That I May Know Him

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. ~ 1 John 5:20 (KJV)

Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Jeremiah 23:29

Thursday, January 25, 2007

The Gentleness of Christ

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
My prayers are that the Lord would bear in me the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is an attribute of our Lord and Saviour. He is love, gives joy, is longsuffering, gentle, good, faithful, meek and temperate.

Of recent, I’ve been thinking a lot about gentleness. Gentleness is from the root gentle, which means amiable, moderate, soft, polite, tender and refined. Jesus Christ is gentle; He is a gentleman. We just have to read our New Testament to see how kind and polite he is towards women. How about to Mary, his (earthly) "mother". Or Mary Magdalene. Or even the woman that was caught in adultery, and the woman of Samaria. Gentleness is attribute of Christ, one that we should all possess.

Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you. 2 Co 10:1
With His gentleness, we can impact those around us. How about being gentle with those suffering in the church? Or how about exercising gentleness with our lost friends and family, much like Jesus Christ treats the sinner. It's what Jesus showed his disciples as they asked him question after question. At times, they even questioned who he was! Maybe through our Christ-like gentleness we can win those we love to the Lord.

The word gentleness is mentioned four times in the Bible. Once in the book of Galatians, once in 2 Corinthians, and the other two passages are the following:

Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great. 2Sa 22:36

Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. Psa 18:35
WOW! Ever wondered what made King David a great man? The GENTLENES of God made Him great. If we, likewise, want to be great men and women, then we need to posses the gentleness of Christ!

posted by Redeemed @ 10:03 PM  

4 Comments:

  • At Friday, January 26, 2007 2:53:00 AM, Blogger Matthew Celestine said…

    Gentleness is such an important virtue and one that is easily despised.

     

  • At Friday, January 26, 2007 3:40:00 PM, Blogger Consecrated said…

    Isn't something that we serve a gentle God (as opposed to the pagan scary ones).

    Thank you Lord Jesus for being so kind and gentle with us.

     

  • At Friday, January 26, 2007 8:35:00 PM, Blogger Antonio said…

    If you are interested in the concept of gentleness and would like to study it further, here are some details

    Galatians 5:23
    uses the Greek word:

    "prautes"
    which is usually translated "meekness" and is found in three other NT passages:

    James 1:21
    21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
    KJV
    James 3:13
    13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
    KJV
    1 Peter 3:15
    15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
    KJV

    2 Cor 10:1 uses the Greek Word:

    "epieikeia"

    used in one other passage, translated "clemency" in the KJV, and "courtesy" in the NKJV

    Acts 24:4
    4 Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words.
    KJV

    Phil 4:5 uses "epeikes" translated "gentleness" in the NKJV

    Phil 4:5
    5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
    NKJV

    This same word is found in these references, translated "gentle" 3 times and "patient" once in the KJV:

    Phil 4:5

    5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
    NKJV

    1 Tim 3:3
    Titus 3:2
    James 3:17
    1 Peter 2:18

    1 Tim 6:11 uses the word "praus", where the NKJV translates it "gentleness" and the KJV translates it "meekness"

    and can also be found in these verses:

    Matt 5:5
    Matt 11:29
    Matt 21:5
    1 Peter 3:4

    translated "meek"

    The word used in 2 Samuel is a crazy word that can mean many things, such as "defile" "abase oneself" "afflict oneself" "ravish" and is used dozens of times. Only one time is it translated "gentleness" in the KJV.

    Ps 18:35 uses the Hebrew word "waanwatkaa" and the only other instance in the OT is:

    ps 45:5, translated "meekness" by the KJV

    Have a great day!

    Antonio

     

  • At Saturday, January 27, 2007 12:16:00 AM, Blogger Redeemed said…

    I fully agree, Matthew.

    Mom, Amen, our God is great!

    Antonio, thanks for the Bible study. :) That's great, I really appreciate that you actually took time to post your comment!!! It's very helpful :)

     

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