Christopher Wright is a scholar with a pastoral heart who is a joy to read. With faithfulness to the text he gives you something for your soul. Having loved his Old Testament commentaries in the past, I just recently learned what a great expositor he is. He knows how to pull out what is transforming from the text. In this case, we learn so much about life in the Spirit.

This volume can be approached from two points. First, it can be captivating devotional reading. In fact, that’s how I approached it as I read it from cover to cover. Second, it’s a fine volume to put on the Galatians section of your shelves for its study on the fruit of the spirit. I intend to keep it there for the second use as well.

His quotation of a lovely prayer of John Stott in his Introduction gets your mind in the right spiritual frame. He explained beautifully the opposite errors of moral license and legalism and how a proper study of the fruit of the spirit will keep you between those two extremes. He further explains that this list is not just a list of virtues corresponding and contrasting with the works of the flesh. As he says, if that is all this list was, it would be no more than a list of rules. He says, “a tree does not bear fruit by keeping the laws of nature, but simply because it is a living tree, being and doing what a tree is and does when it is alive”.

Chapters 1-9 cover in turn each of the items that make up the fruit of the spirit. In every chapter, he well defines what Paul meant by the word and illustrates it from all parts of the Bible. Every chapter was outstanding, but for some reason I especially loved chapter 9 on faithfulness. Faithfulness, he says, means being trustworthy and dependable. That’s a great thought to read back into faithfulness in the Christian life.

This book is perfect for any Christian, from the pastor to the newest Christian. I highly recommend it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.