The Fruit of the Holy Spirit - What is goodness?

"Goodness." As long-suffering is not stoical, things endured because they cannot be avoided, so gentleness is not assumed as an exterior polish, the fruit of education, and because roughness would be considered bad manners. Beneath both, and that which acts by both, is goodness — a "good and honest heart." There is a difference between a righteous man and a good man. The former is upright, strict, and scrupulous as to his obligations to others, but requires from them the same in return. He does his duty, but looks sharply after others that they do theirs. A good man will do much more, without expecting returns. A righteous man may be respected; a good man is loved. He is a truly philanthropic man in God's sense. For God's philanthropy has appeared to us in Christ. (Titus 3:4.)

Verse 9 is a parenthesis and is correctly translated "the fruit of the light" (JND). Light produces goodness, righteousness and truth. Goodness is that which actively seeks the good of others. Righteousness is the proper discharge of the duties connected with whatever relationship we may be in. Truth is transparent honesty.

"Long-suffering, kindness, goodness." Here is our normal Christian attitude toward others, sweet characteristics of a life that in godliness seeks the welfare of those with whom we may come in contact. These traits are shown when we consider one another in genuine respect and simplicity. They are better meditated upon and practiced than explained.

If we turn to Galatians 5:22, we find the first fruit of the Spirit is love. All the other fruits grow out of that one. If that is lacking, the rest are only like artificial fruit tied on a tree - it never grew there. Where there is love there is no effort. The next on the list is joy. Our joy will ever be in proportion to our love. This is an unfailing principle. And so it is with the next, peace. If, in all we do and say and think, we are actuated by love, we shall enjoy a peace which nothing can disturb. This does not imply a servile agreement with everybody and everything; love may sometimes have to stand almost alone, because there is so little of it in the world; but should this trying position be experienced, the mind will be in perfect peace, if only love is allowed to govern. And this will bring in, too, next long-suffering. Love will often be misunderstood. Men, and even Christians, are so accustomed to be directed by motives of self-interest and personal advantage, they misinterpret and misjudge the disinterestedness of love. And so there is need of long-suffering. This will lead to gentleness. If we confound gentleness with weakness we make a serious mistake. The great need of the hour is Christians who are gentle. It is love, and not social status, makes the true gentle man. It has been said of one of low degree that he was qualified to enter any society, and the reason was very simple - he loved everything, and "love doth not behave itself unseemly." "Goodness": love always seeks the welfare, and not the harm, of others. "Faith": love believeth all things. And then follow "meekness, temperance," and the apostle adds, "Against such there is no law." You cannot put love under law; it is its own law. It worketh no ill, only good. And "love is of God."

Then comes goodness. You will notice that righteousness is not said to be a fruit of the Spirit. You remember the Word says, "Scarcely for a righteous man would one die: yet perhaps for a good man some would even dare to die." Rom. 5:7. So it is goodness, not righteousness, that is a fruit of the Spirit. The Christian is, of course, to be righteous as well as good. In Ephesians 5:9, we have the "fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth."

Faithfulness may be the meaning of the next fruit, which tells of one who can be trusted — who is faithful in all his ways; or it may have the meaning of one who rests entirely in God, knowing that certainly God is working all things together for good for those who love Him (Rom. 8:28). Or it may be simply the faith that every Christian has in Christ for his salvation. Perhaps all these meanings are included, for surely each one is a fruit of the Spirit.

What a contrast is the Spirit's fruit! "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (vers. 22-23). These are not called "works" implying effort; but fruit, the natural result of life. The Holy Spirit is a living power in the Christian: here we have the blessed and varied result of His operations. "Love" is God's own nature and is rightly placed first. Everything else pales before this. It is that which will abide when not only prophecies, tongues, and knowledge are no more, but when faith and hope have given place to sight and realisation (1 Cor. 13:8-13). "Joy" and "peace" follow naturally. As our souls abide in the divine nature, so we are happy and calm. Things that would otherwise disturb and ruffle our hearts pass by and leave us quite unmoved. Then long-suffering, gentleness, and goodness in all our dealings with others fall into their blessed place. Wrongs are quietly borne, vindictiveness is not allowed; but on the contrary the grace which shone out always in the Perfect One is displayed to His glory. For evil, positive goodness is shown, which is ever God's way. Turning inwards again, "faith, meekness and temperance" develop themselves, enabling us to walk trustfully with God, imparting that lowly brokenness of spirit which God values, and enabling us to keep all our members well under control. What can the law say to such? It was assuredly never made for men walking in the Spirit as thus.

Then we have, on the other side, "the fruit of the Spirit is love." He begins with love — that which is of God, and flows directly from God, and which is the knowledge of God's character more than any other thing. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith." Such are the first and weightiest effects produced by God's love. Then he gets down to what would more particularly deal with one another: "meekness, temperance," because these suppose the bridle put upon the evil nature — the self-control which the Holy Ghost works in the soul for the Lord's sake, as evidently being set in this world to be an epistle of Christ, so that we should not give a false character to Him whose name we bear. But all these are the fruits of the Spirit; and he adds, "against such there is no law." When did law ever produce these? So the law will never condemn those who walk in these things; as he says to the Roman saints, Romans 13, speaking of governors and rulers, "Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same; for he is the minister of God to thee for good." So here, "against such there is no law." If you are producing these fruits of the Spirit, there is no condemnation against them.

Those two words are not the same. The first means good in the sense of comely, fair, honourable; the second answers to good in the shape of benevolent acts.

But He looks also for activity in good on the part of the godly rich, as He Himself is unwearied in good (Acts 14:17). Hence follows the call "to do good, to be rich in good works." There is an important shade between the two acts, although it is not easy to express the difference except in a paraphrase. By the first (ἀγαθοεργεῖν) is meant doing, works of kindness or goodness to others; by being "rich in good works (πλουτεῖν ἐν ἔργοις καλοῖς) is meant abounding in fair, upright, works, comely in themselves: the first relatively, and the second absolutely, good works. And very important it is to note how both are pressed in close connection here and elsewhere, for men in general laud the one which affects man, and forget or disparage what is of yet greater moment, what is good in itself before God. Flowing from faith and love, how acceptable are both!

Kindness

To be kind, means to be good and to show goodness to others. It was the ‘kindness and love to man of our Saviour God’ that appeared in the person of Jesus Christ (Titus 3:4). It was the goodness (or, kindness — it is the same word) of God that once led us to repentance (Rom. 2:4). As imitators of God (Eph. 5:1) we should have the same attitude to our brothers and sisters. No matter whether they are in need or not, we should deal with them in a way that aims for their best interests.