Immune System and The Fruit Of The Spirit

Our Immune System and the Fruit of Spirit

There are at least nine different types of cells that function with the immune system of the body. Each has a different function. It is interesting that they have a similarity to the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit in one's life is assuredly associated with the physical immune system and the health of one's body. "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (III John 1:2).

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23)

Please understand that I am not a medical doctor, but a student of the research done by those in that profession. Kuby Immunology was the source of study of the immune system. If are a Christian physician who can do a better comparison than that which I have done, your response would be appreciated. Please contact me.

1. B cell = Secretes antibodies and is also a memory cell.

Love = Agape (A self giving type of love).

a. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
b.. Romans 12:20 "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head."

c. Proverbs 10:12 "Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins."

d. I Corinthians 1:1-8 "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away." (The word "charity" means love).

2. Eosinophil = Anti-parasitic

Joy = Joy (Having a merry heart).
a. Proverbs 17:22 "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."
b. Proverbs 15:15 "All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast."

c. Nehemiah 8:10 "Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

3. Basophil = Has a major role in development of allergic response.

Peace = State of contentment even in the midst of adversity.

a. Proverbs 16:7 "When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him."
b. Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

c. Proverbs 3:2 "For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee."

d. I Thessalonians 5:23 "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

4. T cell = Eliminates altered self-cells: long term immunity.

Longsuffering = Patience (enduring hardship).

a. Ephesians 4:2 "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. " (supporting one another in the midst of conflict).
b. Colossians 1:11 "Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness." (Patience and strength go together).

c. II Corinthians 1:6 "And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation." ("enduring" = synonym).

5. Neutrophil = First response to inflammation.

Gentleness = Moral goodness, integrity, and kindness.

a. II Samuel 22:36 "Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great."
b. Ephesians 4:32 "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." ("kind" = root word).

c. Romans 2:4 "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (root word). (changes the life of others).

6. Null cell = Anti-tumor and anti-viral cell.

Goodness = Uprightness of heart and life, goodness, kindness. (Wholesomeness).

a. Romans 15:14 "And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another."
b. II Thessalonians 1:11 "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power."

c. Jeremiah 31:12 "Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all."

d. Psalm 144:2 "My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me."

7. Dendritic cell = Potent antigen-presenting cell (seems to stand alone with no activation needed).

Faith = A conviction of truth which produces action.

a. Habakkuk 2:4 "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith."
b. Luke 8:48 "And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace." (Jesus healed the woman with the issue of blood).

c. Romans 4:19-29 "And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God."

8. Monocyte = Differentiate into the next cell (macrophages).

Meekness = Strength submitted under authority. (A stallion who will turn at the gentle tug of the reins).

a. Psalm 22:26 "The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever."
b. Psalm 149:4 "For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation."

c. Psalm 25:9 "The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way."

d. I Peter 3:4 "But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."

9. Macrophage = Secretes hydorlytic enzymes, soluble factors,and cytotoxic proteins (to build new cells).

Temperance = Self control (One who is master over his desires and appetites).

a. II Peter 1:6 "And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness." (part of body building).
b. I Corinthians 9:25 "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible."

c. Titus 1:7-8 "For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate."

How does one produce the Fruit of the Spirit?

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." (John 15:1-7)

The answer is really quite simple. For us to produce the "Fruit of the Spirit" we must ABIDE in Jesus and in the Word. We must spend time daily in prayer and fellowship with Jesus. We must also spend time reading, memorizing, meditating upon, and applying the Word of God. This also implies that we are to be thankful, praise God and worship with other Believers. If we do these things we will produce the Fruit of the Spirit. Jesus said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you" (John 15:16).

However, in contrast, if we ABIDE in the things of the world and of the flesh, we will also produce the fruit associated with those things. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Galatians 6:7-8). It is interesting that the word translated "corruption" can also be translated "destruction" and "perish", as well as corruption. Diseases corrupt our bodies, they destroy our physical health, and cause our bodies to perish.

Therefore, the real question is, "What will what you are abiding in produce?" If your life is your work, what fruit will your work produce? If you live to be entertained, what fruit will the entertainment produce? If your life is your friends, what fruit will your life produce? If your life is reading, what fruit will your reading produce? If your life is your hobby, what fruit will your hobby produce? If your life is meditation, what fruit will your meditation produce?

Will what you are ABIDING in produce a strong immune system to protect your body or will it produce a weak immune system that will allow your body to be destroyed by allergies, viruses, bacterial infections, antigens, and parasites?