What's Good?-To God

To God?

What is considered Good to God? If God is good, and we want his goodness or at least benefactors of his goodness it is time to understand what Good is, according to God.

Romans 8:28–31 KJV 1900

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

As a young man in high school I learned the differences in greetings amongst certain peer groups. With some of my peers I would give a more formal greeting and other peers I would greet with a personal greeting. To some my greeting would be one of passing and others would be greetings or conversation starters. Sometimes I would not even greet some of my peers nor they, I but we would approach each other and just begin the conversation. Growing up in Detroit, like many native Detroiters adopted the greeting “What up doe?”. Even this day with my more personable circles will I use this phrase. Another phrase that I inhabited from various other encounters with individuals whats the phrase” what’s good with you?” over time and increased familiarity the phrase had broken down to “What’s Good?”. This abbreviated greeting served to fold as a greeting as well as a question. The question being asked between both parties was “what good is happening or going on with you since the last time we spoke?” In other words, tell me something Good about you today. There were times where I would receive or give good news and there were times where I would receive or give bad news because it was always the more recent thing that we would deliver upon the meeting with our peers. Why? Because the most recent things often times is viewed as the most important thing.

In the busyness of life we often tend not to look back on and reflect on anything that has not happened beyond a 48 hour window at best! Society has formed an algorithm around this concept in multiple ways.

If a movie premiers on Friday, the general rule of thumb is that spoilers are not allowed for 48 hours,

The 48 hour rule in relationships, is a tool given by counselors that encourages expressed feelings only from withing a 48 hour period

The tv reality show “48 hours” documents a live time flow from the time a murders is discovered to have happened until the time where the detectives discover the assailant or pass it on to the next stage of investigation.

In these and many other instances recency bias takes the precedent relevant information.

So what happens to a mind that is driven by recency=relevance. Or the ability to draw only from my most recent contact? We live lives lacking conextual reasoning and understanding. Since our mental and emotional recollection is so limited we are subject being driven by what happens, whether it is good or not.

With that being said, let’s define good in the text.

There are 3 instances of Good that over the course of this series we will look at and interact with. There is the “tobah”

ṭôḇāh - adj; well-pleasing, fruitful, morally correct, proper, convenient

This is used to describe something that ultimately is beneficial to a recipient whether it’s by viewership, tangible interaction or in comparison (good vs evil)

Scripture ref (Genesis 1:4)

Genesis 1:4 KJV 1900

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Then we have “kal-os”

kal-os´- adj; beautiful, better, fair, goodly, honest of a higher esteem

This version, also and adjective, is used usually to declare that something is of a higher esteem, therefore more so in a comparison format.

Scripture ref (Matthew 7:17

Matthew 7:17 KJV 1900

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

The form of “good” we will be dealing with mostly and specifically today is the Agathos version

ag-ath-os -noun; -benefit

This version, is being used not necessarily to describe something else, but it in and of itself is the thing that we as believers will be partakers in.

Paul in chapter 7 was describing the deliverance of being married or connected to Godliness through the law and he highlights the struggle of sin because of the knowledge of the law. Due to the knowledge of the law sin, which he describes in this chapter as an embodied force rather than a result of an action, sin essentially perverted how mankind viewed the law and caused us to be enslaved to it’s point of view rather than the good God sense that God created the law for. God created the law to teach us how to behave like children that belonged to him, but sin, didn’t perverse what was good but how good was perceived by us. Since it was able to do so, we viewing Godliness incorrectly, became enslaved to sin, not because the law was not good but because our view was skewed. So he says the good that I would that, I do not, but the evil that I would not, that I do! (for the person that wants to badly to do good and be right but struggles to commit to it!)

As he progresses forward in his letter, he assures the believer of this, (Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” ) so here we have 2 warring concepts the flesh and the spirit. Paul explains that those of us who have the spirit of Christ and walk after it, will shall have peace and life, while the followers of the flesh shall have death. He then goes on to describe walking after the spirit as well as it’s benefits. Finally we get to and anticipatory explanation that walking after the spirit will ultimately align us as being proven children of God. (Real children represent their parents.)

So full circle back to our verse at hand ( Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” ) Good and purpose are connected because we have to 1st marry what we call good to what God calls good. Why? Because when we don’t we do the very thing that Paul describes in chapter 7. If I look at the same thing that God looks at but not from a God perspective I am now perverting not the thing but the purpose. From the beginning of time everything that God created, was created for a purpose, and not only did he create for a purpose he created them in their purpose. The sun was created to rule the day and the moon by night and when he created them that’s what they did. The fish for their purpose, the birds for theirs, water for it’s purpose, land for it’s purpose , everything God created, he created for a purpose and in it’s purpose. And because he did it that way at the end of every day the bible records him saying in

Genesis 1:4 “And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”

Genesis 1:10 “And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”

Genesis 1:12 “And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

Genesis 1:18 “And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.”

Genesis 1:22 “And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.”

Genesis 1:25 “And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

God created everything for something and then he observed to see it function, and when it did he said it was Good. So what does God consider good, his creations operating in the purpose he created them for. So when something is operating outside of it’s purpose it is not considered good.

For example there is a creature, that when it operates in it’s purpose does great things .it cleans up degrading plant material, and it traps atmospheric nitrogen which can be harmful to the human body, so it helps keeps the air clean while simultaneously helps give plants their green color. However when it’s out of place and out of it’s purpose it wreaks mental havoc and those that encounter it, what is it?

A cockroach

When an insect meant to help the environment is in your house it’s now considered a “pest” and when there are multiple pests now you have an “infestation”

On the earth today we have an infestation of

broke men

lying men

cheating men

feminine men

low ambition men

God less men

we also have an infestation of

lazy women

loud mouth women

unaccountable women

masculine women

proud women

God less women

What am I saying we have plenty of no “good” people. being nice is nice, but are you Good?

Romans 8:28 KJV 1900

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Paul says it this way “all things” (good things, bad things, fun things, boring things, timely things, expensive things, happy things, sad things, frustrating things, confusing things, long term things, short term things) ALL things work together for GOOD to them who love God, those called according to his purpose. Now this is only applicable to a certain group people, those that love (agape- or have an affection or benevolence towards) God and are called according to his PURPOSE. God’s purpose for is Good because it involves him and God is good all the time and all the time God is GOOD.

Romans 8:29 KJV 1900

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Him foreknowing us means he knew us in eternity even before the existence of the Earth, how because we were already apart of him, and because he knew us he knew our purpose. (My purpose preceded My person) and since he fore knew our purpose before our person he was able to predestinate us to be changed to the image of his son, why? Because in the beginning our purpose was to be his children on the Earth! Our purpose was to represent our father with a Godly authority over the Earth, and just because we (mankind) messed up in the beginning our GOOD god still made a way for the lost children to look like found children.

You may not look like my child right now,

but if you want to,

God says I have provided you a way

If you want to

I take you through some things

but know that purpose of the things

is to get you to change

To change from who you are

to who I have called you to be

I have called you to be good

A good son and daughter

which means that you will have authority

Authority over the Earth

Authority over your finances

Authority on your job

Authority in your house

Authority when you come in

Authority when you go out

I have given you the Authority to change

Change how you walk

change how you talk

change how you think

The Authority I have given was made possible by Jesus

The Authority I have given is sealed by the power of the Holy Ghost

The Spirit says, God is desiring to make us ambassadors of his power on the Earth! The heavenly power that this Earth needs in order for it be how God ordained it to be will only come through us! That was his purpose for us, to have Godly dominion over the Earth and to have relational fellowship with HIM.

The Goodness of God in us, also is the revelation of his glory in us.