“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
–Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV
This passage lists nine “fruit” of the Holy Spirit. These are character qualities that a person cultivates by connecting with God, trusting Him, receiving His love, thinking the way He thinks, and doing what He says (see John 15).
How can each of these nine qualities result in physical healing when cultivated? This article shall explore what the Bible has to say about how each fruit relates to healing.
Love:
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
–1 John 4:18 NKJV
First, how can a separation from God’s love manifest in sickness? It has been well-established in the medical community that a large portion of sicknesses and diseases are stress-based. Excess cortisol drip compromises the human immune system as the body responds to a person’s thought life. Thoughts of fear, anxiety, and dreadful expectation after hearing bad news will wear a person out emotionally. In turn, after a certain point, his/her body will respond with physical weariness and illness.
What then is the solution for fear, stress, and anxiety? How can one’s fearful thoughts be replaced, so that the immune system can properly do its job the way that it was designed? According to 1 John 4:18, perfect love casts out fear. If perfect love removes fear, then can that fear continue to compromise the immune system through excess cortisol drip? When we truly learn to obey Jesus’ command to “remain in My love,” then fear shall not exercise undue power over us (see John 15:9; Romans 6:14).
Joy:
“He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy. 22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
–Proverbs 17:21-22 ESV
According to this passage, a joyful heart is good medicine. In other words, joy can produce physical healing. By contrast, sorrow can compromise the immune system and result in physical sickness. Where is the immune system found within the human body? It is primarily contained within the bone marrow. When Proverbs 17:22 says that “a crushed spirit dries up the bones,” it provides a contrast to the medicinal effects that joy can bring to a person’s soul and body.
The human body has been neurologically designed to respond to thought. When we think about whatever is “of good report,” then we can enjoy more joy and peace no matter what our circumstances look like. See Philippians 4:4-13. Although a constant diet or meditation on “bad news” can fill a person with fear, dread, and the compromised immune system that accompanies such a mindset, “good news refreshes the bones.”
“The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones.”
–Proverbs 15:30 ESV
Peace:
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
–Isaiah 53:4-6 NKJV
Isaiah 53:5 says that the chastisement for our peace was upon [Jesus], and by His stripes we are healed. Paul tells followers of Jesus to put on the shoes “of the gospel of peace” (see Ephesians 6:15; Romans 10:15). The word “gospel” means “good news,” and “good news refreshes the bones.”
If a broken spirit (chronic sorrow and fear) can compromise the immune system, then “good news” reverses that process (see Proverbs 15:13, 30; 17:22). What, then, is that good news that should define the very fabric of how we think on a daily basis?
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
–Romans 5:1-5 NKJV [emphasis mine]
Patience:
“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
–Hebrews 6:11-12 NKJV [emphasis mine]
According to this passage, followers of Jesus are to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Is physical healing a promise (see Psalm 103:3; Isaiah 53:5)? If it is a promise, then why isn’t physical healing an experienced reality for many believers in Jesus, many of whom have chronic disease or die from sickness? There are many factors that play into this, but it boils down to the fact that we are still in a process of growth.
There may be some areas in our lives that we aren’t yet perfected in love, we lack joy, we lack peace, and we practice fear more than faith. We may get shaken by bad news more than staying rooted and grounded in God’s love with our feet (or foundation) firmly planted in the shoes of “the gospel of peace.” However, when we learn to persevere and to cultivate God’s patience in our lives, then we have hope (see Proverbs 10:28; 13:12).
Kindness:
“Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”
–Romans 2:4 ESV
According to Romans 2:4, “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.” What is repentance? It means to change the way you think. As a result of changing the way we think so that it lines up with the way that God thinks, then our physical bodies–which are designed to respond to thought–can also function the way that God meant for them to function.
Thus, as we learn to receive God’s kindness, this ought to result in us becoming like Him in His kindness. When we are kinder to ourselves and to other people in the way we see them, think about them, and treat them, then this can even result in a restored immune system and better physical health.
“For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.’”
–Matthew 13:15 NKJV
According to this verse, God desires to heal people. However, He cannot heal people when they do not cooperate with Him, agree with Him, change the way they think, or turn to Him. Imagine a parent talking to a child offering a treat, but that child is not looking at the parent or listening to him/her. The parent wants to bless the child, but a good parent won’t reward that child for stubborn, rude, or toxic behavior. It is the same with God.
God desires for us to experience the full benefits of knowing Him and becoming like Him, but He won’t incentivize toxic thinking and behavior patterns that are not of Him. Fear, anxiety, envy, selfishness, unkindness, self-pity, pride, rage, folly, immorality, and other things will short-circuit healing from manifesting in our lives. For God to reward us with His blessings of healing when we aren’t paying attention to Him and doing what He says, it may do us more harm than good and violate God’s nature as a good Father.
