How's Your Fruit Tree?

(Audio Version)

Introduction

           I love springtime in Colorado. All the ugly gray and brown gives way to an explosion of colors as trees and flowers begin a new season of life. One of my favorite things is sitting on by back patio early Sunday morning praying beneath the crabapple tree that blooms with white blossoms every spring. At peak blossoming season, the tree looks like a giant white cotton ball. While the other trees are dark green and the sky is so blue it hurts my eyes, that tree takes my breath away sometimes. If you’ve experienced something like this, then you know what I’m talking about. This seasonal beauty is common especially among fruit trees. While non-fruit trees produce fresh, new, green leaves every year, fruit trees first regale us with their magnificent beauty before they begin to bear fruit. However, once a tree begins to produce fruit, the growth process can be precarious until the fruit becomes ripe enough to harvest. Drought, cold temperature, insect infestations, poor soil, or any number of other conditions can be a detriment to the growth of healthy fruit. Nature’s process made me think of Paul’s teaching about life according the sinful nature as compared to life that is lived by the Spirit. Paul presents a stark contrast between the dead fruit produced by the sinful nature as compared to the magnificent fruit produced by the life of the Spirit. Here’s something interesting though—Not each piece of fruit, even on the healthiest tree, will be perfectly healthy; some of the fruit, maybe even most of the fruit, will be exceptional while some of it won’t be very good and maybe even rotten. A fruit tree might be very healthy even though some of the fruit might not be very good. But how is this possible? Remember that sin hasn’t just affected humanity. Sin has impacted all of creation so that what was once perfect has now been distorted by sin. Humanity is like this as well. Our spiritual lives can be generally healthy while at the same time our lives are impacted by sin—our own and that of other people. The question is: What does healthy fruit look like in our lives and what does rotten fruit look like? Once you know the difference, you’ll be able to answer the question: How’s Your Fruit Tree? And hopefully you’ll do something to insure that your tree produces the healthiest fruit possible.

Subject Text

Galatians 5:13-26

            ¹³You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. ¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. ¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Context

            The inability to reconcile Old Testament theology with New Testament theology is nothing new. Let me see if I can make it at least a little bit easier—Try to think of New Testament theology as a continuation of the story of God that began in the Old Testament. Just like any story, the second part of the story is not the same as the first part of the story. However, without the first part of the story, the second part doesn’t make sense. And without the second part of the story, the first part is incomplete. And like any good story, not all the elements of the first part continue into the second part of the story. Similarly, new elements are introduced into the second part of a story that would be out of place in the first part of the story. It’s like this with the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament. It’s like this with the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. It’s like this with the relationship between the Mosaic Law (“Law”) and Grace. This is the context for Paul’s letter to the Galatians. The Judaizers were teaching the Gentile believers that grace was not enough for salvation; they also needed to follow the Law. When Paul founded the churches in southern Galatia during his first missionary journey, he taught the new believers that they were saved by grace alone and were set free from the slavery produced by trying to follow the Law and trying be justified by following the Law. However, some Judaizers entered their group and were confusing them with the added burden of needing to follow the Law in order to be saved. In the verses that immediately precede our Subject Text, Paul calls those causing the confusion, “agitators.” Paul is very angry because of the conflict these agitators are causing in the church in Galatia. Paul wanted the believers to understand that they were free from the yoke that the Law places on people; the yoke that we can somehow earn our salvation through the meticulous keeping of religious rules; The yoke that salvation by grace removes—true freedom that is only possible through salvation by grace. However freedom from the obligation to obey the Law as a means of salvation does not mean the freedom to live life without restraint. This is where Paul dives into the teaching we find in our Subject Text.

