2/28/2024
Elijah McSwain, Sr.
Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV — But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
“The fruit of the Spirit are godly attitudes that characterize the lives of only those who belong to God by faith in Christ and possess the Spirit of God. The Spirit produces fruit which consists of 9 characteristics or attitudes that are inextricably linked with each other and are commanded of believers throughout the New Testament.” 1 The fruit of the Spirit is a cluster of virtues that reveal the nature of God in connection with who we are to be as believers. The life of every believer here in Galatians 5:22-13 should mirror the essence of God relating to His communicable attributes of love, peace, joy, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
The life of God should permeate through us as the Spirit of God lives within us. Our actions and mindset should reflect and project the image of God. As we emulate God, faithfulness is a virtue that should be present among every Christian.
Faithfulness in this context speaks to the character of fidelity as in a person who keeps his or her word or promise.
As we think about the concept of biblical faithfulness, let us investigate the faithfulness of God and the faithfulness of the believer.
The Faithfulness of God
The fruit of the Spirit is tied to the Person of God as God is represented in three distinct Persons namely God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit bears witness to the Person of God. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
God is faithful because faithfulness is of God.
The faithfulness of God is of old. His faithfulness has been in existence infinitely. Isaiah 25:1c captures this truth that God’s counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. God has always been faithful as faithfulness is rooted in His eternality. The faithfulness of God is timeless. God’s faithfulness is of an eternal nature. God's faithfulness has no beginning or end as it is an attribute that always has existed within the immutable and everlasting nature of the Lord.
God demonstrates His faithfulness in various ways. As aforementioned in the opening of this blog, faithfulness speaks to the character of fidelity as to how a person keeps their word or promise.
God is faithful as He always keeps up the end of His bargain.
God does exactly what He has promised. The Bible speaks of God being a “Covenant Keeper”. Deuteronomy 7:9 reveals “therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments."
As the covenant-keeping God, He always satisfies His divine inclination to be true to His word. He never relinquishes in fulfilling His promises. However, there are stipulations to God fulfilling His promises with those who are in a covenant relationship with Him. The stipulations rest on believers upholding our end of the bargain by keeping His commandments.
When we alter or deviate from our covenant with God there are dire consequences that we face. God never violates the terms of the covenant; we do and when we do there are ramifications for our actions. The constant undermining of God’s authority leads to the severity of punishment executed by God. A prime example of people breaking their covenant with God is found in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 34:18-21 (CSB) is penned that "as for those who disobeyed my covenant, not keeping the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat them like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces. The officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf- all these I will hand over to their enemies, to those who intend to take their life. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land. I will hand King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials over to their enemies, to those who intend to take their lives, to the king of Babylon’s army that is withdrawing."
Even when the faithless lack faith, it does not change who God is; He is still faithful. Even when we as Christians fail to uphold to the things of God, He is still faithful. No matter if people who claim to follow God, engage in apostasy; He is still faithful. The components of one’s shortcomings, lack of faith, and apostate nature does not alter the Person of God.
Romans 3:3 (ESV) declares "what if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?" 2 Timothy 2:13 is informative that "if we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself." 2 Timothy 2:13 speaks primarily to those who are engaged in a state of apostasy, but it does not diminish the truth that God is faithful despite the lack of faithless from believers from time to time.
Furthermore, there are times when God elects to discipline His children as opposed to allowing them to face their demise. The faithful propensity of God keeps us from being consumed from that which is able to destroy us.
Lamentations 3:22-23 NKJV — Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
The mercifulness of God permits us from being destroyed for our disobedience resultant upon the faithfulness of God. As opposed to dealing with His people from the seat of judgment, He deals with them from the seat of mercy, but we still incur the consequences of our disobedient actions through divine discipline.
In addition, 1 John 1:9 declares that God faithfully forgives us when we confess our sins.
William MacDonald wrote “in order for us to walk day by day in fellowship with God and with fellow believers, we must confess our sins: sins of commission, sins of omission, sins of thought, sins of act, secret sins, and public sins. We must drag them out in the open before God, call them by their names, take sides with God against them, and forsake them. Yes, true confession invokes the forsaking of sins: “He who covers his sins will not prosper but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). When we do that, we can claim the promise that God is faithful and just to forgive. He is faithful in the sense that He has promised to forgive and will abide by His promise. He is just to forgive because He has found a righteous basis for forgiveness in the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. And not only does He guarantee to forgive, but to also cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 2
Several scriptural accounts of the Holy writ provide other insightful truths about the faithfulness of God.
2 Thessalonians 3:3 NKJV — "But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one."
1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV — "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."
Psalm 31:23 NKJV — "Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person."
Psalm 36:5 NKJV — "Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds."
Paul Silway said that “God’s faithfulness is the one constant in the equation. He is the Rock on which we stand.” 3
As believers, our lives are eternally connected to the faithfulness of God. John MacArthur would add “the bedrock of faith is the reality that God keeps all His promises according to His truthful, faithful character.” 1
The Faithfulness of the Believer
Grant Richison penned that “faithfulness is the quality that renders a person trustworthy or reliable.” 4 The fruit of the Spirit in the life of a Christian should speak to the trustworthiness and reliability of his or her character. God is trustworthy and reliable; therefore, the elect of God should be of the same spiritual inclination.
