As a Christian, God has given you many great gifts and promises. Through the Holy Spirit, He has given you power over sin in your mortal body, against your enemy, and even the devil who seeks to destroy you. But you must strengthen your new nature and work on mastering your mind, heart, and soul to mirror the ways of the Lord.
Many religions will try to trap you into only believing what they teach, but the Spirit of the Lord is your teacher. He is the only one who will teach you everything true. Also, those whom God transforms will walk in the fruits of the spirit. Do you remember what they are? Does your life display these fruits?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things, there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:22-24
Just like you need to put on the armor of God daily to protect yourself from the attacks of the enemy and protection against the evil darts and arrows of deception, you need to operate in the fruits of the Spirit, which is proof of your salvation and could be thought of as a cushioning under your armor. Besides, how can you walk in the armor of God without the fruits of the Spirit to back it up?
Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:10-12
The Armor of God and the Fruit of the Spirit work together in the follower of Christ to protect and soften the blows you receive as you march forward in the battle against this wicked world. They will help you take the brunt of the blows without flinching, advancing, and defeating the enemy in Jesus’ name.
Suppose you stand fast against evil while operating in the fruits of the Spirit. In that case, you will remain kind, peaceful, loving, and patient while you tell others the truth of the Gospel. Talking about righteousness, holiness, Jesus’ sacrificial death, and the punishment to come in Hell are hard things to take from those lost in their sin. The fruits of the Spirit are required to help defuse the contention that may arise while sharing the Gospel.
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:1-3
The devil’s plans and schemes will be thwarted when you fight against him in God’s way by using the fruits of the Spirit and the armor of the Lord in combination. Essentially, one can not be an effective warrior for Christ without operating in them both. So remember to be holy as God is holy, walking in the Spirit and the power of His might.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:3-8
The Soul Sower 