22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Word Focus kindness χρηστότης chrēstotēs <Hear It>
In this post I continue with comments about the Fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. The fruit is nine character virtues which result when a Christian’s life is controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit. They are spiritual expressions of a life transformed by Jesus Christ. The word focus for this post is the noun kindness – χρηστότης / chrēstotēs.
Kindness is a gracious attitude that is demonstrated through helpful and caring actions towards others.
The ultimate demonstration of kindness is God’s generous and underserved gift of salvation that He made available to us through Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 2:7 in the context of 2:4-10). He showed this kindness when we did not deserve it (see Titus 3:4 in the context of 3:3-7).
The Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, used χρηστότης in passages that describe God’s abundant gifts. For example, see Psalm 31:19 where it is translated as “good things” or “goodness”.
Christian believers are to imitate God and show kindness to others (Ephesians 4:32). In Colossians 3:12, the Apostle Paul says that believers are to “clothe” themselves in kindness, along with several other virtues. What we wear is deeply tied to our identity and values. So perhaps Paul implies that kindness should be such a part of how we act that it identifies who we are – our actions should be an excessive demonstration of kindness. Kindness is also a quality that should be controlled by love (1 Corinthians 13:4).
Of course kindness is expressed through actions, and the best guidance for actions is the Golden Rule:
Treat people the same way you want them to treat you. (Luke 6:31)
Here are links to all the posts for the Fruit of the Spirit:
Lexical Form: ἡ χρηστότης χρηστότητος <Hear It> Gloss: kindness, goodness, uprightness, mercy, generosity Part of Speech: Third Declension Feminine Noun New Testament Frequency: 10 Strong’s Number:G5544 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)
Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.
Koine Foundations 
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