Fruits of the Spirit, Part 9: Self-Control Like Jesus

“But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature together with its passions and appetites. If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit]. We must not become conceited, challenging or provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5: 22-26, AMP)

For the past 8 weeks, we’ve been discussing the Fruits of the Spirit and why they are so fundamental to our Christian walks. Thus far, we’ve found the unique differences between kindness, goodness, and gentleness– turns out they’re not reiterations of each other– and unpacked the deep nuances of those tried and true Fruits like love, joy, and peace.

Which brings us to the final Fruit to make the list: self-control, something that is both frustratingly essential and yet hard to refine within us simply because it is so contrary to sinful nature. The Greek word for self-control is egkrateia, which is translated to a temperance rooted in self-restraint or moderation. In some ways, self-control could be seen as abstinence– saying no to the temptations that arise in our daily lives and result in sin. Other times, self-control could look like restraint or knowing when to stop engaging in something that ends up not being God-glorifying, like a relationship or a career path. And sometimes, self-control is knowing that we can do something, but choosing not to in order to honor God in a greater way.

And though self-control is the final Fruit of the Spirit Paul mentions in Galatians, it is by far not the least of them. In fact, I would argue that it takes a great deal of self-control in order to exercise some of the other fruits. It takes self-control to have patience over something long-awaited for, choosing joy in the lowest moments of our lives, or being kind to those that are least deserving of it.

“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28, ESV).

So then, it stands to reason that self-control is an important attribute God extends to us in order for us to help preserve and protect our hearts from the schemes of the devil. With it, we are able to discern what is Godly and what is not, and teach ourselves to walk ever farther in righteousness. Without it, we flounder and are defenseless, easily tempted into our old habits. 

But if we put on God’s self-control, we have the ability to exercise His strength of character and walk in His will.

We see this in a big way twice through the example of Jesus. The first being when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness in Matthew 4, but perhaps more viscerally in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His betrayal before the cross. You see, here in the garden, Jesus’ range of emotions are more apparent than they were in the wilderness. At this moment, Jesus was breaking a sweat. In fact, it says in Matthew 26 that He turned to His disciples and admitted to being, “crushed with grief to the point of death.” (NLT)

The reason why I choose this moment as a prime example of self-control is because in the wilderness, scripture doesn’t describe a moment of inner-conflict for Jesus. He seems to stand confident in His own Lordship and doesn’t bend or fight very hard to overcome the temptation. And that is great. That is a self-control that is well matured. But this moment in the garden seems less certain, and when I find myself struggling with self-control, it is more comforting to me to remember that even Christ the Redeemer grappled with things he’d rather not have at times.

You see, in the garden, Jesus implores His disciples to pray with Him several times, specifically against temptation. He was sorrowful to the point of death. He admitted His Spirit was willing, but His flesh was weak. There was a conflict happening in His heart, and that conflict was whether to withstand the agony of the cross in the name of God’s love, or to turn, run, and use His divine power to find another way. And even in that harrowing moment of begging His friends to intercede with Him, knowing what lay ahead in the next 24 hours, He did not run. He did not move in His power to save Himself. 

Instead, He prayed, “Not my will, but yours, Lord.”

His flesh may have been weak and futilely searching for a way to avoid the pain, humiliation, and ultimate death on the cross, but His SPIRIT– the Holy Spirit– was controlled enough to say, “If it has to be this way, Lord, then I will do it. If it pleases you to go down this road, then I will do it.”

And so in the times we find ourselves struggling to control our flesh in order to do what pleases God, it is helpful to remember that Jesus faced the most challenging of situations– death itself in a torturous manner– and struggled within Himself to walk in it without question. This is a Fruit of the Spirit that even Jesus had to pray for in order to resolve Himself in it.

But the key to staying strong in any of the Fruits of the Spirit, not just self-control, but especially the ones we struggle with, is to hide ourselves in the Holy Spirit that God has so generously poured out for us to have. In this way, Galatians 5:25 becomes extremely important to remember: if we claim to live by the Holy Spirit, we must take care to walk in the ways of the Holy Spirit. If we claim to be saved by grace, we must turn from our wickedness, however mild we may think it is, in order to walk in it. 

Being saved by grace through faith is much more than just praying a prayer and declaring it over ourselves. If we do that and then never walk in the Holy Spirit, sacrificing our flesh to live a new lifestyle transformed by Christ, then our definition of grace is just mere words.

You cannot be a fruitless Christian. God detests it. That’s why He cursed the fruitless fig tree in Mark 11, because it was the very picture of what we look like if we serve Him by empty claims alone. It takes self-control to live a life empowered by the Holy Spirit, showing personal integrity and Godly character. If we don’t know His character, how can we ever develop those things within ourselves.

The Fruits of the Spirit are much more than a happy analogy or a passage in scripture to help us feel good. They are the indicators by which we can know that God is on the throne of our hearts, has taken our innermost parts captive, and the proof to this world that we belong to Jesus.