“The fruit of the Spirit is…gentleness” (Gal. 5:22).
Here is the only time the word chrestotes is translated gentleness. The word occurs seventeen times in our New Testament (ten times as a verb, and seven times as an adjective) and is usually translated into English by the word kindness. The word is used in relation to the world, to God, and to the Church.
Kindness is of God. The ungodly cannot exercise such kindness, nor do they appreciate the riches of God’s kindness. The self-righteous, judgmental man of Romans 2 holds in contempt the kindness of God, and Romans 3 tells us that there is none that doeth good (exercises kindness). As the fruit of the Spirit, it is only seen in the life of those believers who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Rom. 8:4).
Since kindness is not something that the world can produce, it will do us no good to use worldly illustrations in an effort to understand its essence. We must look to the Source, the Vine upon which this fruit is cultivated. The kindness of God was manifested to us in the past, is presently being experienced by God’s people, and will be enjoyed by the Church in the future.
God was kind to us in the past, when He saved us. Paul exhorted Titus in 3:1-3 to demonstrate good works to all men, regardless of whether their actions merited them. This is kindness, and Titus 3:4-7 records for us an example of the kindness and pity of God our Saviour toward man which appeared when God saved us. His salvation is not based on works of righteousness which we have done, but is an act of His mercy, springing out of His abundant kindness. Such should our kindness be—not displayed by us upon those whom we deem as worthy, but an abiding gentleness and kindness that wells up in us, and flows out from us unrestrained upon the undeserving.
God is presently kind to the unthankful and to the evil (Lk. 6:35). He sends the rain upon the just and the unjust alike. Few are the people who thank God for the seasons, for their food, for good health and for the countless other blessings that every creature receives at the hand of our loving and faithful Creator. But God is kind to us still, and He blesses us, in spite of our ingratitude.
Presently, His yoke is kind (Mt. 11:30). Solomon’s yoke was heavy (1 Ki. 12:4), but in Matthew, the Gospel of the King, the yoke of the Son of David is kind. He is not austere or harsh in His dealings with His people. He is gentle and kind, and demonstrated this in His life. He was kind to Peter. Peter was a man of God who, when sifted by the enemy, stumbled and fell, denying His Lord with oaths and curses. How did the Lord react? How would you and I react if a dear friend betrayed us, cursed us, and was embarrassed to say he knew us? The Lord Jesus was kind to Peter. He was not abrasive or insensitive. He did not corner him and rebuke him in the presence of the other disciples, but held a private meeting with him, demonstrating His goodness to Peter, and to us (Lk. 24:34, 1 Cor. 15:5). How very kind He is. He remembers that we are dust, and constantly and consistently deals with us according to our weakness.
He will be kind to us in the future. The Holy Spirit in Ephesians 2 reveals God’s grace toward us when we were dead in trespasses and sins and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others (Eph. 2:1-3). He lifted us up, gave us life, and 2:7 tells us that He will ultimately take us to be physically with Him, so that in the ages to come He might display to us the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Kindness, then, is the vehicle which delivers to us the riches of the grace of God.
“Put on therefore…kindness” (Col. 3:12). Since our God and Saviour is kind and we are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:26), we ought to display something of the family resemblance. How does it happen? How do we become fruitful for God? The Bible does not suggest that we all become philanthropists. The fruit of the Spirit is something supernatural, something that we must depend upon God to produce in our lives. The Lord Jesus said, “Without Me ye can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). First then, if we want to be kind, if we want to bear much fruit (Jn. 15:8), we have to understand that it is not of ourselves. We have no inherent kindness, but as we spend time with the Saviour, as we saturate our minds and hearts with the Word of God, and live in obedience to it, He will make us fruitful. If we are walking in the Spirit, we will be kind.
To whom should we be kind? We are to be kind to one another. “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). Is there someone in our local assembly who is not living up to their Christian potential? Perhaps a contemporary Peter, who has hurt us deeply? Kindness forgives. How sweet it is to taste this heavenly fruit of kindness in the child of God.
We are to be kind in our dealings with the world. Second Corinthians 6:6 informs us that kindness is a weapon that the useful servant wields in carrying out his ministry for God. The world is a cold, cruel, unkind place, and when its citizens see our kindness and care for them, they’re much more likely to listen to the words we say and the message we preach.
Why is it that some of God’s people are more fruitful than others? Perhaps it is because their roots are deeper in God (2 Ki. 19:30). Some Christians bear thirty, some sixty and some an hundredfold. May God help us not to be content with thirty fold, but to strive to grow to our full potential, and thereby bring glory to God, fulfilling the purpose for our existence (Isa. 43:7). “Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit…He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for severed from Me ye can do nothing” (Jn. 15:8, 5).
Written by Dennis LeBlanc