The Fruit of the Holy Spirit

Part Seven – Faithfulness

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

In part one of this series we learned that Paul encouraged Christians to let the Word of Christ dwell richly within them (Colossians 3:16-17). He also encouraged followers of Christ to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18-20). Paul also taught that as believers obeyed the Word, followed the example of Christ and were filled with the Spirit they would manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit.   

 

Galatians 5:22-25

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

 

This bearing of fruit is God’s will for our lives and it brings Him great glory.

 

John 15:8

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

 

So as we allow God’s Spirit to live in and through us, the Spirit produces a set of Christ-like qualities or virtues within us, the fruit of the Spirit. This fruit of the Spirit is manifested in relationships, in our relationship with God as well as with other followers of Christ. While we might think that the fruit of the Spirit are personal attributes and private virtues, they are more importantly interpersonal qualities, virtues that are a result of people loving and ministering to one another as they let the Word of Christ dwell in them, as they are filled with the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is manifested as we grow spiritually and this fruit is a nine-fold visible attribute of a true Christian life. This fruit is not a list of individual “fruits” from which we pick and choose. Rather, the fruit of the Spirit is one nine-fold “fruit” that characterizes all who truly walk in the Holy Spirit. Collectively, this is the fruit that all Christians should be producing in their new lives in Jesus Christ. In other words, the fruit of the Spirit is a physical manifestation of a Christian’s transformed life. In our last segments we learned about love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness. Now we study faithfulness.

 

What is faithfulness? Faithfulness is devotion to God, loyalty to friends, and dependability to carry out responsibilities. It is keeping your word. It is a firm and unchanging attachment to a person or idea. The word faith assumes there will be challenges to this loyalty—the passing of time, disappointments, setbacks, even danger. Unfaithfulness is rampant in our world today. We see marriages breaking up due to unfaithfulness. Unfaithful businessmen and woman dishonor others and themselves by doing dirty deeds in business deals and practices. Unfaithfulness is even found among God’s children because they fail to use His Word as a guide and therefore quench the Spirit by their thoughts and behavior. Faithfulness is as much needed in our time as it was in Jesus’ time on the earth. “Faithfulness” turns out to be one of the most common and important words in the New Testament. It’s simply a variation on the word “faith.” To have faith in God is to trust God, to take him at his word, and to put our confidence in Him, and God is worthy of that trust.

 

The Greek word for faithfulness is “pistis” (pronounced: piss-tiss). It is also translated as “faith.” It refers to a moral conviction to do right by relying upon God. Those individuals who are faithful and demonstrate faithfulness are assured in their belief in God’s holy character and therefore this impacts how they lead their life and treat others.

 

The LORD our God is forever faithful. Because He is faithful, we seek to be faithful because He is our spiritual Father and we desire to be like Him.

 

“For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD.”

Psalm 117:2

 

Jesus was and is faithful to the Father. Because Jesus Christ is our Lord and Master, we not only seek to serve Him, we also desire to be more like Him as we grow as His followers. We seek to be faithful.

 

“But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.” Hebrews 3:6

 

We are called to be faithful servants of God. Jesus spoke often in parables to illustrate His call for us to be faithful servants. He was a faithful servant to His Father in Heaven and we are to be faithful servants to our Heavenly Father as well.

 

“His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

Matthew 25:21

 

Jesus rebuked unfaithfulness because it reflected a rebellious fleshly spirit which seeks to be faithful only to its evil desires.

 

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law —justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

Matthew 23:23

 

We are called to pray faithfully demonstrating our faith in God. A vibrant faith is based on faith in God. A strong faith springs from a joyful hope in God’s promises. Faith in the goodness of God enables us to be patient when we are suffering or experiencing affliction of any sort. Faith is expressed when we pray with confidence in God’s provision for our lives.

 

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Romans 12:12

 

God rewards faithfulness. We are faithful to God when we obey His Word, walk as Jesus walked and keep in step with the Spirit who lives within us as believers. When we live as Christ would live, we are being faithful and having faith in God. One way God builds our faith is by allowing trials and struggles in our lives. When we have faith in God we can have courage that He is by our side in the storms of life. Our faith in God grows as we continue to be faithful to Him no matter what may come our way.

 

 “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

James 1:12

 

Reward for faithfulness to God in the midst of persecution is also spoken of as the crown of life. This crown is given to those who endure intense persecution for their faith or lose their life because of their dedication to God.

 

“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer…. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Revelation 2:10

 

In John 17:1-24 Jesus prayed for his followers the night before his death. This is the first indicator of faithfulness on Jesus’ part: “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” Jesus was faithful not only to his Father, but also to his disciples and friends. He’d fed them, developed them, encouraged them, prayed for them, challenged them, forgiven them, and served them. Now was the moment that it was going to cost Him even more. Despite what Jesus was about to suffer in the crucifixion, He prayed for all those that would believe in Him. He was showing faithfulness to what God had called Him to do. He also showed His faithfulness to those who would be His disciples by praying and dying for them. Eventually Jesus delivered each one safely into his Father’s hands and He will do the same for you and I. God’s Word tells us that Jesus continues to intercede on our behalf (1 John 2:1), until the day he brings us safely into his eternal Kingdom.

 

God also demonstrates His faithfulness by fulfilling the prayer of Jesus in John 17 to this day. That’s loyalty. That’s commitment. That’s faithfulness. That is our example to follow. The Holy Spirit fulfills this same prayer of Jesus as He lives in each believer bringing them to maturity in Christ.

 

Lewis Smedes writes, “Somewhere people still make and keep promises ….” It seems like that “somewhere” ought to be the church. In the church at Galatia faithfulness to God and others was not being practiced and this is what prompted Paul’s letter. The Galatians had abandoned the gospel for false teaching.

 

A church should not be a collection of individuals pursuing their own interests. It should be a community of people committed to the well-being of each other as they all express faithfulness to God, His Son and the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, our loyalty isn’t to an institution or a building or a program, but to people, to brothers and sisters in Christ who are counting on us as we count on them. It means keeping our word to one another. It means caring about and looking out for one another. It means not gossiping behind someone’s back or spreading rumors. It means regularly engaging in worship together, forgiving one another, reconciling when we have disagreements, and doing all these things even when we don’t feel like it. This kind of faithfulness can’t be produced by guilt or our own determination. It has to be a work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit empowers us to behave this way and be faithful when we have the Word of God dwelling richly in our hearts as we let the Spirit fill us with Himself. As we are filled with the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit manifests itself, one of which is faithfulness.

 

Psalms 85 is a beautiful prayer of David. It reflects not only the faith of the Lord towards us, but also the faith of those who serve Him in a godly manner.

 

    

Psalms 85:8-10

“I will listen to what God the Lord  will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints — but let them not return to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear Him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.”

 

 

“Faith is the silver thread upon which the pearls of the graces are to be hung. Break that, and you have broken the string — the pearls lie scattered on the ground.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon