22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
If we fail and fall short in all this, it may be that the answer is to be found in a consideration of the third triad of Christian graces. We fail because we do not have a right attitude to ourselves - that is to say, the life of the Spirit in relation to ourselves, in relation to faith, meekness, and self-control, needs fuller and more unhindered expression. Christian life is a life that is subject to pressures from without and from within, and faithfulness, meekness and self-control are the qualities needed to enable us to live it effectually. Faithfulness, rather than faith, is what Paul has in mind here - the ethical, rather than the spiritual, aspect of faith. The question that this word puts to us is not, 'Have you faith?', but 'Are you faithful?' One can see how challenging this must have been to the Galatians, unfaithful as they had been to the gospel they had received, and to the man who had brought it to them. Bunyan's lines well express this: One here will constant be Come wind, come weather. This is the quality which Paul says is the fruit of the Spirit, and nothing adorns the life of a Christian so much as this. To have a faithful spirit is to have a priceless possession. To be steadfast and dependable, to be true to one's loyalties, and to allow no consideration to interfere with them - this is the fruit of the Spirit.