For the last few months I've been outlining the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5.22-23. I've taken each one back to the original Greek text and looked at the real meaning of each one.
To start we looked at how this is Fruit, so it is produced, it takes time to grow, and it all comes from God. Then we looked at each one.
Love, agape, the unconditional love of God for us, the love we are to have for God, for others, and also ourselves.
Joy, chara, the source of joy, the reason for rejoicing.
Peace, eirene, contentment, satisfaction with life.
Patience, makrothumia, enduring hardship or trial withoug complaing or retaliating.
Kindness, chrestotes, goodness expressed through action, doing the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do.
Goodness, agathosune, moral excellence, striving to be like God, and do what God would do.
Faithfulness, pistis, honesty, integrity, uprightness.
Gentleness, prautes, being submissive to God, humble and teachable with people, and being considerate of others.
Self-Control, egkrateia, properly using what God has given us by His help.
These are the things that God calls us to. These are the characteristics that a life immersed in Him will disply. These are the things that as we walk with Him will be produced in our lives. And against these things there is no law.
The law is limiting and condemning. The only thing the law can do is show you how bad you are, how far you fall short, how much you mess up. The law restrains because it only shows us our sin. A life immersed in God, a life that the Spirit is at work in producing the Fruit of the Spirit, that life is free from the law. Why? Becasue that life does not chase after sin, but after God.
Freedom in Christ is a Spirit guided life style. There are still limits and there are still rules, but they are under the Law of Love that Christ gave. The life of Jesus recorded in the Gospels shows us this new law. Christ has set us free to a new life, He has redemeed us and given us a new way to live. He set us free for the best life, a life a freedom that is full of Love, which gives us Joy, which leads to Peace, which gives Patience, which turns into Kindness, which strives for Goodness, which calls for Faithfulness, which helps us have Gentelness, and that helps us have Self-Control.
Freedom comes with obligations, but the obligation is to God, He bought us with a price. We have an obligation to others, to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are not free to do whatever we want, we are free to love, and from a life based upon love comes the best life ever, a life rooted in God.
Take this, and let the Spirit fill you, may He be at work in you cultivating the soil of your Heart so that this incredible Fruit might be produced.
"But the Fruit of the Spirit is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control; against such things there is no law."
Peace be with you
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
...Self-Control...
When people found out I was doing a study on the Fruit of the Spirit a lot of people had the same comment, "Let me know when you get to self-control." After seeing the depth and complexity of the other eight aspects of this incredible gift of God, I was shocked when I got the the final characteristic, not by the confusion that it caused me like gentleness, or by the seemingly impossible command of goodness, or of the incredible realization of joy. This one shocked me in its simplicity.
The Greek word for self-Control is egkrateia (pronounced egg-kra-tee-a). Literally it means, "self-control, continence (self-restraint), temperance". Temperance means, "moderation in or abstinence from indulgence" and indulgence, "yield to the desire of/for".
This one is so simple in it's meaning. We as humans have been given so many good things, so many great things. And with every thing there is a right way to use it and exercise it. It there is a right way then there obviously has to be a wrong way. We are capable of abusing what we have. Think about it.
Food, it's so good, it looks and smells amazing, in moderation it provides energy, but sometimes we over eat.
Our bodies, they are capable of producing so much good, of doing so many things, but sometimes we fail to take care of them, we fail to exercise.
Our minds, think about how incredible this is, we have the ability to think, to learn, to remember, to reason things out, and yet we are guilty of not living up to our fullest potential at times because of laziness.
Sex, God gave this incredible gift for pleasure, procreation, and most importantly to seal the covenant of marriage between a man and woman. But this too has been abused, in premarital fornication, in extra marital affairs, in homosexual relationships, and in pornography.
What is it for you?
All of these things are gifts from God. He made everything and made it for a good and perfect use. We have the ability to miss use them all. In order to use these gifts correctly we need the controlling will power that only comes through the power of God.
Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 9, he uses the illustration of an athlete in training. In 1 Corinthians 7 he talks about sex and the good it does in marriage. In 1 Corinthians 6 he talks about how the body belongs to God and how we need to honor God with our bodies. In Matthew 25 Jesus talks about the parable of the talents.
Self-Control is crucial because without it we abuse the awesome gifts God has given us. Without it we fail to live up to our fullest potential, and without it we fail to honor God.
Egrateia, draws upon God in order to use the gifts He has given us properly. I gain Self-control by having Gentleness, submission to God, humility and teachability, and being considerate of others. This comes from a spirit of Faithfulness, honesty, and integrity. Faithfulness flows out of Goodness, moral excellence, striving to be more like God. This attitude flows from Kindness, goodness expressed through action, doing the right thing simply because it's the right thing to do. That starts with Patience, enduring hardship and trial without complaining or retaliating. I am able to be patient because I have Peace, contentment and satisfaction with life, peace comes from Joy, the reason to rejoice, and the source of joy is Love, the unconditional love from God.
