There are many passages in the Bible that are difficult to understand. We may labor to figure out not only what they mean, but also what they mean to us—to grasp the intent of the original author and the ways in which his words apply to our lives. There are other passages, though, that don’t tax us to quite the same degree. Yet even these passages challenge us when it comes to faithfully applying them so we become more like Christ.
Galatians 5:22–23 is not the most demanding of all passages when it comes to understanding it. When we read it, we quickly understand that God means for our lives to bear specific kinds of fruit. Simple. Yet few of us are content with the evidence of that fruit in our lives. Not so simple. So why the gap between the meaning of the passage and its reality in our lives?
Alistair Begg’s new book We Will Be Changed: 9 Inner Glories the Spirit Is Cultivating in You is an exposition of the fruit of the Spirit, and it begins with a call for Christians to live lives that are markedly different from the lives of unbelievers. “Ours is a divided and disappointed age. But there is a way to live that makes people see that you have what they don’t—that makes them see that Christian faith makes a genuine difference to what a person is like and how they navigate life with peace and joy. The reverse, of course, is also true: it is possible to live in such a way that onlookers gain the distinct impression that a profession of belief makes no discernible difference.”
Why is this so important? “When Christians look like Christ, we glorify God and impact the world. … What the church needs today is not primarily better programs or better apologetic resources or better buildings or more financial resources or greater political sway. What the church needs is Christians of increasingly Christlike character, so that what is found inside the church is radically different than the world outside the church.”
What God cares about is not so much our achievements, qualifications, or accolades, but our character. It is distinctly Christian character that makes the gospel look great—powerful, transformative, and divine.
Yet there is a danger that comes with any book on this subject. “The danger of a book such as this is that its main result is to leave you resolving to put more effort into progressing in the Christian life. But the humbling truth is that you cannot grow this fruit yourself. It is the fruit of the Spirit, and you will need to depend on him and look to him to form this character in you. Yet, at the same time, you are not called to just sit quietly and wait for it to happen.” Thus, key to understanding this change in character is knowing that it is produced in us, not by us. “It is the work of the Spirit. God cares about your character enough to be at work on your character.”
With a strong foundation laid, Begg then spends a chapter looking at each of the “nine inner glories whose presence (or lack) will reveal itself in what we say and what we do. This is a picture of an internal godliness that makes a practical difference.” He moves at a good clip, but offers enough detail that the reader can easily understand what each characteristic entails and what it looks like in the life of the Christian. He traces the kind of character that makes the Christian so distinct and, in the eyes of God, so beautiful.
Fittingly, Begg doesn’t close with a call to double down on effort, but with a prayer of reliance upon the One whose joy it is to change us from within. “I hope you are finishing this book with a desire to be more like Jesus, with a confidence that his Spirit is changing you to be like Jesus, and with an aim to keep in step with the Spirit’s work in your life—to actively depend on him.”
The joy of We Will Be Changed is in the title—God has resolved that we will be changed. God has willed it and, by grace, will accomplish it. This book is a call for every Christian to understand his will, to understand his work, to joyfully keep in step with his Spirit, and to confidently rely upon him as he accomplishes a wondrous work within us. Because God is accomplishing this work in each of his people, this is a book that will bless each of his people, including you.
