The Sixth Fruit is Goodness
Within the context of the fruit of the Spirit,
“goodness” is the state of consistently and unselfishly doing what is
beneficial to others. It’s more about generosity and working for justice than
about following rules. Further, “goodness” is a way of seeing. This goes back to our verse in 1 Corinthians 13:5 in which we’re told that love keeps no account
of evil and expects the best of everyone: remembering that we are all created
in the likeness and image of God (Genesis
1:26).
We are prompted to perform good
works in response to God’s great love for us. It’s not self-generated. It’s
God-generated. Our catalyst to perform good works has to be compassion for
people, not just a duty to perform. When God puts a good work in our hearts,
we’ll know that it’s Him, we won’t suffer burnout from trying to work in our
own strength. We won’t pat our own selves on the back; we’ll give Him the
glory. Goodness has to begin with love.
God is Good
Even in Old Testament times, the
writers knew that God is good. They didn’t even have the knowledge of the free
salvation that we have now through our belief in Christ. They just knew that
God was good, based on His record and on His promises. King David and the
additional authors of the Psalms knew that God is good. They pointed out that
He gives food to eat, He placed us in families, He doesn’t give us the
punishment we deserve when we do wrong. He even provides oil for our skin and
wine for our enjoyment!
1 Chronicles 16:34 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.” This
same refrain is repeated in Psalm 106:1, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 118:1, and Psalm
136:1
2 Chronicles 5:13 “For He is Good, His mercy endures forever.”
Psalm 65:11 “You crown the year with Your goodness and Your paths drip
with abundance.”
Evidence of God’s Goodness
Psalm 68:5-6 “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God
in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those
who are bound into prosperity.”
Psalm 68: 19 “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation.”
Psalm 103:3 “He forgives our sins and heals our diseases.”
Psalm 103:4 “He redeems our lives from destruction and crowns us with
lovingkindness and tender mercies.”
Psalm 103:5 “He satisfies our mouth with good things so that our youth
is renewed.”
Psalm 103:6 “He executes righteousness and justice for all who are
oppressed.”
Psalm 103:8 “He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding
in mercy.”
Psalm 103:10 “He has not punished us according to our sins.”
Psalm 104: 14-15 “He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and
vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth.
15. And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And
bread which strengthens man’s heart.”
Psalm 113:7 “He raises the poor out of the dust, And lifts the needy
out of the ash heap.”
Psalm 113:9 “He grants the barren woman a home, Like a joyful mother of
children. Praise the Lord!”
God’s Righteousness
By all the scriptures above, we see
that God is good. This was acknowledged by the Psalmists even before the
finished work of Christ at the cross. They knew then that God is good. We have
an even greater revelation of God’s goodness: the privilege of receiving
right-standing with Him. God freely gives us His gift of salvation and He
freely loads us with daily blessings. We can’t earn this or work for it. We
receive the benefits of God because of His goodness. Hebrews 1:2 tells us that “(God)
has in these last days spoken to us by His Son…” By believing and confessing
the finished work of Jesus at the cross, we receive right standing with God.
This “right-standing” is called “righteousness,” it comes through our faith in
the Lord Jesus the Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah).
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Scriptures teach that Jesus was the incarnate Christ,
the true Son and visible representation of the invisible God. Scriptures
further teach that He gave His life on the cross, as a sacrifice for the
forgiveness of sin, and that He arose from the dead on the third day and He is
seated at the right hand of the Father.
2 Corinthians 4:4 “…Christ, who is the image of God…”
Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
over all creation.”
Hebrews 1:3 “(His Son) who being the brightness of His glory and the
express image of His person…”
Our “Good Works” are to glorify Him
Our goodness is a gift from God.
Our salvation was provided by God’s kindness not by any good works that we
could possibly do to earn it. Our inclination to perform good works is a result
of our gratitude towards God for giving us this free gift of righteousness.
Once inclined to do good works, as a response to the goodness of God, the
Bible encourages us to show goodness, so
that God will be glorified!
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works and glorify your Father.”
1 Peter 2:12 “having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that
when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which
they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
The above passage is expressed in a
different way in The Message Bible Translation by Eugene H. Peterson:
1 Peter 2: 11-12The
Message (MSG)
11-12 Friends,
this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge
your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives
so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to
God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.
