The Fruit Of The Spirit: The Sixth Fruit—Goodness

by on November 19, 2024 | Comment

I’m good! It’s all good. You good? He makes good money at his job. Mike Trout and Aaron Judge are good baseball players. Your friend is a good person.

As we all know, the word good has different meanings depending on the context. Similarly, the Bible uses the word good in various ways—it does not always mean the exact same thing.

Speaking of good, the sixth fruit of the Spirit is goodness. In this context, good is a moral virtue. In the Bible, goodness is also an attribute or characteristic of God (Titus 3:4). It is one of those attributes that God shares with us in a way; it is one of his communicable attributes. When Paul says that goodness is a fruit of the Spirit, it means that goodness in God’s people is due to the Holy Spirit’s work in their hearts. To learn about true goodness, we must start with God, the source, fountain, and standard of all good. As we learned in the earlier fruit of the Spirit articles, God is loving, patient, and kind. Now, we will spend some time thinking about his goodness and the fruit of the Spirit with the same name.

The Goodness of God

In Psalm 119:68 the psalmist praises God in prayer: “You are good.” This is a simple statement deep in meaning. It tells us about God’s nature and being. The Creator, the God of Abraham, is categorically good. When Scripture says God is good, it means that in his nature and being, in and of himself, God is good. Psalm 100:5 says the same thing: “The Lord is good.” Scripture says “God is love,” and Scripture says “God is good.” There is nothing bad, corrupt, or “not-good” in God. Everything in creation has something “not good” about it because of Adam’s sin. There is nothing perfectly and absolutely good in the created order. God alone is perfectly and absolutely good.

The Westminster Confession (WCF) says it like this: “God has all goodness in and of himself . . . [his] goodness is infinite” (WCF 2.2, 5.4). He did not receive his goodness from someone. God did not learn how to be good over time; nor did he grow or increase in goodness. His goodness does not fluctuate like the tides, people’s opinions, or stock markets. He is good. He has always been perfectly good, and he always will be perfectly good—yesterday, today, and forever.

In fact, every aspect of who God is is good. Just like “God is light and there is no darkness in him,” so God is good and there is no badness in him (1 John 1:5). The Bible says his name is good, his Word is good, his promises are good, his will is good, his ways are good, and his law is good (Ps 54:6, Heb 6:5, Josh 21:45, Rom 12:2, Deut 32:4, 1 Tim 1:8). When we confess with the psalmist that God is good, we mean it in the deepest, richest sense.

David even said that apart from God he had no good thing (Ps 16:2). Without God, there is no goodness. This is why theologians rightly say that God is the fountain of all good and the source of all good. When Augustine prayed, he sometimes even referred to God as “my Good.” He prayed, “Lord, my God, my Good.”1 We can think of goodness as from God, through him, and to him. True goodness is, in Os Guinness’ terms, a “signal” of transcendence, a marker in the world that God exists.2

Let us look again at Psalm 119:68. It says, “You are good and you do good” (emphasis mine). The second phrase can be translated like this: “You are the one who does good.” Because God is inherently and essentially good, everything he does is good. What he does is morally good and good in an appropriate way. God never does bad or inferior things. Nothing he does is unfitting. Our actions are mixed. Sometimes we do something good, but we do so with improper motives. And sometimes we do things inappropriate to the circumstances. Even when we try our hardest, sometimes our efforts are inferior. But God only does good all the time. All that he does is always good.

Paul told Timothy that everything created by God is good (1 Tim 4:4). Indeed, when God saw what he had made, he saw it was “very good” (Gen 1:31). Although we have spoiled it in some ways by our sin, we have to realize that God’s creation is good. On a related note, God’s providence is good for his people. That is why Joseph told his brothers that though they were intending evil by their actions, God meant it for good (Gen 50:20). Even though we usually do not understand why things happen as they do, we know that God is sovereignly working all things for his glory and for our good (Rom 8:28). The Christian sees the happenings of life through the lens of God’s providence: “Losing my job led me to meet the wonderful Christian woman who is now my wonderful wife. God was working it for good!”

God is good in how he treats people. He is “good to all” (Ps 145:9). He gives good things to people. He sends rains to the fields of the just and the unjust (Matt 5:45). In the last fruit of the Spirit article, I noted that God is kind to people. Similarly, he is good to people. The Westminster Confession says the “light of nature shows that there is a God who is good and does good to all” (WCF 1.1).

God is good in his justice. When he punishes the wicked, he does not do it badly or unjustly. His goodness and his justice are linked (Ps 25:8). He is upright, just, fair, and good. When he does punish someone who is unrepentant and undoubtedly evil, even though it may not be pleasant, it is proper and right.

