“…Against such things there is no law.”
Paul had just listed the nine fruit that are to be developing in the spirits of all believers. Then He says that against these fruit there are no laws. What does that mean? Have you ever noticed the speed limit signs on the roads you travel?
They are set to limit how much speed is allowed in the different areas according to what is considered safe. But when you are talking about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, there just isn’t any law to limit how much you have of each.
The Message Bible says: “Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way.”
Another way to say this is that you can love people with God’s love all you want to; there’s no law against it. There is no love limit that will be imposed on you. Have all the joy you want to have.
There’s no limit. Speed limits are there to protect the safety of people. The fruit of the spirit never threaten anyone’s welfare, but rather secure it. So go for it. Go all out with the fruit of the spirit. There’s no law against it.
No limitation is imposed on me concerning how much spirit fruit I develop.
- Reading Plan A: 1 John 5
- Reading Plan B: Psalms 141-142
- Reading Plan C: Daniel 7-8; 1 John 5
by Tim Davidson
Excerpt permission granted by
Word of Faith Church & Outreach Center
Called to the Body of Christ as a pastor and teacher, Tim Davidson pioneered Word of Faith Church in Bismarck in 1980. He served as its Lead Pastor for 35 years and now serves as Founding Pastor. Pastor Tim has pioneered 6 churches in North Dakota and now serves as Regional Director for Rhema Ministerial Association International. Teaching believers foundational truths from God's Word is his passion.
He has authored 3 yearly devotion books that are used both here and overseas to help believers become "rooted and grounded" in their faith.
God is now calling Pastor Tim to share the treasury of wisdom and knowledge God has given to him with other pastors and churches.