Last week we examined goodness, agathosune, "moral excellence, striving to be like God". This is not an attempt to become God, but an effort to become more like Him in what we do, and who we are. It is something we will never attain, but something that we are called to continuously strive towards.
Out of goodness comes the next attribute listed in the Fruit of the Spirit, Faithfulness. The Greek word is pistis, translated as "good faith, honestly, integrity". I love words, and sometimes with word definitions I look up the definition of words withing the definition. I looked up honesty, "truthfulness, sincerity, frankness; uprightness, firmness" and integrity, "adherence to moral and ethical principles." Pistis carries the idea of trustworthiness.
As we studied this characteristic we looked at three stories in the Bible. The first is the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife in Genesis 39. Joseph is in Egypt after being sold by his brothers. In Egypt he is bought Potiphar and God blesses Joseph. Potiphar puts Joseph in charge of his house, and God blesses Potiphar because of Joseph.
Potiphar's wife notices that Joseph is a rather good looking fellow, and tries to seduce him. Repeatedly she offers herself to him and each time he says no. One day Joseph goes into the house to do his work, but none of the other servants are there. Potiphar's wife grabs his robe in another attempt, but he flees and leaves it in her hands. A lie is started, Joseph is falsely accused and thrown into prison, but in prison God still shows him favor and he is put in charge of the prison. Eventually, Joseph is released, God shows him favor again and he is made second in command of Egypt. Joseph goes from a slave to one of the most powerful men in the world.
With Joseph we see faithfulness to God. He served his earthly masters well and refused to compromise even when he could have. We see his faithfulness to people as well. He respect Potiphar's marriage, again, he worked hard and did well. God blesses this faithfulness.
Next we looked at Daniel, and Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. In Daniel 1 we see that the four of them refuse to eat the food of the king and choose to eat only vegetables. God blesses them and gives them favor and wisdom. In both Daniel 3 and Daniel 6, we see that these four men are each given an opportunity to deny God by either bowing to an idol or praying to the king. If they don't the face death. But all four of them refuse to worship any one but God.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, are thrown into the furnace, but God saves them. Daniel is cast into the lion's den, but God closes the lion's mouths and Daniel is spared. The were faithful to God, and God protected and blessed their faithfulness.
In these we saw positive examples of faithfulness. In all of these stories we see men who had the opportunity to compromise but refused. This is faithfulness, but faithfulness has another aspect. Sometimes we do compromise, sometimes we do mess up, but in this we can still show faithfulness.
2 Samuel 11, David, the man after God's own heart, commits adultery and then murder. In 2 Samuel 12 the prophet Nathan comes to David and calls him out on his sin. David responds, "I have sinned against the LORD." David owned his sin. That is honesty, that is integrity, that is pistis.
As I strive for goodness, faithfulness comes out of it. Goodness stems from kindness which is doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Kindness comes from patience, taking the endurance of hardship without complaint or retaliation to the next level. Patience comes from the contentment of peace. Peace comes from joy, the reason to rejoice. The reason to rejoice is the unconditional love which we have from God.
Peace be with you
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
...Goodness...
Let's start this week with review. So far in our journey through the Fruit of the Spirit I've talked about five:
LOVE: agape, the unconditional love that God has for us, the love that I am to have for others, and also the love that I am to have for God. This is love expressed through action. Love comes from God, the ability to give and receive love is a gift from God.
JOY: chara, the source of joy or the reason for rejoicing. I can be joyful always and consider it pure joy when I face trials (1 Thessalonians 5/James 1) because chara is not a feeling but the source of that feeling. My source of joy is the unconditional love that I have from God.
PEACE: eirene, contentment and tranquility. I have peace with my circumstances no matter what they are because I have a reason to rejoice, which comes from the unconditional love I have from God.
PATIENCE: makpothumia, enduring hardship or trials without complain or retaliation. I can endure hardships, I can survive because I am content, I am content because of my reason to rejoice, the unconditional love from God.
KINDNESS: chrestotes, goodness expressed in action. This is doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Praying for my enemies, giving my enemy water when he is thirsty. I can do this because I endure the hardships without retaliating, because I am content in my source of joy, the unconditional love I have because I belong to God.
I said in the beginning that they all build upon each other. The foundation is God, and they all point to God, and with that we look at Goodness.
