Carl, that is the most beautiful post I've ever seen on any
ng. Thank you so much for delivering this message. I really
enjoyed reading and trying to comprehend His true gentleness.

Love,
Sensi

On Mon, 9 Jul 2007 21:41:46 -0400, "Carl" <saints@nettally.com> wrote:

The following is one in a series of lessons from David Jeremiah based on the
fruit of the spirit as taught in Galatians 5:22,23. This lesson is full of
encouragement and exhortation for we Christians. I hope it will aid you in
your daily living.

May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/

---

The Fruit of the Spirit Is Gentleness
by David Jeremiah

Galatians 5:16-26

OVERVIEW

One of the most beautiful musical creations the world has ever known is
"Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven. It is a masterful interpretation of the
unspeakable glory of a moonlit night. It was created because the composer
wanted to give something of himself and of his talent to a blind girl. This
is the story behind the piece:

The girl couldn't see the beauty of the moonlit night. She was blind to the
silver sheen on the trees, and the shrubs, and the grass. She was blind to
the covering of the lake. She could not see the world of milky white in the
sky. So the thoughtful Beethoven determined to communicate to her what she
was missing. He determined to do it not only with his words, but in sound,
and so he wrote that beautiful piece of music. In that music he conveyed to
her what her eyes could not see. Because of his act of kindness, the world
has been enriched with that beautiful rendition written by Beethoven."

It is only one of the many evidences of the kindness present in our world
today, and the lasting value of that kindness on our society.

The King James Version of the Bible names the quality we will be studying in
this lesson as "gentleness." But the Greek word for this fifth virtue is
christatos which is best translated by the word "kindness" as we understand
it in our language today. The quality of kindness is the sympathetic
kindliness or sweetness of temper which puts other people at ease and
shrinks at giving pain. Someone has said that, like the impress in a coin
which tells us who the owner is, kindness is the impress of God upon His
creatures. When we see it in its fullest extent in a human being, we
understand that person belongs to God.

The Greek word in Galatians 5:22 translated as "gentleness" is
"chrestotes"; not "christatos" which does not occur in the Greek, the
closest word being "christos" which translates to "Christ" and means
"anointed". Gentleness is not a virtue; it is a fruit or product of
the spirit.

In Galatians 5:22 "spirit" is from "pneumatos" which is Genitive
Singular Neuter and is preceded by and emphasized by the definite
article. Fruit that has its origin in "the" Spirit; God the Giver Who
gives through the gift

God's nature is manifested in the senses world through the saint of
God. Hence, while the saint is the agent that manifests the fruit; it
is God who "sends" the fruit which is "agapao," the love of God.

Fruit of the spirit is the love of God manifested in the life of a
saint towards something or someone. The love of God which is the love
that originates from within God is manifested in one or more of eight
forms: (1) joy, (2) peace, (3) patience, (4) kindness, (5) goodness,
(6) faithfulness, (7) gentleness, and (8) self-control. The fruit of
the Spirit is love and and the clump has eight berries with which to
feed the needy. There is no law against the fruit of the Spirit
because laws cannot be made against what is spiritual (supernatural)
because laws are applicable to what is natural.

"Gentleness" is the seventh of eight not the fifth virtue. The fifth
is "goodness" from "agathosune" which means "goodness". The eight
forms of the love of God are not virtues.

Virtue is translated from one of two Greek words. The first is
"dunamis" which is inherent ability or inherent power. The second
word is "arete" from "arrhen" (male) and means "manliness." Oddly,
the editors of the King James Version translated "dunamis" as "virtue"
in the Gospels and "arete" as "virtue" in the epistles. Dunamis
occurs 120 time sin the Greek New Testament is always connected with
power. The word "arete" is not used in the Gospels; only four times
in the KJV in Php 4:8; 1Pe 2:9; 2Pe 1:3; and 2Pe 1:5.

