The Explanation of the Harvest
The Greek word rendered “goodness” in Galatians 5 was actually coined by the New Testament. Greek culture had no concept of biblical goodness, so the New Testament authors formulated a new word. It speaks of moral excellence and benevolence of the highest kind—gentleness in action. The person it describes is both blameless and self-giving. In the Septuagint, the word first appears in 2 Chronicles 24:16, concerning Jehoiada the priest, who was buried among the kings because he “had done good in Israel.” Jehoiada had mentored King Joash in the faith, teaching him to govern according to God’s word. He was a biblically “good” man.
Goodness is, without doubt, an attribute of God. The Psalms declare, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6) and, “The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD” (Psalm 33:5,). Paul reminds us that “God’s kindness [goodness] is meant to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4). Goodness describes those who are morally excellent and who give of themselves to meet the needs of others—and that certainly describes the God of the Bible. We sometimes use the word “good” too cheaply. When the rich young ruler called Jesus “good,” Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). He was not denying his own goodness but claiming deity: True goodness is supernatural, representing the moral excellence and loving benevolence of God.
The Imitation of the Harvest
The imitation of goodness is, simply put, self-righteousness. Paul warned of those “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). It is entirely possible to appear good while being corrupt at the core. King Saul was outwardly impressive—there was “not a more handsome person” in all Israel (1 Samuel 9:2)—yet he was far from godly. Ananias and Sapphira appeared to be a generous couple when they sold their land and brought money to the apostles, but they lied about the amount. God revealed that despite their performance, they were not truly good. The LORD’s own standard is plain: “The LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Biblical goodness is not an external show; it is goodness to the very core.
The Application of the Harvest
Goodness and gentleness are inseparable, yet goodness is not always perceived as gentle. Jesus was the most genuinely good man who ever lived, yet when he overturned tables in the temple or confronted the Pharisees as hypocrites and vipers (Matthew 23), he was hardly seen as gentle. Good men and women are not always popular. But because they are committed to the moral excellence of God, they do not particularly care about popularity. Paul walked in the Spirit, yet he was ultimately beheaded, having been abandoned by almost all his friends.
Although goodness never guarantees popularity, it certainly fosters productivity. Consider Barnabas, “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11:24). Sent to the newly established Gentile church in Antioch, Barnabas stayed on to disciple believers, and even fetched Saul from Tarsus to assist him. For an entire year, the two of them grounded the Antiochene believers in the faith—so thoroughly that it was there the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). The outside world observed those Barnabas had discipled and said, in effect, “They look like Jesus Christ—we’ll call them Christians.”
Because Barnabas was a good man, he was also productive in restoration. When John Mark deserted him and Paul on their first missionary journey, Barnabas later refused to give up on his nephew. The disagreement eventually split the team, but Barnabas worked with Mark until Paul himself later wrote, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11). Good people do not refuse to involve themselves with the weak. They pursue the wanderers. Paul put it plainly: “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness” (Galatians 6:1). Only those who are biblically good—those who are “full of goodness, filled with all knowledge” (Romans 15:14)—are equipped to admonish and restore others.
The Cultivation of the Harvest
How is this harvest cultivated? First and most fundamentally, one must be born again. True goodness is not a personality trait; it is a supernatural work of the Spirit. Perhaps the reason so many in our churches are inactive in ministry is that they have not yet been born again. Perhaps, instead of wringing our hands in frustration, we should beseech God to save their souls. The only excuse for an absence of goodness is an absence of the Root.
Beyond new birth, cultivating this harvest requires focused effort. We must meditate on God’s goodness until it stirs us to express that goodness to others. We must also recognise that there is no such thing as instant spirituality. Paul, writing near the end of his life, declared, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Peter likewise exhorts us to “make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control” and so on up to godliness (2 Peter 1:5–6). Goodness does not come by spiritual osmosis; it requires diligent, daily effort.
Finally, we must understand that everything God allows—blessing and trial alike—is sovereignly designed to conform us to the image of his Son. A man who had recently undergone quadruple bypass surgery said to me: “I am convinced now that we can only experience some of these things through suffering.” Here was a man who grasped that his suffering was designed to produce Christlikeness. God “works all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Realising this transforms our entire experience of trials and propels us toward goodness.
The Manifestation of the Harvest
The supreme manifestation of this harvest is the Lord Jesus Christ. When Philip first invited Nathanael to come and meet the Messiah, Nathanael’s response was dismissive: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). The answer, of course, is a resounding yes. The very incarnation of God’s goodness came out of Nazareth.
Our past may cast doubt on whether goodness is possible for us. We may come from broken homes, from backgrounds of bitterness or wickedness. But Christ’s goodness depended not on his environment, but on his relationship with the Father. Ours depends not on our environment, but on our relationship with him. By the Spirit of God dwelling within us, we do not have to gratify the desires of the flesh. The character of Christ can be ours. And against such fruit, there is no law.
About the author
Doug Van Meter is the pastor-teacher of Brackenhurst Baptist Church in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is married to Jill and together they have five daughters, four sons-in-in-law and a growing number of grandchildren.