A few months ago when I really started to look at the fruit of the spirit this aspect really stood out to me. The word in Greek is agathosune (pronounced a-gath-o [long o]- soon- a [long a]) which translates as "goodness, virtue, generosity". When I walked through these with the teens I work with I would always look up the English definition for each word, this one gave some very interesting results.
good·ness
–noun
1. the state or quality of being good.
2. moral excellence; virtue.
3. kindly feeling; kindness; generosity.
4. excellence of quality: goodness of workmanship.
5. the best part of anything; essence; strength.
6. a euphemism for god
A euphemism for god. I said that this one really stood out to me when I first started to look at the Fruit of the Spirit. As I prayed through them I tried to understand them, and when I got to goodness a verse came to my mind.
Mark 10.17-18, "As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, 'Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' And Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.'"
No one is good but God alone. The word used here is agathos, the root of goodness. The word good means excellence in being. The very core is perfect, absolutely perfect, no flaws, no impurities, completely perfect. This is only true of God.
Agathosune describes the moral quality which is described by agathos. Someone who is agathos does not just do something good, but they embody goodness. Their desires are characterized by goodness and they desire to both do and be morally excellent, perfect. Again this is only true of God.
But we are to strive to be like God, not to be God, but to become more like Him daily. To do this we strive to do the things of God and to do the things that God would do. We seek to love like He does, to serve like He does, and to care like He does.
We will never attain the moral excellence, the absolute perfection of God, it isn't possible, but we are to constantly strive after it. Paul talks about it in Philippians 3, "Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
I am striving daily to become more like Christ. The prayer for goodness, is the prayer that my life will reflect God in all that I do. That people will look at me and not see me, but will see the Lord who lives through me.
"Help me to love like you loved, to serve like you served, to speak only words of truth. Help me to care like you cared for a world in despair, help me to love like you."
-Jonny Diaz, Love Like You Loved
Peace be with you
LOVE: agape, the unconditional love that God has for us, the love that I am to have for others, and also the love that I am to have for God. This is love expressed through action. Love comes from God, the ability to give and receive love is a gift from God.
JOY: chara, the source of joy or the reason for rejoicing. I can be joyful always and consider it pure joy when I face trials (1 Thessalonians 5/James 1) because chara is not a feeling but the source of that feeling. My source of joy is the unconditional love that I have from God.
PEACE: eirene, contentment and tranquility. I have peace with my circumstances no matter what they are because I have a reason to rejoice, which comes from the unconditional love I have from God.
PATIENCE: makpothumia, enduring hardship or trials without complain or retaliation. I can endure hardships, I can survive because I am content, I am content because of my reason to rejoice, the unconditional love from God.
KINDNESS: chrestotes, goodness expressed in action. This is doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Praying for my enemies, giving my enemy water when he is thirsty. I can do this because I endure the hardships without retaliating, because I am content in my source of joy, the unconditional love I have because I belong to God.
I said in the beginning that they all build upon each other. The foundation is God, and they all point to God, and with that we look at Goodness.
A few months ago when I really started to look at the fruit of the spirit this aspect really stood out to me. The word in Greek is agathosune (pronounced a-gath-o [long o]- soon- a [long a]) which translates as "goodness, virtue, generosity". When I walked through these with the teens I work with I would always look up the English definition for each word, this one gave some very interesting results.
good·ness
–noun
1. the state or quality of being good.
2. moral excellence; virtue.
3. kindly feeling; kindness; generosity.
4. excellence of quality: goodness of workmanship.
5. the best part of anything; essence; strength.
6. a euphemism for god
A euphemism for god. I said that this one really stood out to me when I first started to look at the Fruit of the Spirit. As I prayed through them I tried to understand them, and when I got to goodness a verse came to my mind.
Mark 10.17-18, "As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, 'Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' And Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.'"
No one is good but God alone. The word used here is agathos, the root of goodness. The word good means excellence in being. The very core is perfect, absolutely perfect, no flaws, no impurities, completely perfect. This is only true of God.
Agathosune describes the moral quality which is described by agathos. Someone who is agathos does not just do something good, but they embody goodness. Their desires are characterized by goodness and they desire to both do and be morally excellent, perfect. Again this is only true of God.
But we are to strive to be like God, not to be God, but to become more like Him daily. To do this we strive to do the things of God and to do the things that God would do. We seek to love like He does, to serve like He does, and to care like He does.