Peace be with you
The Greek word for self-Control is egkrateia (pronounced egg-kra-tee-a). Literally it means, "self-control, continence (self-restraint), temperance". Temperance means, "moderation in or abstinence from indulgence" and indulgence, "yield to the desire of/for".
This one is so simple in it's meaning. We as humans have been given so many good things, so many great things. And with every thing there is a right way to use it and exercise it. It there is a right way then there obviously has to be a wrong way. We are capable of abusing what we have. Think about it.
Food, it's so good, it looks and smells amazing, in moderation it provides energy, but sometimes we over eat.
Our bodies, they are capable of producing so much good, of doing so many things, but sometimes we fail to take care of them, we fail to exercise.
Our minds, think about how incredible this is, we have the ability to think, to learn, to remember, to reason things out, and yet we are guilty of not living up to our fullest potential at times because of laziness.
Sex, God gave this incredible gift for pleasure, procreation, and most importantly to seal the covenant of marriage between a man and woman. But this too has been abused, in premarital fornication, in extra marital affairs, in homosexual relationships, and in pornography.
What is it for you?
All of these things are gifts from God. He made everything and made it for a good and perfect use. We have the ability to miss use them all. In order to use these gifts correctly we need the controlling will power that only comes through the power of God.
Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 9, he uses the illustration of an athlete in training. In 1 Corinthians 7 he talks about sex and the good it does in marriage. In 1 Corinthians 6 he talks about how the body belongs to God and how we need to honor God with our bodies. In Matthew 25 Jesus talks about the parable of the talents.
Self-Control is crucial because without it we abuse the awesome gifts God has given us. Without it we fail to live up to our fullest potential, and without it we fail to honor God.
Egrateia, draws upon God in order to use the gifts He has given us properly. I gain Self-control by having Gentleness, submission to God, humility and teachability, and being considerate of others. This comes from a spirit of Faithfulness, honesty, and integrity. Faithfulness flows out of Goodness, moral excellence, striving to be more like God. This attitude flows from Kindness, goodness expressed through action, doing the right thing simply because it's the right thing to do. That starts with Patience, enduring hardship and trial without complaining or retaliating. I am able to be patient because I have Peace, contentment and satisfaction with life, peace comes from Joy, the reason to rejoice, and the source of joy is Love, the unconditional love from God.
Peace be with you
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
...Gentleness...
Disclaimer:
The Greek word is prautes (pr-ow-ta [long a]-s). As I was preparing for this lesson I kept reading the definition in my Greek dictionary over and over. The more I read it, the less I understood it. I finally got to the point where I almost didn't understand the words I was reading, and out of desperation I picked up William Barclay's commentary on Galatians and Ephesians only to be greeted by this, "Gentleness: prautes is the most untranslatable of words."
I put that as my facebook status and my college Greek professor said, "If Barclay says, 'I dunno' then there isn't much hope for the rest of us." That made me feel great, so as we begin this one all I can promise is to try and explain it.
The Greek word prautes, translates as "gentlenss, kindness". Most versions of the Bible have this word translated as gentleness, however, the King James uses a different word, "meekness". In our current culture the idea of being meek is one that is equivalent with weakness and submission.
Meek
1. humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others.
2. overly submissive or compliant; spiritless; tame.
3. Obsolete: gentle; kind.
The word docile is defined, "easily managed or handled; readily trained or taught"
Spiritless is defined, "without spirit; without ardor, vigor, zeal"
Tame is defined, "changed from the wild or saved state; spiritless; lacking in excitement; dull; not to be taken very seriously; without real power"
This is how people see the word meek today. The Biblical definition however, is one of strength, power, and virtue. Meekness, "Moral quality of humility and gentleness, usually exhibited during suffering or difficulty and accomplished by faith in God."
This is what the attribute listed in the Fruit of the Spirit is all about. In my best effort to explain this word (and with the aid of William Barclay [a lot of aid]) we see three characteristics of the word prautes.
First we see the someone who possesses prautes is submissive to the will of God. We see this in the life of Jesus. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, not a white stallion as a conquering warrior would have. He came to die, not to kill. In the Garden we see He prays, "Father, your will be done." He knew the cost of that prayer, but Jesus was submissive to the will of the Father, and He was exalted for it. Matthew 5.5, "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. "
Second, a person who posesses prautes is teachable. This person is humble and learns from others.
Third, a person with prautes is considerate, they don't offer insults and condemnation, but they preach the truth in love, they reach out to those in need. We see this in Jesus, He welcomed the little children, He touched lepers, He healed people who were unclean, He raised the dead. Jesus was gentle in His words, in His message. If you look at His teaching, the only peopel He ever got on were the religious leaders of the day, they people who should have recognized Him as the Messiah He is. He met people where they were, He taught in ways they could understand and relate to.
Prautes is all of those things, but it does not carry the negetive idea of meekness with it. I think part of prautes is also the righteous anger. It is being angry about the right things. It is angry about sin, it is angry about cancer, it is angry about abortion, it is angry about child abuse. It is not hateful towards the people that do these things, but it is angry towards the act itself.
