What the Bible says about Fruits of God's Holy Spirit: Faithfulness
(From Forerunner Commentary)
The Bible has several lists of virtues. Perhaps the most noted and quoted is found in Galatians 5:22-23 as the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Within these excellent character traits, we discover the virtuous mind and nature of our Creator. We glorify Him when we, as members of the Body of Christ, display these virtues, and our efforts remind the world of the infinite power and beauty of His moral character. Moreover, our virtuous acts serve to separate us from a morally unhealthy and impure world.
The apostle Paul also encourages Timothy to pursue another special list of virtuous traits in I Timothy 6:11. Some of this list overlaps with the fruit of the Spirit while adding the virtues of righteousness and godliness.
Martin G. Collins
Excellence in Character (Part Two)Related Topics: Excellence in Character | Fruits of God's Holy Spirit | Fruits of God's Holy Spirit: Faithfulness | Fruits of God's Holy Spirit: Goodness | Fruits of God's Holy Spirit: Joy | Fruits of God's Holy Spirit: Kindness | Fruits of God's Holy Spirit: Meekness | Fruits of God's Holy Spirit: Patience | Fruits of God's Holy Spirit: Peace | Fruits of God's Holy Spirit: Self Control | Godliness
This verse tells us that we can trust Him all the way to death because "He cannot deny Himself." God's very nature and character constitute a solemn obligation that He is His own law, that He is bound by what He is and that He can never be even in the smallest degree contradictory to or less than the level of His own consistent and uniform self. No wonder James 1:17 exclaims:
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
As God, He must be true to the character of goodness and wisdom that His very name implies.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness
Because God is faithful, the strength to be faithful is promised to us. Forgiveness, access to His throne, and the promises of His Spirit and that no trial will be greater than we can bear—combined with His declaration that He works in us both to will and to do—assure us that faithfulness can be produced in us when we yield as faithful servants.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness
Holding fast is the first indication of faithfulness, but our understanding increases when we know the word translated "faithful" is the same word translated "faithfulness" in Galatians 5:22. It is understood as "reliable" or "trustworthy" rather than "fidelity" because it is being fully convicted of the truth of God that engenders loyalty and dependability. Faith in God corresponds to God's faithfulness. As with two tuning forks of the same pitch, when one is struck, the other responds by vibrating also. God's faithfulness should awaken faith in us, so we can respond in submissive obedience. If He is worth trusting, we should trust Him.
Since God is faithful, it has become our responsibility to imitate Him in being faithful by committing our lives to well doing.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness