187 God speaks to us in Jesus – Part 2

Talk 3. God speaks to us through Jesus (Part 2)

Last time:

God speaks to us in the person of Jesus

God speaks to us in the words of Jesus

Today:

God speaks to us in the actions of Jesus

In his letter to the Galatians Paul lists nine wonderful qualities which he calls the fruit of the Spirit[1]. These qualities should be evident in the life of every Christian as they reflect the character of Jesus which the indwelling Spirit of Christ seeks to reproduce in us. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

As we read the Gospels it is not difficult to see these qualities in the life of the Lord Jesus. And, as we see what Jesus did, God speaks to us challenging us to do the same. Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). And, of course, our attitude will determine our actions. Let’s look at this wonderful ‘fruit’ in more detail asking God to speak to us through the attitude and actions of Jesus.   We’ll take them in reverse order from the list in Galatians so that we will conclude with love which is undeniably the greatest of all the fruit of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Self-control

Right at the start of his ministry, straight after he was baptised in the River Jordan, Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.  Then, Matthew tells us:

After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry (Matthew 4:2).

He was hungry. What an understatement! He had eaten nothing for six weeks! I feel hungry if I haven’t eaten for six hours! Then, suddenly, an opportunity comes to break his fast. Some of the stones in the desert may have looked like loaves of bread. You’re the Son of God, aren’t you? says Satan, Why not turn these stones into bread? Now Jesus knew that he was the Son of God. God has said so (just three verses earlier) at his baptism:

This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17).

Jesus knew that he had the power to do what Satan suggested, but just because you can doesn’t mean that you should. I can’t imagine how strong the temptation to eat must have been, but Jesus chose to listen to his Father rather than to Satan. He answered:

It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4).

What amazing self-control! Where did it come from? His relationship with God, his desire to please him and his knowledge of God’s word. Could there be any greater demonstration of self-control? Yes, and we find it in Matthew’s account of the crucifixion:

Those who passed by hurled insults at him… saying… ‘Save yourself. Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God!’ (Matthew 27:39-40).

And Jesus was the Son of God, and he could have come down from the cross. But he didn’t. Despite the agony, he stayed there. Why? Because he knew that if we were to be saved he must die for our sins. He must pay the price. He must take the punishment. So he stayed there. He stayed there because he loved us. Let God speak to you through the example of Jesus’ self-control.

Humility

The Greek word translated as gentleness in Galatians 5:23 carries with it the thought of humility. Paul uses it a few verses later when he says:

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted (Galatians 6:1).

This warning, to watch yourself because you might be tempted too, clearly implies that Paul is using the word gently to mean in a spirit of humility. This is confirmed by the paraphrase in the Amplified Bible which interprets gently as not with a sense of superiority or self-righteousness. So it seems reasonable to assume that this is how he is using it when talking about the fruit of the Spirit just a few verses earlier.

The humility of Jesus is most clearly expressed in two main New Testament passages. The first is Philippians 2:5-11.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!

This passage speaks for itself. It took humility for someone who was equal with God to become a man, to become a servant, to become nothing. And yet he humbled himself even further. He became obedient to death, even death on a cross. And as Christians we’re encouraged to have the same attitude.

The second passage is John 13:1-17 where Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. In verse 1 we’re told that Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He knew that he was shortly to be crucified. But he also knew that the Father had put all things under his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God (v.3). And so he did something that would be an active demonstration of the truth later to be expressed by Paul in Philippians 2. It would demonstrate his humility and give his disciples an object lesson in how they too should behave. He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist (v.4). Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel (v.5). This was a symbol of what he would accomplish on the cross enabling his disciples to be washed clean by the shedding of his blood. That’s why it was important that Peter, who had protested, should allow Jesus to wash his feet too (vv.6-10). And Jesus’ humility, his willingness to wash feet, to cleanse us from sin, was another expression of his love.

Finally, when Jesus had finished washing their feet he put on his clothes and returned to his place (v.12).[2] Then he said:

Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them (vv.12-17).

Let God speak to you through the example of Jesus’ humility.

Faithfulness

From the very beginning of his life here on earth Jesus came to do the will of God. Hebrews 10:5-7 tells us that when Christ came into the world, he said…I have come to do your will, O God. Even at the age of 12 Jesus knew that God, not Joseph, was his true Father (Luke 2:49). And throughout his life he was faithful to his Father’s will.  In John 4:34, when the disciples were trying to persuade Jesus to eat something, he said:

My food…is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

And in John 6:38 he says

I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

But his faithfulness to God and determination to do his will are no more clearly seen than in the Garden of Gethsamane on the night before Jesus was crucified. In Matthew 26 we’re told that he took with him Peter, James and John, and told them, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow… Stay here and keep watch with me (v.38). Jesus then went a little farther and fell with his face to the ground and prayed:

My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will (v.39).

He then returns to his disciples and finds them sleeping! And this happens twice more. Jesus prays the same prayer, comes back, and finds them sleeping.

This sad story reveals in stark contrast the unfaithfulness of the disciples and faithfulness of Jesus. The disciples can’t even stay awake even at the time of Jesus’ greatest need. Jesus knows what’s going to happen. The thought of crucifixion horrifies him, and he asks his Father three times if there is any other way. But ultimately, when he knows that there is not, his faithfulness shines through. Yet not as I will, but as you will.

