Our State of Theology 2021-9i(8)k

The singular fruit, as compared with the plural works, suggests that the effect of the Spirit’s inworking is one harmonious whole, while carnality tends to multitudinousness, distraction, chaos.

There are no true virtues and good affections without the grace of regeneration.

Galatians 5:22- 23 is a portrait of Christ.

Love

Love = ἀγάπη agapē = It is the love that God is, produced in the heart of the yielded believer by the Holy Spirit, its chief ingredient, self-sacrifice for the benefit of the one loved. (Wuest)

Agape became the distinctive word for the highest love in Jewish and then Christian circles, beginning about 250 BC in the Septuagint.

Agape was used for God’s love for man and the responsive human love for God.

Philia, means friendship, and eros, the love that desires something considered worthwhile.

Eros is all take; philia give-and-take; agape all give.”

1 Corinthians 13:1–8a (NIV84)

1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails.

There are 15 elements of love described in vss. 4-7. Most English translations depict each trait as an adjective; the Greek forms of all these descriptions are verbs. Love is a verb.

They do not focus on what love is so much as on what love does and does not do.

Agapē love is active, not abstract or passive.

Agapē love does not simply feel patient; it practices patience.

Agapē love does not simply have kind feelings; it does kind things.

Agapē love does not simply recognize the truth; it rejoices in the truth.

Love is fully love only when it acts.

1 John 3:16–18 (NIV84)

16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (by vss. 17-18)

17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Joy

Joy = χαρά chara = the experience of gladness.

Some, wrongly identifying joy as a purely human emotion. Can people be commanded to produce an emotion?

Joy is not a feeling; it is the deep-down confidence that God is in control of everything for the believer’s good and His (God’s) own glory, and thus all is well no matter what the circumstances.

Shunammite woman who went to Elisha after her child died, stated to her husband and Gehazi, “It is well.” (2 Kings 4:8-37)

For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross, despising its shame (Hebrews 12:2).

Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV84)

10Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

The vast congregation before the water gate, under the teaching of Ezra, were awakened and cut to the heart; they felt the edge of the law of God like a sword opening up their hearts, tearing, cutting, and killing.

Now that they were penitent and sincerely turned to their God, they were told to rejoice.

David Jeremiah: Joy isn’t necessarily happiness. Happiness has to do with happenings. And all of us face days when we feel some stress from the happenings of life—perhaps even great stress.

But joy…That’s something different, friend. That has to do with your relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s centered in Him! It’s centered in the One who does not change and cannot change.

Strength = מָעוֹז (mā·ʿôz): mountain stronghold, place of refuge; fortress.

Protection, formally, place of refuge, i.e., the means of being safe in a situation of danger as a figurative extension of a fortress.

This joy is a fortress for the Christian in a fallen world. The great joy of the Lord is a powerful fortress.

The joy of the Lord is our stronghold.

Proverbs 17:22 (HCSB)

22A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Medicine = גֵּהָה (gēhâ) a cure, healing.

Joy is like medicine—it heals and strengthens.

Joy gives you the spiritual fortitude to press on to obtain the prize: salvation in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV84) 12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2 (NIV84) 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Peace

Peace = εἰρήνη eirēnē = harmony in personal relationships peace, harmony.

a state of freedom from anxiety and inner turmoil—‘peace, freedom from worry.’

Colossians 3:15 (AMP)

15And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].

Peace is often mistaken as being a doormat. The peace of Christ has dominion and authority to rule that lets the believer know when they are in the will of God and when they are not.

“What is peace?” A little boy answered, “Peace is when you feel all smooth inside.”

Rule = Brabruō (βραβρυω), an athletic term, “be umpire.” Lightfoot says: “Wherever there is a conflict of motives or impulses or reasons, the peace of Christ must step in and decide which is to prevail.” Vincent comments: “Literally, be umpire.

To factor decisively; to be the factor determining an outcome (as if arbitrating).

To control the activity of someone, based presumably upon correct judgment and decision—‘to control.’ This is what the peace of Christ does.

The peace of Christ tells you that you are on safe ground with God’s approval and blessing; the absence of the peace of God will let you know that what you are doing or about to do is unsafe and does not have God’s approval and blessing.

Let the peace of Christ rule (determine every decision and action in our lives).

In deciding on any course of action, let that be chosen which does not ruffle the peace within you.

Allow the peace of Christ be in control and be “the decisive factor.”

We are to submit ourselves to the rulership of the peace of Christ.

There are two aspects of peace: It is a gift from Christ (“of Christ” means both that it is his peace and that he is its source), but the believers must still submit to and work at it. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts”—to surrender to the lordship of Christ and to the peace that accompanies it.

