Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness
by Jonathan Pless
When a person comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live within them. From that day forward, the Spirit of God dwells with them, comforting, convicting, and applying the gospel to their lives, and also producing transformed character in that person’s life, which the Bible calls fruit. Because this is the Spirit of God indwelling the person, the characteristics of Jesus Christ soon begin to describe and define the recent convert. Galatians 5:22-23 lists the kinds of fruit the Spirit bears, but I want to look at just two examples. This week I’ll talk about kindness, and next week look at goodness.
The Spirit: The One who Produces Fruit
Since we’re talking about fruit from the Holy Spirit, I think it’s important to know who the Spirit is before we discuss two of the many fruits he provides.
The Holy Spirit is captivating and intriguing. He’s not just any old spirit or an impersonal power or force. No! It’s important to know Him as an actual Person. He is the third person of the Trinity - God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
He is someone; a being with a mind, emotions, and a will. He is God. Let’s see how the Bible describes Him:
The Holy Spirit shares the characteristics of God the Father, such as omniscience and omnipresence, as seen in 1 Corinthians 2:10-11 and Psalm 139:7-8.
The Holy Spirit is a divine Person, and He is intimately involved in our salvation, along with the Father and the Son, as shown in Romans 8:11.
The Holy Spirit has thoughts and knowledge (1 Corinthians 2:10), and He can feel sorrow and grief (Ephesians 4:30).
The Spirit can make intercession for believers (Romans 8:26-27).
He also has a will and makes decisions (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).
He is both a Comforter and a Counselor (John 14:16,26; 15:26).
As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit producing His fruit in us. We also have the Holy Spirit's power available to conquer our natural desire for sin (2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 4:13).
Kindness (Meekness)
The Greek word used in Galatians 5 that is translated as kindness is chrēstotēs - meaning moral goodness or integrity.
A. Kindness describes a person who has an absence of malice in their actions.
When I think of kindness, I think of people who are friendly. Everyone knows someone who is genuinely friendly—not just to your face, but seemingly all of the time. We love to be around these people.
While there are plenty of people who could be described as “kind” who do not have the Holy Spirit within them, the kindness the Spirit produces is distinctly different. Most people are decent to others, especially when others are decent and polite to them.
Christians throughout history routinely show kindness to their enemies. This goes against the world’s standards and shows how much a person can be changed by the Spirit’s working. By the power of the Spirit, Christians aren’t only good to those who are good to us. They can be good to those who hate them, expecting nothing in return.
When we are walking with the Spirit and allow kindness to drive us, we’re tender and benevolent to others—even enemies. Every word and action will have grace in it.
It is extremely difficult to show kindness and courtesy to our enemies. It can be painful to extend grace and goodness to people who offer us nothing but harm. Yet Christians have the resources to do so (2 Corinthians 6:4-6). When we yield to the Spirit and He produces kindness in us, we display the Spirit’s work in our lives and bring glory and honor to our Lord. Do you know when Christ died for us? While we were enemies of Him. As we display undeserved kindness to those who are cruel to us, we proclaim the gospel.
The ultimate example of kindness was displayed in recent history. While we were his bitter enemies, God provided salvation for us through His Son’s horrific death on the cross (Titus 3:4-5).
B. Another word that goes along with kindness is meekness.
Meekness is best described as an attitude of humility toward both God and others. When you are meek, you have a right or even power to act, but refrain for the benefit of another.
Meekness isn’t a desirable trait by the world’s standards. One definition from Webster defines meekness as deficient in spirit and courage (think also: mild, submissive, moderate).
Meekness is often mistaken for weakness in the world. Meekness appears as weakness or as even some kind of cowardly submissiveness.
If you’ve ever read or watched the Chronicles of Narnia (a series I highly recommend), you’ll remember the part in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe where the hero, Aslan, willingly goes to be sacrificed on a stone table.
Aslan, who is a full-sized, adult, male lion, willfully goes to take the place of another. Aslan, being a powerful lion and all, certainly has the power to rip, tear, and absolutely maul everyone in the immediate area. However, he meekly lays his life down to save another’s.
Aslan had the power to act but refrained for the sake of another.
While Narnia is a fun example, it is actually a picture of the ultimate meekness we see in Philippians 2:6-8, “[Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
The reason the Spirit bears the fruit of kindness in the believer’s life is that it characterizes Him. Because He is one with Christ, He is the same kind, meek, sacrificial, generous person, and He is at work transforming all of His people into that likeness. The Spirit of God is relentlessly committed to the work of making selfish, self-centered, prideful people into people who reflect the beautiful and glorious image of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. So He is working kindness into our very being.
This fruit is solely provided by the Spirit. So how can we be characterized by kindness and meekness?
Sanctification is a cooperative work of God and His people. He is at work in us, and we labor with Him. So practically here are a few thoughts about how we can partner with the Spirit in His work of bearing the fruit of kindness in us:
Rehearse the gospel: you were once enemies with God, and He laid His life down for you. Let that truth sink into your heart and let it drive you to worship.
Remember the humility of Christ. The Lord of heaven and earth made himself low to rescue rebels. How can that truth inform the way I interact with people I don’t like?
Abide with Christ. Jesus said in John 15 that we can’t bear fruit apart from Him. Striving to be kind in our own strength won’t get us anywhere. Apart from a daily walk with the Spirit who lives within us, we will never bear that fruit. Confess your need, and turn to Him to provide.
Repent and believe. The call of the Christian life is to turn from our sin and turn to Jesus. As we recognize failures to show kindness to people in our lives, we confess it to our Savior, receive His forgiveness, and walk forward asking for His help.
Jesus isn’t only the model of kindness for us to follow. He, by the Spirit, is actively working in us every day to produce kindness in us. By His grace, we can walk more and more in step with Him and less and less in step with our flesh.