Text Analysis

            Paul recognizes in v. 13 that with freedom comes opportunity; opportunity to indulge in sinful behavior or the opportunity to give ourselves to the service of others out of love. Paul knows that there is a battle that rages inside every believer; a battle between good and bad; right and wrong. A battle between the sinful nature that is part of every human being and the Holy Spirit that rides within every believer. The dichotomy between the two is represented in opposing lifestyles described as “indulge” and “serve.” “Indulge” obeys the sinful nature and nurtures selfishness while “serve” obeys the Holy Spirit and nurtures selflessness. “A warning is added that freedom, essential as it is to spiritual life, is open to abuse by carnal men, and that it is subject to the demand of the higher Law of mutual love…Christians are freed from the trammels of outward Law, not that they may please themselves, but that they may become slaves to the Law of mutual love. The true ideal of the Christian is not freedom, but unfettered service to the love of God and man, which annihilates self, and subordinates all selfish desires to perfect love.”[1]

            Paul reminds us of something that Jesus taught when a Pharisee, an expert in the law, tried to outsmart Jesus by asking Him a question that he thought would surely trap Jesus into giving a wrong answer (Mt 22:34-40). The Pharisee asked Jesus which command was the greatest. In other words, God gave ten commands and the Pharisee wanted Jesus to identify which one was the best as though the other nine that came directly from God as well were not as good as the one he was evidently expecting Jesus to identify. Jesus’ answer was, of course, brilliant as he summarized the first four commandments with the command to love God above all else and with everything we have (Deut 6:5). Thereafter, He summarized the final six commandments with the command to love others as oneself (Lev 19:18) which Jesus taught is just as important as the former command to love God. These two commands, Jesus said, summed up the entire teaching of the Law and the Prophets. So why is it that Paul says that the entire Law is summed up in the command to love one another as oneself? We can find the answer to that question in v. 15 where Paul warns his audience that they will destroy each other if their division between the requirements to follow the Law and their freedom offered by Grace continues. Paul is not contradicting Jesus. Instead, Paul was addressing a specific problem in Galatia that was causing division and dissention in the church there. Paul was trying to demonstrate that those who were insisting on following the Law were actually breaking the Law because they were causing anger, division, and dissention within the church. Those causing trouble failed to fulfill the one thing the Law required—to love others as themselves. Let me try and explain it this way: The Judaizers expected the people to “do” the Law while Paul expects the people to “fulfill” the Law. It’s a subtle distinction, I know. However, one is concerned with external appearances while the other is concerned with internal transformation. As always, it’s about relationship. For example, when we serve our neighbor because it is required, we are in a legal relationship with them—We’re “doing” the Law. When we serve our neighbor because we want to, we are in a love relationship with them—We’re “fulfilling” the Law. “The Galatian readers of this letter wanted to be under the law as a way to attain spiritual perfection. But their preoccupation with keeping the law did not lead them to spiritual perfection. On the contrary, their bondage to the law produced a competitive, angry, judgmental spirit…Paul knew from his own experience that zealous devotion to keep the law can accompany and even intensify destructive attitudes toward the church. When he saw the Galatian believers biting each other in their criticism and chewing each other up in the negative reports, he was reminded of his own attacks on the church during the time in his life when he was most zealous to keep the law…The tragic irony of the Galatians’ situation was that the more they came under the bondage to keep the law, the more they violated the basic moral standard of the law: love your neighbor as yourself. Paradoxical as it may sound, that standard is only fulfilled in the lives of those who resist slavery under the law and serve as slaves in love to others. Freedom in Christ is freedom to love.”[2]

