GALATIANS 5:22-23 FAITH, MEEKNESS, AND TEMPERANCE DEFINED

Here are the last three of the terms from the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. 

FAITH

4102 pistis – persuasion, i.e. credence: mor. conviction (of relig. truth, or the truthfulness of God or a relig. teacher), espec. reliance upon Christ for salvation, abstr. constancy in such profession, by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself — assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

Susan: We looked at the word “faith” earlier in our study of Galatians, but we will discover more nuances or layers of the concept in the context of the Fruit of the Spirit.

Susie: Faith is conviction of, belief in, and trust in the fact that Jesus is the Son of God who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life as the God-man, died on the cross to pay for our sin, and was raised to life again on the third day to reign with God forever.

Susan: The word Faith also refers to the Gospel, this good news about Christ Jesus, i.e. the Christian Faith.

Susie: Now let’s look at another aspect of the term “faith.” As a part of the fruit of the Spirit, faith refers to the constancy of the believer in his/her profession of the Gospel truth. A believer is faithful when he/she consistently identifies as a follower of Jesus.

Susan: Another facet of this definition of “faith” is fidelity. It is faithful adherence to the covenant relationship between Jesus Christ and His bride, the church, which is comprised of us as individual believers.

Susie: As human beings, we will sometimes stray in our faithfulness to Jesus, but praise the Lord, He never strays from us and as our Good Shepherd draws us back into the safety of the fold.

2 Timothy 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

MEEKNESS

4236 pra_iŏtēs – gentleness, by impl. humility — meekness.

Susan: Meekness is not weakness, as some suppose. One who is meek is humbly committed and submitted to God, desiring to further the Lord’s kingdom and agenda rather than his or her own. The meek are those who wait patiently for the Lord to act or move.

Susie: Humility is the opposite of haughtiness or self-aggrandizement. The Lord consistently praises the quality of meekness, gentleness, humility. The Bible tells us that the Lord Himself will elevate the humble person in due time.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

TEMPERANCE

1466 ĕgkratĕia — self-control (espec. continence) – temperance.

Susan: Temperance is an effort to stay in the middle rather than to the extremes of self-indulgence or asceticism (extreme self-denial). Let’s see how Webster defines it:

American Dictionary of the English Language

TEM'PERANCE, noun [Latin temperantia, from tempero.]

Moderation; particularly, habitual moderation in regard to the indulgence of the natural appetites and passions; restrained or moderate indulgence; as temperance in eating and drinking; temperance in the indulgence of joy or mirth. temperance in eating and drinking is opposed to gluttony and drunkenness, and in other indulgences, to excess.

Susie: Temperance is self-control, or as I like to say, “Christ-control.” By the power of the Holy Spirit within us, we are able to reign in our tempers (I’ve needed help with that this week), our appetites, our tongues. As we grow in the grace the Lord gives us as His children, we will increasingly exhibit temperance as well as the other character traits listed in Galatians 5:22-23, the Fruit of the Spirit.