Jun 12, 2022 |Of The Spirit

Goodness

06.12.22 | Of The Spirit

Goodness

Noel Heikkinen

Genesis 1:1–4

We tend to use good to describe circumstances that are positive but not great. So, what does it mean that God is described as good in Scripture? Pastor Noel Heikkinen challenges our definition of good, reminding us that only God is good, and He defines what goodness is. God declared His creation good, and one day when we are united with Him in eternity we will live perfectly in the image of God, suitable for why we were created.

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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:1-4
 

“Good” (טוֹב) means having desirable or positive qualities, especially those suitable for a thing specified.

 

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you, for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth — everything having the breath of life in it — I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

Genesis 1:26-31
 

The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had formed. The LORD God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:8-9
 

The LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”

Genesis 2:15-18
 

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. Then the LORD God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man. This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

Genesis 2:21-25
 

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’” “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Genesis 3:1-7
 

The LORD God said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.” So the LORD God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove the man out and stationed the cherubim and the flaming, whirling sword east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:22-24
 

A ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Luke 18:18
 

“Good” (ἀγαθός) means having desirable or positive qualities, especially those suitable for a thing specified.

 

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and mother. ” “I have kept all these from my youth,” he said.

Luke 18:19-21
 

When Jesus heard this, he told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell all you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” After he heard this, he became extremely sad, because he was very rich.

Luke 18:22-23
 

“Goodness” is a deliberate preference of right to wrong, a firm resistance of moral evil, choosing and following all moral good.

 

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.

Romans 5:12
 

If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:17
 

Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations

Revelation 22:1-2
 

“Helper” (ֵע ֶזר ֫ ) means a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of a purpose.

 

The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Genesis 3:6
 

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.

Romans 5:12
 

“Good” (טוֹב) means having desirable or positive qualities, especially those suitable for a thing specified.

 

“Goodness” is a deliberate preference of right to wrong, a firm resistance of moral evil, choosing and following all moral good.

 

What do you think of when you hear the word “Good”?
What are a few things in your life that you often declare good, that are actually evil? How can you have more accountability in that area?
How have you seen growth in goodness in yourself since you have become a Christian?
How do you hope to grow in goodness in the future?

Youth