John 15:5
About this verseJesus pictures himself as the vine and his followers as its branches: staying joined to him bears fruit, and cut off from him we can do nothing.
Galatians 5:22-23
Paul lists what the Holy Spirit grows in a believer's life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
But the fruit the Spirit produces is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. No law stands against things like these.
Try it now
Say the verse aloud, filling in each blank. Tap a blank for a hint.
What Galatians 5:22-23 means
‘Fruit’ is singular, not ‘fruits’ — one cluster with nine facets, grown rather than assembled. You do not manufacture patience the way you would tick off a task.
Paul sets this against a list of works of the flesh just before it. The contrast is between what human effort produces and what the Spirit grows in a person over time. Memorising all nine gives you a specific vocabulary for what God is actually cultivating in you.
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Questions about Galatians 5:22-23
What is the fruit of the Spirit?
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control — the character the Holy Spirit grows in a believer’s life.
Why is it ‘fruit’ and not ‘fruits’?
Because Paul writes it as a single cluster. These qualities grow together as one work of the Spirit, rather than being nine separate items to collect.