Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness (Part 1)

Let us now continue our examination of the manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit with "faithfulness," as seen in Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.

The word here translated as "faithfulness" is the Greek word pistis, the word used throughout the New Testament to refer to "faith," and it is defined by Thayer's as, "conviction of the truth of anything, belief; fidelity, faithfulness."

Time would fail us if we attempted to examine each time this word is used in the New Testament; the word is constantly used in each respect as seen above and certainly the idea of "faithfulness" as a manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit contains all of these definitions, involving faith in God and in Christ and in His promises to mankind through the Gospel and also as a personal characteristic of dependability.

We are fortunate that the idea of "faith" is defined for us in the New Testament itself, as seen in Hebrews 11:1:

Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.

This definition may be easier to understand when we look at the Greek words behind them. The word translated here as "assurance" is the Greek term hupostasis, translated also as "substance," a word that in its literal form denotes the idea of "standing under" or "setting under." Therefore, "faith" is the thing that "stands under," or supports, our hope in Christ. The word here translated as "conviction" is the Greek term elegchos, and it refers to evidence, hence, conviction. Our "faith," therefore, stands as our evidence regarding things we have not seen.

When we begin to think about this definition, we can see how it makes sense, for our faith is really the basis upon which we live. The human body is confined to the sense perceptions and the mental faculties; we only know with any certainty the things going on around us that we can see, taste, touch, smell, or hear, and the past impressions of what we have seen, tasted, touched, smelled, or heard. Even with these perceptions we can often be wrong, and our reliance on them is in itself a measure of faith. We have faith in our eyes that what we see is truly what is before us; that the vibrations we sense in hearing is truly what another says to us, and so forth. All of our actions in life are based in some measure on faith: we go to work with the faith that we shall be recompensed, and receive that money with the faith that it has value. We cooperate with others in faith, expecting that everyone will fulfill whatever commitments they have regarding us. Even the most "absolute" fields, such as mathematics and science, are really exercises in faith, trusting in the laws of logic and scientific observation to produce valid results.

Seeing that these things are true, it should come as no surprise to us that faith in Christ is a key ingredient in the life of a Christian, for it is upon the basis of that faith in Christ that we live and breathe. We have placed our trust in Jesus, believing that He truly did die for our sins yet was resurrected in power so many years ago. We trust that God exists and did truly exalt Him and that His promise to us is true, that by believing in Him and expressing an obedient faith we might have eternal life with Him in Heaven and be spared an eternity in hell. This faith is the foundation of our hope in Christ, for without this faith, how could we hope in Jesus? Why would we profess eternal life in Him if we did not have the security of faith in His love for us? How can we expect the resurrection in the future if we have no faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago? We can see, therefore, that without faith in God and Christ, we are nothing; should we be surprised, then, at the statement made in Hebrews 11:6?

And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him.

It is also not surprising, then, to read in Romans 1:17, a quotation from Habbakuk 2:4, that the truly righteous man shall live by faith:

For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, "But the righteous shall live by faith."

continued next month...

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist@norwalkchurch.org

The church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio

Thank you for reading the electronic version of our bulletin, Good News for Norwalk. If you live in Norwalk or happen to be traveling in the Norwalk area, we would certainly love to have you visit one of our assemblies!

Our location:

386 North Edgewood Drive (just off US 250 just north of Norwalk's city limits)
Norwalk, Ohio 44857

Our assemblies:

Sunday morning assembly: 10:30am
Sunday evening assembly: 6:00pm

Our Bible studies:

Sunday morning Bible study: 9:30am
Wednesday evening Bible study: 7:00pm

For More Information

If you have any questions or comments about anything you have read here, or desire more information, please contact our evangelist, Ethan Longhenry, at evangelist@norwalkchurch.org.

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