Colossians 3:16–17 (AMP)

16Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts.

17And whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in [dependence upon] His Person, giving praise to God the Father through Him.

The peace of Christ is absent when the Word of God is neglected.

The Word of God is the foundation of our peace and rest. – A.W. Tozer

Longsuffering & Patience

Makrothumía is patience in respect to persons while hupomonḗ (5281), endurance, is putting up with things or circumstances.

Makrothumia (μακροθυμια) is patience exhibited under ill-treatment by persons.

Hupomonē (ὑπομονη) is patience shown under trials, difficulties, hardships.

James 1:19–20 (NIV84)

19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

20for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Slow to become angry = Patience.

Patience (Heb. ˒ereḵ ˒appayim “slow to anger;” Gk. makrothymía, hypomonḗ, anochḗ).

Jerry Bridges: Impatience = a strong sense of annoyance at the (usually) unintentional faults and failures of others.

Proverbs 19:11 (NIV84) 11A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

James 5:7–11 (NIV84)

7Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.

8You too, be patient (makrothumia) and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

Makrothumia: Patient endurance of pain or unhappiness as it relates to dealing with people.

9Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

10Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, and Amos also saw the people ignore their prophecies while Israel’s leaders were often hostile. Yet they bore that hostility with patience. More than that, they endured, that is, they continued to prophesy. They continued to denounce covenant infidelity and evil deeds, even if they never saw the judgment they predicted. Still, we count them blessed because they heard and proclaimed God’s very words. They show us how to endure.

11As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered (hupomenō). You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

What the Lord finally brought about. In an age of instant solutions and results, how the word finally grinds against our will. We would much rather read “quickly” or “immediately” than be reminded again that God’s timing and priorities are different from ours.

But perseverance is never instantaneous. There are no shortcuts to what the Lord brings about; the pathway before us is perseverance. Any explanation of the Christian faith that overlooks or denies the importance of perseverance will disappoint those who believe it.

Kindness

Kindness = χρηστότης chrēstotēs = the quality of being helpful or beneficial, goodness, kindness, generosity of humans.

The quality of being warmhearted, considerate, humane, gentle, and sympathetic.

1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV84)

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

Titus 3:4–5 (NIV84)

4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,

5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

What happened when God’s kindness and love appeared?

God saved us! Not because we did anything right, but solely because of His mercy!

Matthew 20:1–16 (NIV84)

1“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.

2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

3“About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.

4He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’

5So they went. “He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.

6About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

7“ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

8“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

9“The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.

10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.

11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.

12‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

13“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?

14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you.

15Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

16“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

The workers’ only hope for meeting their daily needs was for a landowner to come along and invite them to work. The reaction of the laborers who had worked all day makes sense to us. They worked longer, so they should have gotten more money. But this parable is about the values of the kingdom—it begins with “the kingdom of heaven is like”—not the values of the world. The landowner’s calculations were based not on the number of hours worked but on typical daily needs. All dayworkers’ needs are the same. The ones who didn’t have the opportunity to work all day still needed a full day’s pay. The kingdom of heaven is not about getting someone’s sweat but about giving someone bread.

Based on the parable’s pattern, what would the owner give a person invited to work at 5:30 p.m.? Or 5:45? A denarius. Why? Because the landowner’s concern was giving all the workers what they needed for the day.

The vital question is, why was the landowner looking for unhired workers at the last hour of the day? What good would they do him then?

The reason is not about how much labor the landowner needed done but about how much support people needed to make it through the day.

The owner desired to give all the workers a chance to get what they needed. He wanted no one left without a chance, so much so that he kept looking for people long after they were useful to him.

At 5:59, the master could say, “Come get in the truck,” and he’d pay that laborer for a full day too. That’s what is right in this kingdom.

Even at 5:59:59, if a laborer had done nothing but lift his leg to hop in the truck as the six o’clock whistle blew, he’d get a full day’s wage! Isn’t that the kind of landowner you really want to work for?

This is the picture of our great and generous God!

Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the dumb can understand. — Seneca

Goodness

Goodness = ἀγαθωσύνη agathōsynē = positive moral quality characterized esp. by interest in the welfare of others; generosity.

The quality of moral excellence; especially as a quality that is not stagnant, but actively working itself out.

Good = καλός kalos = beautiful; good, of good quality or disposition; fertile, rich.

There are three Greek words for good:

Agathos, which denotes excellence of a person or a thing as an inward moral quality.

Kalos, which describes good in outward appearance (beautiful, pleasing, useful, noble, worthy) as often displayed in good works.

Chrēstos, which describes kindness.

Ephesians 5:8–9 (NIV84)

8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light

9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)

“Fruit of the light” is “in all goodness”—good in every respect and in every relation should the Christian be.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 (KJV)

22Abstain from all appearance of evil.

