FRUIT OF THE SPIRITFRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

“GENTLENESS”

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulnessgoodness, faithfulness, , GENTLENESSGENTLENESS, , self-control. Against self-control. Against such there is no law.such there is no law.

““Meekness” (KJV)Meekness” (KJV)

Blessed MeeknessBlessed Meekness

• ““Blessed are the MEEK, For they Blessed are the MEEK, For they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5)shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5)– NOTNOT

“Blessed are the WEAK, For they “Blessed are the WEAK, For they shall inherit the earth.”shall inherit the earth.”

– NOTNOT“Blessed are the STRONG, For “Blessed are the STRONG, For they can hold their own on the they can hold their own on the earth.”earth.”

“Those who are strongly—almost fiercely—competitive, aggressive and assertive are the ones who receive recognition, admiration and reward. Do they not seem to end up on top of the pile, possessing the most and best despite other obvious and perhaps even offensive flaws in their character?”

(BibleTools.Org)

Meekness is so important that it is the third characteristic Jesus mentions in His foundational teaching, the Sermon on the Mount:

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5).

Obviously, the world's ideal of the perfect man is very different from His. The meek are among those so favored that they will share in Jesus' inheritance of the earth.

Defining Defining “Gentleness/Meekness”“Gentleness/Meekness”

Gk. praotes (4236, Online Bible Greek Lexicon)

1) gentleness, mildness, meekness

“. . . is founded upon this idea, [of thinking little of your self, sjw] and goes beyond it. It is the attitude of mind and behavior which, arising from humility, disposes one to receive with gentleness and meekness whatever may come”

(5898, Online Bible Greek Lexicon)

“Prautes, according to Aristotle, is the middle standing between two extremes, getting angry without reason, and not getting angry at all. Therefore, prautes is getting angry at the right time, in the right measure, and for the right reason. . . . [I]t 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. (p. 1209-1210)”

(BibleTools.Org)

Defining Defining “Gentleness/Meekness”“Gentleness/Meekness”

“Meekness is patience in the reception of injuries. It is neither meanness, nor a surrender of our rights, nor cowardice; but it is the opposite of sudden anger, of malice, of long-harboured vengeance. . .

Defining Defining “Gentleness/Meekness”“Gentleness/Meekness”

. . .Meekness produces peace. It is proof of true greatness of soul. It comes from a heart too great to be moved by little insults. It looks upon those who offer them with pity. He that is constantly ruffled, that suffers every little insult or injury to throw him off his guard, and to raise a storm of passion within, is at the mercy of every mortal that chooses to disturb him. He is like the troubled sea that cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.”

(Barnes On the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 41)

Defining Defining “Gentleness/Meekness”“Gentleness/Meekness”

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in

heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my

burden is light”(Matthew 11:29, 30, KJV)

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with

all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another

in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

(Ephesians 4:1-3, KJV)

Meekness Requires AbasementMeekness Requires Abasement

• it is obvious if we have an inflated assessment of self, we are not “spiritual” and will not be “gentle/meek”– Rom. 12:3 “For I say, through the grace

given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (NKJV)

– Gal. 6:1

Meekness Requires AbasementMeekness Requires Abasement

• 1 Peter 5:6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (NKJV)

DAVIDDAVID

• when persecuted by Saul– 1 Samuel 24:14, “After whom has the king of Israel

come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?”

• places whatever injuries come in God’s hands– 1 Samuel 24:15, "Therefore let the LORD be judge,

and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand."

Meekness Meekness

•MEEKNESS DOESN’T FORBID:MEEKNESS DOESN’T FORBID:–ANGERANGER–FIRMNESSFIRMNESS– INITIATIVE INITIATIVE

•MEEKNESS REGULATES MEEKNESS REGULATES SUCH!SUCH!

• William Barclay adds that meekness is "the most untranslatable of words in the New Testament" (p. 51).

MOSESMOSES

• Number 12:3, (NKJV) “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.”– Yet he required the Levites

to take their sword to theirdisobedient brethren where 3000 died (Ex. 32:25-28)

PAULPAUL

• “What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?” (1 Cor. 4:21, KJV)– two essentials in preaching– meekness doesn’t forbid one the use of a

rod– Related passages: 2 Cor. 12:21 – 13:2, 10

JESUSJESUS

• Jesus is meek (Matt. 11:29)– Yet. . .“When He had made a

whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables” (John 2:15, NKJV)

– Yet . . .He openly challenged and destroyed the religious error of the day (Luke 13:10-17)

JESUSJESUS

• OUR LORD’S MEEKNESS ALLOWED HIM TO DO ALL THESE THINGS WITHOUT SIN

• 1 PETER 2:21-23:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth";23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;

A MEEK PERSONA MEEK PERSON

• doesn’t excuse sin/doctrinal infractions• doesn’t get carried away by personal

success• can sense and feel the wrong directed

towards him by man– forebears and endures such– doesn’t seek revenge for personal wrongs– may pity the broken and defective character

of those who resist him (e.g., Lk. 23:34)

A MEEK PERSONA MEEK PERSON

• is gentle to God when chastened by God– Aaron (Lev. 10:1-3)– David (Ps. 39)– Jesus, “. . . Shall I not drink the cup which My

Father has given Me?” (Jn. 18:11, NKJV; cf. Acts 8:32)

• understands sin, its effects, its desire, its hold, its control

2 Timothy 2:24-26 (NKJV)2 Timothy 2:24-26 (NKJV)

24 And a servant of the Lord must not 24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,patient,

25 in humility [meekness, KJV] correcting 25 in humility [meekness, KJV] correcting those who are in opposition, if God those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,that they may know the truth,

26 and that they may come to their senses 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.been taken captive by him to do his will.

A meek person will feel the wrong A meek person will feel the wrong done against him and feel it bitterly done against him and feel it bitterly

But because he is not thinking of himself, his meekness does not allow his spirit to give vent to a hateful, savage and vindictive anger that seeks to "get even."

He will instead be full of pity for the damaged character, attitudes and blindness of the perpetrator.

From the stake Jesus uttered, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34).

A Valuable Virtue

This much misunderstood and maligned virtue is the antidote for most of the nervous anxiety that is greatly intensifying the normal day-to-day stresses of life. God commands us in Zephaniah 2:3:Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility [meekness, KJV]. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.

This much misunderstood and maligned virtue is the antidote for most of the nervous anxiety that is greatly intensifying the normal day-to-day stresses of life. God commands us in Zephaniah 2:3:Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility [meekness, KJV]. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.

How valuable is that blessing?How valuable is that blessing?

The poor [meek, KJV] shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever! (Psalm 22:26)Further, "The Lord lifts up the humble (meek, KJV); He casts the wicked down to the ground" (Psalm 147:6).Finally:The humble [meek, KJV] also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 29:19).

The poor [meek, KJV] shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever! (Psalm 22:26)Further, "The Lord lifts up the humble (meek, KJV); He casts the wicked down to the ground" (Psalm 147:6).Finally:The humble [meek, KJV] also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 29:19).

This is not a virtue to ignore because carnal men consider it weakness. It may appear to them as weakness, but the spiritual reality is that it is great strength, an attribute of Almighty God and a fruit of His Spirit we greatly need.