Dunamis is the dormant inherent power of holy spirit (the gift) in
every believer. It remains dormant until energized by the energizer
(not the bunny). The energizer is the one who throws the switch to
activate the stored energy; whether it be God or the believer in whom
holy spirit resides. Who throws the switch is dependent on the
manifestation of the spirit to be produced. In the case of worship,
the believer throws the switch. In the case of the revelation or
impartation manifestations the believer has to throw the switch as God
activates the power. When John spoke the words of the Revelation of
Jesus Christ, John turned on the switch to speak and God gave the
words. When Paul ministered healing, Paul threw the switch and God's
power did the healing. God does not work through people against their
will.

Mr Jeremiah got his words mixed up and his meanings mixed up. Mistakes
happen when one does not understand the Scriptures and the context in
which they are used and how God works through His children. What Mr
Jeremiah describes as spiritual behavior is not spiritual behavior.
He is trying to present natural behavior as spiritual behavior. He is
presenting a counterfiet as tdhe real thing.

Mr Jeremiah made the all too common mistake of trying to relate
Biblical words used in a Biblical sense as secular words in a secular
sense. Look at what he said again and see if you can see why what he
says is a counterfiet.

"The King James Version of the Bible names the quality we will be
studying in this lesson as "gentleness." But the Greek word for this
fifth virtue is christatos which is best translated by the word
"kindness" as we understand it in our language today. The quality of
kindness is the sympathetic kindliness or sweetness of temper which
puts other people at ease and shrinks at giving pain."

Did you notice the word "sympathetic"? It is not a Biblical word. The
Biblical word would be "compassion". Though similar, the two words
are not identical and from a Biblcal standpoint are not synonymous.
Feeling sorry for people does not help them. Being compassionate
towards people does help them because compassion is of the godly
nature while sympathy is of the human nature.

Empathy in a spiritual sense comes from where? How do you know how a
person really "feels". Let's say that your Cadilac broke down a week
ago and today a friend's almost identical Cadilac broke down for the
same reason at the same place. How you felt a week ago is not
necessarily how your friend feels today because feelings are affected
by many variables. Natural man has the ability to empathize. There
is nothing spiritual about empathy; unless, God through holy spirit
gives spiritual insight into the situation.

I have no idea who Mr Jeremiah is. He appears to be a good writer who
writes pretty words that are capable of motivating people. But I also
sense that he suffers from one of the more serious fundamentalist
religionist mental health issues; lack of spiritual knowledge and
spiritual abilities. This is because they have forsaken the spiritual
to chase after and to purify the natural which cannot be made
spiritual or pure.

When men make the doctrines of men superior to the doctrines of God
they cannot walk in the power of God. So, to them the power of God
does not really exist because they cannot manifest in their lives.
They cannot do what the apostles did so the invent doctrines that say
that the power left with the apsotles. Next they work at making the
flesh holy while at the same time saying that the flesh cannot be made
holy. I told you it was a mental illness which is the result of a lack
of the power, love, and a sound mind that God gave to His children
(rather than the alternative which is the spirit of fear).

2Ti 1:7 KJV
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind.

Mr Jeremiah did the one thing that should always catch the attention
of a believer who knows and lives the word of God. He quoted the
verse numbers; but did not quote the words in the verses. This little
trick allows a writer to say things about what he wants you to think
the word of God says. He is not writing to believers who know and live
the word of God. He knows they will check what he says against what
the word actually says. His audience are the lazy who will not take
time to go the word of God to see whether what he says is so. His
audience is those who will spend money to buy books or tapes or make
donations as their form of clearing their religious conscience.

Mr Jeremiah began the article as follows:

Galatians 5:16-26

OVERVIEW

Then he went into a story about Beethovan and a blind girl; neither of
which are mentioned in Galatians 5:16-26 and could not be part of an
overview of Galatians 5:16-26.

Then he said:

It is only one of the many evidences of the kindness present in our
world today, and the lasting value of that kindness on our society.

That is not part of an overview of Galatians 5:16-26 either. Galatians
5:16-26 does not speak about "kindness"; but he is preparing reader
brains to accept what he wants to fool them into thinking that
Galatians 5:16-26 says. Then after putting on his bgest wooley white
coat he says:

The King James Version of the Bible names the quality we will be studying in
this lesson as "gentleness." But the Greek word for this fifth virtue is
christatos which is best translated by the word "kindness" as we understand
it in our language today. The quality of kindness is the sympathetic
kindliness or sweetness of temper which puts other people at ease and
shrinks at giving pain. Someone has said that, like the impress in a coin
which tells us who the owner is, kindness is the impress of God upon His
creatures. When we see it in its fullest extent in a human being, we
understand that person belongs to God.

