The fruit of the Spirit is…
J. V. Fesko
EP Books
80 pages, £4.50
ISBN: 978-0-85234-736-2
This is my kind of book! It is concisely written, brim full of scriptural and practical application and has only 80 pages of clear type. It is small enough to slip into a pocket and then take out to read at a bus stop or while waiting in an airport departure lounge.
Although it expounds the nine-fold fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, it does not enter in detail until the fourth of the five chapters. The reason is because Dr Fesko first of all sets those verses in the context of the whole Bible.
Especially pleasing to this reviewer is the patient way he shows how the teaching about these fruits flows from the Old Testament. The first chapter shows the big picture — the first and last Adam. The second expounds ‘walking by the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:16-18).
The third talks about the fruit of the Spirit and the Old Testament; and the last chapter draws the whole book together by trying to answer the question, ‘How do I obtain this fruit?’
The author explains that the fruit of the Spirit cannot be found within ourselves, ‘rather we must look to Christ by faith alone, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit’ (p.67).
Anyone who loves the Bible will find this an easy read and a spiritually refreshing one too. Written by an American academic, it is surprisingly free from Greek and Hebrew words and phrases.
Any believer will benefit from buying, reading, studying and thinking about the fruit of the Spirit outlined in this extremely helpful book.
Michael Bentley
Bracknell
