As you all know, one of my favorite spiritual teachers is the late Dallas
Willard. Of all the Christian thinkers and practitioners I have known
throughout ministry, Dallas Willard comes the closest to truly understanding
and articulating the process of Christian discipleship (that is, learning to
become like Jesus in our thoughts and actions). He also lived out his
Christian convictions with an authenticity I had not readily seen in others.
As a Jesus follower, Dallas was the real deal.
We’ve just celebrated Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, and we’re continuing to study the
fruit of the Spirit (as well as how we cultivate that fruit in our daily lives). I thought I would
share some of Dallas’s insights into the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives as Jesus’ followers. I
hope it will help you as you seek to grow in your walk with Christ:
“The presence of the Holy Spirit can always be recognized by the way he moves us
toward what Jesus would be and do (John 16:7-15). When we inwardly experience the
heavenly sweetness and power of life—the love, joy, and peace—that Jesus knew, that is the
work of the Spirit in us.
Outwardly, life in the Spirit manifests itself in two ways. Gifts of the Spirit will enable
us to perform some specific function—such as service or healing or leading worship—with
effects clearly beyond those of our own making. These gifts serve God’s purposes among his
people, but they do not necessarily signify the state of our heart.
The fruit of the Spirit, by contrast, give a sure sign of transformed character. When our
deepest attitudes and dispositions are those of Jesus, it is because we have learned to let the
Spirit foster his life in us. Paul confessed: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I
who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). The outcome of Christ living within us
through the Spirit is fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).
Both gifts and fruit are the result, not the reality of the Spirit’s presence in our lives. What
brings about our transformation into Christlikeness is our direct, personal interaction with
Christ through the Spirit. The Spirit makes Christ present to us and draws us toward his
likeness. It is as we thus “behold the glory of the Lord” that we are constantly “transformed
into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18,
NASB).”
– Dallas Willard – “Looking Like Jesus: Divine Resources for a Changed Life are
Always Available”
Blessings,
Pastor Hilary
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