            Paul sets the stage for the battle between opposing human tendencies in vv. 16-18. On one side of the battle line is humanity’s sinful nature and on the other side is life according to the Spirit. Although you will often find the two together, they are always in conflict with each other; they never exist in harmony with one another. One is always attempting to vanquish the other. The sinful nature prevents the man or woman from fully living a life according to the Spirit. The sinful nature seeks to keep the Law in order to maintain a Godly outward appearance but fails to transform sinful lives trapped by sinful behavior while the Spirit sets us free from the Law and allows us to be transformed into men and women with Godly character. The sinful nature does not war against sinful behavior. Instead, it invites sinful behavior while focusing on external performance. Conversely, life according to the Spirit is constantly at war with sinful behavior while focusing on internal transformation. True believers are not ruled by the sinful nature even while our minds and bodies remain distorted by sin. When we became believers, we became new creations in spirit now and we will become new creations in mind and body as well after Jesus’ second coming. For now, our minds and bodies are still prone to rebellion when enticed by sinful desires. “The claim of Judaizers must have been that the law identified matters contrary to God’s will, provided the ethical standard for God’s own, and incited the believer to achieve ethical perfection. Undoubtedly the Judaizers also referred to the Spirit, but probably as an auxiliary to the law given by God to aid men and women in their obedience. For Paul, however, the Spirit not only brings the believer into a new realm of spiritual existence but also (1) sensitizes the believer to what is contrary to God’s will, (2) gives to the believer an intrinsic standard of values, and (3) enables the believer to do what is good, with expression of that goodness being for the benefit of others. The Spirit alone is able to overcome the flesh [the sinful nature] by imparting the new life opened up by the work of Christ. And where the new life in Christ by the Spirit is present, no law is required to command it. It is the Spirit himself who fills the believer’s life with rich content. For the one ‘in Christ,’ therefore, relationship with God and life lived as a Christian are begun, sustained, directed, and completed entirely by the Spirit.”[3]

            Paul says in vv. 19-21 that the acts of the sinful nature are obvious as he provides a general list of sinful behavior as symptomatic of a life controlled by their sinful nature. Nothing in the text should lead us to conclude that the list is exhaustive. Instead, Paul lists these sins probably because his audience would likely recognize them as existing within themselves and their community of believers. What is unclear from the text is whether or not the sinful nature still exists within believers. The text seems to indicate that believers can still be controlled by the sinful nature as is evidenced by the sin in their lives. But before I tell you whether or not I believe the sinful nature still exists within Christians, it’s probably a good idea for us to understand what the sinful nature actually is.

Sinful Nature

            We can find the origin of sin right at the beginning of the Bible when Adam and Eve disobey God’s command not to eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the Garden that was forbidden. Adam and Eve had the free will to choose obedience or disobedience and they chose not to obey God. As a result, sin was introduced into God’s created order. And from that point forward, all aspects of humanity—the mind, body, and soul have been distorted by sin and no one is immune to its effects. The distortion caused by sin has manifested itself in humanity throughout history as the desire to satisfy self. From the time of Adam’s sin until now, humanity has sought to displace God with anything and everything that will provide self-satisfaction. “Sin is simply failure to let God be God. It is placing something else, anything else, in the supreme place which is his. Thus, choosing oneself rather than God is not wrong because self is chosen, but because something other than God is chosen. Choosing any finite object over God is wrong, no matter how selfless such an act might be. This contention is supported by major texts in both the Old and New Testaments. The Ten Commandments begin with the command to give God his proper place. ‘You shall have no other gods before me’ is the first and greatest prohibition in the law. Similarly, Jesus affirmed that the first and greatest command is, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Proper recognition of God is primary. Idolatry in any form, not pride, is the essence of sin. One might ask what the major factor in our failure to love, worship, and obey God is. I submit that it is unbelief. Anyone who truly believes God to be what he says he is will accord to him his rightful status. Failure to do so is sin. Setting one’s own ideas above God’s revealed Word entails refusal to believe it to be true. Seeking one’s own will involves believing that one’s own values are actually higher than those of God. In short, it is failing to acknowledge God as God.”[4]

