Bread From Heaven

Fruits of the Spirit - Gentleness

Dear God,
Thank you for this new week and for allowing us to live and see another day. You are so good. Help us to see your gentleness in this study, and teach us what we need to know about being gentle.
In Jesus’s name,
Amen

Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

When you think of gentleness, what do you think about it? Some people see it as a weakness. I see it as softness and compassion. This is another personality trait of Almighty God. Do you think of God as gentle?

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Gentleness defined:
1. the quality of being kind, tender, or mild-mannered.
2. softness of action or effect; lightness.
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Gentleness

As I began studying this subject, I couldn't help but feel in my spirit there was something so much more to this than a physical gentleness. I looked through several devotions online. Many of them were pretty much the same. This feeling of something more just kept nagging at me.

I prayed and ask God to show me what it was. I began to look into a few different things as I felt led by the Spirit. I want to share some of those things with you here. One of my first thoughts led me to the question, “What is Spiritual Gentleness?” Hmm! That was a good question. These are fruits of the Spirit. It would make sense to think of them spiritually.

Gentleness includes a lot of things. In one of the definitions above it is considered being kind. I don't know why, but I have never thought of kindness and gentleness as interchangeable. I have always thought of them as two entirely different things. I will probably do a study on kindness later. Gentleness is also humility which is another fruit we will be studying later (meekness). It is putting others before self. It is being kind, compassionate, and considerate towards others. It is self restraint. Being gentle is being polite and mild-mannered. It restrains us from seeking revenge. It is not threatening or violent. It is careful. It is handling with care so as to not cause harm or injury.

Spiritual Gentleness is not just handling physical needs, items, and situations with carefulness. It is caring about other people's whole beings, body, soul, and spirit. It cares about other people's relationship with God. It cares if their soul is bound for hell or not. It cares for the inner needs and conditions of others.

This brought me to thinking about religious zeal. I will be discussing this in our study too. How many times have we been religiously zealous to other people's harm because we failed to be gentle? How many times have we been harmed by it?

When we are gentle, we are intentionally being kind, compassionate, and humble towards others especially when they are struggling and facing difficulty. I hope that we can all learn more and become more Christlike as we learn what Gentleness, the fruit of the Spirit, is all about. What are some of your first thoughts about Gentleness?

Religious zeal

What is zeal? It is great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. What I mean by religious zeal is a passionate pursuit of Christianity, the religion. Let me give you a couple examples of this; Peter cutting off someone’s ear when Jesus was arrested and Saul, before he was known as the Apostle Paul, when he was persecuting followers of Christ.

As children, when we are learning right and wrong and how to interact with others, we are very quick to tell on someone when we think they are wrong. We have to be taught to not be tattle-tales. In a way, this is how we are as new Christians. We may passionately pursue going to church, learning how to pray, and learning what sin is and how to avoid it. It is easy for us to point the fingers at others. It is easy to be self-righteous.

As we mature into adults, we begin to learn how interact with others respectfully. We learn how to confront people when we believe they are wrong. We learn how to disagree without arguing and fighting, well at least some of us. As we mature as Christians, we learn how to pursue peace while dealing with unpopular issues or disagreements. The fruits of the Spirit become more evident in us. We don't rush into judgement and anger, but calmly and gently speak to others.
James 1:19-20 ▼

19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

It takes a great deal of inner strength, commitment, and willingness to be changed by the Holy Spirit. We must be empowered by God to live out the fruits of the Spirit, including gentleness.

Discernment, Not Judgement

Gentleness addresses failure and sin with discernment and not judgement. Gentleness does not use anger, shame, fear, or manipulation to accomplish God's will. Gentleness takes time, quietness, patience, stillness, and trust. It takes love and endearment. In fact, if all the other fruits of the Spirit operate with the fruit of love, the Bible says that perfect love casts out all fear.
1 John 4:18 ▼

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Gentleness is produced by a softened heart abiding in the love of Jesus.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 ▼

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Be bold for Christ, but be humble and gentle at the same time. We must be in tune with the Holy Spirit and informed by the teachings of Jesus. We must be gentle when interacting and witnessing to others.
2 Corinthians 10:1 ▼

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:

Gentleness is knowing people’s Salvation and Spiritual condition is far more important than our pride.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 ▼

24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

The Bible says when we find someone in fault, those of us who are spiritual should seek to restore them in meekness. Some translations say to restore in the spirit of gentleness. NIV is one of them. While we remain gentle and humble, we should be careful not to be caught in error ourselves.
Galatians 6:1-2 ▼

1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

We must be careful how we speak to people. We can not talk down to them in judgement and expect them to not get defensive about it. We must use what they call constructive criticism. This is telling someone how you think they can improve without pointing the finger. It focuses on the problem and solution rather than the person with whom you have a problem.
Proverbs 15:1-4 ▼

1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

We must consider ourselves when we talk to others about their faults and when we are sharing our faith. We have to remember where we have come from and what kind of person we were before we were saved.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ▼

9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

We must share the gospel in the spirit of meekness and gentleness. Also, now would be a good time to consider the question, “If you, yourself, we're put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
1 Peter 3:15-16 ▼

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:
16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

We must first address this issues within ourselves before we can go correcting everyone else. We must remain humble so we can be gentle.
Matthew 7:1-5 ▼

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Here is a link to help you learn how to give good constructive criticism.
https://personalexcellence.co/blog/constructive-criticism/

People are drawn to Christ by gentleness, not cruelty and condemnation. Think about some of your own experiences. What makes you defensive? What prompts you to make positive changes? How do you want to be spoken to?

