Kindness and Goodness
Last night I ministered on the fruit of the spirit in our ministry meeting and was impressed by the Lord to speak about two of the fruit of the spirit that are very apropos for this Christmas season----gentleness or kindness and goodness.
The fruit of the spirit is a heavenly product. It is born into your spirit when you are born again. You are filled with the fruit of the spirit by faith. They are forces of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Love. Love Himself is the container of the fruit and the developer of it. Love is the fruit bowl that is filled with all the fruit. And in you is Love Himself, God Himself with His nature, which is defined as the fruit of the spirit.
Gentleness is kindness, not harshness or roughness. It is what people see in us as Believers. In Ephesians 2:7 we are told that God shows kindness or goodness of heart to us. Let’s look at this verse in context of the ones around it. God’s goodness or kindness was demonstrated to us throughout all eternity by His seeing us alive with Christ Jesus when He was raised from the dead, by His giving us the opportunity to be saved. He chose to see us as being joint heirs with Jesus as His children. What an act of kindness and goodness. This is our eternal example of kindness and goodness.
Listen to this from the Amplified Bible, verses 4-7. But God----so rich is He in His mercy! Because and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation). And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One. He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.
There are many verses we could share on kindness. Let’s just look at some of them. In 1 Thessalonians 2:7 we are told to be gentle as a nursing mother who cherishes her children. In 2 Timothy 2:24 we are told that the servant of the Lord must be gentle. In James 3:17 we read that God’s wisdom which is from above is peaceable and gentle. In Titus 3:2 we are instructed to be gentle toward everybody. In Proverbs 16:24 and 31:26 we see that pleasant words are nourishment to our bodies and that we are to put the law of kindness on our tongues. And do you know where that law of kindness should start? It should start in our homes with one another, husbands and wives, parents and children. It should go to our neighbors and then to strangers. What about the way we act in stores during this season of the year? Are we pleasant in spite of the stress and busyness of our lives or can anyone even tell the difference between us and the people of the world? Let’s purpose to yield to the Holy Spirit and His fruit in our lives and be a demonstration of Jesus to the shoppers, to the clerks, to everyone around us.
And what about goodness? Goodness goes with kindness or gentleness. People see kindness in us and the goodness that is a result of that kindness. Goodness is being morally sound and excellent. It is being people of integrity who do what is right and can be trusted.
In Luke 6;35 we are told that God is good. He is good to the ungrateful, unthankful, selfish, evil or wicked. That takes a lot. How many ungrateful, unthankful and selfish people have you been kind to and good to lately? That’s a stretch for many of us. James 4:17 tells us that to him who knows to do good and does it not, to him it is sin.
In Romans 2:4 we hear a familiar verse: The goodness of God leads men to repentance. But what about the first part of that verse? Read it in the Amplified Bible. Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repent) to change your mind and inner man to accept God’s will)? I believe we all need to take a good look at ourselves and ask the question---have I been taking God’s kindness and goodness for granted?
In Romans 15:14 we see a verse that we need to confess over ourselves, as Paul was speaking over the people here. I am persuaded that I am full of goodness, rich in goodness….
During this holiday season, this upcoming month of December, let’s focus on Jesus and the fruit of the spirit that has been deposited in us at the new birth, when we accepted all that the Lord has done for us. The development of the fruit of the spirit is not an option if we are to operate in the fullness of the Lord while we are here on this earth. It has been a neglected subject that needs to be addressed because it is the very power of God in operation.
The fruit of the spirit is a heavenly product. It is born into your spirit when you are born again. You are filled with the fruit of the spirit by faith. They are forces of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Love. Love Himself is the container of the fruit and the developer of it. Love is the fruit bowl that is filled with all the fruit. And in you is Love Himself, God Himself with His nature, which is defined as the fruit of the spirit.
Gentleness is kindness, not harshness or roughness. It is what people see in us as Believers. In Ephesians 2:7 we are told that God shows kindness or goodness of heart to us. Let’s look at this verse in context of the ones around it. God’s goodness or kindness was demonstrated to us throughout all eternity by His seeing us alive with Christ Jesus when He was raised from the dead, by His giving us the opportunity to be saved. He chose to see us as being joint heirs with Jesus as His children. What an act of kindness and goodness. This is our eternal example of kindness and goodness.
Listen to this from the Amplified Bible, verses 4-7. But God----so rich is He in His mercy! Because and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation). And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One. He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.
There are many verses we could share on kindness. Let’s just look at some of them. In 1 Thessalonians 2:7 we are told to be gentle as a nursing mother who cherishes her children. In 2 Timothy 2:24 we are told that the servant of the Lord must be gentle. In James 3:17 we read that God’s wisdom which is from above is peaceable and gentle. In Titus 3:2 we are instructed to be gentle toward everybody. In Proverbs 16:24 and 31:26 we see that pleasant words are nourishment to our bodies and that we are to put the law of kindness on our tongues. And do you know where that law of kindness should start? It should start in our homes with one another, husbands and wives, parents and children. It should go to our neighbors and then to strangers. What about the way we act in stores during this season of the year? Are we pleasant in spite of the stress and busyness of our lives or can anyone even tell the difference between us and the people of the world? Let’s purpose to yield to the Holy Spirit and His fruit in our lives and be a demonstration of Jesus to the shoppers, to the clerks, to everyone around us.
And what about goodness? Goodness goes with kindness or gentleness. People see kindness in us and the goodness that is a result of that kindness. Goodness is being morally sound and excellent. It is being people of integrity who do what is right and can be trusted.
In Luke 6;35 we are told that God is good. He is good to the ungrateful, unthankful, selfish, evil or wicked. That takes a lot. How many ungrateful, unthankful and selfish people have you been kind to and good to lately? That’s a stretch for many of us. James 4:17 tells us that to him who knows to do good and does it not, to him it is sin.
In Romans 2:4 we hear a familiar verse: The goodness of God leads men to repentance. But what about the first part of that verse? Read it in the Amplified Bible. Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repent) to change your mind and inner man to accept God’s will)? I believe we all need to take a good look at ourselves and ask the question---have I been taking God’s kindness and goodness for granted?
In Romans 15:14 we see a verse that we need to confess over ourselves, as Paul was speaking over the people here. I am persuaded that I am full of goodness, rich in goodness….
During this holiday season, this upcoming month of December, let’s focus on Jesus and the fruit of the spirit that has been deposited in us at the new birth, when we accepted all that the Lord has done for us. The development of the fruit of the spirit is not an option if we are to operate in the fullness of the Lord while we are here on this earth. It has been a neglected subject that needs to be addressed because it is the very power of God in operation.
posted by Rev. Kialeen Potterton @ 8:26 PM
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