Drilling deeper into

Here are a few things you can do with web resources to deepen your appreciation of this topic and what it's all about.

INVESTIGATION 1: SCOPE OUT THE BACKGROUND

What can you find out about Galatians? Who was it written to? When did Paul write it - when he was just starting out, or when he was facing death at the end of his life? What else does the book contain? How does the "fruit of the Spirit" part fit in with the rest of what Paul's saying?

(Hint: any commentary on Galatians will tell you some of this stuff, in its introduction - it's worth checking two or three, since different commentaries often fill in different parts of the same picture. Bible handbooks and encyclopaedias will help too. If you're hazy about the map of ancient Turkey [and who isn't?] look up a Bible atlas and see where Galatia lies - remembering that there are two theories about the letter, the "South Galatian" and "North Galatian" theory!  To see what else the book contains, it's good to skim through it quickly yourself, before looking at what the commentaries say. Since you're looking at a particular passage - chapter 5 - look especially at what happens in chapter 4 to lead up to your bit, and then what it leads into in chapter 6.)

INVESTIGATION 2: CHASE THE PICTURE BACK THROUGH TIME

When Paul talks about "fruit", he's using a picture that Jesus used. Where? And Jesus didn't start it either; he borrowed the picture from Old Testament writers (which his audience had read, so they'd think about those passages when Jesus started using the picture). How does this picture emerge in the Old Testament, and what does that add to your understanding of what Jesus was saying?

(Hint: Bible Gateway might be the place to start on this one - skim through all the 198 Bible references to "fruit" and make a note of maybe fifteen or so that look especially interesting. Then check out the passages in which they appear. If you just want to look at the Old Testament, click the button on the right of the page that says "Filter by... Old Testament (153)", and the New Testament references will disappear from the list. Also you could check out "fruit" in a Bible dictionary or encyclopaedia; or you could look at a commentary on Galatians 5 and see if it refers you back to anything in the Old Testament.)

INVESTIGATION 3: GET THE WORDS IN FOCUS

It's always good to do a bit of word study, since the Greek words of the New Testament may have depths of meaning that just don't come across in English. So look at the list of nine pieces of fruit in Galatians 5. Are there any that seem a bit vague to you? Explore at least one of those words, and see what it really meant to the Galatians when Paul first used it...

(Hint: get the passage in Biblehub, click to the "Greek" or "Interlinear" page, then look at the words you're interested in. Click the little Strong's number which appears beside each word (it looks like this: 4240 [e]) , and that should take you to a page where the word is defined clearly. You can also click on the Greek word itself (e.g. prautes for gentleness) and you'll find how often it's used in the Bible, and what words are close to it. In fact prautes appears only here - nowhere else - and you might start wondering why...  Other helpful places: William Barclay's Daily Study Bible (it's in the Q&D Toolbox under "Commentaries" ) is brilliant on words - his stuff on chapter 5 is famous worldwide. Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology contains lots of articles on different subjects which summarize the key points beautifully. The one on "Fruit of the Spirit" is tough reading, but makes all sorts of important points. To find it from the Q&D Toolbox: on  the "Background info" section click on "Bible Study Tools", then "Study", then "Dictionaries". Select "Baker's" from the list, and when you've got there, click on "F". Pick out "Fruit of the Spirit" from the list.)

WHERE NEXT?

Go to the review to check you understand and remember

Go to another three important Bible passages on this topic

Go back to the main resources page to do something completely different