We will never attain the moral excellence, the absolute perfection of God, it isn't possible, but we are to constantly strive after it. Paul talks about it in Philippians 3, "Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
I am striving daily to become more like Christ. The prayer for goodness, is the prayer that my life will reflect God in all that I do. That people will look at me and not see me, but will see the Lord who lives through me.
"Help me to love like you loved, to serve like you served, to speak only words of truth. Help me to care like you cared for a world in despair, help me to love like you."
-Jonny Diaz, Love Like You Loved
Peace be with you
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
...Kindness...
Kindness, noun "the state or quality of being kind; a kind act; favor; kind behavior; friendly feeling; liking." This is one that isn't too far off from the original Greek meaning. The Greek word for Kindness is chrestotes (pronounced hre-stot-as [long a]) and is essentially translated as goodness in action, expressing itself in deeds.
As I studied this word and saw its meaning a quote came to mind that I heard several years ago, "Your talk talks, and your walk talks; but your walk talks louder than your talk talks." Normally people have to look at that one a couple times to get it. But that's the idea of chrestotes. Kindness is doing the right thing because its the right thing to do.
For this one we look at the story found in 2 Samuel 9, David and Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was the the son of Jonathan, and the grandson of King Saul. Based on blood line, he is the heir to the throne. But we see in 1 Samuel 13 that Saul is rejected as king and in 1 Samuel 16 that God chooses David to become the next king.
Normally what would have happened in this situation is that the new king would kill all of the relatives of the previous king in order to protect his throne. This is not the response of David. Rather than killing the descendant of his predecessor, he restores the land of Saul to Mephibosheth. Instead of taking his life he invites him to eat at his table. David shows kindness.
Kindness is essential, Romans 2.4 says that the kindness of God leads you to repentance. My mentor has often said, "No one ever became a Christian because they lost an argument. People become followers of Christ because they are shown love."
Kindness is directly related to love.
If you remember, patience is enduring trial and hardship without complaining or retaliating. Kindness takes patience one step farther and instead of just enduring, it does something good. I am able to do good because I have endured without complaint. I am able to endure without complaint because I have contentment through peace. I have peace because I have joy, a source of rejoicing, and that source of rejoicing is the unconditional love I have from God.
Let your walk talk today, let your life be full of chrestotes, goodness expressed through action.
Peace be with you.
As I studied this word and saw its meaning a quote came to mind that I heard several years ago, "Your talk talks, and your walk talks; but your walk talks louder than your talk talks." Normally people have to look at that one a couple times to get it. But that's the idea of chrestotes. Kindness is doing the right thing because its the right thing to do.
For this one we look at the story found in 2 Samuel 9, David and Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was the the son of Jonathan, and the grandson of King Saul. Based on blood line, he is the heir to the throne. But we see in 1 Samuel 13 that Saul is rejected as king and in 1 Samuel 16 that God chooses David to become the next king.
Normally what would have happened in this situation is that the new king would kill all of the relatives of the previous king in order to protect his throne. This is not the response of David. Rather than killing the descendant of his predecessor, he restores the land of Saul to Mephibosheth. Instead of taking his life he invites him to eat at his table. David shows kindness.
Kindness is essential, Romans 2.4 says that the kindness of God leads you to repentance. My mentor has often said, "No one ever became a Christian because they lost an argument. People become followers of Christ because they are shown love."
Kindness is directly related to love.
If you remember, patience is enduring trial and hardship without complaining or retaliating. Kindness takes patience one step farther and instead of just enduring, it does something good. I am able to do good because I have endured without complaint. I am able to endure without complaint because I have contentment through peace. I have peace because I have joy, a source of rejoicing, and that source of rejoicing is the unconditional love I have from God.
Let your walk talk today, let your life be full of chrestotes, goodness expressed through action.
Peace be with you.
Monday, August 9, 2010
...Patience...
It starts with Love, then moves to Joy, that leads to Peace, and then we come to Patience. The Greek word is makrothumia, and this word carries several meanings. When translated in older translations of the Bible this section of scripture uses the phrase long-suffering for patience, and I think that long suffering best captures what this characteristic means for our lives.
