"Wright (The Mission of God), international ministries director of Langham Partnership, serves as a sage guide to the fruits of the Holy Spirit as documented in the letters of St. Paul. Wright's scripture scholarship is on full display as he helps Christians delve more deeply into biblical texts for general edification and to learn fundamental life lessons. . . . Christians hoping to deepen their biblical knowledge and faith lives will find much to appreciate here." (Publishers Weekly, December 12, 2016)

"Prepare for those 'aha!' moments and a few shouts of 'of course!' as Chris Wright takes us on a biblical journey, straightforward and deep, into the fruit of the Spirit. With his characteristic balance of profundity and simplicity, Chris offers a stirring view of the transforming impact of Scripture as it reveals the fruit of the Spirit. And Chris roots us in the whole understanding of these dynamic truths by connecting the fruit of the Spirit with needed yet often overlooked context from the Old Testament. Encouragement jumps out from the pages of this book as readers are reminded of how our ordinary lives bear the mark of Christ's love and how giants of the faith like John Stott applied such truth via daily prayer, to 'cause your fruit to ripen in my life.'" (Benjamin K. Homan, president, Langham Partnership USA (formerly John Stott Ministries)

"Several years ago I had the pleasure of discussing Ephesians with Chris Wright at his kitchen table. We sat with Bibles open, notes strewn everywhere, and a pot of tea. Chris's love for God, his scholarly expertise, and easy manner made for a delightful and enriching afternoon. Through this book, Chris invites you to join him as well. Rarely is the wisdom of a theologian of such caliber this accessible. So grab your Bible, pull up a seat, and explore what the Scripture has to say about life in the Spirit." -- (Lindsay Olesberg, author of The Bible Study Handbook)

How should Christians live? On the one hand, some very legalistic Christians stress the importance of keeping all the rules―that you must do this and never do that if you want to prove you are really a Christian. On the other hand, there are those who reject the whole idea of rules or traditions in the church and see the point of the Christian faith as setting us free from the institutionalized religious burden. But Paul addresses these two competing views by showing us a far better way―a truly Christian way to live our lives. It is the way of the Spirit of God given to us through Christ: "Walk by the Spirit . . . led by the Spirit . . . live by the Spirit . . . keep in step with the Spirit." That is the heart and soul of Christian living. It is the center and secret of what it means to be a person who belongs to Christ. Pastor and scholar Christopher Wright invites us to live a life in step with the Spirit by cultivating the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These nine chapters, each addressing a different fruit, each conclude with questions for contemplation or discussion. Feed on the Word of God, grow in Christlikeness, and live a fruitful life.

Summary: A study elaborating what it means to grow in Christlikeness looking at each of the nine fruit of the Spirit.

“Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live this day in your presence and please you more and more.

Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.

Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

This is a portion of a prayer prayed by the late John R. W. Stott each morning. Perhaps, as author, and Stott’s successor in leading the Langham Partnership, Christopher J. H. Wright notes, it is no surprise that many who met Stott felt he was the most Christlike person they’d ever met.

This is a book about growing to be more like Christ through cultivating in one’s life the nine fruit of the Spirit the apostle Paul lists in Galatians 5:22-23. Wright nicknames these the “9-A-Day” through which our character is formed to be like Christ. He begins this study by setting Paul’s list in its Galatian context. Paul argues for the gospel of being reckoned right with God by our faith alone apart from works. Then he addresses what may be a criticism–that in rejecting legalism, haven’t you opened the door to license? Rather, what comes through the Christ who indwells us by the Holy Spirit is freedom from slavery either to law or to licentious sin. This Spirit, as we root our lives to Him each day in prayer, study, and faithful obedience bears the fruit of Christ’s character in us over the course of our lives.