Does the King James Version of the Bible name a quality in Galatians
5:16-26 or does it name works of the flesh and fruit of the spirit?
Here are the verses, see if you see the word "quality" in any of the
verses. The section speaks about walking by the Spirit so that one
will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. What does Mr Jeremiah present
to us a s a quality? A work of the flesh.

Gal 5:16-26 KJV
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the
lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye
cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife,
seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the
which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that
they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another,
envying one another.

No, Mr Jeremiah is not stupid. He is not going to try and tell you to
commit adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife,
seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, or revellings;
but how about the "such like" part? What are the "such like?" What
are the similar works of the flesh that are not named? They are the
things that do not earn rewards included in the statement "of the
which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that
they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

The "such like" are those things that are not gold, silver, (things
that don't burn) precious stones but which are wood, hay, stubble
(things that do burn).

1Co 3:10-15 KJV
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise
masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth
thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is
Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare
it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every
man's work of what sort it is.
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall
receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he
himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Mr Jeremiah's presentated a counterfiet; wood, hay, stubble in lieu of
gold, silver, precious stones.

What Mr Jeremiah is trying to do is teach people to make the flesh
holy by presenting a counterfiet Christ to people. The real Christ
manifested genuine compassion because the spirit of God was alive and
well and working witin Him. Same with Peter and Paul and the other
Apostles. What they did was genuine and real and spiritual.

Beethovan may or may not have been a Christian. I never met the man.
What he did for the blind girl could have been what any other man of
similar abilities might have done. There is no "proof" that God
worked through Beethovan to do something nice for the girl. Natural
man is perfectly capable of doing nice things for people.

As far as natural man philosophy goes, what Mr Jeremiah wrote is right
on target because natural man can do what Mr Jeremiah encourages. Thre
is nothing spiritual about doing good things unless they are done by
the spirit.

And that is what this is all about. The fruit of the Spirit is not
subject to any law of man or any philosophy of man because fruit of
the Spirit is God working through one of His children. Man has been
working hard to counterfiet the fruit of the Spirit ever since Paul
wrote the words of Galatians because sif your can produce a close
enough counterfiet you can fool people into following you.

For me to sit here and write what John did for Sally is fruit of the
spirit and what Tom did for Jane is not fruit of the spirit would be
ludicrous because things of the spirit and known by those by those
experiencing them. You can not "reason out" spiritual things; but you
can know them by experience.

1Co 2:12-16 KJV
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit
which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given
to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom
teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual
things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is
judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ.

The fruit of the Spirit is freely given by God through God's children
so that the child and the beneficiary may know the goodness of God. Mr
Jeremiah is usingh mans wisdom to teach rather than what spirit
teaches. Verses 13 is not translated correctly because the word
"Holy" is not in the Greek text. The NASB deletes "Holy" and the LITV
leaves it in without putting it in italics. In the Greek, three forms
of "pneuma" appear one after the other: "pneumatos, pneumatikois,
pneumatika" and no definite article precedes the Genitive Singular
Neuter "pneumatikos"; hence:

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom
teacheth, but which spirit teacheth; spiritual things spiritual
comparing.

Without spirit in a man there can be no comparing spiritual things
spiritual. What Mr Jeremiah's philosophy suggests is that we not
allow the Comforter which is holy spirit to work through us. Rather
we are to behave like good natural men so that we can impress other
natural men with our good natural man behavior. Mr Jeremiah said what
follows the verse later on in this article. Put on your spirit for a
minute. I will break Mr Jeremiahs paragraph into sections. You have
the whole context of the paragraph; but compare the following verse to
what he said about the fellow:

Joh 10:10 KJV
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I
am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly.

