Grace Abounds Ministries

I n today's article, I will start showing how the Holy Spirit used Paul to explain this wonder “kingdom must possess nature” called Love from the book of 1 Corinthians 13. This chapter is so unique, and its placement is much more fascinating.   In Chapter 12 of the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul talked about the diverse giftings we have in the body of Christ. He established that one's gift is not above another (1 Corinthians 12:14-18).  In chapter 14, Paul talked about how to engage all these giftings alright. He gave the church the proper perspective on how to operate in God's gift and grace. “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” I Corinthians 14:1‬ ‭‬‬  In the middle of chapters 12 and 14, there is chapter 13. If I were to be the one to arrange the book of Corinthians, I would have put chapters 12 and 14 together because chapter 14 is the continuation of Chapter 12. However, the Holy Spirit internationally places chapter 13 in the...

In today's article, I will introduce the first Characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit, which is Love. Love seems to me as the first layer of the fruit where other characteristics are embedded.   “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness” Galatians 5:22.‬ ‭‬‬  As I have shared in the previous article, “for us to be able to express all of these characteristics, we need to consider the man Jesus; how He lived among men, how He carried Himself and how He related to people and His environment.” That is what I will be sharing as we look into Love.  To start with on this subject, I love to share from 1 John 4:7-10  I so much love reading John's Epistle and his gospel because there is this familiar word he uses, which is the word ‘beloved.’ This word surfaced many times in His writing. So anytime you see the word ‘beloved,’ it is to inform you that “it is God who loves you.”  Even though everyone around you migh...

  Today we shall be talking about how to receive this fruit.   The first thing I want us to know is that all these characteristics (or nutrients as I call them) in this fruit of the Spirit are all found in God. And Jesus is God in the flesh. Paul describes Him as “ the visible image of God. ”  Colossians 1:15. The only man that mirrored God in totality on this earth is the man, Christ Jesus. Therefore, it is essential to understand that the characteristics of this fruit are all that Jesus exhibited while He was on earth.   Let's see Philippians 2:5 to see how we can receive this fruit.   In the previous article , I defined the fruit of the Spirit as  “ the complete mind of Christ. ”  It is the mindset through which He functions when He lived on the earth. Therefore, the Lord desires His followers to carry themselves in this world with the same attitude He had. So, the Holy Spirit is giving us an instruction for life;  “ Let this mind be in y...

by Ayoola Fakeye The fruit of the Spirit is first to be consumed by an individual ( Galatians 5:22-23 ). An African adage says, “What a bird eats is what will carry it.” We always think that this fruit is only for others to see. Indeed, it is to reflect in us and through us to impact others. However, if you don't consume it, then it can never impact others because it has not impacted you.   There is a tree in your Spiritman which is the source of this fruit. That tree is the Lord Jesus. He is the Tree of Life! Therefore, the Holy Spirit takes that which is of Christ and impacts it to your Soul. If so, then our souls need to start feeding on this fruit. We need to digest it to get all the nutrients from it which includes love, joy, peace, and others.   We do not have access to the fruit of the Spirit in our natural self, so there is no way we could manifest them. For instance, you don't ordinarily walk in Agape. What w...

  By Ayoola Fakeye To reiterate what I’d shared in the previous articles, The fruit of the Spirit is nothing the flesh can produce! It is only what the Father does through the Holy Spirit as He has connected us to Christ, the good Vine. The fruit of the Spirit is the operation of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and soul which consequently brings a transformation in our actions and reactions. Thus, when the Holy Spirit transforms our heart, our mind is renewed, and our will and emotion align with God's, our body will respond to those changes. The essence of what I am saying is that the fruit of the Spirit is not what you can mechanically produce but only what the Holy Spirit supernaturally produces in us.   Therefore, so far, God has endowed you with the Holy Spirit, then you can go on to bear fruit. Let it be known; God expects every believer to bear fruit. Every believer can bear fruit! Every believer must bear fruit! That is how you...

By Ayoola Fakeye   Christianity is not a rule-based religion. But life in the Spirit is based on fellowship with the triune God. That would lead us to how this fruit works.   As I was meditating, I got a verse of the scripture which I have never seen in the light I will be sharing with you. It is a famous scripture. However, I want you all to open your heart to receive all Lord has for you.    “ I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 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.  “ 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 15:1-5. ‭   These were the last w...

Ayoola Fakeye In the previous article, I shared that the flesh can never produce anything godly. At the core of the flesh is evil. Therefore, You cannot produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit by the flesh.   In this article, I will love to continue sharing that the flesh cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit. This foundational knowledge will help you to live a victorious life over sin.  Whenever we attempt to produce what can only be obtained by the Spirit, we get weakened in our Christian pilgrimage. We will also set up our conscience to judge and condemn you. The conscience is part of our being, that has an innate understanding of right and wrong or good and evil. Therefore, whenever we attempt to produce any of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit by our flesh, our conscience will always inflict guilt, pain, and some emotional damage because we will never meet the standard. Thus, The flesh hinders the outpouring of the anointing from the Fruit of the Spirit.  ...

  Fakeye Ayoola   By God’s grace, this is the first episode in a brand-new series: The Fruit of the Spirit. I believe as we reflect together on God’s word, the power in God’s word will transform us in such a way that we begin to manifest the Fruit of the Spirit in all that we do.  Our reference text for the series is taken from Galatians 5:22-23  Today, I will introduce the series: tagged “what you need to know about the Fruit of the Spirit.” I will firstly share about the fruit as a whole before we begin to look at each constituent which is listed in Galatians 5:22-23  From the reference text, the first word in verse 22 is ‘but.’ The word ‘but’ is so significant in a sentence; we use it to contrast two opposing things or statements. Therefore, to know what Paul was contrasting, it will be necessary to look briefly at the previous verses.  So, when we take a little step backward to vs. 19-21, Paul talks about the works of the flesh. (You can check love how ...

  Ayoola Fakeye   As I conclude this  subject series of Faith, it is fascinating for me to remind you of the Love of the savior: How Jesus has loved us with eternal love, came to the earth, carried the cross of agony, and bled all on that cross. Now He is risen again and occupied the throne of the universe. What a dear, wonderful Savior is ours! In the previous article, I presented the doctrine of the Lamb from St. Peter's epistle where we saw Jesus, the Lamb, as the center of all divine revelation. Through His work on the cross, His body became the magnet that brought the OT saints and the NT saints under the same family. Now I announce; Jesus is not just the center but the circumference of divine revelation, the entirety of the revelation of God to man. He is the unifying theme that makes all the books in the bible one consistent whole. Hallelujah! I can never be tired of speaking about the Lamb that was slain for my redemption. Will you? Apostle Peter continued His exp...

Ayoola Fakeye As we approach the conclusion of this great series; Faith Life of believers, it's a blessing to the heart to conclude with this eternal subject, namely; the centrality of the lamb. In the previous article , I shared Christ's redemptive work on the cross that brought the two dispensations (Old Testament saints and New Testament Saints) together under one family ( Hebrews 11:39-40 ). Christ's substitutionary sacrifice is the binding force that brings the OT saints and the NT saints together unto God.   John, the beloved (as popularly called) in John 1, tells us of the slain Lamb that takes away the worl d's  sins. Modern-day Pentecostals don't like the subject. However, it gladdens my heart to announce that the Lamb slain is the theme of the entire bible. The Bible is God's testimony to the Lamb. I discovered that when God wants to do something remarkable on the earth or in the life of a man, or when God intends to cut covenant with man, He refers a ...