When meditating on God’s goodness, we must also remember that God is good in saving sinful people. In his goodness, God provides salvation to all who come to him in faith. In his goodness, God sent his Son into the world to die in the place of unworthy, evil sinners. The Son of God taught what was good. Jesus spoke good words and went around doing good (Acts 10:38). Indeed, someone good has come from Nazareth (John 1:46)! Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for sinners. In his goodness, he forgives us when we repent and believe. Because he is good, he instructs us how to live a life that pleases God—a truly good life. And because he is good, the Lord satisfies the longings of our hearts as the fountain of good (Ps 107:9). The message of salvation in Christ is truly good news in every way!

Because of his goodness, we should praise the Lord and worship him from the heart. What shall we offer to the Lord for all his goodness to us? Let us give him thanks, for he is good (Ps 106:1). It is good to thank the Lord (Ps 92:1). Let us sing to the Lord together, for he has been good to us (Ps 13:6). God’s amazing goodness should make our hearts sing praises of thanksgiving to him. A Christian who understands God’s goodness will indeed sing songs of praise to him together with other Christians. Do not keep your mouth closed when you worship the Lord with other believers. Sing out in praise to God for his goodness!

God’s goodness also brings us joy. The fruit of joy and the fruit of goodness belong in the same basket. Because the Lord is good to us, we can rejoice in him at all times. Not too long ago, I was reading a book about the tactics of abusive men. Maybe you know a horror story of an abusive man who was manipulative, narcissistic, self-centered, and full of machismo. These types of men play mind games with people to confuse them. One day, the man acts like Prince Charming; the next day, he is a vile beast. You never know what you are going to get. That situation is not good. You cannot trust people like that, and you have to be careful around them. If possible, we should really avoid people like that.

But God is always good to his people—always and in every way. You can rejoice in that fact! The Lord will never bully you, abuse you, manipulate you, gaslight you, or spin reality so you do not know what is true or false. “The Lord is good; he is a refuge in times of trouble” (Nah 1:7). He does not rub your sins or mistakes in your face; he forgives them in his goodness. He will not mess with your mind. Instead, in his goodness, he will renew your mind and shine his light in it. Because he is good, God will never crush you when you are down. With God, you know what you will get: divine goodness full of love and mercy. Rejoice in that!

Finally, reflecting on God’s goodness does not just lead us to praise him and rejoice; it also leads us to obey him out of gratitude. At this point, we can talk about this lovely fruit that grows from the Spirit-tilled soil of the Christian heart.

The Goodness of People

When Paul talks about goodness as a fruit of the Spirit, he is, of course, talking about fruit in the lives of Christians. When we abide in Christ, we bear fruit (John 15:5). The Spirit of Christ works in a believer’s heart and grows the fruit of goodness in the believer’s life. But it is important to remember God’s goodness, as we have done. People who are not Christians can do relatively good things, but they cannot do spiritually good things. They cannot do truly good works that arise from faith and conform to God’s law. They cannot truly display God-like goodness in their lives because the Spirit is not working in them. But when the Spirit changes a person’s heart, the fruit of goodness does begin to grow in his or her life.

Goodness is a Christian virtue produced in us by the Spirit. Biblically speaking, the seed of God’s word falls on good soil. The sinner’s heart is changed by the Spirit. The Spirit then causes that seed to grow and produce fruit (e.g., Matt 13:23). Because the Spirit works in a believer’s heart, that person can actually do good things. Believers cannot act in perfect goodness because we still struggle with sin. But we can actually do good in the sight of the Lord because his good Spirit is working in us. If we abide in Christ, we will bear fruit because we are attached to him, the life-giving vine (John 15:1–5).

In Paul’s terms, God began a good work in us (Phil 1:6). In fact, we have been given new life in Christ so that we can do good works (Eph 2:10). If you remember Tabitha, that Christian woman Paul met in Joppa, the story says she was always doing good works and deeds of love (Acts 9:36). Because the Spirit was working in her, Tabitha was displaying goodness—this fruit of the Spirit. This was displayed in her life in how she helped the poor and needy and in how she made coats and clothes for people as gifts.

To be sure, it is also a duty for Christians to do what is good. Yes, the Spirit is working in us, sanctifying us so that we might bear fruit. But we are also called to do good, to imitate the good (3 John 11). In other words, because you have been redeemed by the Good Shepherd, your goal now is to imitate him in doing good. You know what true goodness is because you know God. And his Word clearly tells us what is good. He has shown you what is good—to act with justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with him (Mic 6:8).

Doing Good to Others

In Galatians 6:10 the apostle says that followers of Christ should do good to everyone as the opportunities arise. Just like Scripture calls us to love other people and be kind to them, we are also called to do good to others. If you are at all like me, you have a tendency to overthink things. If your car needs new tires, you might spend hours researching the best tires at the best prices. You end up seriously overthinking it. Just get some tires! I overthink things all the time. We should also not overthink Paul’s words: “Do good to everyone” (Gal 6:10).