"This quality of kindness in the Spirit-filled life is one that is
desperately needed in our world today. As Christians, we can get
impacted by the impersonalization of our world.

One day as I was going toward a restaurant, a fellow asked for some
change for a cup of coffee. I found myself being steeled against that
and just kept walking toward the restaurant. I almost got there, but I
turned around, walked back and gave him some change.

Some people would say I was a sucker. All I know is this: I saw a man
who said he was hungry, and I had money in my pocket, and the Spirit
of God wouldn't let me walk away from that. The thing that amazed me
was how close I came to not even hearing his concern. I realize the
world we live in is filled with rip-off artists. Everybody is knocking
on your door, trying to get into your pocketbook. That is one of the
things that causes us to become calloused so that as Christians we
don't have the evidence of kindness. We are so afraid we are going to
get ripped off.

It's hard to be kind in our world. It's hard to demonstrate the
reality of our faith as we walk in this culture that has steeled us
against being concerned about our fellows and our friends."

Mr Jeremiah said he gave the man "some change". Jesus said "I am come
that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly." Clearing once's conscience of guilt fueled by human
philosophies is not the way of Jesus Christ. Was it the Spirit of God
that wouldn't let him walk away or was it a religiously trained mind
that would not let him walk away? Why didn't Mr Jeremiah take the man
into the resturant and feed him a full meal? Why did not Mr Jeremiah
share his abundant life with the man? God don't put people off with
some change; God changes people's lives.

There is no reason to go any further as I have spent enough time
writing about what Mr Jeremiah wrote. As I said, I do not know the
man and I can't say I have ever heard of him before. According to his
religious standards he may be making progress in making himself into a
righteous man. That's a lot of hard unnecessary work because all he
has to do and all you have to do is accept the righteousness that God
gave you (or will give you if you are not saved) - the righteousness
that is unto all and upon all them that believe. Those that have been
justifed freely by his grace through the redemption that is Christ
Jesus.

Rom 3:21-28 KJV
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ
unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his
blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are
past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might
be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works?
Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the
deeds of the law.

Counterfieting fruit of the Spirit is a work of the flesh; a hard work
that is not of faith.









The Kindness of God

When the Bible speaks of God as being a good God, often the word that
is
meant is kindness. God is spoken of as being good not so much in His
moral
quality, (we already know that He is holy), but in the sense that He
is a
kind God. Often in the Old Testament where we read that God is good,
we can
insert the word kind and the verse will remain accurate.

It is because of His goodness that we have hope. It is because of His
goodness we can be Christians, we can be saved, we can have mercy. If
the
term goodness had to do with the moral quality of God, there wouldn't
be
much hope for us in that. My hope is not built upon the moral quality
of God
because God's absolute holiness is unapproachable. I cannot attain it.
But
since the goodness of God is the kindness of God, I have hope.

Seen in His Creation

God's kindness is expressed in this world in more ways than you can
imagine.
For instance, God's kindness is expressed in our world today in His
creation. Psalm 85:12 says, "Yes, the Lord will give what is good; and
our
land will yield its increase." According to the Psalmist, the very
fact the
seasons rotate and the ground gives forth its fruit is an evidence of
the
kindness of God. All the observable laws of nature are simply the
indication
of the continuing and consistent kindness of God. He allows the world
which
He created to do what it was created to do in bringing forth produce
and
fruit so we might eat and maintain our health.

Psalm 104:28 says, "What you give them they gather in; You open Your
hand,
they are filled with good." God's kindness to the world is seen in His
creation. Everywhere you look, you see the kind manifestation of the
Father.

Seen in His Care

God cares for the world He has created. There is a philosophy that God
created the world, wound it up and walked off to let it run down on
its own.
But the scripture teaches God is involved in the ongoing process of
the
world. By Him not only were all things created, but by Him all things
consist. God is involved in the continuing care of the world which He
created. Psalm 145:7 says, "They shall utter the memory of Your great
goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness." It speaks of looking
back
over the way God has dealt with His world, not only in nature but in
history
as well, and examining the evidences of the kindness of God in the
world He
created.

