1.
Moderation
(Phil. 4:5). I think that this grace is very similar to temperance, since both
point to avoiding excess in our lives. Temperance speaks of controlling one’s
tempers, not just anger, but any carnal drive. Moderation, I think, aims more
at maintaining balance, vs. drifting to any extreme. It’s something that can and
should be known or observed about us
by believers and unbelievers. It begins in the heart, but works its way out. I think that physical moderation is the main application here, but spiritual immoderation
is just as dangerous, if not more. Peter warns of the “unstable” wresting the
scriptures “unto their own destruction” (2 Pt. 3:16), so it’s important to be
moderate both spiritually and physically and for all men to see this. Why? To
give them a true picture of God, who is not excessive or intemperate about
anything. He is a perfectly balanced being. The Bible speaks of “the fierceness
and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev. 19:15) and conversely of his “great mercy”
(Eph. 2:4), but there’s nothing unbalanced about God’s character, including its
different expressions. And since he’s now residing in us, he wants to express
his moderation through us, since we are his members (1 Cor. 6:16) and epistles
(2 Cor. 3:2). Are you allowing God to show his moderation through you? Being
anorexic or bulimic isn’t spiritual, but neither is neglecting your fitness.
Also, spirituality doesn’t foster flakiness or weirdness, but rather a pleasant
moderation in spiritual matters. It’s important that we show our moderation not
only for men’s sake, but more importantly for God’s, since we’ll give an
account to him for it (“The Lord is at hand”). Remember Paul’s testimony before
Felix? What did he reason of? Righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come.
So moderation is not something to take lightly: God expects it of us, and men
need to see it.
2.
Increasing love (1 Thes. 3:12-13). In the first
part of this chapter, Paul expresses his concern over the welfare of the
Thessalonians following his expulsion by the Jews and his relief at their
stability. He then expresses his earnest desire and prayer to see them and
perfect them (cf. Rom. 1:10-12) and concludes the chapter with a prayer that
their love for one another and for all men will grow. He uses he and his
fellows as examples of such growing love, and rightly so, since he just told
the church how his company’s hearts were overflowing with love for them. Two
points here:
a.
It’s not just
growing love for believers, though that comes first (Gal. 6:10, but for all men.
That would include those persecuting them (cf. context of “labour of love” in 1
Thes. 1:3—affliction (vv. 4-8).
b. Something is
wrong with our growth in holiness if this love is not growing. There’s a heart
issue that needs correction, and if it’s not corrected down here, well then, it
will be corrected up there. Now ultimately all of us will appear before the
Father with “hearts unblameable in holiness,” but not until after the judgment
seat of Christ. That’s why I think that Paul is praying for this to be effected
in us down here, since he will correct this at the judgment seat if it’s not
accomplished down here.
3.
Patience (1
Thes. 5:14). This is a good opportunity to define this grace: it’s restraint. New
versions substitute “patience” for “longsuffering,” even in the fruit of the
Spirit, but they’re similar, not the same (Col. 1:11). I think that it’s a
difference in degrees. You may only have to be patient for a little while, but
longsuffering obviously takes place over a long period of time, and I think
that it runs deeper too: long-suffering.
We need to show general restraint in
our dealings with others, including unbelievers, and I believe that is Paul’s
thought here.
4. Prayer and the
gospel (1 Tim. 2:1-6). In True Evangelism,
Lewis Sperry Chafer emphasizes the importance of prayer in evangelism, but
prayers for salvation need beautiful feet to follow them (Rom. 10:15). So even though the opening verses of
this chapter deal with prayer, including prayers for salvation, it doesn’t stop
there. Christ’s redemptive work is mentioned in vv. 3-6a, the means of
salvation in this age, but notice v.6b and v. 7. The gospel needs to be
testified (v. 6), preached (v. 7) and taught (v. 7). So it’s commendable to
pray for lost souls, but it’s not complete without your personal testimony.
5.
Gentleness (2
Tim. 2:24). Ministers in this age are characterized by gentleness, not strife.
In the kingdom program, God’s ministers could take the sword and execute
judgment on God’s enemies (e.g. Samuel and Agag), but in this age, our weapons
are spiritual. That doesn’t preclude self-defense, as we saw in Rom. 12:18, nor
does it preclude military service, but the spirit of our ministries and lives
should be gentle, since we’re ministers of reconciliation, all of us (2 Cor.
5:18-21), and the fruit of the indwelling Spirit in this age includes
gentleness (Gal. 5:22-24).
6.
Meekness (Tit.
3:2). Lastly, and closely related to gentleness is meekness; something we owe
to all men. Meekness is defined as subjection in 1 Pt. 3:4-5 and fits perfectly
in Tit. 3:2, since v. 1 deals with subjection and obedience to worldly powers. These
passages are two good examples of the scope of meekness: wives toward their
husbands (cf. Eph. 5:21-23) and believers toward worldly powers, certainly
included in “all men.”
As I wrote these
things out in my study, I was delighted to find a thread. Most of the things
that I’ve mentioned comprise the fruit of the Spirit. Two passages deal with
the scope of the Spirit’s fruit: Eph. 5:9 being a general statement of it and
Gal. 5:22-23 a more specific. We began this list with owing all men the truth
and honesty. Eph. 5:9 says that the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and
righteousness and truth.
My summary point,
then, is that we owe all men the fruit of the Spirit, in all of its
manifestations. Joy isn’t mentioned in this survey, but if our apostle tells us
to “Rejoice evermore” and “Rejoice in the Lord alway…,” then I think that it’s
safe to say that all men will see our joy also (Rom. 15:13).
If it sounds like a huge debt difficult
to repay, think again. What you owe all men is who you truly are, your new nature
in Christ. If you will yield to that, you will fulfil your debt to all men, and
not otherwise. You can try to be good, be you saved or lost, but until you feed
your spiritual life and yield to the Spirit’s work thereafter, you won’t be
truly fulfilling your debt. What people need is Christ’s life, nothing Adamic.
So take heart, and concentrate on developing your spiritual life through the
word of God, prayer, and fellowship with other believers, and watch the
Spirit’s fruit come forth and your debt to all men repaid!
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