Gentleness: Fruit of the Spirit Part 6
“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
When I looked up the word gentleness in my Strong’s concordance, I found that this particular word is only translated gentleness here in Galatians 5:22. The same word is also translated elsewhere in the New Testament as kindness, graciousness, and once (in Matthew 11:30) it is translated easy. Its official definition also includes moral excellence in character or demeanor.
The gentleness of the Holy Spirit encompasses all these things: from moral excellence to gentleness and kindness, to “easy” treatment of others, not harsh or exacting. It is what God Himself put on display when He chose to offer salvation to sinners who were unworthy, yet beloved by God.
The Gentleness of God
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7)
God is glorified by His gentle kindness towards mankind. It was kindness to the utterly undeserving that prompted Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. It was moral excellence of the highest degree that satisfied justice at the expense of selfless sacrifice by the Judge Himself. It was gentleness that responded in mercy and love to those dead in sins who deserved punishment in hell for ever.
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus calls out,
“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
We tend to define easy as requiring little or no effort, but this word is used in the older sense of the word: to ease a pain or burden, or to put someone at ease, to comfort or make comfortable. Christ bore the full weight of our sin, that He might offer to us His “easy” burden in exchange. This is the gentleness of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for His sheep (John 10:11).
It is the gentleness of the Lord that saves and keeps us, and it is also His gentleness that motivates us to live Christlike lives, treating others with the same gentleness God has demonstrated towards us. In Luke 6:35, Jesus tells us,
“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”
Here we see not only the kindness (same word as gentleness) of God, but also longsuffering. Christ calls us to a life of humbly doing right, whether or not we see a return, without even expecting any return for our kindness. That is the gentleness of God in action.
A Taste for the Word
Not only is the gentleness of God to motivate us to the same kind of unselfish kindness He has shown us, it is also to cause us to thirst after God. 1 Peter 2:1-3 says,
“Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
The word translated taste in this verse has the idea of experiencing. The more we experience God’s graciousness, the more motivated we will be to learn and obey and invite others to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8)
We will desire to feed on God’s Word, to grow in our relationship with Him and our knowledge of Him. We will love the Word of God more and more because of the gracious God revealed within its pages. We will delight to obey the One who has shown such gentle kindness to us, and in our obedience find God more gracious still. It is a blessed cycle rooted in the truth that God is gracious.
Titus 3 also describes the motivating power of God’s gentleness (translated here as kindness.)
“Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness to all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (vv.3-7)
This passage showcases the gentleness of God towards us “while we were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8) and reminds us to show the same kind of selfless gentleness towards others.
That the Ministry be Not Blamed
The call to imitate Christ is all-encompassing, reaching every area of life and every situation we face. Whatever others may do, you and I are called to respond as Christ would, in gentleness.
The apostle Paul is a good example of this all-encompassing call. Though recognizing himself as a sinner, even the “chief” of sinners (1 Timothy 1:5), he still strove to live in obedience to the Holy Spirit, to the point of being able to tell the believers in Corinth as well as Philippi to follow his example as he followed the example of Christ. (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; Philippians 3:17)
I wonder, can others be led to greater Christlikeness by following our example? It is a convicting thought, but as Christians, Jesus tells us
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
Paul was not perfect by any means, but because of his consistent attentiveness and obedience to the Holy Spirit, he was able to call his fellow believers to grow in their own obedience. His pleas were often based in his own testimony of Christlike conduct among them, such as in 2 Corinthians, where he beseeches the believers not to receive the grace of God in vain, but to walk in obedience to the Lord’s commands. This is what he reminds them of concerning himself and Timothy,
“Giving no offense in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the Word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left (6:3-7)
Paul’s point here is that his and Timothy’s conduct before the believers to whom he is writing not only serves as an example of how a Christian should (and can) behave, but also validates their message. You cannot call others to a higher standard than you yourself are willing to meet, nor will you convince others of a truth you are not living out.
This is why our behavior as Christians is so important. Saved and lost alike, how others see us act will often determine whether or not they are willing to listen to what we have to say. As followers of Christ, we bear the responsibility of representing Him to the world around us, “that the ministry be not blamed.”
That is why Colossians 3:12-13 tells us,
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”
When we are walking in the Spirit, choosing to obey the clear commands of Scripture and the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we will treat others with kind-hearted gentleness, as well as longsuffering, meekness, humility, and compassion.
Forgiveness
The fruit of the Spirit will result in the kind treatment of others, which in turn will result in forgiveness. Although forgiveness is not listed in Galatians as a fruit of the Spirit, bearing the fruit of the Spirit will nevertheless require you to forgive, because an unforgiving heart is exactly the opposite of the heart of God towards mankind.
Notice in Colossians 3:13 that we are to forgive “as Christ forgave you.” This means that there is no wrong too great for us to forgive, for there is no wrong too great for Christ to forgive.
Perhaps your heart rebels at the call to forgiveness, feeling it is simply too hard, even impossible to forgive. Dear reader, remember your own sin, and how heinous it is in the eyes of God. Then remember that Christ not only chose to forgive you that heinous sin, but that He also chose to suffer and die in order to do so.
Forgiveness will only take place when you surrender your anger, hurt, bitterness, and fears to God, choosing to forgive. As you make that decision to obey, He will empower you to forgive.
God has shown His gentleness to each of us in innumerable ways. When we choose to yield our will, our schedule, and our cherished “rights” to God, He will in turn give us a heart that responds to others with the unfailing gentleness He has first shown to us.
“Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation: and Thy right hand hath holden me up, and Thy gentleness hath made me great.” (Psalm 18:35)