Wright goes on in the next nine chapters to consider each quality in Paul’s list. His approach is not to tell a lot of stories but to focus on the biblical material about each of these qualities, both how we see this quality in the character of God, and what this looks like in the life of a Christ-follower. Much like the teaching of John Stott, Christ gives is clear and memorable outlines to help us reflect on each of these qualities, and concludes with practical application to everyday life. For example, in the chapter on “kindness” his subheadings are “Kindness and the Character of God,” “Kindness as a Quality of Those Who Worship God,” “Kindness and the Example of Jesus,” and “Kindness as a Habit of Life.” He concludes this chapter with two questions that may help us in our practice of kindness:

* What would I do for people if I were the Christ?
* What would I do for people if they were the Christ?

Wright concludes each chapter with a few reflection and application questions. An additional feature at the end of each chapter is a link to a video of Wright talking about the particular fruit of the Spirit.

This is a book I wish I had as a young Christian. I understood that I had become a Christian through the work of Christ. But I found little help in what it meant to be a Christian, to live a life marked increasingly by the character of the Christ I was following. This is such a helpful study that offers hope that God, through his Spirit will indeed work out his character in our lives as we root our lives in Christ, heeding his word, gathering with his people, yielding ourselves in prayer, and faithfully acting on what he says.

I also appreciated the combination of scripturally-based instruction, and thoughtful application throughout. This comment about patience is just one example:

“That kind of patience is sadly needed more than ever in Christian churches–and even (maybe especially) among Christian leaders. In the world of instant blogging and commenting (and comments on comments), patience seems to be a very neglected virtue. Some people simply can’t wait to put their word in, get their point across, speak their mind — however harmful and hurtful it may be. We have become very impatient — in attitudes, communication, and expectations” (p. 79).

This strikes me as a great book that one might use for personal reflection, for discussion with a younger believer, or in a group. In that context, using Wright’s videos to set up discussion of each chapter could work very well.

It also strikes me that this work, unassuming as it may seem, is vital in our day. I observe on one hand Christians bemoaning the flight of millenials from the church and at the same time grasping at power and influence in American culture. Wright’s quote of a Hindu professor points to why the Christlikeness of lives characterized by the fruit of the Spirit is so important:

“If you Christians lived like Jesus, India would be at your feet tomorrow.”

Dare we believe it could be so of our own country? ( )

Chris Wright is one of my favorite authors. He is a missiologist, biblical ethicist, international ministries director for Langham Partnership, co-worker and friend to the late John Stott, and an Old Testament scholar (I sometimes refer to him as O.T. Wright). In Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit, Wright examines each of the nine fruits of the Spirit referenced by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 and encourages us to pursue the Spirit's transformation in each of these areas.

This book began as a nine-day Bible study series, and companion series of videos produced for Langham Partnership for Lent, 2013: 9-A-Day: Becoming Like Jesus. Wright, along with Jonathan Lamb and Langham leadership, was inspired to create this series from John Stott's example. Every morning Stott prayed this prayer:

Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence and please you more and more

Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I take up my cross and follow you.

Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (quoted in Wright's introduction, 13).
The chapters of this book examine each of the nine fruits, in turn. Wright explores each theme of each fruit is (1) evidence of God's character, (2) exemplified in Christ, and (3) and how the presence of each demonstrates the work of the Spirit in our lives. The chapters end with questions for reflection or discussion. There is also a web link to Wright's talk on the fruit. [ The link provided at the end of the chapter was broken but the original videos that inspired this book can be found at http://9aday.org.uk/the-9-fruits (referenced in the book's preface) or linked from the book page on the publisher website]. Wright's introduction and conclusion place the fruit within the frame of Paul's message to Galatia.

The fruit of the Spirit ought to characterize the lives of followers of Jesus. Reading through this study in Lent, if you pardon the pun, has been fruitful for me. There isn't always actionable applications in the text, but Wright encourages us to look at the example of Jesus and to pay attention to where we have seen these fruit in the lives of others. Wright spends most of each chapters describing what each of these fruit/virtues is. The assumption is that while there are things we ought to do, ultimately the growth of the fruit is the Spirit's work.

This can be read individually or as a group. I give this four stars.

Note: I received this book from IVP in exchange for my honest review.

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