Goodness in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, God
repeatedly told His people to practice goodness among each other: Isaiah
1:17 “Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the
fatherless; Plead for the widow; The Israelites were so pleased with
themselves, bragging that they had observed all the “fasts” and the Holy Days,
but God let them know that the kind of “fast” He requires is that we stop exploiting
the poor, feed the hungry, and give shelter and clothing to those who go
without. He told the Israelites (and by extension, us) to look out for the most
vulnerable members of society: the widows, the orphans, and exploited workers.
Isaiah 58:6-7 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the
bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the
naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?”
John the Baptist’s Instructions in Goodness
When John the Baptist began his
ministry beside the Jordan River , he preached
a message of repentance. Although this was before Jesus’ ministry began, John
told the people that someone mightier than him would be coming, but for now to
repent and be baptized. The people
wanted to know what they could do to show that they had received salvation
through repentance. John gave them specific and active acts of goodness spelled
out to each person in their particular situation. To repent simply means to
“change your mind.” John encouraged specific people to show how they had
“changed their minds” through performing specific acts. Note that these acts
all have to do with justice and generosity. He tells the person with two sets
of clothes to share one. He tells the tax collectors to stop cheating the
people. He tells the soldiers to stop trying to collect bribes by intimidation.
To the person who had abundance: Luke 3:11 “…He who has two tunics, let him
give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
To the tax collector: Luke 3:13 “…collect no more than what is
appointed for you.”
To the soldier: Luke 3:14 “…do not intimidate anyone or
accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”
Jesus’ Compassion for People
Jesus’ compassion for people is
evidenced by His willingness to sacrifice His life so that we can be free from
both the penalty and the bondage of sin. During His ministry as a human being
on earth, he also demonstrated His love for us by His teachings, His healings,
and His miracles of abundance. In Matthew 14, Jesus heard about the death of
John the Baptist. Jesus left the crowds in order to spend some time alone.
Verse 13 says that although He left by boat, people found out where He went and
followed on foot to find Him. Although He left to spend time alone (in response
to His hearing about the death of John the Baptist), once He saw the crowd of people, according Matthew 14:14-21, He not only
healed their sick, He also miraculously provided food for about five thousand
men, besides women and children. Verse 14: “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with
compassion for them, and healed their sick.” This same compassion led Jesus
to feed the people. These miracles of healing and miracle of abundance are from
the same place: His heart of love. This particular miracle of abundance is
recorded in all four Gospels:
Matthew 14:13-21
Mark 6:36-44
Luke 9:11-17
John 6:5-13
Just one chapter over, in Matthew 15:29-38, the same thing happens
again, first there is healing, and then there is feeding. In this instance,
Jesus had just had the exchange with the Canaanite woman and had healed her
daughter then, “Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea
of Galilee , and went up on the mountain and sat down there. Then
great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, muted, maimed,
and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. So
the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole,
the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the
multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing
to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the
way.” Verse 38 tells us “Now those who
ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.” This second set of
healings and miracle of abundance are also recorded in Mark 8:1-9 and Luke 9:12-17
The above miracles of healing and
abundance show Jesus’ love for humanity. He also expects us to show love for
humanity as well. In Matthew 25, He tells us that when we give food to someone
who is hungry, we’re giving it to Him. We’re quenching His thirst when we give
the thirsty something to drink. What we do for the “least of these” we’re doing
for Him.
Matthew 25:34-40 “Then the King will say to those on His right hand,
‘Come , you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty
and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you
clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry
and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see you a stranger and
take You in or naked and clothe You?’ And the king will answer, “Assuredly, I
say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren,
you did it to Me.”
After the death and resurrection of
Christ, Paul wrote in many of the letters to various churches, and to us, The Church, that we are to maintain good
works that show that we indeed God’s people.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
“Goodness” is a fruit of the
Spirit. It is an attribute of God Himself. Just as He is good to us, we should
be careful to show goodness to others. The Bible says that we are to “be imitators of God as dear children (Ephesians 5:1). We must also
remember that our so-called “acts of goodness” must begin in love, a deep
tender feeling of concern for the well-being of others. Remember in the “love
chapter,” 1 Corinthians 13, Paul
wrote in verse 3, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed
the poor…but have not love, it profits me nothing.” The fruit of the Spirit
is love, it is the evidence that God’s Holy Spirit living inside.
