Goodness is a trait that worldview people think is not dependent on loving God. This daily devotional looks at how it is a fruit of the Spirit and how it is dependent on our relationships with God.
Nuggets
- Goodness is a complex fruit.
- This goodness only comes after we have ABCDed.
- When we have God’s goodness within us, we gain much.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Devotions in the Fruit of the Spirit from the Inside Out series
We all want more goodness in the world. The problem is that it can’t be a worldview goodness. It has to be a fruit of the Spirit that comes from inside us out to the world.
Let's Put It into Context #1
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things” (Gal. 5: 22-23 CSB)
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Let's Put It into Context #2
Manning told us about goodness. He wrote, “Next comes goodness; as a fountain pours out pure water, so the good heart is perpetually pouring out goodness and diffusing goodness on all around.”
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How Goodness Interacts with Other Fruits of the Spirit
Goodness is a complex fruit.
In a way, it is hard to understand what all is encompassed in the term goodness. Murray tried to do that by comparing it to the previous fruits of the Spirit. He wrote,
“Love, for instance, refers to one class of emotions, and is therefore definable. Joy is one phase of the emotions. Peace is a particular state of being. Long-suffering is an element of character. Gentleness is a habit of the disposition. These characteristics are, you see, definable. Their significance has its limitations, and the boundaries of our treatment were therefore clearly marked. But goodness is not one emotion, nor a single element of character, nor a particular state of being, nor any one habit of disposition.”
So, what is it? Murray went on to write, “In short, can we say less than this, that goodness implies perfection of moral being, perfection of spiritual state, perfection of manhood, in all things which adorn the same, and move it upward in that amplifying growth which the ordering of a good God has provided as the destiny for good beings. The fruit of the Spirit, therefore — its object and aim — is to produce a good man — a perfect man by that standard of measurement which God Himself, in His infinite wisdom and Fatherly ambition, applies to the character of His children.”
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Wow! I love that. Goodness is tied to the perfection we are gaining on the Sanctification Road.
- Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul, which begins with regeneration, gradually changes our nature and morals through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and ends with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- Regeneration is being changed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive and the internal requickening in us that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit to give us new character.
- Spiritual death is the separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
- The perfected state indicates the combination of the spiritual graces which, when all are present, form spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Glossary
Hamilton called goodness love in action. That reminds me what we said in the second devotion in the series.
Think about all the fruits for a second. Manning noted the first two — love and joy — defined our relationship to God. The rest — peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control — defined our relationship with others. I think I would put peace on the God list as it is an inside job from Him.
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Washburn said the faith, gentleness, and self-control are more our conduct. I see that. The list reflects the two greatest commandments and what we are going to do about them.
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Glossary
Goodness defines our relationship with others. It is pulling out the changes that God made in us when we ABCDed and showing them to the world.
What Goodness Really Means
This goodness only comes after we have ABCDed.
Murray noted that to obtain this fruit of the Spirit we have to be linked with the Holy Spirit by prayer. Most of us would say, “duh!” to that one.
But there are so many worldview people who think that goodness can be exhibited without ABCDing and being connected with the Holy Spirit. It can only come through God
Why? We’ve talked before that goodness is an attribute of God.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
How does the fruit of the Spirit goodness differ from that? Thornton told us. He wrote, “It is genuine, disinterested, cheerful, and unostentatious benevolence.”
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We just talked about being disinterested. The disinterested means Jesus was willing to give up the trappings of His Deity. Raleigh wrote, “Being thus Divine, He did not deem His equality with God a thing to grasp at and eagerly retain.”
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To read a related devotion, click the button below.
In Elaine-speak, Jesus put us as a priority over everything in Heaven. He came to earth to love us and die for us.
Gaining from Goodness
When we have God’s goodness within us, we gain much.
Norton gave us a list of what we gain from goodness.
• The ability to forgive.
• The desire to be considerate and generous.
• The motivation to be conscientious and enduring.
• The nature to be heroic.
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Beecher said something interesting. He said that goodness is “THE PRINCIPAL TEST OF PIETY.” Piety is defined as the persistent application of moral virtues to our lives because of our supreme love for God.
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Let’s put that together. Goodness is the principle test of the persistent application of moral virtues to our lives because of our supreme love for God.
Wait! I am processing here, so bear with me.
Goodness is the principle test of the persistent application of the spiritual graces. Thornton said they play out in a number of ways.
- “By using every proper means to suppress folly, vice, and immorality in the world.
- “By relieving the sick, and assisting the poor.
- “By instructing the ignorant, or contributing to promote their instruction.”
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We can’t think that we only need do good in the world. Our benevolence has to start in the church.
Making the Connections
We talked about the other fruits of the Spirit being a progression to goodness. That is important because, as Newbolt said, they bring us the freedom to do good. We do good in order to expand God’s kingdom.
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But we know that our redo for godliness isn’t looking for us to do better. Our goal is to be better.
Here is one last thing from Murray. He wrote, “The highest expression of manhood is Goodness; before its expression men bow in acknowledgment, and lifting their heads pronounce their applause. It is a law of our nature to abhor villainy; to despise the sneak and avoid a scamp. This is Nature’s tribute to honesty, and frankness, and uprightness. There is no weakness in Goodness, for it symbolises (sic) the strength of Heaven.”
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How Do We Apply This?
- Do God’s good works.
- Study the benevolent acts of other God-fearing people.
- Think about the joy of doing benevolent acts.
- Share Jesus’ love with others.
- Seize opportunities to do benevolent works while we can, because life is short.
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It is our goal to be like God. Goodness is an attribute of God. When we become more like Him, He gives us the ability to be even more like Him.
Father God. We just praise Your name. Thank You for growing us to be more like You. Help us to put away the worldview agenda and focus on You. When we do that, we can take the fruits of the Spirit and show others Your love. Amen.
What do you think?
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