Long suffering is the quality of self-restraint in the face of provocation. It does not quickly or rashly retaliate, and it does not swiftly hand out punishment. Long suffering is the opposite of anger, and is more associated with mercy. Patience is the quality that does not surrender to circumstances or cave in during trials. It is the opposite of despondency and is more associated with hope.
Makrothumia also means, patient expectation, fortitude, and patient enduring of evil. In short, makrothumia is enduring trials, hardship, and evil without complaint. It is not caving in under pressure, but standing firm.
I look at the last few months, and honestly I have failed to have makrothumia in my life at times. I look at the hardships I've had at church, the junk to deal with, the opposing views on how ministry should be done, and honestly I'm ready to give up. I talked with my mentor a few weeks ago, and he gave me two verses. Romans 5.3-5, and James 1.2-4
Romans 5,
"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
James 1,
"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
After talking to him I spent the next day doing word studies on these two verses. Both of them, in the use of the word tribulations and trials, refer to metal being put through a fire to be purged and purified. It makes the metal better, stronger, and more valuable. That is the point of hard times, to cleanse us, to make us stronger, and to make us more like Christ and more reliant upon God.
This past weekend I got a text from a friend in Ohio, and he asked me if I had anything to report. I told him I would facebook him this week. This morning as I typed out what ended up being a very long facebook message, I began to see everything God has been doing and what He has been working towards. It made me feel blessed to be a part of what God is doing, and at the same time made me realize how much I need to pray for makrothumia in my life.
Right now there are things going on in life that I don't understand, things that are hard, and things that hurt. But trying to keep those two verses in mind, trying to keep that idea of being passed through fire like metal, trying to endure without complaining and standing firm through the rough times, I pray that God will grant me the makrothumia to endure it.
I can have makrothumia (Patience), enduring hardship and trial without complaint because of eirene (Peace), the contentment with life. I have eirene because I have chara (Joy), I have a reason to rejoice and a reason to be joyful, and that reason is the agape (Love) the unconditional love of God for me.
Endure the hardship, endure the trial, don't complain, because all of it is for our benefit, to make us stronger, to make us more like Christ.
Peace be with you
Long suffering is the quality of self-restraint in the face of provocation. It does not quickly or rashly retaliate, and it does not swiftly hand out punishment. Long suffering is the opposite of anger, and is more associated with mercy. Patience is the quality that does not surrender to circumstances or cave in during trials. It is the opposite of despondency and is more associated with hope.
Makrothumia also means, patient expectation, fortitude, and patient enduring of evil. In short, makrothumia is enduring trials, hardship, and evil without complaint. It is not caving in under pressure, but standing firm.
I look at the last few months, and honestly I have failed to have makrothumia in my life at times. I look at the hardships I've had at church, the junk to deal with, the opposing views on how ministry should be done, and honestly I'm ready to give up. I talked with my mentor a few weeks ago, and he gave me two verses. Romans 5.3-5, and James 1.2-4
Romans 5,
"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
James 1,
"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
After talking to him I spent the next day doing word studies on these two verses. Both of them, in the use of the word tribulations and trials, refer to metal being put through a fire to be purged and purified. It makes the metal better, stronger, and more valuable. That is the point of hard times, to cleanse us, to make us stronger, and to make us more like Christ and more reliant upon God.
This past weekend I got a text from a friend in Ohio, and he asked me if I had anything to report. I told him I would facebook him this week. This morning as I typed out what ended up being a very long facebook message, I began to see everything God has been doing and what He has been working towards. It made me feel blessed to be a part of what God is doing, and at the same time made me realize how much I need to pray for makrothumia in my life.
Right now there are things going on in life that I don't understand, things that are hard, and things that hurt. But trying to keep those two verses in mind, trying to keep that idea of being passed through fire like metal, trying to endure without complaining and standing firm through the rough times, I pray that God will grant me the makrothumia to endure it.
I can have makrothumia (Patience), enduring hardship and trial without complaint because of eirene (Peace), the contentment with life. I have eirene because I have chara (Joy), I have a reason to rejoice and a reason to be joyful, and that reason is the agape (Love) the unconditional love of God for me.
Endure the hardship, endure the trial, don't complain, because all of it is for our benefit, to make us stronger, to make us more like Christ.
Peace be with you
Monday, August 2, 2010
...Peace...