Goodness:
“How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, before the sons of men!”
–Psalms 31:19 NASB1995
“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.”
–Proverbs 3:7-8 NASB1995
According to these verses, fearing the Lord (and turning away from evil) will be healing to one’s body. In light of other passages and modern medical science, refreshment to one’s bones is connected with healing, for the immune system (which responds to one’s thoughts, attitudes, or mindsets) is contained within one’s bone marrow. Psalm 31:19 says that God’s great goodness is stored up for those who fear God.
The Old Testament character, Job, feared God and turned away from evil (see Job 1:1, 8; 2:3). According to Proverbs 3:7-8, fearing God and turning away from evil results in healing to the body and refreshment to the bones. However, Job suffered from sickness after he went through a lot of trauma and his spirit was broken (see Job 17:1). Job adopted a hopeless mindset in his depression, and did not believe that he would ever again see God’s goodness during his earthly life (see Job 7:7; 9:25ff; 30:26; Psalm 27:13).
A broken spirit dries up the bones according to Proverbs 17:22, and thus Job contracted elephantiasis (inflammatory boils) after he was overtaken with fear, grief, and accompanying mindsets. At the end of the book of Job, after He listened to God correct and rebuke him, Job repented of self-righteousness and pride (self-pity). After Job prayed for his friends–forgiving them for discouraging him and letting him down–then Job’s joy and health was restored to him.
A joyful heart is good medicine, and joy is connected to believing that God is good and to remaining filled with hope in God’s goodness. See further how God’s goodness and joy are connected in 1 Kings 8:66; 2 Chronicles 6:41; Nehemiah 9:25, etc. Verses may be accessed by word search of “goodness” on BibleGateWay.com (ESV).
“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
–Titus 3:3-8 ESV [emphasis mine]
Faithfulness:
“A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.”
–Proverbs 13:17 ESV
This proverb speaks of a connection between faithfulness and healing. “A faithful envoy” is contrasted with “a wicked messenger.” Since an envoy is a kind of messenger, how does a faithful envoy bring healing? As was previously established, good news refreshes the bones, and the good news about Jesus is where our peace and joy is made available to us (see Luke 2:10-11; Isaiah 52:7; Nahum 1:15; Acts 10:36).
As we hear and believe the good news about Jesus afresh and become convinced of God’s faithfulness to us, then we may experience the joy and peace that eventually ought to work like good medicine within us (see Proverbs 15:30; 17:22).
Gentleness:
“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”
–Proverbs 15:4 ESV
The ESV footnote to Proverbs 15:4 denotes that the word “gentle” may also be translated as “healing.” This connection between gentleness and healing is further expressed in the Amplified Classic version of Proverbs 15:4: “A gentle tongue [with its healing power] is a tree of life, but willful contrariness in it breaks down the spirit.” (Proverbs 15:4 AMPC)
As mentioned before, a broken spirit dries up the bones, resulting in sickness via a compromised immune system. Thus Proverbs 15:4 likewise contrasts a gentle tongue that brings healing with a perverse tongue that breaks the spirit and can cause sickness.
“A soothing tongue [speaking words that build up and encourage] is a tree of life, But a perversive tongue [speaking words that overwhelm and depress] crushes the spirit.”
–Proverbs 15:4 AMP
“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
–2 Timothy 2:24-26 ESV [emphasis mine]
According to this passage, as a stubborn person is corrected with gentleness, then perhaps they may change the way they think (repentance), and the truth shall make them free (see also John 8:31-32). Many times, a person may remain sick because a demonic lie keeps them stuck in bondage, anxiety, depression, or some other kind of spiritual rut.
Jesus came to set the captives free by the power of the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him (see Isaiah 61:1-3; Acts 5:29-32). This is the same Holy Spirit who will make a follower of Jesus more humble and gentle as he/she grows more established in God’s love nature (see Galatians 5:22-23).
Self-control:
“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”
–Proverbs 25:28 ESV
In this proverb, a man is compared to a city. Walls signify boundaries that keep unwanted things out of one’s life. A person without self-control will cross personal boundaries or violate spiritual principles. Like an ancient city would become vulnerable to enemy attack when its walls are down, a person’s physical and relational health shall be threatened when s/he lacks self-control.
Lack of self-control can lead to many diseases, particularly STDs, diseases of the liver, etc. (see 1 Corinthians 10:8,13; Proverbs 7:21-23; Psalm 38). In this sense, self-control may seem more applicable to disease prevention than to the healing of disease. However, by practicing self-control, a person positions him/herself to experience healing as the other fruit of the Holy Spirit is cultivated in his/her life (see Romans 8:11-13).
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
–Titus 2:11-14 ESV [emphasis mine]
For more information on the “good news” that can change a person from the inside-out, see “Four Spiritual Laws for Experiencing Joy.”