The Fruit of the Spirit – Part 2: Joy
The “Fruit of the Spirit” is what happens when the Holy Spirit indwells a believer. The “fruit” is the product of the Holy Spirit’s cultivation of character in a heart. The second characteristic listed is joy. Joy expresses God’s kingdom—His influence on earth. The Spirit’s production of joy can manifest in several different ways: the joy of deliverance, the joy of salvation, the joy of spiritual maturity, and the joy of God’s presence. The Greek word for joy is *chara* and is closely related to *[charis], which means “grace” or “a gift.” Chara is the normal response to *charis*—we have joy because of God’s grace. The next step in the progression is to allow our joy to become an action as we express it.