28 July 2011

Goodness and Faith

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith."
Galatians 5:22
Goodness:
The Greek word for Goodness is agathusune, which means a person who is generous, big-hearted, liberal, and charitable with his finances. In other words, a giver. Acts 10:38 says "And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him."
The Holy Spirit operated mightily in Jesus.

Acting in goodness is a character feature of the nature of God. When the Bible tells us that "goodness" is a fruit of the Spirit, God is letting us know that he wants us to be selfless, using our resources to help change people's living conditions for the better. This is the exact opposite of what the flesh is saying. The flesh wants to consume every spare dollar and opportunity. Thus, the fruit of the Spirit called "goodness" is that supernatural urge in a person to reach beyond himself to meet the natural needs of those around him. So when abeliever is walking in the Spirit, his eyes are supernaturally opened! Are you getting this? Supernaturally! That word has occured in every single fruit of the Spirit. This means that it is not by our own doing, but by the doing of someone who is greater than you.

Faith:
The word Faith comes from the Greek pistis, which is the common word for "faith." Which is the idea of a person who is faithful, reliable, loyal, and steadfast. If pictures a person who is devoted, trustworthy, dependable, dedicated, constant, and unwavering. This is exactly the opposite of the flesh. The flesh seeks laziness, is uncommitted, undependable, and completely unreliable.
The word "faith" of "faithfulness", is so esteemed by God that it is listed in 1 Cor. 13:13, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity..." This fruit of the Spirit is a part of the eternal nature of God.The Bible says that "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind." Jesus Himself will be the same yesterday, today, and forever.
This unchanging, constant, stable, unwavering behavior is the nature of God Himself. God is faithful; therefore, we should expect faithfulness to grow in our lives as one of the fruits of the Spirit.

Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to have enough freedom to produce "goodness" and "faithfulness" in your life?

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