Goodness: Fruit of the Spirit Part 7
“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
I don’t think it would surprise anyone to think that God would want us to be good.
After all, God Himself is unfailingly, invincibly good and it makes sense that His followers would echo that trait. But what exactly does it mean to exhibit God’s goodness in our lives?
The Greek word translated goodness here has the idea of virtue or beneficence. The form used in Galatians 5:22 (goodness) only occurs three other places, but the root word is used throughout the New Testament in a wider sense, just as we use the word good. (i.e. good character, good day, good cheer, etc.)
We can glean much about what goodness is and what it looks like in our lives from a study of these verses, but first, it is necessary to point out that goodness is clearly a work of the Holy Spirit. Like any other fruit of the Spirit, it is not something that naturally occurs in our hearts and lives.
A quick glance through Romans 7 can dispel any notion that Christians attain some sort of “sinless perfection” upon salvation. After all, it was Paul himself who penned the detailed description of the Christian’s battle against sin.
He also penned the next chapter of Romans, which details the victory found in Christ: a victory that can only be accessed through obedience to the Holy Spirit.
So as we look at the quality of goodness, remember that it is not natural, even to the Christian. It will require a moment-by-moment obedience and surrender to the Holy Spirit and the clear commands of Scripture.
Prove and Reprove
“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of the light. (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” (Ephesians 5:8-11)
Goodness flows out of the Holy Spirit’s working in our hearts, and equips us not only to “prove,” or discern, the things that are acceptable to God, but also to reprove those things that are not.
Reproof is neither fun nor easy, but it is necessary. I can think of many times over the years when a brother or sister in Christ has cautioned or admonished me about something I hadn’t realized was even important or pointed out a danger I hadn’t recognized.
When these fellow believers cared enough about me to point out behavior or thinking that did not match up with God’s standard of goodness, they had a significant impact on my growth in Christ.
We cannot reprove others, however, if we ourselves are ignoring the Holy Spirit’s call to goodness in our own life. Reproof without the foundation of Spirit-empowered goodness will not only fail to help your fellow Christian, but actually do harm instead. Effective reproof can only come from a Spirit-led Christian walking in obedience.
Full of Goodness
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. 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.” (Romans 15:13-14)
These verses again connect goodness and reproof, but notice that in order to admonish, or gently reprove, one another, we must not only have a little goodness, (and knowledge, for that matter) we must be filled with it!
The Strong’s definition of the word translated filled gives the useful picture of cramming a net full of fish. That immediately reminds me of the account in the Gospels of Jesus telling Peter to let down the nets, after Peter and the others had toiled all night long to no avail. Yet, Peter chose to respond in obedience, if not faith:
“Nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the net.” (Luke 5:5)
What followed was a miraculous catch, the nets full to the point of breaking, so full, in fact, that the weight of the fish threatened to sink both ships!
Think of how full those nets were, and then carry that picture in your mind’s eye as you consider Paul’s statement that the Roman believers were “full of goodness.” We are to be filled to bursting, to overflow with the virtue and beneficence of God. Is that true of you?
Women and Goodness
There are four passages in the New Testament linking women with this characteristic of goodness. This first passage comes from a discourse on caring for widows in the church:
“Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man, Well reported of good for good works; if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work” (1 Timothy 5:9-10)
The areas of good works listed give a picture of a woman characterized by goodness: generous with her hospitality towards strangers, humble in service to other believers, gentle and helpful to those going through affliction, diligent in searching out ways to do good.
That is the kind of widow God wants the church to honor with special care and protection.
This brings up several applications to us: could those qualifications be spotted in our own lives by those around us? Is there any widow in our local churches who ought to be shown special care and honor for a life exhibiting such wholehearted dedication to goodness? How can we encourage such qualities in our fellow believers?
The answer to that last question is simply to allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate goodness in our own hearts and lives, so that we can be used to influence others, both by example and by gentle reproof.
Next is a passage that defines what Christian women are to be and do:
“The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the Word of God be not blasphemed.” (Titus 2:3-5)
Notice that the older women are to teach “good things,” and among the things they are to teach the young women is goodness. As a woman, I am to both be good and teach the next generation to be good.
