Commentary on "The Fruit of the Spirit is Meekness"

TERRY MIRRA

 

Day 2: Sunday, February 21, 2010

 

OVERVIEW

The author’s opening statement is “Meekness is the absolute ceasing to fight for our agenda and believing that God will fight on our behalf for His.” He mentions Matt. 11:29, Luke 22:42, Rom. 12:3, and Eph. 4:2 as references to understand meekness, what it looks like, and how to obtain it. He mentions that “a meek person is one who has learned to die to self, and that it takes faith, courage and perseverance to do this.” A paragraph (and question to ponder) is devoted to pride and arrogance and how Christians should be the meekest and most humble folks on earth because they are aware of the fact that everything comes from God. The question asks, “Think about how utterly dependent you are upon God for everything. Where, then, do that pride and arrogance in your heart come from, and how can you get rid of these?”

 

OBSERVATIONS

The initial statement is good. Once again, I want to go a step further to mention that being meek doesn’t always equal inactivity, but requires us, as believers, to respond rightly when necessary to defend God and His Word. This is often more challenging than being silent and ineffective, as it takes knowledge and skill to “rightly respond”, especially when using God’s Word as the “Sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17), which is an offensive (not defensive) weapon. John 14:25, 26 says,

“I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”

This implies that we are to know God’s Word so that the Holy Spirit can “remind” us of these things. We are called to be constant students of God’s Word and defend rightly when necessary.

The author states that “a meek person is one who has learned to die to self, and that it takes faith, courage and perseverance to do this.” Dying to self is impossible when attempted on our own and through our own efforts—we’re carnal and sinful by nature, and without becoming a “new creation”, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we’re incapable, because we’re spiritually dead. It’s all about being transformed daily, a lifelong journey, with the Holy Spirit in control as we surrender to God. We do need faith, courage and perseverance, but the strength is from God alone as we humble ourselves to His leading.

“For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so. Those whose lives are in the flesh are unable to please God. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, Since the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead, because of sin, but the Spirit is life, because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you.” (Rom. 8:6-11, emphasis mine).

I’m glad the topic of pride and arrogance was mentioned, because it’s always good to remember how detestable, destructive and ridiculous it is for any one of us to have pride. Everything we have and are come from God—even our faith. To think we’re special or elite, for any reason, because of what we do or how we act, is absurd and not of God (Gal. 3:2-5, Rom. 3:27, 28, Rom 9:16). In answer to the question posed about how to get rid of these, I’d say, we can’t, but God can.

 

SUMMARY

1. Meekness doesn’t always equal inactivity, but a right response based on God’s Word.
2. “Dying to self” is impossible when attempted on our own and through our own efforts—we’re carnal and sinful by nature, and without becoming a “new creation” we’re incapable because we’re spiritually dead (Rom 8:6-11). Only through the power of the Holy Spirit in us, and a daily surrender to God, can we grow and bear “Fruit of the Spirit”. He is bearing the fruit in us.
3. Pride and arrogance are detestable, destructive, and ridiculous. To think that we’re special or elite for any reason, because of what we do or how we act, is absurd and not of God (Gal. 3:2-5, Rom. 3:27, 28, Rom. 9:16). As Christians we should be humble because of the biblical perspective (a “right perspective”) we have of who we are without Christ, and who we are in Him.

 

GO TO DAY 3

 

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