Goodness, as the sixth characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit, is about actively doing good. It is sometimes defined as “kindness” or “gentleness” in English, but different Greek words for each are used. Gentleness (Greek: chrestotes) is more passive, meaning it is also attributed to being forbearing (longsuffering), and waiting without complaint; it is related to who a person is.
What Is the Significance of Goodness?
Goodness (Greek: agathosune) relates to doing intrinsically good actions, a zealous activity to do good for another person’s benefit. Defining “goodness” in the English language denotes numerous synonyms, like moral excellence, good behavior, freshness, or competence.
In Greek, however, it has the specific meaning of being energized to act in a benevolent (on behalf of others) way. It implies that one can demonstrate goodness when exhorting or rebuking when it is for someone’s good.
It is like projecting “tough love” with discipline with the purpose of making someone better. This is how we can see God correcting or chastising His children, sometimes in what we would think to be severe, and it is goodness in action to bring about change or transformation into the image of Jesus.
Doing goodness for the purpose of blessing or benefiting others occurs when the Holy Spirit makes us alive in our spirits. It is an act that stems from our very soul or being.
No one is good except God (Mark 10:18) so it is the indwelling of God Himself in the believer’s life that generates good deeds.
The Bible is clear that in and of ourselves, mankind is incapable of being or doing good (Isaiah 64:6; Titus 3:5; Ecclesiastes 7:20). It is God who works in a believer’s life to become more like Jesus (Galatians 5:16), which is the whole point of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) — to make us into the image of Christ.
As the characteristic of goodness grows in a believer, it is acting out God’s love to others by helping others. It manifests itself from within the heart, so a believer does everything heartily (from the soul), as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). This can only occur through the living out of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
An act of goodness is not simply for the sake of being virtuous but for seeing others blessed by it. The Holy Spirit provides believers with spiritual gifts to edify, grow, teach, exhort, and minister (Ephesians 4:11) with a stated purpose — the perfecting of the saints (maturing, teaching), the work of the ministry (evangelism, reconciling others back to God), and to edify (build up, restore, refresh) other believers (Ephesians 4:12).
Another way to look at goodness is that it is holiness (separated out) put into practice (action) that results from knowing God. Such holiness can only come from God (1 Peter 1:15) and is where we get the English word “saints” to describe believers. We are called, separated out for a special purpose, to be holy as God is holy.
1. What the goodness of God means. God, by nature, is inherently good. He is the ultimate example of goodness (Psalm 34:8). He did not obtain it from another source. People can have good traits or do good deeds, but goodness is not in our character. Our goodness can only come from God.
2. What the goodness of God does. The Goodness of God is evident in all His creations and accomplishments (Genesis 1:31). We cannot earn and do not merit His goodness.
It is available to us just because of who God is (Psalm 145:9). And God’s goodness is personal. He is good to each of us personally, in ways that meet our individual needs (Psalm 119:68).
God is our perfect role model. Being good, demonstrating good, for the purpose of benefiting others, is what God demonstrated to all of mankind (Romans 5:8).
Everything God brings into a believer’s life ultimately is for our good (Romans 8:28) to make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:29).
God’s goodness offers us security and encouragement (Psalm 52:1). God will always be good. His character does not change (Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6).
3. What the goodness of God is. If you want to see God for who He really is, here's a good starting point.
- Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good (1 Chronicles 16:34).
- Taste and see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8).
- Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him and praise His name! For the Lord is good and His love is eternal, and His faithfulness endures to all generations (Psalm 100:4-5).
When Moses boldly pleaded with God, "Please, show me Your glory," he was asking to see God for who He really is. "Show me as much as I can stand, Lord." God’s response was to show Moses, through His glory, His goodness (Exodus 33:19-20).
Jesus "is the image of the invisible God" as "God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him" (Colossians 1:15-19). Jesus is God's goodness in the flesh.
How God Reveals His Goodness
God’s goodness is revealed through His creation (Psalm 145), expressed through His created order. His creation demonstrates His goodness and that by sharing His goodness through nature, everyone experiences God’s goodness (Psalm 145:9).
We continue to read more about His goodness: "All eyes look to You, and You give them their food in due time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways and gracious in all His acts" (Psalm 145:15-17).
God shows goodness through His faithfulness to us. The psalmist tells us to “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1-16).
The psalmist retells the story of how God delivered His people, how He fed them when they were hungry, how He delivered them from their enemies, and how He saved them from their distress when they called upon Him.
Because of God’s goodness and faithfulness to us, we can open our hearts (souls) and give Him thanks (Psalm 107:15) for His unfailing love and His deeds of goodness for mankind.
God’s Goodness Calls for a Response
Believers are to recognize God’s goodness that leads mankind to repentance (Romans 2:4). Without His demonstration of love through His goodness, there would be no salvation, no repentance, and only God’s judgment of wrath on sinful man.
Because of God’s goodness, believers can be at rest, in God’s perfect peace, regardless of what is happening in their lives (Psalm 31:19-20). God’s goodness is stored up for us and actively demonstrated to us in His perfect timing.
As believers mature or grow in the characteristic of God’s goodness, provided by the Holy Spirit, it enables them to do good to those who hate them (Luke 6:27) and demonstrate goodness to those in the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).
As stated above, a believer is to demonstrate goodness, even when confronting someone about a sin (Galatians 6:1-5), as it is benevolent — for the good of the other person — to restore him or her in fellowship with God.
So, we can lovingly and in goodness admonish, instruct, teach, and correct because it is in the best interest/for the good of the person (James 5:19-20; Luke 17:3).
Goodness is not a quality we can manufacture on our own (James 1:17), neither for us nor by us. Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us, we grow the characteristic of goodness. As others see our good works, they will praise our Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:16).
The Holy Spirit indwelling us allows us to experience the fullness of God’s goodness (Psalm 84:11) in the fullness of His time.
When the Holy Spirit indwells us, seals us, and grows His fruit within us, we can state with the Apostle Paul that we are full of goodness (Romans 15:14). It is He who is good.
It is He who can transform us into good. It is the fruit of the Spirit that allows us to demonstrate zealous goodness to help and benefit others so that they may have a strengthened relationship with God Himself.
For further reading:
How Is Peace a Fruit of the Spirit?
How Is Longsuffering a Fruit of the Spirit?
How Is Gentleness a Fruit of the Spirit?
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