But this story not only reveals Jesus’ faithfulness to God. It shows his faithfulness to his disciples. If Jesus had refused the way of the cross – and he could have – what hope would there have been for them or for us? Perhaps the sight of the disciples sleeping reminded him of the weakness of human nature and our need for him to save us. His faithfulness, motivated by love for his Father and his love for us, gave him the strength to carry on.

Let God speak to you through the example of Jesus’ faithfulness.

Goodness and kindness

The English word goodness, like the word good, can be used in many different ways. It’s very flexible. For example, we can talk of a good meal and we can refer to someone as a good person, but the meaning of good in each case is rather different. The same is true of the Greek words for good and goodness (agathos and agathōsunē). So we can’t be entirely sure of how Paul is using the word in Galatians 5:22. However, in the New Testament the word is frequently connected with doing good works and in Colossians 1:10 we read:

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

The reference to bearing fruit in this verse seems to suggest that the fruit of the Spirit which Paul calls goodness relates to:

• Living a life worthy of the Lord
• Pleasing him in every way
• Doing good works
• Growing in the Knowledge of God.

And, of course, that’s exactly what Jesus did. He lived a sinless life. He pleased God in every way. As a human being he grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:52). And Peter, when summarising Jesus’ ministry, said of him that he went about doing good and healing… (Acts 10:38). He not only was good. He did good. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit to

preach good news to the poor… to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour (Luke 4:18-19).

Similarly his kindness overflowed again and again as he met the needs of the poor and needy. Consider, for example, his kindness in turning water into wine at the wedding-feast at Cana in Galilee. We are so often preoccupied with the amazing miracle that we neglect the kindness of Jesus in performing it.

And his goodness and kindness were surely motivated by his love. Let God speak to you through the goodness and kindness of Jesus.

Patience

The English word patience comes from the Latin verb patior meaning I suffer. That’s why people in hospital are called patients – people who are suffering. But the Greek word makrothumia, translated as patience in Galatians 5:22, has a wider meaning. It comes from two other Greek words, makros meaning far and thumos meaning wrath or anger. So to exercise makrothumia is to keep your anger far from you. It’s used elsewhere in the New Testament to mean patient enduring of evil, slowness of avenging injuries, or patient expectation.

It’s not difficult to see all these qualities in the life of the Lord Jesus. He was consistently enduring opposition from sinners (Hebrews 12:3), he prayed for the forgiveness of those who crucified him (Luke 23:34) and he endured the cross, scorning its shame because he patiently expected the joy that was set before him (Hebrews 12:2).

But he was patient with his disciples too.  They were so slow to learn and to believe. On the eve of his crucifixion they still had not fully understood who he was. In John 14:2-9 Jesus tells them that he is going to prepare a place for them in his Father’s house (v.2) and that they know the way (v.4). Thomas says to him:

Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?

Jesus answers:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him (vv.6-7)

Then Philip says:

Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.

Imagine how Jesus must have felt. In a few hours he’s going to be crucified. And still they don’t understand who he is. I know personally the frustration of a teacher whose students still haven’t got what I’ve painstakingly tried to teach them! Yet I hear infinite patience in Jesus’ reply:

Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (v.9).

How amazing! Let God speak to you through the example of Jesus’ patience.

Peace and Joy

Peace of heart, as every Christian knows, springs from that peace with God which results from our being in right relationship with him. Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). But Jesus had no need to be justified. He was the sinless one. He always lived in right relationship with Father!

Yet there’s one occasion when it appears that Jesus is not at peace. As he bears our sins in his body on the cross he cries in anguish:

My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me?    (Matthew 27:46).

It’s as if God has turned his back on his Son. Jesus has forfeited his peace. He’s bearing your sin and mine. And God is too holy to look at sin[3]. Jesus sacrifices his peace that we might have peace with God. And he does it because he loves us.

And Jesus’ relationship with God was the source of his joy too. He lived life in God’s presence, and in his presence there is fulness of joy[4]. Luke records that Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit[5] (Luke 10:21). What a pity that so many stained-glass windows and paintings portray him with a long and gloomy face! Jesus was a man of joy! Admittedly, he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief[6]. But that was primarily at the time of his passion, both in the Garden of Gethsemane and the events that led to his crucifixion. As with his peace, so with his joy. He sacrificed both so that we could have them.

Let God speak to you through the example of Jesus’ peace and joy.

Love

Finally, Jesus was a man of love. Love is the greatest of the fruit and it is possible to understand Paul’s teaching in Galatians as meaning that love is the fruit and that the eight other qualities are manifestations of it. That’s what I’ve been trying to demonstrate as we’ve looked at each of the fruit of the Spirit. They are all, in one way or another, a manifestation of love[7].

Jesus’ love is evident throughout the New Testament, not just in the Gospels. Paul could refer to him as the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20) and this reference to the cross reminds us that Calvary is the greatest demonstration of love the world has ever seen. And, what’s more, Paul says he did it for me.

In the last two talks we have seen how God speaks to us through the person, the words, and the actions of Jesus. In all these three ways God continues to speak through Jesus, revealing what God is like, teaching us what to believe, and showing us how we should live. But, most important of all, he is telling us that he loves us.