Self-Control – The 9th Fruit of the Holy Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22).
Last, but not least, is the quality of self-control. This one is huge, and I mean big! Once you begin to enter into the process of true sanctification with God – expect the Holy Spirit to come to you from an early age with this exceptional quality.
The reason for this is that we all have several deficiencies in character that operate in our personalities. Some bad and negative traits must be lost.
The Bible tells us that our spirits and flesh will fight each other in this life. Our flesh wants immediate gratification by all means and will not stop to try and get it. Our spirits know that some of our fleshly desires are not right for us and as a result, there will be a tug of war between the two – and sometimes that will be a major tug of war. Besides that, the only thing that can curb and control some of our flesh’s desires is the quality of self-control.
Because we all live in a very selfish and materialistic world today, many people have lower impulse control. If they see something they want right away, they will do anything to try and get it. They will not deny until they get what they are after.
These people are weak in the quality of self-control. They are controlled by their flesh, not by the Holy Spirit. That is why the Bible tells us that if we learn how to walk in the Holy Spirit, we will not fulfill our fleshly desires.
Because of the nature of our sins, we are all weak to some degree in the quality of self-control. This is why God the Father made sure that this fruit listed as one of the nine fruits of His Holy Spirit. We all need God’s self-control that operates in our lives and personalities if we want to have hope to be adequately cleaned and sanctified to the extent that he wants to make us in this life.
If you don’t have God’s self-control operating within you – you will not have victory over things like bad anger, judgmental spirits, unforgiving spirits, and crimes like alcohol abuse.
After the Holy Spirit begins this sanctification process with you – be prepared for some significant battles and attractions with Him as soon as He begins to come after some negative traits operating in your personality.
However, if you are willing to surrender to Him and allow Him to begin working these nine fruits into your personality – then you will find yourself beginning to grow in ways and in fields that you never thought possible in this life. His supernatural power in this field will make you go as soon as you see how far He can take you to become the person God wants you to grow in Him in this life.
Here are some definitions of quality self-control:
- Temperance, the rational restraint of natural impulses
- Approach to life, wise, calm, and impartial, after mastering personal desires and passions
- Calling for a life of self-discipline following Christ’s example of being in the world but not of the world
- Restraints or discipline is carried out on one’s behavior
The above definition accurately describes what God is looking for after He began working and transmits these qualities into our personalities. This unique quality is one of the primary keys to be able to get the victory over the desires of our flesh.
