I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
If we live in the Spirit,
let us also walk in the
Spirit.
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
“GENTLENESS”
But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness,
GENTLENESS, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
“Meekness” (KJV)
Blessed Meekness
• “Blessed are the MEEK, For they
shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5)
– NOT
“Blessed are the WEAK, For they
shall inherit the earth.”
– NOT
“Blessed are the STRONG, For
they can hold their own on the
earth.”
“Those who are strongly—almost
fiercely—competitive, aggressive
and assertive are the ones who
receive recognition, admiration and
reward. Do they not seem to end up
on top of the pile, possessing the
most and best despite other
obvious and perhaps even offensive
flaws in their character?”
Defining
“Gentleness/Meekness”
Gk. praotes
Lexicon)
(4236, Online Bible Greek
1) gentleness, mildness, meekness
“. . . is founded upon this idea, [of thinking little of
your self, sjw] and goes beyond it. It is the attitude of
mind and behavior which, arising from humility,
disposes one to receive with gentleness and
meekness whatever may come”
(5898, Online Bible Greek Lexicon)
Defining
“Gentleness/Meekness”
“Meekness is patience in the
reception of injuries. It is neither
meanness, nor a surrender of our
rights, nor cowardice; but it is the
opposite of sudden anger, of malice,
of long-harboured vengeance. . .
Defining
“Gentleness/Meekness”
. . .Meekness produces peace. It is proof of true
greatness of soul. It comes from a heart too great
to be moved by little insults. It looks upon those
who offer them with pity. He that is constantly
ruffled, that suffers every little insult or injury to
throw him off his guard, and to raise a storm of
passion within, is at the mercy of every mortal
that chooses to disturb him. He is like the
troubled sea that cannot rest, whose waters cast
up mire and dirt.”
(Barnes On the New Testament, Vol. 1, p. 41)
Matthew 11:29, 30
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke
is easy, and my burden is light”
Ephesians 4:1-3 I therefore, the
prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that
ye walk worthy of the vocation
wherewith ye are called, with all
lowliness
and
meekness,
with
longsuffering, forbearing one another
in love; endeavouring to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
21Therefore lay aside all
filthiness and overflow of
wickedness, and receive
with
meekness
the
implanted word, which is
able to save your souls.
Meekness Requires Abasement
– Romans. 12:3 “For I say, through the grace
given to me, to everyone who is among you,
not to think of himself more highly than he
ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has
dealt to each one a measure of faith” (NKJV)
– Galatians. 6:1 …1Brethren, if a man is
overtaken in any trespass, you who are
spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of
gentleness, considering yourself lest you also
be tempted.
Meekness Requires Abasement
• 1 Peter 5:6 “Therefore
humble yourselves under
the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you in
due time” (NKJV)
DAVID
• when persecuted by Saul
– 1 Samuel 24:14, “After whom has the king of
Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A
dead dog? A flea?”
• places whatever injuries come in God’s
hands
– 1 Samuel 24:15, "Therefore let the LORD be
judge, and judge between you and me, and see
and plead my case, and deliver me out of your
hand."
Meekness
•MEEKNESS DOESN’T FORBID:
– ANGER
– FIRMNESS
– INITIATIVE
•MEEKNESS REGULATES SUCH!
MOSES
• Numbers 12:3, (NKJV) “Now the man
Moses was very meek, above all the men
which were upon the face of the earth.”
– Yet he required the Levites
to take their sword to their
disobedient brethren where
3000 died (Ex. 32:25-28)
PAUL
– 1 Corinthians 4:21…What do you want?
Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love
and a spirit of gentleness?
– two essentials in preaching
– meekness doesn’t forbid one the use of a
rod
– Related passages: 2 Cor. 12:21 – 13:2, 10
JESUS
• Jesus is meek (Matt. 11:29)
– Yet. . .“When He had made a
whip of cords, He drove them
all out of the temple, with the
sheep and the oxen, and poured out the
changers’ money and overturned the
tables” (John 2:15, NKJV)
– Yet . . .He openly challenged and
destroyed the religious error of the day
(Luke 13:10-17)
JESUS
• OUR LORD’S MEEKNESS ALLOWED HIM
TO DO ALL THESE THINGS WITHOUT SIN
• 1 PETER 2:21-23:
21 For to this you were called, because Christ
also suffered for us, leaving us an example,
that you should follow His steps: 22 "Who
committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His
mouth";23 who, when He was reviled, did not
revile in return; when He suffered, He did not
threaten, but committed Himself to Him who
judges righteously;
A MEEK PERSON
• doesn’t excuse sin/doctrinal infractions
• doesn’t get carried away by personal
success
• can sense and feel the wrong directed
towards him by man
– forebears and endures such
– doesn’t seek revenge for personal wrongs
– may pity the broken and defective character
of those who resist him (e.g., Lk. 23:34)
A MEEK PERSON
• is gentle to God when chastened by God
– Aaron (Lev. 10:1-3)
– David (Ps. 39)
– Jesus, “. . . Shall I not drink the cup which My
Father has given Me?” (Jn. 18:11, NKJV; cf.
Acts 8:32)
• understands sin, its effects, its desire, its
hold, its control
2 Timothy 2:24-26 (NKJV)
24 And a servant of the Lord must not
quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach,
patient,
25 in humility [meekness, KJV] correcting
those who are in opposition, if God
perhaps will grant them repentance, so
that they may know the truth,
26 and that they may come to their senses
and escape the snare of the devil, having
been taken captive by him to do his will.