Today's passage explores the scene as the Lord met with His eleven apostles for the first time following His resurrection. The word afterward pinpoints the timing of the passage as having occurred after He had appeared to others. For instance, the Lord had already appeared to Mary Magdalene. She told the disciples the great news of Christ's resurrection, but the Bible says that they did not believe her. Shortly thereafter, the Lord appeared directly to the apostles and scolded them for their “unbelief and hardness of heart.” A heart that is tender serves as fertile ground for faith. However, a hardened heart does not allow the seed of faith to grow. Mark 6:52 confirms this principle as it points out that “they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.” Hardness of heart prevented faith in the disciples during that time and will do the same now in any believer who fails to remain tenderhearted.
Fruit thrives within the right environment with the proper living conditions. The same holds true concerning God's virtues in the life of a Christian. It is God's indwelling Spirit that provides the fertile environment necessary for every believer to cultivate these virtues. They include love, joy, peace, and faith. Only as Christians submit to the leading of the Holy Ghost can we fully access these virtues. Though mentioned last in the list from Galatians, temperance is another of the important virtues making up the fruit of the Spirit. Though frequently neglected, temperance is no less important than the other virtues naturally growing in the life of a fertile believer. A disregard for the proper mix in the Christian life causes imbalance. Believers who fail to cultivate stability and peace by not yielding control to God's indwelling Spirit never realize their God-given potential.
Athletes understand the importance of being temperate in their training. They incorporate a variety of exercises to strengthen each body part thus maximizing their potential. Limiting training to one aspect causes the athlete to lose his edge. It is important to realize that exercise is only one part of the training regimen. For instance, no serious athlete ignores the importance of a balanced diet rich in nutrients. Dedicated athletes strive for a corruptible crown by implementing temperance in all things. Believers seeking a spiritually incorruptible crown should learn from the athletes who incorporate temperance. An athlete missing out at the finish line results in sadness. The Christian's failure to incorporate balance will cause him to lose rewards at the judgment seat of Christ. This is the greater loss.
Today's passage contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. The works of the flesh are works done by man in his own strength and abilities; whereas, the fruit of the Spirit is the natural growth in the believer's life when surrendered to the leading of God's Spirit. The Bible lists eighteen works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) but only one ninefold fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The fruit of the Spirit includes many wonderful things such as love, joy, and peace. However, meekness remains one of most undervalued characteristics in that list. Similar to the other fruit, meekness should naturally mature in the believer's life as he yields to the Lord. When a believer lacks meekness, it is because he is not properly surrendered to God's will.
The Bible describes the Corinthian Church as carnal. In fact, some of the believers at Corinth had become puffed up that Paul was not personally coming to visit them. Instead, the apostle Paul sent Timothy to the church of God at Corinth with words of warning. Paul informed them that he could come to them with the rod of judgment or “in love, and in the spirit of meekness.” Paul strongly believed in dealing with wayward believers in the spirit of meekness. He expressed as much in Galatians 6:1 when he wrote: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” Paul favoured restoration and believed that responding in love and meekness was generally the best avenue for that restoration. Often, the prideful response of those who should be reacting spiritually toward wayward believers simply drives these believers further away from God.
As we have previously studied, God is the believer’s source of joy. Specifically, God’s indwelling presence makes this an accessible virtue. The Lord indwells those who are saved and does so through the person of the Holy Ghost. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that the disciples who were filled with the Holy Ghost were also filled with joy. God identifies the nature of the kingdom of God as “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17). This is why the Bible includes joy and peace when it defines the ninefold fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). This is why the believers in Thessalonica received the word “with joy of the Holy Ghost” (1 Thessalonians 1:6). The more the Holy Ghost has control, the more joy from the Lord a man will experience.
The Bible records the fact that Ananias lied to Peter! He told Peter that he and his wife had sold some property for a certain amount of money. Yet, God and His servant knew that he had sold it for more than that indicated to Peter. The Bible teaches that Ananias told these lies to a man but had in fact lied to the Lord (Acts 5:4). Man may not recognize the extent of a lie, but lies told to others are lies told to God. This brings a whole new perspective to the wickedness of lying. Men’s lies are not just before and against men, but they appear before and are in conflict with a holy God. No wonder the apostle Paul said, “Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not” (Galatians 1:20). He understood that lying to men would be lying before God, and he did not want to be guilty of that.
Our previous studies revealed that the word kind is connected to a term suggesting family relationships. Therefore, today’s passage associating kindly with brotherly love makes perfect sense. The book of Romans instructs believers to be “kindly affectioned one to another.” By being kindly affectioned, believers will naturally exhibit “brotherly love” toward each other. The Bible reveals God as the Christian’s Father. This relationship indicates that each believer is related as a part of the same family, the family of God. How should family members treat other family members? The context of today’s passage reveals that believers should prefer others before themselves (Romans 12:10), distribute to the necessities of other saints (Romans 12:13), and give themselves to hospitality (Romans 12:13). In other words, believers should treat other believers as members of one’s family. As many Christians soon find out, the relationships enjoyed between fellow believers will frequently be closer than those enjoyed with blood relatives.
The Lord healed many people during His earthly ministry. Today's passage speaks of a particular man who had been delivered from devil possession. What a relief he must have experienced! However, the people in his community did not rejoice that the Lord had performed such a wonderful miracle. In fact, they turned against the Saviour and wanted Him to depart from their coasts. The Lord complied with their demands; however, the man delivered of the devils wanted to travel with the Lord. He loved the Lord so much that he wanted to stay close to Him. However, as the healed man sought to enter the ship, Christ told him to return to his home and tell his friends what had happened to him. The Lord knew that this man was in the best position to reach out to his friends with the truth. He knew this man's testimony concerning the truth was what they needed to hear and believe. Christians should always be prepared and ready for times when opportunities arise to tell their friends about the truth. Acts chapter 10 records another example when Cornelius called his friends together expecting to hear Simon Peter preach the truth of the gospel. Real friends insure that their friends are put into a position to hear the truth and never squander spiritual opportunities.
The two epistles addressed to the Corinthian church clearly highlight many of the problems associated with the carnal church of Corinth. Today's passage specifically deals with the restoration of those who had fallen into sin. All church discipline, though frequently neglected, should initially focus on the restoration of the individual rather than his simple condemnation. In fact, Galatians 6:1 instructs spiritual believers to consider themselves by restoring “such an one in the spirit of meekness.” Unfortunately, people oftentimes seem to glory in the judgment aspect of discipline while diminishing or completely neglecting the joys involved with the restoration of the individual into fellowship. Careful attention to the wording of 2 Corinthians 2:7 reveals two important aspects of this church discipline: believers “ought” to forgive; and additionally believers ought “rather” to forgive. Unlike those who are quick to condemn, the Bible emphasizes forgiveness rather than the punishment aspects of discipline.