Joy is followed by Peace. Peace is similar to Joy (chara) in many ways, the word in Greek is eirene (pronounced a[long a]-ray-nay) and translated means "peace, tranquility". When used as a noun it is used to describe harmonious relationships between God and man, man with man, and nation with nation. It also carries the idea of being free from disturbance and having a senses of rest and contentment.
This is what Jesus gives his disciples when He says in John 20.19, "Peace be with you." He is giving them peace and tranquility in the midst of fear and chaos. He is showing them that He is alive and that the relationship between God and man is now fully possible, that there will come a time when all men live in peace together, and that the nations will one day be in harmony.
That is what eirene is, but what does it do?
Philippians 4.4-9
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."
As I said in the introductory blog it's "the Fruit of the Spirit is" not "Fruits...are" and this section of Scripture starts with the idea of Joy, "Rejoice in the Lord always" Remember chara is the reason for rejoicing, and we rejoice in the Lord.
It goes on to tell us to be anxious for nothing and to present our requests to God with thanksgiving. When we do this it says that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Jesus and that this peace passes all comprehension. This is peace that makes no sense. This is peace of God, peace that God gives. This is being a child curled up in daddy's arms knowing that nothing can hurt you, that you are safe and protected.
It says to be anxious for nothing and rather than focusing on everything that could go wrong Paul gives us a list of things to focus on instead; whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Look at that list again:
True, truth is that which will never let us down.
Honorable, something that is serious and dignified, something with the dignity of holiness upon it.
Right, this carries the idea of being just.
Pure, those who are morally uncontaminated.
Lovely, this is the idea of that which calls forth love, someone whose presence inspires love.
Good Repute, this describes the things which are fit for God to hear
Excellence, these are the high things that should dominate our minds.
Worthy of Praise, who but God is worthy to be praised?
(Taken from William Barclay on Philippians)
In all of these I see God, and it says that if I practice these things that the God of Peace will be with me. If He is the God of peace and He is with me, then His characteristics will also be with me. John 14.27 says, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."
Entering into a relationship with Jesus and surrendering to Him focusing my life on Him gives me that peace.
With peace, eirene, I am content with life. I have peace because of joy, chara, my reason to rejoice, my source of joy. My source of joy is love, agape, the unconditional love that God has for me. And all of this comes from God.
Peace, tranquility, harmony, sense of rest and contentment.
Peace be with you
This is what Jesus gives his disciples when He says in John 20.19, "Peace be with you." He is giving them peace and tranquility in the midst of fear and chaos. He is showing them that He is alive and that the relationship between God and man is now fully possible, that there will come a time when all men live in peace together, and that the nations will one day be in harmony.
That is what eirene is, but what does it do?
Philippians 4.4-9
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."
As I said in the introductory blog it's "the Fruit of the Spirit is" not "Fruits...are" and this section of Scripture starts with the idea of Joy, "Rejoice in the Lord always" Remember chara is the reason for rejoicing, and we rejoice in the Lord.
It goes on to tell us to be anxious for nothing and to present our requests to God with thanksgiving. When we do this it says that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Jesus and that this peace passes all comprehension. This is peace that makes no sense. This is peace of God, peace that God gives. This is being a child curled up in daddy's arms knowing that nothing can hurt you, that you are safe and protected.
It says to be anxious for nothing and rather than focusing on everything that could go wrong Paul gives us a list of things to focus on instead; whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Look at that list again:
True, truth is that which will never let us down.
Honorable, something that is serious and dignified, something with the dignity of holiness upon it.
Right, this carries the idea of being just.
Pure, those who are morally uncontaminated.
Lovely, this is the idea of that which calls forth love, someone whose presence inspires love.
Good Repute, this describes the things which are fit for God to hear
Excellence, these are the high things that should dominate our minds.
Worthy of Praise, who but God is worthy to be praised?
(Taken from William Barclay on Philippians)
In all of these I see God, and it says that if I practice these things that the God of Peace will be with me. If He is the God of peace and He is with me, then His characteristics will also be with me. John 14.27 says, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."
Entering into a relationship with Jesus and surrendering to Him focusing my life on Him gives me that peace.
With peace, eirene, I am content with life. I have peace because of joy, chara, my reason to rejoice, my source of joy. My source of joy is love, agape, the unconditional love that God has for me. And all of this comes from God.
Peace, tranquility, harmony, sense of rest and contentment.
Peace be with you
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