"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5

It is the Holy Spirit who dwells within the Believer who works mightily to produce God's fruit in us. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..."

Love is the first in the list and looking more closely the other eight in the list are expressions of this love (agape).

"Vine's Expository Dictionary" tells us of this love, "Love can be known only from the action it prompts. God's love is seen in the gift of His Son...it was not drawn out by any excellency in its objects."
As we see in Romans 5:8,
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Vine goes on to say, "Love had its perfect expression among men in Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 2:4-5 makes this clear,
"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)."

Again in Vine's, "Christian love has God for its primary object, and express itself first of all in implicit obedience to His Commandments."
Jesus tells us in John 14:23,
"...If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."

Vine says, "Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered. Love seeks the welfare of all and works no ill to any. (Romans 13:10, "Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.")."

So then let us look at the fruit of the Spirit again in relation to the other eight words as expressions of agape. Several weeks ago I read a comment by Ray Stedman concerning this very things and it blessed in its simplicity.
I quote his explanation,
"After all, joy is love enjoying itself; peace is love resting; patience is love waiting; kindness is love reacting; goodness is love choosing; faithfulness is love keeping its word; gentleness is love empathizing; and self-control is love resisting temptation." End of quote.

Only as we abide in the vine does the Holy Spirit work in us to develop and produce His fruit in our lives. Scripture tells us in John 15:4, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me."

As for the relationship of Believers with one another, Jesus tell us, "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
John 15:12

And how did He love us? He laid down His life; He died for all sin that we might be reconciled to the Father and have eternal life. As for our laying down our lives, we do so as we deny self and obediently do the works that God has planned and purposed for each of us.

As Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:14-19,
"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with the fullness of God."

Thank you Holy Father for your great love for us. We adore You and give You all honor and glory.  Amen