Humble Is Gentle

Gentleness is not prideful. It places our human strength under God's guidance. Gentleness recognizes God's thoughts and ways are higher than our own. God is Sovereign. By Sovereign, I mean he possesses the Supreme and ultimate power. He is all powerful and all knowing. There is no God like ours.
Isaiah 55:8-11 ▼

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Gentleness knows we are not good because of our own effort. It knows we are only good through the grace of God. It is putting ourselves in our proper place. It is putting others before ourselves.
Titus 3:1-7 ▼

1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Gentleness causes us to be teachable and not arrogant. Even Jesus was teachable and not puffed up. As we give peace and gentleness to others, we will receive it in return. Gentleness is not selfish. It was meant to be given to others. We can be gentle by putting others first. We need to have more compassion and judge less.

God Is Gentle

God is the ultimate good shepherd. Shepherding requires gentleness.
Isaiah 40:10-11 ▼

10 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

God has all the power in the universe. If he wasn't gentle with us, he would harm us.
Psalms 18:35 ▼

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.

Jesus is gentle and humble too.
Mattew 11:28-30 ▼

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

God wants us to be humble like he is. Our words have power. He has given us spiritual power over evil as well. We must be careful to not use the power God has given us in a cruel, rash, or incorrect way.
Proverbs 18:19-21 ▼

19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.
20 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Practicing Gentleness

Gentleness will sometimes take courage and sacrifice. It may be grown and cultivated through difficulty and practice. We need to put on a heart of compassion.
Colossians 3:12-13 ▼

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

This passage in 1 Peter 3 is mostly aimed toward women, but I would think it would be of great price to God for men to also have a humble and gentle spirit, especially since we know that Jesus did too.
1 Peter 3:3-4 ▼

3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

Being humble and gentle is wise for both men and women.
James 3:13 ▼

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.

Jesus came to save lives and not to destroy them. This is definitely something we want to keep in mind when communicating and interacting with other people.
Luke 9:56 ▼

For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

We need to be gentle in word and deed. Are the thing we are doing and saying edifying others? (To edify is to improve or instruct morally or intellectually.) Are we speaking and acting while demonstrating the grace of God? We all come short of the glory of God at times. We are all either heading to heaven or bound for Hell. We must remain gentle with humility.
Ephesians 4:11-16 ▼

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Remember, what comes out of your mouth reveals what is in your heart. Are you producing the fruit of the Spirit or the fruit of the flesh? It starts with what is in your heart. We must make sure we keep our hearts right with God at all times.
Luke 6:45 ▼

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

We serve a loving, wonderful, and gentle God. He doesn't desire for anyone to die in their sins. He desires for everyone to be saved. Be careful in your zeal for the Lord to not crush, mame, or injure others. Remember where you have come from. Be gentle. Show God's mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Show his perfect love to others.
Ezekiel 33:11-20 ▼

11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.

Resources ▼

https://www.gcu.edu/blog/spiritual-life/weekly-devotional-fruit-spirit-gentlenes...

https://lambchow.com/2016/03/real-fruit-gentleness/

https://www.be-lovedbeloved.com/blog/2018/12/23/the-fruit-of-the-spirit-gentlene...

https://likeananchor.com/2019/03/09/the-fruit-of-gentleness/

https://www.gotquestions.org/fruit-Holy-Spirit-gentleness.html

https://www.sharefaith.com/guide/christian-principles/fruits-of-the-spirit/gentl...

https://mygracefulllife.org/5-17-18-praise-prayer-prompt-the-fruits-of-the-spiri...

http://www.alphaumc.com/sermons/2019/2/24/fruit-of-the-spirit-week-8-gentleness

https://lifegivingwaterdevo.org/2015/07/31/fruit-of-the-spirit-gentleness/

https://krisbelfils.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/fruit-of-the-spirit-gentleness-part...

https://www.ospreyobserver.com/2020/07/the-fruit-of-the-holy-spirit-what-is-kind...

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/holy-spirit/the-fruit-of-the-spirit/fruit-of-th...

https://www.slideshare.net/Pacific.Church/the-fruit-of-the-spirit-gentleness

https://realwomenministries.org/fruit-of-the-spirit/gentleness-is-meekness-not-w...

https://slidetodoc.com/lesson-3-the-fruit-of-longsuffering-gentleness-and/

Jesus is my permanent anchor!