being under the law tied together? Does this connection give us a clue as to how grace and walking in the Spirit go together, i.e. are these opposite parallels?

To understand the conflict between the law and grace is to understand the conflict between the flesh (human nature's inclination to try to earn love - God's and others - instead of receiving it as a gift) and the Spirit, i.e. experiencing God's love by grace not by works i.e. which causes bondage - it enslaves us. We are enslaved because when our desire for love and acceptance is based on our efforts (vs Christ's) we must always seek approval from others because we never fully obtain it (we only experience it in fleeting moments) because we never live righteous enough to gain it. 

Even in our fleeting moments of living well, it ²never truly satisfies our deep longing and need for acceptance (love). As a result, we are on a treadmill of continually seeking love yet never fully obtaining it. This is a spiritual striving that never succeeds but results in burnout. 

You never get perfectly approved or feel perfectly accepted-loved because: 

1. You are never good enough - never perfect enough. 

2.  Our need for love is infinite because we're designed for perfect infinite love - i.e. for God, and His acceptance and approval. 

Like an addict enslaved to their addiction, we must go back, again and again, to constantly replenish our need for love, acceptance, and approval so we might be declared righteous-right by God and others i.e. we are always seeking approval to be told "good job!" We are in bondage to this constant need for acceptance, approval, and praise because we are disconnected from the only true and lasting source of love i.e. God.

Only in Christ are you freed from this bondage because you are fully approved and accepted by God through Christ's efforts on your behalf (vs our own which never work long-term). In Christ, your acceptance is now by grace not works.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be (i.e. attempt to be) justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

“Justified by the law…” What does this mean? It is attempting to use superficial "obedience" to a prescribed behavior (spelled out in God's law) to ⁴gain acceptance and approval (that sense of feeling right and approved i.e. righteous) from God first, but also from others. To be acknowledged as right or righteous makes us feel just and justified. But it doesn't mean we actually are. Trying to live "according to the law" is our feeble attempt to be good, righteous - right in the eyes of others - to feel accepted, and approved by God or men.

7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

“Obeying the truth…” And what truth is that? To live according to or by genuine approval and acceptance from God Himself i.e. the only true justification comes by faith in the righteousness God provides in and through Christ, not what you and I attempt to earn through our efforts i.e. good behavior.

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Once we are in Christ we are free from trying to earn God's approval because we already fully have it in and through Christ. Once we have it, the love of God becomes the driving force behind true obedience, not our impotent attempts to be lovable and therefore acceptable through right conduct. 

 Obedience matters but not superficial obedience that gives the appearance of righteousness but true submission and allegiance that springs forth from the heart out of love for God i.e. a heart already captured by his love and submitted to God.

True faithfulness and obedience are evidence (fruit) of knowing you are perfectly loved i.e. accepted and approved by God in and through Christ. To know this is to be freed in Christ, which is also to operate in the Spirit. We are free because we are moved to action from within - by love i.e. the Spirit - and not pressured from without to gain approval. 

In Christ, we have God's perfect acceptance and approval, i.e. His love. We are freed from trying to earn these by our efforts. 

The love and Spirit of God are directly tied together if not one and the same. The more we understand that God’s love is based on Christ’s performance (not ours) the freer we become, and the more we are driven-moved by that love - i.e. by the Spirit - to love God and others - to fulfill "the law of love."

Keep in Step with the Spirit 

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

"...walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh..."

Walking in the flesh is the opposite of walking by the Spirit. It is seeking to gain the approval of God and man through our good deeds. Walking in the Spirit (to be in and under God's perfect and infinite love-acceptance-approval) moves us to love others – and do good deeds - because we already know we are fully loved in and by Christ. When our conduct is driven by God's acceptance and approval - i.e. His love/Spirit - we will not pursue (or desire) acceptance-seeking behavior i.e. the "desire of the flesh." These two approaches - Spirit vs flesh or grace vs law - are truly opposite and opposed to each other.

Also, note in v 18 that the opposite of walking in the Spirit is being under the law. You would think Paul instead would say this was living by the flesh. And this would also be correct according to v 17. How is this so? Being under the law i.e. seeking approval through obedience to the law is walking in flesh i.e. it is approval-love-seeking behavior. 

Living by the flesh and being under the law are the same thing. Again, this is an attempt to live by the law in order to gain God's acceptance and approval. 

So when Paul says walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh or not under the law, he is saying the same thing.

The desire to serve God because you know you are fully loved by Him already (the essence of the gospel of grace), eliminates the need to gain the approval of others through "right" i.e. righteous living. When you are moved by love i.e. the Spirit, you will fulfill the “law of love.” You are not under a requirement to win God's approval through obedience to the law i.e. you are not driven by the need to gain love-acceptance-approval through your own good-righteous deeds. You already fully have this in Christ as a gift (earned by Christ's good deeds and credited i.e. given to you). 

Along with that acceptance and approval, you have God's infinite love. It is already fully and perfectly yours and not something to be striven for (earned or worked for).

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

“sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies...” are all the result of seeking to feel loved and gaining a sense of acceptance, approval, significance, value, etc. through our efforts i.e. operating in the flesh. This is a list of what we either do to feel loved or what we experience when we fail to gain it e.g anger, strife, etc. All of these are "works of the flesh" i.e. actions we take to earn anothers approval and acceptance in order to feel good about ourselves.