Our actions should not only be good, but they should also look good.

We must not allow ourselves even to be placed in a situation where our testimony might be compromised even inadvertently. – John Phillips

Being good by human standards is not the same as being good by God’s standards. God must supply the kind of good necessary for us to reach eternal life.

Faithfulness

Faithfulness = πίστις pistis = that which evokes trust and faith; the state of being someone in whom confidence can be placed, faithfulness, reliability, fidelity, commitment; dependability.

Proverbs 20:6; 28:20 (NIV84)

20:6Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?

28:20A faithful man will have many blessings, but one in a hurry to get rich will not go unpunished.

A faithful man. This is a person of integrity. He is trustworthy and dependable. He does not cut corners or compromise his integrity by trying to get rich.

The one in a hurry to get rich will not escape punishment for his unethical behavior. He will fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that will plunge him into ruin and destruction. (1 Timothy 6:10)

The lesson here is that goals will determine behavior. Goals will also control values.

Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV84)

9Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

V.9, faithful = אָמַן ʾāman: A verb meaning to be firm, to build up, to support, to nurture, or to establish. The primary meaning is that of providing stability and confidence, like a baby would find in the arms of a parent.

The word conveys the notion of faithfulness and trustworthiness, such that one could fully depend on.

Hebrews 11:11 (NRSV) 11By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised.

Abraham was convinced that what God said, He would do.

Hebrews 10:23 (NIV84)

23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

God is always faithful; nothing or no one can change that fact. God is trustworthy and can be totally relied upon to keep His word, even when we fall short in believing that to be true.

Gentleness

Gentleness = Praǘtēs = getting angry at the right time, in the right measure, and for the right reason. It is a condition of mind and heart which demonstrates gentleness, not in weakness, but in power. It is a balance born in strength of character. – Spiros Zodhiates

According to Aristotle, this is the virtue that lies between excessive proneness to anger and the inability to be angry; it implies control of oneself; control of one’s anger vs. self-control, which is control of one’s sensual passions rather than control of one’s anger.

Psalm 37:1–2 (NIV84)

1Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;

2for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.

Fret = חָרָה ḥā·rā(h) = be angry, aroused, burn with anger, have a temper, i.e., have a strong feeling of displeasure, with a focus of an action to follow; enraged; be in a state of worry and concern as an extension of being internally angry. (Not simply, “wringing our hands in worry.)

Do not fret. Don’t get heated with rage and get all worked up because of the evildoers around us. The wicked will come and go, but the righteous will be around forever. The wicked will flourish only for a brief time; they’re just a flash in the pan, green grass that withers and fades with the heat of the sun.

Matthew 11:28–30 (NIV84)

28“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

[Jesus] didn’t say, “Learn from Me because I am majestic and mighty,” or “Learn from Me because I am powerful and prominent.” He said, “Learn from Me because I am gentle and humble in heart.”

What is meekness? Meekness is strength under control. Picture a big, gentle Saint Bernard surrounded by yapping, snapping, little Chihuahuas. Now the Saint Bernard could open his mouth and chomp the Chihuahuas down in one gulp. He could take his paw and knock them away with one swipe. But the powerful Saint Bernard patiently puts up with the yappers and snappers at his feet. That’s meekness.

Self-Control

Self-control = ἐγκράτεια enkrateia = restraint of one’s emotions, impulses, or desires.

The trait of resolutely controlling one’s own desires (which would produce actions); especially sensual desires.

Remember that gentleness is control over anger, and self-control is control over sensual passions.

The normal biblical emphasis is on God at work in us by the Spirit rather than on man’s self-mastery.

Self-control is the manifestation of the Spirit’s work in man resulting in the putting to death the misdeeds of the body. (See Romans 8:13.)

Romans 8:13 (NIV84) 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,

1 Peter 4:7 (NIV84)

7The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

Be clear minded = σωφρονέω sōphroneō = to be prudent, with focus on self-control, be reasonable, sensible, serious, keep one’s head.

to have understanding about practical matters and thus be able to act sensibly—‘to have sound judgment, to be sensible, to use good sense, sound judgment.’

Self-controlled = νήφω nēphō = to be sober, not intoxicated; be well-balanced, self-controlled. vs. enkrateia (control of sensual passions)

To curb the controlling influence of inordinate emotions or desires (and therefore become reasonable); conceived of as sobering up from the influence of alcohol.

For every one of us, the time is near. The one thing which can be said of every one of us is that we will die. For every one of us, the Lord is at hand. We cannot tell the day and the hour when we shall go to meet him; and, therefore, all life is lived in the shadow of eternity.

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