            Some theologians insist that believers are a new creation as taught by Paul in 2 Cor 5:17 and that the old is now gone. As such the old sinful nature has been eradicated. However, this does not account for the sin that continues in the lives of believers. Even Paul, in his letter to the Romans, describes his dire struggle with his sinful nature in that the things he did not want to do were the very things he did (Rom 7:15). So what should we conclude about the existence of the sinful nature in believers? Does it still exist? The answer is yes…and no. Remnants of humanity’s sinful nature remains within believers until we pass on to eternity to begin our lives with Christ. However, believers are now no longer slaves to their sinful nature as they were before. Believers have a new Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, who sent us the ultimate weapon to fight the war that rages within them. That weapon is the Holy Spirit and He resides in all true believers and gives us the strength to fight against the sinful desires that remain within us all even as their influence in our lives diminishes with spiritual maturity and growth. As the influence of the Holy Spirit takes hold in our lives, more and more or our sinful nature is put to death. This process is referred to theologically as sanctification. It is true that when we became believers, we became new creations but we are also constantly being renewed (Col 3:10). As we begin to relinquish control of our lives to the leading and Lordship of the Holy Spirit, our sinful nature begins to be displaced with what is commonly referred to as “life in the Spirit.”

Fruit Of The Spirit

            Just as the sinful nature gives birth to sin, life in the Spirit gives birth to the fruit of the Spirit according to vv. 22-23. Take a moment and try to imagine a society populated by people with the characteristics of: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It seems like wishful thinking I know. Maybe I’m asking you to imagine too much. What would your church look like if it was populated with people having such characteristics? Still wishful thinking? Ok, what would it look like if just your life displayed these characteristics? These were intended to be the natural characteristics of humanity as originally created but have been distorted by sin. However, what was originally intended by God and distorted by sin is being renewed in the lives of believers by the Spirit. When I speak of a life lived in the Spirit, I mean a life surrendered to the guidance and authority of the Spirit. “The metaphor of fruit implies an organic relationship which is absent from ‘works.’ Indeed whereas ‘works’ are essentially associated with self-effort, fruit is not. The growth metaphor is admirably suitable to express complete dependence on the Spirit. The type of quality of which Paul speaks of cannot be engendered from self-effort. Each needs the fertilizing activity of the Spirit to bring out its full development. It is not to be supposed that such qualities as love, joy, peace, for instance, are qualities which are superimposed upon a Christian’s character independent of his natural characteristics. Love can exist apart from the Spirit, but a Spirit-prompted love is of a type which goes beyond natural bounds so as to include, for instance, love towards enemies. Similarly ‘gentleness’ may be found in some people more than others, according to temperament, but as a fruit of the Spirit it is an expression of a regard for others which can transform those who are not naturally of a gentle disposition and can enhance those whose nature is conducive to it. Of even greater significance is the fact that some of these qualities were then (and are still in some quarters) actively despised. Patience, kindness and goodness were not qualities sought after in contemporary society and Paul recognizes the need for more than a natural impetus for their development. What is clear is that he makes no distinction here, either between the qualities or between different recipients. Moreover, he uses the singular ‘fruit’ to show that all qualities mentioned form a corporate whole. They all go to make up a Spirit-filled character.”[5]

            Paul explains in vv. 24-26 that believers belong to Christ and have been set free by Christ so that they are no longer slaves to sin and their sinful nature. When Paul says that believers have crucified their sinful nature, he is saying that our sinful nature is no longer the lord of our lives. The true Lord of our lives is Jesus Christ as is evidenced by a life lived according to the direction and authority of the Spirit. Paul closes our Subject Text the way he began, with an exhortation not to behave in such a way so as to promote or instigate dissension or division in the church. “There may be no fool-proof method of documenting the Spirit’s presence in human life, but we can follow his tracks by seeing evidence of love. If one’s so-called ‘Spirit-led’ activity ends in needless enmity, strife, jealousy, and dissension, then it is a safe bet that the Sprit has nothing to do with it.”[6]

Application

            A number of years ago, I went to lunch with a friend of mine in the banking business. Specifically, he was part of the banking division that investigated crimes involving currency including such things as identifying counterfeit currency. In the course of our lunch, he said something that has stuck with me all these years. He said, they don’t teach their bank employees that handle the actually currency all the different forms of counterfeit currency. Instead, he said they spend countless hours teaching their employees what authentic currency looks like. There are too many fakes to try and learn them all but only one real thing. The principle is that if you become intimately familiar with the real thing then any fake is easy to spot. In the past, I have often applied this principle to true Christianity in comparison to false religions claiming to be Christian (i.e. Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witness, etc.). Once you are familiar with true Christianity, the fakes are easy to spot. I’d like to apply this principle now to this lesson. Instead of trying to identify what, exactly, constitutes sin, let’s become familiar with the fruit of the Spirit and we’ll be able to easily identify sin. However, this is not an exercise for you to be able to identify someone else’s sin. This is an exercise for you to identify what sin looks like in your own life by identifying the fruit of the Spirit in your life and seeing where the two are in conflict with each other. Remember, the title of this lesson is, How’s Your Fruit Tree? not How’s Your Neighbor’s Fruit Tree? Let’s take a closer look at each one of the fruits of the Spirit listed by Paul.

Love

           The kind of love we’re talking about here is the kind of love that God demonstrates toward us through His gracious mercy and provision for us. It’s the kind of love the Jesus models for us in how he interacts with sinners. It’s the kind of love that Jesus demonstrates by willingly dying on the cross for our sins. Love takes the initiative to build others up and serve others in order to meet their needs. Love always seeks to apply what God says to our lives. “Love is shown by Jesus, whose love is self-sacrificing and unchanging…Love forms the foundation for all the other fruit listed. Elsewhere, Paul breaks love itself down into various components (cf. 1 Cor 13), so that ‘love’ turns out to bear little resemblance to the emotional meaning so often given to the word.”[7]

Joy

            Lots of people confuse joy with happiness. While happiness could be part of joy, joy is not dependent on happiness. Biblical joy and happiness are not synonymous. Joy is not wishful thinking or pretending that our circumstances are not painful or distressing. Joy is recognizing we have hope; a hope that the trials and tribulations of this life will not last forever. Joy is “an inner rejoicing that abides despite outer circumstances. This characteristic has little to do with happiness and can exist in times of unhappiness. It is a deep and nourishing satisfaction that continues even when a life situation seems empty and unsatisfying. The relationship with God through Christ remains even in the deserts and valleys of living.”[8]

Peace

            Some people confuse peace with passivity. The two are really unrelated. Peace is the serenity of knowing that God is fully in control of all the circumstances in our lives. Peace is not opposed to aggression. Instead, peace is about how we react in the face of aggression. There will be times when we have to stand up for what is right and times when we will have to defend those who cannot defend themselves. At such times, this will create conflict. However, we can act with an inner peace knowing that we are acting out of love and service toward others. Peace is “an inner quietness and trust in God’s sovereignty and justice, even in the face of adverse circumstances. This is a profound agreement with the truth that God, not we, remains in charge of the universe.”[9]

Patience

            How do you nurture patience in a fast-food culture? I happen to have the benefit of age on my side and patience is often something that comes with age and knowing some things just can’t be rushed. Just like a fine wine is better when we patiently wait for it to age, our lives and the lives of those we touch are better when we learn to practice patience. Patience is not measured by how we interact with people who are agreeable and have a docile personality. Patience is measured in how we interact with people who are grating and irritate us. Without patience, God cannot use us effectively in the lives of others. Patience allows us to wait on God to act in a difficult situation instead of taking matters into our own hands. Patience gives us the strength to continue praying for others even when we don’t see God working in their lives. Patience allows us to see hope when the circumstances of our lives block our view. When we are patient with people, we model Christ who is patient with us as we fail and have to seek his forgiveness time and again.

Kindness

            In the course of our hectic lives, we often forget the power that a kind word or gesture can have in another’s life. You know from personal experience that when someone is unkind to you either in their words or actions, it can suck the life out of you if it occurs often enough or if it occurs in conjunction with other events in your life. Kindness, as you also know from personal experience, is life giving regardless of the circumstances or stage of your life. A kind word or gesture is never wasted. Kindness is “acting charitably, benevolently toward others, as God did toward us. Kindness takes the initiative in responding to other people’s needs.”[10]