A simple application for you and me is to ask ourselves: who is there that God wants me to learn from as I grow in goodness, and who is there whom He would have me teach His goodness to?
Regardless of your age and season of life, there is always someone both ahead of and behind you in the Christian life. God’s Word calls us to be humble students and teachers, often simultaneously.
1 Timothy 2:9-10 is another well-known passage, this time dealing with what should characterize a Christian woman’s appearance.
Though verse 9 is where the focus shifts to women, I am including verse 8, which gives us the helpful context of the “In like manner” of verse 9:
“I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.”
Notice that this passage makes reference to the attitude of prayer in the verse before: an attitude of holy reverence. It is in this same attitude of holy reverence that women are to adorn themselves.
It is reverence for the holy God who calls us up to His definition of goodness that should motivate us to dress in modest apparel, soberly considering what we wear, seeking out and humbly submitting to the Holy Spirit’s prompting concerning the appropriateness of our attire.
When others look at us, they should be struck most of all by goodness. Much more could be said on this topic, but I think the best summary application for you and me is the following question: Does my choice of attire reflect goodness?
Goodness for All Believers
Of course, goodness is not just expected of women: the fruit of the Spirit is the goal for every believer, whether male or female, but God does emphasize goodness as a quality which should specifically characterize Christian women.
However, there are also many general admonitions to goodness in Scripture, such as 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17:
“Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.”
The same God who loves us and gives us everlasting comfort and hope through His grace also establishes us in “every good word and work.” It is not only our actions which are to reflect the goodness of God, but our words as well. Ephesians 4:29 says,
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
That which is good. Not only that which is simply not bad or wicked, but that which is positively good, that which is useful to build up, will minister grace to those who hear it. That is how our words ought to be. Our words, just like our appearance and actions, have a significant role in reflecting God’s goodness to others.
We are also told to follow after, or pursue, goodness:
“See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15)
Following after goodness will cause us not to seek revenge, but rather to trust God to make all things right in His time. Again, at the end of a passage admonishing us not to seek vengeance, Romans 12:21 tells us,
“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
By yielding to the Holy Spirit and choosing to respond in faith, we are freed from the bondage of bitterness, hate, and anger. We are free to choose instead to bear the full fruit of the Spirit in our interactions, even with those who are our enemies.
Just a handful of verses previously, we find in Romans 12:9 the call to
“Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.”
Notice again the connection between agape love and goodness. When we love sincerely, with Holy-Spirit inspired love, we will truly abhor anything that is evil, and we will cleave, literally be stuck or glued to, that which is good.
When we are walking in the Spirit, goodness will be as much a part of who we are as if we had glued it permanently to our hearts.
That the Name of Christ be Glorified
“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: That the nae of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)
Paul through the Holy Spirit prayed that God would fulfil “all the good pleasure of His goodness” in the believers so that Christ would be glorified in them and they in Him. What does that mean for us?
Holy Spirit-led goodness leads to God’s glory, but also to our glorification in Him. Thayer’s definition of this Greek word is “to adorn with glory.”
In other words, Christ is adorned with glory when we live out His goodness through the power of the Holy Spirit, and we in turn are adorned with His glory as we reflect His character.
Growing Goodness
So where does the reflection of God’s goodness begin? Jesus told a parable about a sower who went out to sow seed. As he scattered the seed, some fell on rocky ground, some on hard packed earth, and some on good ground. Jesus explained,
“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:15)
Goodness begins with the Word of God, for that is the way God has chosen to reveal to us what He defines as good.
As we saturate ourselves in Scripture, we will recognize what God calls good, and what He calls bad. We will see things as God sees them, because we have taken the time to get to know Him through His Word.
Remember the account of Mary and Martha? Martha’s complaint that she was doing all the work while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, doing nothing was met with the following statement:
“But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42)
It’s not enough simply to know God’s definition of goodness. In order to bear the fruit of the Spirit, we must choose the “good part.” We must choose to spend time in the presence of God, humbly learning what He desires to teach us. God Himself is where any goodness of ours comes from. Will we care to cultivate it?