If you are in line at the grocery store and the woman in front of you drops her bag of avocados, you practice goodness by helping her pick them up. If someone accidentally backs into your car after the soccer game, you practice goodness by staying calm and not saying terrible things to the person. Do not overthink it! It does not matter if the person is male or female, young or old. We are called to do good to all. It does not matter if the person is wearing a gay pride shirt or a political shirt with which you disagree. Do not overthink it. Do good to that person!

Another aspect of doing good to all is the counsel of Paul that is based on the gospel: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21). If there is a bad person at work who spreads a false rumor about you via email, you practice Christian goodness by refusing to retaliate. You do not seek revenge. Instead, with God’s help you aim to overcome evil with good by displaying the fruit of goodness. By doing good, as Peter noted, you might silence the ignorance of foolish people (1 Pet 2:15). Also, as Jesus said, when other people see you do good, they might even glorify God for it (Matt 5:16).

When Paul instructed Christians to do good to all, he did have a certain emphasis: “Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith” (Gal 6:10 NLT). The fruit of goodness should especially be on display before our brothers and sisters in Christ. In a way, this is also God-like. He does good to all, but especially to his chosen people. As Christians, we should purposely be doing good to each other. This would especially apply to the local church. As members of Christ’s church, we have an obligation to do good to each other. Most Christians would agree with this. It is not a new teaching. But we often get so occupied with our own schedules and situations that we fail to do good to others in the church family. This is something about which to pray, asking God to move us towards others in the church so we can do more good to them in Christian love and service.

Displaying the fruit of goodness in the church also means avoiding evil, conflict, arguing, gossip, and slander. If the fruit of goodness is growing and maturing in a local church, there will be evidence of forgiveness, patience, and peacemaking. A church that exercises goodness is a church where people are slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to anger (Jas 1:19). If goodness is growing in a church, people will not seek to hurt and harm each other. Instead, they will seek to encourage one another and build each other up in the faith. In fact, the more the fruit of the Spirit is on display in a local church, the less people will fight, bicker, and argue. Instead of those things, we should think about how to stir each other up to love and good works (Heb 10:24). That is another way you can do good to others: lovingly encourage them to obey the Lord.

An Aim in Life

It can be tempting to give up trying to do good. Maybe you have done many good things for a coworker, but it never affected him. You may feel like it is not worth doing good to him. Paul also addresses those who feel that way: “Let us not grow weary of doing good” (Gal 6:9). My translation is this: “We must not lose enthusiasm for doing good.” Martin Luther put it this way: “It is an easy matter for a person to do good once or twice, but to continue and not be discouraged by the unthankfulness of people you have done too—that is very hard. So Paul exhorts us not only to do good, but to not be weary in doing good.”3 Even when it is difficult, we are called to persevere in practicing goodness. As Paul told Titus, Christians should “devote themselves” to doing good (Tit 3:8).

If I asked you to share a few of your main goals in life, do you know how you would answer? One proper answer would be: “With God’s help, I want to be a good Christian.” Or maybe you would answer by saying you want to be a good wife, dad, student, or teacher. Those are good aims! Thinking like Christians, we should want to grow in goodness and be good Christians. Instead of being self-focused, we should be focused on glorifying God by doing good to others. This fruit of goodness makes life pleasant for other people. Goodness also makes your life more pleasant. And goodness glorifies God, who has been so good to you.

Conclusion

God is good. He does good. And Christians are called to display this God-like fruit of goodness. Scripture also teaches that there is blessing in doing what is good: “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (Gal 6:9 NLT). This is not earning salvation or justification by works. Instead, paraphrasing the Heidelberg Catechism, this blessing is not earned; it is a blessing of grace (HC 63). If, by God’s grace, we hold steady in doing good, the Lord will bless us because he is good. And when he does bless us for doing good, he still deserves all the praise because he is the one who started the good work in us—and will be faithful to complete it. Surely God’s goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives!

Notes

  1. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, ed. Roy Joseph Deferrari, trans. Vernon J. Bourke, The Fathers of the Church, vol. 21 (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1953), 7.
  2. Os Guinness, Signals of Transcendence (Downers’ Grove: IVP, 2015), 44ff.
  3. Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 553.

© Shane Lems. All Rights Reserved.

You can find this whole series here.

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    Post authored by:

  • Shane Lems
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    Shane Lems is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California and has a DMin from RTS Orlando. He has been a church planter and pastor in the URCNA. Since 2013 he’s been serving as pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Hammond, WI. He is married and has four children. Shane has written numerous articles for Modern Reformation, New Horizons, and other publications. He is also the author of Doctrines of Grace: Student Edition and manages a book blog, The Reformed Reader.

    More by Shane Lems ›

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