Jesus was not a sissy, one of my professors said, "It took a stronger man to hang there and die than it would have to come off the cross and beat everyone."
Gentleness is an essential quality, it allows us to live together in society. It allows the younger generation to learn from the older generation. It allows churches to function together in harmony as we seek the will of God, or atleast is should.
If all of us would strive for gentleness, if all of us would strive to be submissive to God, humble and teachable, and considerate of others, that society could function very effeciantly, and honestly it would be a pretty plesant place to live.
Prautes, gentleness, the state of beign submissive, teachable, and considerate comes from pistis, faithfulness which is honesty and integrity.
Faithfulness flows out of goodness, agathosune, moral excellence, striving to be more like God, to do what God would do. Goodness is an exaltation of kindness, chrestotes, which is goodness expressed through action, doing the right thing becasue its the right thing to do.
I am able to have kindness because I have had patience, makrothumia, enduring hardship and trial without complaint or retaliation. I can endure because of eirene, peace, which is contentment and satisfaction. I have contentment because of joy, chara, the reason to rejoice, and the source of joy is the agape, the unconditional love, that I have from God.
The Greek word is prautes (pr-ow-ta [long a]-s). As I was preparing for this lesson I kept reading the definition in my Greek dictionary over and over. The more I read it, the less I understood it. I finally got to the point where I almost didn't understand the words I was reading, and out of desperation I picked up William Barclay's commentary on Galatians and Ephesians only to be greeted by this, "Gentleness: prautes is the most untranslatable of words."
I put that as my facebook status and my college Greek professor said, "If Barclay says, 'I dunno' then there isn't much hope for the rest of us." That made me feel great, so as we begin this one all I can promise is to try and explain it.
The Greek word prautes, translates as "gentlenss, kindness". Most versions of the Bible have this word translated as gentleness, however, the King James uses a different word, "meekness". In our current culture the idea of being meek is one that is equivalent with weakness and submission.
Meek
1. humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others.
2. overly submissive or compliant; spiritless; tame.
3. Obsolete: gentle; kind.
The word docile is defined, "easily managed or handled; readily trained or taught"
Spiritless is defined, "without spirit; without ardor, vigor, zeal"
Tame is defined, "changed from the wild or saved state; spiritless; lacking in excitement; dull; not to be taken very seriously; without real power"
This is how people see the word meek today. The Biblical definition however, is one of strength, power, and virtue. Meekness, "Moral quality of humility and gentleness, usually exhibited during suffering or difficulty and accomplished by faith in God."
This is what the attribute listed in the Fruit of the Spirit is all about. In my best effort to explain this word (and with the aid of William Barclay [a lot of aid]) we see three characteristics of the word prautes.
First we see the someone who possesses prautes is submissive to the will of God. We see this in the life of Jesus. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, not a white stallion as a conquering warrior would have. He came to die, not to kill. In the Garden we see He prays, "Father, your will be done." He knew the cost of that prayer, but Jesus was submissive to the will of the Father, and He was exalted for it. Matthew 5.5, "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. "
Second, a person who posesses prautes is teachable. This person is humble and learns from others.
Third, a person with prautes is considerate, they don't offer insults and condemnation, but they preach the truth in love, they reach out to those in need. We see this in Jesus, He welcomed the little children, He touched lepers, He healed people who were unclean, He raised the dead. Jesus was gentle in His words, in His message. If you look at His teaching, the only peopel He ever got on were the religious leaders of the day, they people who should have recognized Him as the Messiah He is. He met people where they were, He taught in ways they could understand and relate to.
Prautes is all of those things, but it does not carry the negetive idea of meekness with it. I think part of prautes is also the righteous anger. It is being angry about the right things. It is angry about sin, it is angry about cancer, it is angry about abortion, it is angry about child abuse. It is not hateful towards the people that do these things, but it is angry towards the act itself.
Jesus was not a sissy, one of my professors said, "It took a stronger man to hang there and die than it would have to come off the cross and beat everyone."
Gentleness is an essential quality, it allows us to live together in society. It allows the younger generation to learn from the older generation. It allows churches to function together in harmony as we seek the will of God, or atleast is should.
If all of us would strive for gentleness, if all of us would strive to be submissive to God, humble and teachable, and considerate of others, that society could function very effeciantly, and honestly it would be a pretty plesant place to live.
Prautes, gentleness, the state of beign submissive, teachable, and considerate comes from pistis, faithfulness which is honesty and integrity.
Faithfulness flows out of goodness, agathosune, moral excellence, striving to be more like God, to do what God would do. Goodness is an exaltation of kindness, chrestotes, which is goodness expressed through action, doing the right thing becasue its the right thing to do.
I am able to have kindness because I have had patience, makrothumia, enduring hardship and trial without complaint or retaliation. I can endure because of eirene, peace, which is contentment and satisfaction. I have contentment because of joy, chara, the reason to rejoice, and the source of joy is the agape, the unconditional love, that I have from God.
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