22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,...."
In looking at this passage about the fruit of the Spirit, we first need to notice 
the contrast between this verse and the one after and the deeds of the flesh mentioned in verses 19-21. The deeds of the flesh are obvious and destructive and mainly self centered in nature. Yet, the fruit of the Spirit are not called acts of our own, but rather by products of the Spirits works in our lives. Paul referenced over 169 times that we are "in Christ, in him or in the Lord, in the beloved" in his writings. This means that as a believer, the Holy Spirit has come to work within us and to change us from the inside out. We don't do this by our own effort, but rather we are called in John 15:5 to abide in him because we can do nothing without him.
The list of the fruit of the spirit starts with the primary fruit which is love. In 1 Corinthians 13:4 it says that this love is patient, kind, and is not jealous, does not brag and is not arrogant. This is an agape kind of love that starts with loving God and then loving others. John felt it was so important that it is primary in his letter of 1 John as he states in 1 John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God." God first demonstrated this love to us by sending his son to die for us and that Christ would willingly go to the cross for us out of that love.
Paul goes on to list other qualities of the fruit of the Spirit. The question is "Do I see these by products of the Spirit growing in my life?" The qualities in verse 22 are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Is there evidence that the spirit is at work in my life or is the Spirit quenched by some sin or area of my life that I am not willing to give over to him. I have to surrender every area of my life and die to self, so that I can live for him. God cannot give his good gifts to those who are already holding on as hard as they can to the world and everything in it. Do not love the world 1 John 2:15-16.
One of the attributes here that may seem self explanatory, but really needs to be looked at more is the word "patience" or in greek makrothymia which means to be patient, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance. This is similar to what is said in Romans 5:3-4. Patience is the long suffering, the long mindedness to bear with the frailities and provocations of others, from the standpoint of understanding that God is patient with each of us when we don't deserve it. As James says, we all stumble in many ways James 3:2 it helps to remember that we are all subject to a flesh that doesn't want to do God's will. Each believer is in a constant battle to submit themselves to the Spirit. It is a patience that understands that we all fall short.
I cannot overstate the importance of understanding these are qualities of the spirit and not qualities of the flesh. The Spirit is clear that as a believer my objective is to stay close to God and abide in Him. If I have a glory it is only a reflective glory and not one of my own making. In Psalm 1:3 it says that the bless man is like a tree firmly planted by streams of water and it yields its fruit in its season. There is a time for pruning John 15:1-5 and a time to bear fruit. One happens and then the other. If you resist the time of pruning you will not see the fruit you otherwise would have Hebrews 12:11.
