“The Fruit of the Holy Spirit No 8– What is Gentleness?”……Galatians 5:22-2322 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Ephesians 4:14-16says that the Holy Spirit works in us to be more like Christand part of thefruit, or results, of that work is gentleness. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching.

We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Gentleness, also translated "meekness," does not mean weakness.

Rather, it involves humility and thankfulness toward God, and polite, restrained behaviour toward others.

The opposites of gentleness are…anger, a desire for revenge, and stretching the truth about one's accomplishments to win favour. It's apattern of pompous behaviour, boasting,… Having your portrait painted was once a mark of the upper crust.……The Greek words for “gentleness” and “meekness” are somewhat interwoven in English translations. Prates', the Greek word translated “gentleness” in Galatians 5:23 , means “to submit one’s strength in a posture of meekness.” It is to calmly accept God’s judgment regarding a situation, even if that judgment results in personal hardship. It is humility toward God. Prautesis translated eight times as “gentleness” and once each as “consideration,” “humility,” and “meekness.”Epieikeiais also translated as “gentleness” or “kindness.” It refers to the kindly grace that God exhibits when He helps those who don’t deserve it (all of us), bringing to mind Jesus’ parablein Matthew 18:23-35about the king who forgave a great debt.……It takes a strong person to be truly gentle. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow gives us a wonderful illustration of gentleness in

"The Village Blacksmith." In the poem, the main character is described :…"The smith, a mighty man is he,…With large and sinewy hands;…And the muscles of his brawny arms…Are strong as iron bands."…However, in church, as he hears his daughter singing a hymn, the smith is overcome with emotion, "And with his hard, rough hand he wipes / A tear out of his eyes."

This is gentleness. Might restrained. Humility and grace.……God wants us to give Him control of our lives. Relying on our own logic, we tend to have no desire to submit to God’s leadership.

With the wisdom given to us by the Holy Spirit, however, we begin to see why we should completely submit to God as Lord of our lives.

Human power under human control is like a half-broken weapon in the hands of a child.

But gentleness places our strength under God’s guidance; it is a powerful tool for God’s kingdom.……Every person is powerful.

We can speak words that influence others;

We can act in ways that help or hurt others…We can choose what influences will inform our words and actions. Gentleness constrains and channels that power.

To be gentle is to recognize that God’s ways and thoughts are high above our own

Isaiah 55:9

9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your waysand my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

It is to humbly realize that our worldviews are shaped by exposure to sin and the misinterpretation of experience.

It is to accept God’s worldview, reflecting truth about the spiritual and the material worlds.……It is to our advantage to have a gentle attitude toward God because He isomniscientand we are not.

Job 38:4

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” God challenges Job. “Tell Me, if you know so much“ God knows everything of the past, present, and future …1 John 3:20

20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.…We can’t even get the weather forecast right.

Like a short-tempered teenager to his parents, we may cry out,

“You just don’t understand!” but God does understand, more than we could possibly know

Psalm 44:21

21 God would surely have known it, for he knows the secrets of every heart.…

When we are filled with the Spirit's fruit of gentleness, we will correct others with easiness instead of arguing in resentment and anger, knowing that their salvation is far more important than our pride

2 Timothy 2:24-25

24 A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. 25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth.

We will forgive readily, because any offense toward us is nothing compared to our offenses against God-offenses He’s already forgiven

Matthew 18:23-35

23 "Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.[a] 25 He couldn't pay, so his master ordered that he be sold-along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned-to pay the debt.

26 "But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ÔÇÿPlease, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.' 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

28 "But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars.[] He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

29 "His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ÔÇÿBe patient with me, and I will pay it,' he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn't wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

31 "When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ÔÇÿYou evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me.33 Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?' 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

35 "That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters[c] from your heart."…Competition and sectarianism will disappear, as the goal becomes less about ourselves and more about preaching the gospel…Philippians 1:15-18…15 It's true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16 They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 17 Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18 But that doesn't matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.