Goodness

            We must be careful not to allow the idea of “goodness” to become subjective. Goodness toward others must be defined within the context of God’s goodness and the way he modeled goodness toward humanity. Good becomes objectively good when it is something that God has done or would do for us. Goodness shows off our integrity, honesty, and compassion for others. Goodness means doing the right thing even if it doesn’t feel good or is costly. Goodness is “reaching out to do good to others, even if they don’t deserve it. Goodness does not react to evil but absorbs the offense and responds with positive action.”[11]

Faithfulness

            My girls will tell you that one of the phrases you didn’t hear very often in our house was “I promise.” I was kind of a stickler about the cavalier way the phrase was used. It seemed to have lost the gravity of its meaning. I always told the girls that they should never make a promise unless they were absolutely certain they could keep it. Keeping a promise speaks to a person’s faithfulness. Faithfulness means doing what we said we would do or not doing what we said we would not do. Faithfulness means we are reliable. Faithfulness means that people can rely on what we say as being truthful. Faithfulness doesn’t take into consideration whether or not something is easy. A person is faithful regardless of the personal cost or sacrifice. Faithfulness is not only our attitude toward other people, it is also our attitude toward God. The primary difference is that we are not faithful according to what we do for God. Instead, we are faithful to God when we allow God to do His work through us.

Gentleness

            My daughter told me about an elderly patient she was caring for. She told me that her family left her lying in bed in the same position day after day and she had developed severe bed sores on her back where her spine was actually protruding through the skin. My daughter was the perfect caretaker. She told me that when she saw the woman, it nearly made her cry. She spent extra time care for the elderly woman, comforting her and tending to her wounds. It was a great illustration of gentleness. However, gentleness isn’t only about caring for those who might be helpless victims, gentleness is also about caring for those who are suffering with the circumstances of some of their life choices. For example, gentleness visits those in prison to bring them some comfort and hope found in Jesus Christ. Gentleness is “humble, considerate of others, submissive to God and his word. Even when anger is the appropriate response…gentleness keeps the expression of anger headed in the right direction. Gentleness applies even force in the correct way.”[12]

Self-Control

            Self-control is the opposite of surrendering to selfishness. Although they both have the word “self” in them, self-control creates a balance between what we want and what is right. For example, selfishness says I will eat and drink whatever I want, however much I want, and whenever I want it. Self-control will eat and drink in proper moderation regardless of what I “want.” Self-control is mastery over sinful human desires and their lack or restraint. Ironically, our sinful desires, which promise self-fulfillment and power, inevitable lead us to slavery. When we surrender to the Holy Spirit, initially we feel as though we have lost control, but He leads to the exercise of self-control that would be impossible in our own strength.

            I don’t know about you but the exercise of writing out the biblical understanding of the fruit of the Spirit has served to shine a very bright light into the areas of my life where the fruit is in conflict with the reality of my life. It has also been instructive to realize that during the process of focusing on the individual fruits, certain sins in my life have come into sharp focus. A farmer knows what healthy fruit looks like so he or she recognizes unhealthy fruit easily. The objective is not to be able to recognize all the ways that fruit can be unhealthy. The objective is to know healthy fruit thereby making the recognition of unhealthy fruit that much easier. The principle holds true for you as well. Instead of focusing on your sins and all the ways you have fallen short, focus on the fruit of the Spirit to determine the health of your fruit—I assure you, your sins will naturally come into sharp focus. Now that you’ve read the biblical definition of the individual fruits of the Spirit, How’s Your Fruit Tree?

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[1] W. Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Vol. 3, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1983), p. 186.

[2] G. Walter Hansen, Galatians—The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), p. 167.

[3] Richard N. Longenecker, Galatians—Word Biblical Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Nelson Reference & Electronic, 1990), pp. 247-248.

[4] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), p. 598.

[5] Donald Guthrie, New Testament Theology, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981), p. 561.

[6] Charles B. Cousar, Galatians—Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1982), pp. 140-141.

[7] Bruce Barton, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, and Dave Veerman, Life Application New Testament Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), pp. 790-791.

[8] Ibid., p. 791.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.