Faith – Is a Fruit of the Spirit (6)

When desiring faith, I guess we would quickly think about it being a gift of the Spirit, as in 1 Corinthians 12:9, or the fact that it comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God as in Romans 10:17. Or with faith for salvation it is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). However, maybe like me, you hadn’t really given it much thought that actually faith is also a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:21).

Many earlier translations of Galatians 5:21, like the King James Bible, use the word “faith” and newer ones frequently say “faithfulness”. The Greek word, a noun, is Pistis (faith/trust) The verb for faith as is Pisteuo (Believe / to Entrust).

I think the difference between the gift of faith and the fruit of the Spirit faith can be drawn from the example of say a fruit tree, let’s just say an apple tree, and a Christmas tree.

In times gone by, and I’m not sure if some people still do this or not, but it has been a custom to hang presents on a Christmas tree. Now the type of the tree doesn’t really matter; it could be a traditional one like a Norway Spruce, Nordmann or Fraser Fir or just an artificial tree (green or white). The type of tree is not important. One important thing is that the gift is not just for anybody, it will have a label on it and that person is the one to whom the gift is intended and can be taken. With the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is the Spirit who distributes them to each person as He determines. It is important to note that the condition of the tree doesn’t bear much importance (the needles could be falling off a traditional one or the artificial one has seen better years).

With an apple tree, the state and health of the tree is very important for getting good fruit. Once apples are produced, they are available for anyone.

The main point we can draw from this is that with the fruit of the Spirit it is very much tied to the character of a person. If we are not being led by the Spirit but walking in the flesh and carnality, we will exhibit the fruit of the flesh which are given to us in Galatians 5:19-21; hatred, rage, sexual immorality etc. In sharp contrast, if we are walking in the Spirit, we will be bearing His fruit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control and of course faithfulness which is the subject of what we are looking at just now.

With the gifts of the Spirit, they are only given when needed but we should really be bearing all the fruit of the Spirit at all times.

So, what does this fruit of faith look like in our everyday lives? I think it would mean that we are known for being faithful in all we do; faithful in marriage, friendships, in all our work and commitments, community and in our religion.

Here a few traits of a faithful person:

• Reliability: They consistently follow through on what they say they will do, even when it becomes inconvenient or difficult.

• Unwavering Loyalty: They remain steadfastly devoted to a partner, friend, cause, or belief, resisting the temptation to abandon or betray them.

• Honesty and Integrity: They speak the truth, keep secrets safe, and align their internal beliefs with their public actions.

• Perseverance: They finish what they start and maintain their commitments long after the initial excitement has faded.

This faithful person should also be trustworthy.

A trustworthy person is someone you can completely rely on because their actions consistently match their words. They demonstrate high integrity, protect your best interests, and remain honest and transparent even when it is difficult.

The 4 Pillars of Trustworthiness

According to trust researchers, deciding to trust someone relies on four essential components:

1. Reliability: Can people depend on you to consistently keep commitments over time?

2. Integrity: Do you say what you mean, mean what you say, and walk your talk?

3. Empathy: Do you genuinely care about how your choices impact others?

4. Competence: Do you actually possess the skills or resources to deliver on what you claim?

Observable Behavioural Traits

You can identify a trustworthy individual through daily habits and behaviours:

• High Transparency: They proactively communicate and share context rather than hiding the truth or waiting to be asked.

• Radical Accountability: When they make mistakes, they own them immediately without deflecting or blaming others.

• Predictable Behavior: They do not allow volatile mood swings to dictate how they treat people.

• Respects Time: They show up on time and avoid flaky behaviour or cancelling at the last minute.

• Rejects Gossip: They protect the privacy of absent people and refuse to engage in negative water-cooler talk.

How They Handle Relationships

In personal and professional connections, trustworthy people foster psychological safety:

• Respects Boundaries: They accept “no” without trying to control or manipulate the situation.

• Practices Vulnerability: They are comfortable sharing their own faults and struggles with you.

• Keeps Confidences: Secrets shared with them remain completely safe and are never weaponised.

• Offers Balanced Feedback: They tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear, using direct and rational opinions.

So, I think it I safe to say that the faith that comes as a fruit of the Spirit should be highly sought after and wow, what a difference it would make to our character should we start to bear this kind of fruit. I don’t know about you but this has been quite a challenging and different way at looking at how we can grow in faith.