John the Baptist was a fiery preacher, yet he evinced true gentleness when he said, …John 3:30…30 He (meaning Jesus)must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.…Gentleness also means giving up the right to judge what is best for us and others.

God is not as concerned with our comfort as He is concerned with our spiritual growth, and He knows how to grow us far better than we do.

He will not sacrifice our holiness for our happiness

Gentleness means that we accept that the rain falls on the evil and the just and that God may use methods we don’t like to reach our hearts and the hearts of others.…Galatians 6:1

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer[a] is overcome by some sin, you who are godly[]should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

So, to live in a spirit of gentleness toward God is to accept His judgment on people and issues. We tend to think it is gentle to go easy on people and try to justify actions that God has called sin. Or to let someone continue in sin without speaking the truth.

But Paul says, “If anyone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness”

This does not mean that it should be so soft that the sinner doesn’t realize that he’s sinned.

It means to confront the brother in a manner that is in line with Scripture-to be mild, loving, encouraging, and clear about the holiness that God calls us to.…Just like all the fruits of the Spirit, the perfect example of gentleness is Jesus.…Matthew 21:5…"See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey" and now He offers us His gentleness as a gift. If we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, we will be filled with fruit of gentleness.…

lets look at more examples of the gentleness in Jesus…John 8:1-11…Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

4 "Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?"

6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!"8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?"

11 "No, Lord," she said.

And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more."

Wow. Wasn't that a beautiful gentle answer? Jesus didn't scold the Pharisees. He didn't yell at the woman because of her sin. He was gentle with both.…We could say that Jesus even had the right to be harsh with both the Pharisees and the woman. But He gave a gentle answer, and His gentle answer changed all of their hearts!……Gentleness that should be in us

If Jesus' gentle Spirit lives in us, then how should we speak to other people? Gently! No matter who we are talking to, we should use gentle speech.

You should know that even though someone may look pretty tough on the outside, we are all tender and fragile

Speak softly – without raising your voice or shouting.

What does it mean to speak slowly? Did you know there is a Bible verse about this? James 1:19 says we should be quick to listen and slow to speak. That means really listen to what the other person is saying. Slow down and think before you speak so you won't say something that you shouldn't.

Speak carefully – with care. Do your words show that you care about the other person? Think before you speak – especially when you are frustrated or angry.

It is far better not to say anything than to say something that is harsh or mean.

Remember Proverbs 15:1, "A gentle answer turns anger away. But mean words stir up anger." …Use your words to turn anger away. Use your words to compliment and encourage, to build each other up. …Use your words so that 20 years from now, someone will have a story to tell about how your words affected their life in a very good way. Your words are powerful and they will last!

And as with all the fruits of the Spirit, you just have to hang out with Jesus for them to show in your life. Spend time reading His word. Pray to Him all throughout your day. Ask Him what you should say to others!

A gentle answer turns anger away. But mean words stir up anger.…Proverbs 15:1

The point I am trying to make is, we ought to be gentle toward others with our words and actions.

Gentleness almost sounds like something we could do on our own. Most mothers are gentle with their infants, caring for and nurturing them.

But biblical gentleness doesn’t mean acting in a tender and soft way, or even controlling physical strength for the benefit of another.

To be gentle is to have a humble heart and peaceful mind and to submit wholly to God’s plan.……The gentleness in the New Testament is closely related to wisdom and spiritual growth. We have read Galatians 6:1and2 Timothy 2:25…We are to submit our strength, including the strength of our convictions, to God’s wisdom.

We are to teach only God’s point of view, not our own.

And we are to accept that God’s actions toward ourselves and others are the right actions, even when human wisdom thinks otherwise.…Another example to act gently and use gentlenessto describe the way we are to correct or teach others.

1 Peter 3:15…15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.……James 1:21expounds on the gentle nature we are to have toward God: “21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls..”

