John Calvin Commentary Galatians 5:22

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness," — Galatians 5:22 (ASV)

But the fruit of the Spirit. In the former part of the description, he condemned the whole nature of man as producing nothing but evil and worthless fruits. He now informs us that all virtues, all proper and well-regulated affections, proceed from the Spirit—that is, from the grace of God and the renewed nature we derive from Christ. As if he had said, “Nothing but what is evil comes from man; nothing good comes but from the Holy Spirit.” Remarkable instances of gentleness, integrity, temperance, and generosity have often appeared in unrenewed men; but it is certain that all these were merely specious disguises. Curius and Fabricius were distinguished for courage, Cato for temperance, Scipio for kindness and generosity, and Fabius for patience; but it was only in the sight of men, and as members of civil society, that they were so distinguished. In the sight of God, nothing is pure but what proceeds from the fountain of all purity.

Joy does not here, I think, denote that joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17) of which he speaks elsewhere, but rather that cheerful behavior towards others which is the opposite of moroseness. Faith means truth and is contrasted with cunning, deceit, and falsehood, just as peace is with quarrels and contentions. Long-suffering is gentleness of mind, which disposes us to accept things good-naturedly and not to be easily offended. The other terms require no explanation, for the dispositions of the mind must be learned from the outward conduct.

But if spiritual men are known by their works, what judgment, it will be asked, shall we form of wicked men and idolaters who displayed an impressive appearance of all the virtues? For it is evident from their works that they were spiritual. I reply, just as not all the works of the flesh appear openly in a carnal man, but his carnality is discovered by one or another vice, so a single virtue will not entitle us to conclude that a man is spiritual. Sometimes it will be made evident by other vices that sin reigns in him; and this observation may be easily applied to all the cases I have enumerated.