In the New Testament you discover God's kindness is reflected the same
on
the ungodly and the godly, upon those who are unthankful and evil and
upon
those who are gracious and good. Even the ungodly person who flaunts
his
independence in the face of God is the recipient of God's kindness. If
for
one moment the kindness of God were to be withdrawn from this world,
the
ungodly would immediately understand the primacy of our God.

Seen in His Corrections

Psalm 119 tells us that the judgments of God are kind. That's hard for
us to
understand, especially if we are undergoing His correction. But God
everywhere affirms that His corrections, judgments and redirections in
life
are kind.

I've talked to parents who have watched their kids go through deep
trials. I've
heard them say, "I am grateful to God He let that happen, because in
that
act of judgment on my child, I've seen them return and understand
again who
God is."

Sometimes when God comes after us hard when we've been away from Him,
sometimes when we have rejected His plan for our lives and gone our
own
course, the judgment of God comes down. We don't feel it to be kind at
the
moment, but the Old Testament teaches us that even the corrections of
God
are kind.

Seen in His Concern for Special Ones

In the Bible, it seems as if God's kindness is directed on occasion in
a
very special way to individuals. First of all, God exhibits great
kindness
toward the afflicted, toward those who are in trouble. Those who are
physically or emotionally afflicted. God cares about those who are in
trouble.

There are a vast number of verses that speak about the kindness of God
toward those who are in poverty. The kindness of God is often
exhibited in a
special way toward the poor.

God's kindness is specifically directed to those who hope in Him. It
is
directed to those who reverence and fear Him. It is specifically
directed
toward those who wait for Him.

Isn't it interesting that the people we direct our kindness to in our
culture are far different than the list of special people God has. God
seems
to emphasize the importance of those whom we would consider to be down
under. When God exhibits His kindness, He never seeks anything in
return. It's
a pure act of love on His part.

Seen in His Compassion

The kindness of God is seen in His compassion for those who are lost.
This
is especially true in the New Testament language of the kindness of
God.
Romans 2:4 says, "...the goodness of God leads you to repentance."
What was
the greatest act of kindness the world has ever known? The kindness
shown to
this world by God the Father when He gave to the world Jesus Christ,
His
Son. By that act of kindness He made it possible to bring many
children to
glory in redemption.

The Old Testament describes God's character. The New Testament
illustrates
it in the Person in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus was
walking
on earth, people asked Him, "Show us the Father." Jesus answered that
request by saying, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John
14:9). He
was saying, "If you want to know who God is, then look at Me, I am
God."

In the first chapter of Hebrews, the writer says, "God, who at various
times
and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the
prophets.. " In
other words, in the Old Testament God spoke to us by the prophets. But
in
these last days, God has "spoken to us by His Son." In other words,
Jesus
Christ is God's last word. Jesus Christ is God in picture to us. When
we
study the fruit of the Spirit, we are painting a picture of Jesus
Christ. As
we see His life on earth in the gospels, every single quality of the
Spirit-filled life is expressed.

There is no other quality so beautifully expressed in the life of
Jesus as
the quality of kindness. I see Him feeding 5,000 hungry people by His
miracle of the loaves and fishes. I see Him curing a woman on the
Sabbath
day even though the Jewish law forbade it. Jesus elevated her
well-being
above the Jewish law and healed her anyway. I see Him reaching out to
a man
at the Pool of Bethsaida, healing him, touching his life and making
him
well. I see Him talking with Mary and Martha in the most gentle terms.
Even
in His chiding of them there is kindness everywhere exhibited in His
life.

Acts 10:38 says that Jesus went everywhere doing good. That was one
thing
that was so noticeable about the life of Jesus. Everywhere He went
there was
kindness.

When I want to know what God expects of me in the matter of kindness,
I read
what the Old Testament says about God and I study what the New
Testament
pictures in Jesus Christ.

The World Needs Kindness

This quality of kindness in the Spirit-filled life is one that is
desperately needed in our world today. As Christians, we can get
impacted by
the impersonalization of our world. One day as I was going toward a
restaurant, a fellow asked for some change for a cup of coffee. I
found
myself being steeled against that and just kept walking toward the
restaurant. I almost got the