Grant Richison asserted that “people who carry the character of fidelity hold convictions about certain norms. We can rely on them because they commit themselves to those norms. They will be true to what they say because their beliefs transcend the circumstance or situation. They do not put their finger to the wind to watch for the prevailing opinion. They do what is right even in the face of opposition. We can count on them because they will be true to their convictions regardless of the context. They are trustworthy and true.” 4
David Strain makes the distinction that “to be a Christian is to be called to a life of faithfulness. But the duty of Christian faithfulness, properly understood, should be seen as our response to the faithfulness of God.” 5 Every Christian first and foremost should be faithful to God in response to His faithfulness toward us.
1 Samuel 12:24 ESV — Only fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things He has done for you.
The community of faith should display a life of faithfulness by being devoted to the Lord and the work of the Lord in our servitude. Faithful is He that called us into His kingdom and faithfulness should be our mindset as the Spirit produces it within us. At the point of salvation faithfulness is imparted within us and it is further developed over time as our permanent inward attitude.
Our minds should be focused on the Lord in our thought and deeds, otherwise, our minds will seek an alternative source to serve and follow. It is impossible for us to be a friend of God and attempt to cater to the world. It is impossible for us to walk on the pathway of righteousness and the path of unrighteousness at the same time. It is impossible to pursue holiness while being a participant in unholy activities. No person can serve or be faithful to two masters; for either you will hate the one and love the other, or else you will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (cf. Matthew 6:24).
LaRosa M. Johnson, Jr. made the comment that “if we are to follow Christ, it is going to take a measure of faithfulness and dedication on our part. We must be loyal to the One who has bought us with a price, instead of trying to play both sides of the fence.” 6
Therefore, we should show our faithfulness by our allegiance unto the Lord. Additionally, as we serve God, we should be faithful in what has been placed in our charge. 1 Corinthians 4:2 is recorded "moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful."
Faithfulness is an essential virtue and characteristic that should constantly be on display as a demonstration of faithful obedience and love to God through stewardship. Our love for God should be evident in our Christian stewardship and faithfulness to the cause of Christ through our servanthood.
Are we serving only out of an obligatory mindset because we have been tasked with a position in the church or are we serving out of our love for God that speaks forth to our faithfulness? Are we faithfully serving as stewards in every auxiliary within the church? Are we faithfully serving within our respective committees? Are we serving faithfully in the pulpit as preachers of righteousness? Are we managing the affairs of our Master faithfully?
God requires and expects every Christian to be faithful in our positional place of service.
Albert Barnes made it clear that “it is expected of us; it is the “main” or “leading” thing in our function. Eminently in our position of servitude "fidelity is required as an indispensable and cardinal virtue. Fidelity to the master, faithfulness to His trust, as the virtue which by way of eminence is demanded there. This is required particularly because it is an office of trust; because the master’s goods are at his disposal; because there is so much opportunity for the steward to appropriate those goods to his own use, so that his master cannot detect it.” 7 We must carefully and faithfully take care of what has been entrusted unto our hands.
If we do not handle what has been commissioned to our charge, then how will we be able to be entrusted further with other matters of importance. Luke 16:10-12 paints this truth by declaring “he who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. “Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? “And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?"
Misappropriation and mismanagement of the things of God leads a person to become stagnant in their service unto Him due to their lack of faithfulness. It can also lead to demotion as a result of viewing the things of God in a careless manner.
On the other hand, being faithful unto the things of God shows forth our integrity and loyalty unto God. Thus, our faithful mindset gives way for the faithful to be promoted and entrusted with much more due to being faithful in what was considered very little. God rewards the faithful. Every believer should be faithful as stewards of our time, as stewards of our finances, as stewards of our homes, as stewards of our families, as stewards of our jobs, and so forth as a means of being faithful to that which God has given unto us. A faithful servant is rewarded in this life and in the life that is to come. The words of our Lord mirror this truth in Matthew 25:23 where it is depicted of the master saying to his faithful servant, “well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” Therefore, faithfulness should be shown in every aspect of our lives as we interact with and engage others, as we undertake spiritual tasks, and as we undertake daily tasks, etc. Every believer should continuously grow in the virtue of faithfulness.
Ralph Drollinger stated “to grow in Christlikeness means we must grow in God’s attribute of faithfulness! To become more like Jesus means we must become increasingly faithful to Him and others! Faithfulness must be cultivated and developed continually throughout our lives.” 8
Resources
The MacArthur Study Bible
The Believer’s Bible Commentary
Grant Richison. Verse By Verse Commentary
https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2019/07/our-call-to-faithfulness/
Larosa M. Johnson, Jr. Read.Pray.Worship.Live. Teaching The Fundamentals
Barnes, Albert. “Commentary on 1 Corinthians 4:2”. “Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible”.
https://capmin.org/the-importance-of-faithfulness-in-the-life-of-the-believer/