We are looking at the Fruit of the Spirit in this series, and recently we looked at the fruit of faithfulness, and now we are going to learn about the fruit of Self-Control. The Holy Spirit is the One who develops the fruits of the Spirit in us, and we cannot produce this on our own. We rely fully on Him for this to grow, but we can add this through obedience to Christ (not a working for our salvation but from our salvation). The full list of the fruit of the Spirit is found in Scripture:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
GALATIANS 5:22-23 (NASB)
Gospel Self-Control
This time, we will look at how the Holy Spirit develops self-control in us and in our lives. We must believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ to have self-control begin growing in our lives.
God so loved the world in this one particular way – He sent His Son Jesus to live a sinless life on earth, to die on the cross taking the punishment for sin (also called substitutionary atonement) and paying the debt we incurred when we sinned. And not only did He die on the cross but He resurrected (came back to life) and appeared to over 500 people before ascending to throne where He reigns presently and forevermore. By believing in Christ for salvation and repenting of our sins (agreeing with God that sin is sin), we are then able to have the hope of eternal life with God through Christ Jesus. This is the ONLY way; there is no other.
References: JOHN 3:16-17; ROMANS 3:23-25; ROMANS 5:8; ROMANS 10:9-10; 1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-4; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21; 1 TIMOTHY 1:15; 1 TIMOTHY 2:5-6; 1 PETER 2:24-25; 1 PETER 3:18
Then, when we believe in Christ for salvation, we are granted the Holy Spirit and are sealed with Him. This is when the transformation (or sanctification) begins, where the Holy Spirit begins to make us more and more like Christ everyday. Through that process, He produces His fruit in our lives (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control). The process involves: reading the Bible, prayer, being active in a local church that preaches sound doctrine, living in such a way that glorifies Christ, repenting each day as we sin yet again and fighting against that sin, and doing the good deeds that God has prepared for us (see Romans 8).
Self-Control
What is self-control, and how do we have more of it in our lives? The world has a counterfeit self-control of being driven for the promotion and benefit of oneself over others. This kind of “self-control” is not loving to others as it is self-seeking.
If I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13 NASB
Self-control such as this is the kind that will push others down to lift oneself up. You can see this type of self-control in the workplace, where many workers are undercutting each other to get the boss to recognize their talents and give them a promotion. This selfish pettiness is unbecoming to the believer in Christ, and this type of behavior should not be found in the Church.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
Galatians 5:25-26 NASB
The Christian should be one that is grateful where God has placed them and understanding that He is Sovereign over their lives. True self-control is being self-disciplined (not to be confused with self-flagellation) in a way that builds up the body of Christ, that is the Church. Self-control is knowing that God is Sovereign and that He will meet our needs, and therefore, self-control is not pushing one’s way to the top or to the front of the line. Self-control is humbly serving others in Jesus’ name for Christ’s glory.
Biblical Example of Self-Control
The ultimate Biblical example of self-control is Jesus Christ. He is our example of humility and serving others. Jesus washed the feet of the disciples as an example to believers of how we ought to serve one another. Washing feet was a dirty job because they had sandals and dusty roads. However, Jesus did not feel that He was above stooping down to clean His disciples’ feet. The apostle Paul and Timothy encouraged those in Philippi (and ultimately all believers) to have a similar attitude as Christ:
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Philippians 2:1-13 NASB
Final Fruit of the Spirit and Closing
Self-control is the last of the fruit of the Spirit in the list. And to each of them, against such things there is no law. This means that we will not be doing anything illegal when we are growing in the fruit of the Spirit. While we may face persecution for being a believer, there is no charge that anyone can bring against us as we are growing in sanctification. As we close this series on Fruit of the Spirit, reflect on how you can grow more in the Fruit of the Spirit. Yes, the Holy Spirit is ultimately the one who grows the fruit in you and me, but you and I have a responsibility to meditate (fill our minds with, not empty our minds) on God’s Word on what self-control and each fruit of the Spirit is. What is one way that you and I can show the self-control of Christ this week?
Join in on the conversation!
I always love hearing from my readers, so feel free to comment on this post.
- What fruit of the Spirit do you hope to grow more in?
- What fruit of the Spirit do you want to learn more about?
- What fruit of the Spirit do you struggle most with?
- How may I pray for you? (If you would like to private message me a prayer request, please feel free to message me via Instagram, Facebook, or X.com. I will gladly pray for you.)
- What are your favorite examples of self-control in the Bible?
- Who is someone in your life that shows the self-control of Christ to those around them?