Fruit of the Spirit—Meekness (2-4 Lessons)
Series: Fruit of the Spirit Teaching Series
Chuck Sligh
Aug. 16, 23, Sept. 7, 14 2014
TEXT: Galatians 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 MEEKNESS, temperance: against such there is no law.”
INTRODUCTION
What do the following true illustrations have in common?
Illus. – Three Christian families have lost their teenage children in a tragic car accident in Florida. They have a joint funeral and people are amazed at their acceptance of God’s will in their lives. They shed a river of tears, but do not lash out and blame God. They look for the good that will come of it.
Illus. – My second illustration is Dr. Lee Roberson, the founder and president of the Christian university I attended. Dr. Roberson seemed absolutely immune to criticism. Jealous brethren maligned him when we withdrew from the denomination he was in because of its liberalism in the 1950s, and he was criticized by Christians from many quarters. But Dr. Roberson never struck back; he never retaliated; he never seemed to give a hoot about all the opposition he received. He just went about the business that God had called him to do.
Illus. – My third illustration is this: A man had a meeting at a Christian university and was having trouble finding the university president’s office. He saw a man in overalls painting a hallway and asked, “Can you tell me where the president’s office is?”
“Sure,” the workman said, “Just down that hall and on your left.”
He found the office and informed the receptionist that he was here for his meeting with the president.
“Just one moment,” she said, and he sat down for a five-minute wait.
When he was ushered in, there was the workman standing before him—this time in a suit and tie.” The workman in the hallway and the university president standing before him were one and the same.
He was amazed that a university president would humble himself and do the lowly work of common workmen. What he didn’t know was that no man ever had a more loyal faculty, work force and student body because he was not so big that he couldn’t put on some overalls and do common dirty work.
Now you may wonder what these three apparently dissimilar illustrations have in common. Each of these stories illustrate a different aspect of the Greek word behind the English word translated meekness in verse 23.
There’s no English word that adequately expresses the Greek word translated “meekness” in Galatians 2:23 and elsewhere in the Bible. Meekness, as the King James Version translators chose, is the closest word in our English language to express it, but really you need a whole paragraph to communicate the original Greek word.
The Greek word is praótēs (prath”, #4240) (pronounced prah-ot’-ace) Today, our English word meekness suggests WEAKNESS, whereas praótēs expresses nothing of the kind. In fact, it suggests just the opposite.
Some have suggested the definition of “strength under control” for meekness. But what in the world does that mean? And how can that be applied to our Christian lives?
I think to best capture the meaning of praótēs, we need to go to one of our Greek sources. Vines’ Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words gives us an expanded definition:
It consists not in a person’s “outward behavior only; nor yet in his relations to his fellow-men; as little in his mere natural disposition. Rather it is an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God. It is that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting; it is closely linked with the word tapeinophrosun_ [humility], and follows directly upon it…”
The meaning of praótēs “is not readily expressed in English, for the terms meekness, mildness, commonly used, suggest weakness and pusillanimity to a greater or less extent, whereas praótēs does nothing of the kind. Nevertheless, it is difficult to find a rendering less open to objection than ‘meekness;’…The common assumption is that when a man is meek it is because he cannot help himself; but the Lord was ‘meek’ because he had the infinite resources of God at His command. Described negatively, meekness is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all.
All that to convey the meaning of one one! Now let’s look at a few elements of this long definition of meekness and see what applications we can draw from it.
I. FIRST, VINES’ SAID THAT MEEKNESS IS “that temper of spirit in which we accept his dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting…”
This is perhaps one of the most difficult things to do in our lives, and indicates a deeper level of spirituality in a person.
We naturally complain when things go wrong in our lives. Many Christians have the idea that they’re not supposed to have problems.
• They believe they’re supposed to somehow be exempt from the common experiences of disease and old age.
• They think that if they’re going through some kind of trial or problem, somehow God has let them down.
• Without consciously thinking it, many Christians feel that really, God exists to make them happy, and they become perplexed, and even bitter against God if they experience anything other than a full, happy, problem-free existence.
In fact, the Bible NOWHERE makes any promises that we’ll be free from problems in this life. In truth, life is filled with problems, obstacles, disappointments, struggles, disease, injustices, persecution, opposition. It’s only IN HEAVEN that we are promised release from all these things.
Now how does meekness fit into all this? A meek person is one who has allowed the Holy Spirit to enable him to “accept [God’s] dealings with [him] as good,” and therefore, he does not dispute with God’s working in his life or resist God’s working in his life—even if it includes things that we commonly think of as “bad.”
Listen to what A.W. Tozer writes in the book The Best of Tozer:
True spirituality manifests itself in...the desire to be holy rather than happy....The spiritual man wants to carry his cross. Many Christians accept adversity or tribulation with a sigh and call it their cross, forgetting that such things come alike to saint and sinner. The cross is that extra adversity that comes to us as a result of our obedience to Christ. This cross is not forced upon us; we voluntarily take it up with full knowledge of the consequences
We choose to obey Christ and by so doing choose to carry the cross. Carrying a cross means to be attached to the person of Christ, committed to the Lordship of Christ and obedient to the commandments of Christ. Such a man would rather be useful than famous and would rather serve than be served. And this must be by the operation of the Holy Spirit within him. No man can become spiritual by himself.
That first phrase is a powerful statement: “True spirituality manifests itself in...the desire to be holy rather than happy.” WE want to be HAPPY, but GOD’S main goal is to make us HOLY. And if God has to sacrifice our happiness in order to develop holiness in us, He’ll do it. And one of the tools God uses to develop holiness and godly character in us is trials. God uses trials to mold us and shape us in the image of what he wants us to be.
