THE GLORY OF GOD ( PART# 87)
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3385
THE GLORY OF GOD ( PART# 87)
From Glory to Glory ( Study #66)
Walking By The Spirit #36
REVIEW OF THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT#9
When a believer is controlled by the Holy Spirit, he or she manifests:
1) UPWARD FRUIT ( towards God ): Love, Joy, Peace (Galatians 5:22)
2) OUTWARD FRUIT ( towards others )
(Galatians 5:22b) which consists of
patience,
kindness and
goodness (faithfulness)
3) INWARD FRUIT ( towards self )
(Galatians 5:22-23)
made up of faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.
1. INWARD FRUIT OF FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL TOWARDS SELF
GENTLENESS AS THE SECOND INWARD FRUIT TOWARDS SELF
Gentleness/Meekness
(Prautēs), the eighth fruit now describes the humble and gentle attitude that is patiently submissive in every offense, while being free of any desire for revenge or retribution.
It is an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God.
Thus we take on that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting.
Like our Lord Jesus, believers are to exemplify
Gentleness/Meekness.
Let us read 1 Timothy 6:11-14.
[11] But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness,
gentleness. [12] Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. [13]I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, [14]to keep the commandment
unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, (ESV)
As can be seen from the description of
Gentleness, this is no passive restraint. It means battling those things that would war against the Spirit.
Colossians 3 details those deeds of the flesh to battle and how Gentleness has godly regard for others that we would embody as if we were wearing it like a garment (Col. 3:12).
Gentleness means forgiving others as the Lord has forgiven us (Col. 3:13). When the previous fruit is evident in our lives, we can embody
Gentleness
especially with one another.
Abba Father, Gentleness, and Meekness are evidence of spiritual maturity in us. We no longer lose our cool or temper with others as we used to do before. For a gentle answer turns away wrath ( Proverbs 15:1 ).
Gentleness thus becomes an inward virtue as it is commonly defined as " having strength under control ". Instead of retaliating with anger, harsh words, or a judgmental spirit, we move in the opposite spirit of forgiveness and non-retaliation. We may lose it sometimes with aggravating people in a road-rage incident. But if we maintain a cool, calm, and composed attitude, we will defuse the situation much better with only one party ranting away. We will then wear the smile of one who finally understands an important aspect of God's nature - to forgive the unforgivable. And move into genuine care-fronting and empathy instead of needless confrontation as to who was the wronged party in any argument, quarrel, or misunderstanding.
