A Deeper Study of the Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Goodness is a high compliment in the life of a Christian. In fact, all of humanity is told that we were created in the image of our Creator, and it was very good (Genesis 1:31). When we think about God’s intent for our design, He created us to be good. He desired that we would share in His goodness. He wanted us to live out of the identity that we were made in His image.
Today, we will explore the fruit of the Spirit, goodness. What does this fruit mean? How do we truly live this out in such an evil world?
Goodness in the Greek
The Greek word found in Galatians 5:22 is agathosune. It means, “to do good.” It is more commonly used as “intrinsic goodness, especially as a personal quality, with stress on the kindly (rather than the righteous) side of goodness.”
I find this interesting that goodness is closely tied to kindness. As we studied kindness last week, the two go hand in hand. Kindness and goodness are both qualities and actions. They are purity of heart, mind, and deed. I would argue that goodness is taking kindness to the next level. Kindness is sweet and caring, where goodness is just plain blessing someone, going out of the way to do good for another.
Jesus did this for us. He left His home in heaven to tell us that He was the Way, and to die in our places. He rose from the grave for our sins. He is good.
Agathosune is also seen in Romans 15:14, Ephesians 5:9, and 2 Thessalonians 1:11.
Goodness That Marks the Life of a Believer
When pondering the word goodness, I cannot help but think about how no one is good except God alone (Luke 18:19). Apart from the Holy Spirit inside of believers, we are not good. Many people in the world like to assume that they are good because they might have moments when they reflect the goodness of God. However, we all have sinned.
Jesus is completely good. There is no bad in him at all. When we reflect on His goodness, we know that He is forever unchanging. We are fickle human beings. There might be moments of goodness, but our flesh can quickly take over and we can operate out of evil.
There is the famous saying, “A few bad apples spoil the bunch.” We might offer a lot of good apples in this life, but our sin spoils it. We are not good; we are corrupted by the devil and our flesh (Romans 3:23). We have a sin nature. Even when we do something good for another, many times it is out of underlying selfishness or prideful gain. Jesus is the only one who has ever been perfectly good. He modeled goodness by sacrificing his life, not only for his friends, but for His enemies. Can we show goodness to those who do not deserve it?
I think about my own son. He can choose to be good or bad. He is only a year and half old; he does not understand right from wrong yet, but I see it within his thoughts and actions. If I tell him not to touch something, I can see the wheels of temptation turning as he looks and contemplates going to touch it. Then, I can visibly witness him going over to disobey. I see him throw a tantrum when he does not get what he wants when he wants it. He is wrestling with the present evil in his life.
He is created very good in the image of God and I love him with all that I am, but he is in a sinful world and soon enough he will come to understand good and bad.
The Spirit Produces Goodness
If we want to live out the goodness of God, we need to be filled up by the Holy Spirit every day. There is a vast difference from being saved by grace and living a Spirit-filled life. The Spirit of God can empower us to live holy lives. We do this through Him and for His glory. When we show goodness or live out righteously, those around us will see the testimonies of Christ in us. He is the hope of glory. He is the Great I Am. He is the Good Shepherd.
When we remember John 10:11-18, it tells us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. It causes us to ponder Psalm 23. The Lord Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He is not just called Shepherd, but Good Shepherd. A good shepherd is described in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Good here is sacrificial.
John 10:14 says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” Good here is relational. He knows us and we know Him. Our relationship with God is good because of Jesus. He knows us fully and loves us deeply. We are the sheep of His pasture, and He cares for us.
How Are You Exhibiting and Experiencing the Goodness of God?
I love the chorus in the song, Goodness of God, which says:
“All my life you have been faithful, all my life you have been so, so good.
With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.”
The bridge then sings out that Christ’s goodness is running after us. God is good. It is part of His character just like the rest of the fruit of the Spirit. Just like an orange grows from an orange tree, goodness comes from God. He is the foundation. His Spirit produces goodness and all of the other fruit of the Spirit.
How has His goodness transformed your own life? How have you been changed by His pursuit of you?
2 Thessalonians 1:11 says, “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.”
May the goodness of God motivate us to fruit-filled actions. May we be in prayer for ourselves and others as we live out our callings in this life. His power leads to fruition. I love that the word fruit is in fruition. Fruition means enjoyment or to bear fruit. His power by the Holy Spirit within our hearts leads us to the fruit of the Spirit and faithful lives. We have failed, made bad choices, and thought sinful things. However, Jesus came so that we could bear fruit and be transformed into His likeness.
Maybe you feel far from the word good. Start by remembering that God created you very good. Know that Jesus has pursued you through His goodness. Trust that the Holy Spirit is bringing goodness to fruition in your life as a believer. The goodness that we show will amaze the world because Jesus is, in fact, good.
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Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Nikola Ilic
