"It is a blessed thing to discover the difference
between Christian graces and Christ:
to know the difference between meekness and Christ,
between patience and Christ, between love and Christ.
Remember again what is said in 1 Corinthians 1:30:
"Christ Jesus...was made unto us wisdom from God,
and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption."
The common conception of sanctification is that
every item of the life should be holy; but that is not holiness,
it is the fruit of holiness. Holiness is Christ.
It is the Lord Jesus being made over to us to be that
so you can put anything there: love, humility, power, self-control.
Today there is a call for patience: he is our patience!
Tomorrow the call may be for purity: he is our purity!
He is the answer to every need.
That is why Paul speaks of the "fruit of the Spirit" as one (Gal. 5:22)
and not of "fruits" as seperate items.
God has given us his Holy Spirit, and when love is needed
the fruit of the Spirit is love; when joy is needed
the fruit of the Spirit is joy. It is always true.
It does not matter what your personal deficiency,
or whether it be a hundred and one different things,
God has always one sufficient answer, his Son Jesus Christ,
and he is the answer to every human need." ~
excerpt taken from "The Normal Christian Life" by Watchmen Nee.