Spiritual fruit is a byproduct of proper sun(Son) light, rain, and soil. When given these proper ingredients, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, are the outcome. 

Not some of these, but all of them. It is not fruits of the Spirit but fruit (singular) of the Spirit, the byproduct of operating under the umbrella of God’s perfect acceptance - love i.e. grace.

This is also not a checklist of things to do, it is who we are when operating in and by the love-Spirit of God. There is no pressure to perform. This is why it brings freedom. This is our organic, supernatural state of being when we understand we already have the perfect love, approval, acceptance, and care - Son light - of God. No law - i.e. our attempts to obey it for approval - can or will create these characteristics ("...against such conduct, there is no law"). When we are "in Christ" we are the objects of God's perfect and infinite love. This love fills up, overpowers, and eliminates the need to seek love, acceptance, and approval through feeble attempts to live righteously i.e. through the law. We will not be hungry for love horizontally (from our fellow creatures) when we are full of perfect love vertically...i.e. God’s love.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit..." To live under the blanket of God's love is to operate in and by God's love i.e. it is to operate in and by the Spirit - of love - resulting in right-righteous living i.e. the fruit of the Spirit-love. If we are in Christ, we are in the Spirit - in and under the status of being perfectly loved and approved by God - let us align or keep in step with this status i.e. walk and live according to it. Let us live in and by the Spirit-grace-love of God, not under the law. Let us live in the understanding (by faith) that we are already fully loved, accepted, and approved in Christ, not try to gain theses from God or men through so-called "righteous" deeds.

In summary, walking by the flesh is living to gain the approval (love) of God and others. Walking in or by the Spirit is knowing we already fully have God's love and approval in Christ and being empowered to live righteously by it i.e. by love, by the Spirit (of love). 

Inward motivation and outward behavior.

The outcome of "right living" can look exactly the same with both approaches on the outside, but under the hood what drives our conduct is completely different. In fact, they are the opposite of each other.

For a further discussion on what righteousness is click here. 

For a further discussion on the gospel vs. religion, click here. 

For a further discussion on the definition of flesh, Spirit, law, etc. click here. 

For a further discussion on legalism, click here. 

For a further discussion on cultural Christians and followers of Jesus, click here. 

For a further discussion on how and why were are wired for love, click here and here.  

For a further discussion on how God's Spirit stirs our spirit-love click here.

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¹As God's image-bearer you and I are the closest to being like God (we have the greatest capacity for a relationship with God) more than anyone or anything else in creation and therefore other God-like beings are sought hardest by us for acceptance and approval. Praise from God is most desired, but since most reject God they look for praise, approval, and love from the next best thing - those who are like God i.e. our fellow image bearers of God.

²Only perfect acceptance by God through Christ satisfies our need for perfect love.

³We may experience tiny snippets of approval on occasion, but never permanently. The love we are able to scratch out by our feeble efforts is never great enough to satisfy our infinite need for love nor is it lasting. Which is why we're constantly seeking it. We are a spiritual bottomless pit with an emotional black hole at the core of our being. 

So we have two problems.  

The quantity of love i.e. its permanence and the quality of love i.e. its depth or greatness. 

We are looking to others who can not love us with perfect love - love that is deep enough (quality) or permanent (quantity) - because of their limitations. We are all in the same boat - lacking, wanting, needing, and seeking infinite love. 

Infinite love can only come from an infinite Source. We or others are not that Source (though we can be the conduit through which infinite love can flow...and that is because we were designed that way by the Creator-Source of infinite love).

Infinite love can not and will never be met by a finite source i.e. other image-bearers, including ourselves and our own self-love. 

We were created to be filled with infinite love, not limited, temporary, fleeting love. Only God's love is infinite; man's is not. 

Infinite love can only come from an Infinite Source because only an Infinite Source addresses the depth or greatness of love and the extent or permanence of it, that we need and must have. And we must have it because God created us to have it i.e. To have Him, the only Source of infinite love.

Also, even though God is the only Source of Infinite love, we can never do enough or be good enough to gain it by our efforts. 

Thank God we don't need to because Christ secured this for us by His righteous efforts and will assign them to us if we will receive it.

In summary

1. Other fellow image-bearers are finite and can never give us infinite love; in depth (quality) or extent (quantity). 

2. Even if their love were infinite - which it isn't - we can never perform well enough to gain it.

3. We can never perform well enough to gain the Infinite love that is from the only Infinite Source - God. 

⁴To earn infinite love was never the intent or purpose of the law. The law is the owner's manual on how to live to our maximum capacity (how to best flourish) by and out of love for God. This is why Christ told us "If you love me you will obey my commandments" and that all the commands hang on loving God and our neighbor i.e. are about love and loving others not seeking to gain love. The heart's reason (motivation) for living the right way - i.e. as we are designed to - is love, not seeking to win the love of others - i.e. living by the Spirit, not under the law.

⁵Something that apparently, we are all easily inclined to do, hence an entire letter by Paul to the Galatians is included in the Bible for everyone's instruction and benefit throughout the ages.

⁶Desiring love (and approval) is legitimate. We are designed for love (for God who is love). Trying to gain it through our performance is our problem, not our desire for it.