Sadly Scripture describe because we are human, that what is in us is filthy and wicked, no matter how clear our logic or how closely we try to reconcile our worldview with God’s. Only God is good. We need to accept His word “in humility” (prautes) in order to be saved.…We must be “like a little child” to enter the Kingdom

Mark 10:15

15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."

In addition, to be gentle is to accept the hardships He allows in our lives, considering them disciplinary measures proper for our spiritual development. Gentleness is an inward grace that easily submits our own strength of will to God’s Lordship.……Submission or “gentleness” toward God is actually a large piece of the puzzle when it comes to a question about heaven. Many want to know how believers could possibly be content in heaven knowing that loved ones are burning in hell.

An incident in David’s life may provide some insight.

In1 Chronicles 13:9-11, David is bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Judah on an ox cart.

9 But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon,[a] the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark. 10 Then the Lord's anger was aroused against Uzzah, and he struck him dead because he had laid his hand on the Ark. So Uzzah died there in the presence of God.11 David was angry because the Lord's anger had burst out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means "to burst out against Uzzah"), as it is still called today.

Once David read the instructions governing Ark transportation, however, he accepted that God’s judgment was just. In other words, David’s initial contention against God turned into godly gentleness.

In heaven, when we can finally submit our points of view to God’s (no matter how justified in our own eyes), we will accept His judgment on unbelievers as both appropriate and righteous.……Gentleness is the spirit and attitude behind repentance. To “repent” in a biblical sense is to change one’s mind and believe that God is right. Repentance is necessary for salvation, and we need to carry an attitude of repentance in a gentle spirit our entire lives. God is right. Our point of view is limited, misguided, and self-seeking.

A gentle heart will accept God’s wisdom and yield to His discernment. We can only be gentle as the Holy Spirit develops spiritual fruit in our lives.……Many men may draw back a bit from this fruit, the quality of gentleness.

However, Jesus was fully incarnated into a human flesh body – but this incarnation was done as a man – fully Man and fully God.

Since Jesus walked our earth as a man – the Son of Man – we must study His actions very carefully when we read the gospels and how He handled different types of people.

There were times that He would engage and set people straight, like He did with some of the Scribes and Pharisees.

But there were other times that He dealt with people very gently, with kindness and love.

His gentle way of handling some of these people is what really jumps out at you when you really study how He handled different types of people.

Again, Jesus is the perfect role model for all of us to study and learn from – especially with how He handled people while He was walking down here on our earth. For men in particular, His actions and behaviour towards others should be a major study for all of us and we should seek to pattern our own daily walk after Him.

And one of the divine qualities that He had operating in Him with great abundance was the quality of gentleness.

Gentleness is a major quality needed in our world today.

So many people have been beat up and hurt in their dealings with other people – that just a gentle word, a gentle touch from another Christian can really open up the door for that person to be able to receive Jesus and His healing, saving, and deliverance power into their lives.

Once you really start walking in the Holy Spirit with His divine fruits operating and flowing through you – you will really be able to feel and sense when you should handle a certain person or a certain type of situation with more of a touch of gentleness rather than with any kind of stern rebuke or condemnation.

There is a time for tough love – but there are also times that just a gentle and loving touch is all that is really needed to properly handle a certain situation.

The Holy Spirit will guide you in all of this. Just realize that the quality of gentleness is one of the 9 fruits of the Spirit, and this is one of the fruits that He would really like to get working into your personality, especially in being able to use it when dealing with and helping out others.

Here are some of the different definitions on the quality of gentleness:

Mildness combined with tenderness

Gracious, kindly disposition, controlled strength

A disposition that is even-tempered, tranquil, balanced in spirit, unpretentious and that has passions under control

A character that is equitable, reasonable, forbearing, moderate, fair and considerate

Power and strength under control

Willing to pardon injuries, correct faults. One who rules his spirit well…

Not only will other people love and gravitate towards you more if you learn how to walk in this quality – but you will be at much more peace with yourself since you won't always have to be fighting and striving with others when trying to help them out.