Meekness is that spirit that does not question God’s wisdom or motives in allowing us to go through trials. It’s that spirit of accepting whatever God allows in our lives without complaint.
Paul tells us in Romans 12:12 that we should be, “…patient in tribulation…” But meekness is not mere acceptance or resignation of trials in our lives.
In fact, true meekness will cause one to rejoice in and thank God for tribulation.
• Thus Paul tells the Thessalonians to “Rejoice evermore (or literally ‘at all times’ [pántote, pa/ntote, (3839)]).” (1 Thessalonians 5:16)
• Two verses later he commands us, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
• To the Philippians, Paul commanded, “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)
• And Paul practiced what he preached, for he says in Romans 5:3-4 – “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope.”
• Peter, talking about suffering for Jesus sake through opposition and persecutions says, “But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled.” (1 Peter 3:14)
We really need an attitude adjustment concerning problems in life. Previous generations of Christians have understood that life on this earth was sweeter in knowing Jesus, but testings and trouble were part of the warp and woof of life. In the comfort of our 21st century existence, we’ve grown accustomed to an easy lifestyle. Then when problems come, disease strikes and disappointments come, we’re surprised and shocked and somehow insulted. A meek person accepts the hard times in life as well as the easy times and knows that even those things that are bad, God will somehow turn it into good. – Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
II. SECONDLY, IN HIS DEFINITION OF PRAÓTĒS, VINES’ SAYS THIS – “Described negatively, meekness is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all.”
Perhaps one of the greatest impediments to getting along with others is our natural preoccupation with ourselves. We want our own way. We look out for old number one. We promote ourselves to others. We experience a lack of self-confidence. We experience problems of self-image.
All of these problems have one source—SELF.
We live in the age of “self.” Never have there been so many books, articles and other media attention given to the worship of self. Just go to the bookstore and you’ll find shelves of books just on self. There is even a popular magazine in the U.S. titled Self.
Our culture is immersed in the “culture of self.” We talk of self-image, self-confidence, self-esteem, self-acceptance, self-help, self-recovery, self-worth and self-actualization. But what it has spawned is self-love, self-justification, self-pity and self-centeredness. Folks, the culture of self can NEVER bring satisfaction, and is the source for many of the problems in our day.
Besides enabling a person to go through life undisturbed by trials without complaint, meekness enables us to survive personal insult and hurt.
The meek person is not hurt by what others say about him because he’s just not wrapped up in himself. Why does an insult or a slight hurt us?—Because of PRIDE. And what is the source of our pride?—SELF! If we learn meekness, then things that people say about us will not bother us one bit.
As I said before, Dr. Lee Roberson, the founder and president of Tennessee Temple University where I completed my undergraduate university degree was such an example to us of this quality. I heard him preach many times on Paul’s crucifying our flesh. Taking as his text Paul’s words in Galatians 5:24 – “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” In those sermons he would constantly tell us to immunize ourselves against both praise and criticism. Both, he used to say, ought to fly off us like water on a ducks back.
If we die to self, then praise will not puff us up and we won’t seek for men’s praise and we won’t need it. – We’ll just go about our business for the Lord. If we die to self, then people’s criticism won’t harm us. – We’ll just go on about our business. God help us to manifest this aspect of meekness.
III. THE FINAL PART OF VINES’ DEFINITION THAT IS SIGNIFICANT TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE GREEK WORD FOR MEEKNESS RELATED TO OUR LAST POINT, BUT ALSO SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT. VINES SAYS THIS: “…[praüt_s] is closely linked with the word tapeinophrosúnē (pronounced: “tap-i-nof-ros-oo’-nay”) [which means “humility”], and follows directly upon it…”
This aspect of meekness is actually the original idea behind the English word meekness. It’s a refusal to let pride have the upper hand in one’s life. Meekness gives no place for pride and self-seeking and is climaxed in voluntary self-abasement.
In his book, Flesh and Spirit in Conflict, Theodore Epp says this
Meekness is the opposite of seeking a high place among men. It is the opposite of pride and arrogance. Moses is reputed to have been the meekest of men. This is the record of Numbers 12:3: “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.: There were many who had spoken against him but he had not retaliated. He was not spineless, however. He was a man who could be terribly angered in a righteous cause. Yet he was a man who was humble and submissive to God. There was nothing spiritless or anaemic about a man of Moses’ leadership qualities that could lead such a difficult people as Moses led out of Egypt to eventual victory. He was a man who combined strength and meekness in proper proportions.
No one exhibited this quality better than the Lord Jesus Christ. Note with me Philippians 2:3-8 – “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
CONCLUSION
Wow!—One little word that means so very much.
Let me summarize the three aspects of what meekness means, and then I’ll make some closing comments.
• First, we said it involves the willing acceptance of God’s dealings with us as good, and therefore without complaint or resistance.
• Second, meekness is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest and self-preoccupation.
• Thirdly, it involves humility.
In some ways, I think this might be the most difficult of the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit for Christians to strive for.
But that would be the problem wouldn’t it? You see, WE can’t manifest ANY of the fruit of the Spirit in our own flesh. If we try, we we’ll only fail in time.
The only way to show this quality in our lives is to walk in the Spirit. I can testify to the truthfulness of this in my own life because self has such a strong pull in my life. The ONLY way I can willingly accept God’s dealings in my life; the only way I can not be preoccupied with my own self and my own needs; and the only way I can put down pride in my life and exhibit humility is to walk in the Spirit—to be Spirit-filled—to “abide in the vine.”
Thus, again, we find ourselves back to our first lesson on the fruit of the Spirit. The only way we can hold back the natural responses of our fleshly nature and respond to problems and people in the right way is through the Spirit-filled life. God help us to daily depend on the Holy Spirit to manifest His fruit in our lives.
