Galatians 5:22 NIV“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”
Faithfulness is the quality being trustworthy and dependable. Since God’s faithfulness is the bedrock of our lives, we can have complete confidence in Him. When everything else fails, God remains faithful. When everything else is against us, God remains faithful. He never fails.
The fruit of the Spirit is the character of Christ that the Holy Spirit produces in us.
The character of Christ was first demonstrated in the Lord Himself and then produced in the lives of believers by the Holy Spirit. Faith or faithfulness is an indispensable character trait of the believer who is in Christ.
2 Peter 1:1-4 NASB95 To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
2 Peter 1:5-7 NKJV But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
Peter was carefully defining the character of Christ’s faithfulness as it is manifested and lived out in the believer’s life. These combined attributes define the steadiness and unwavering characteristic of Christ’s faithfulness.
Christ’s character is demonstrated in the fruit of the Spirit.
Each attribute of the fruit brings added clarity to what the Holy Spirit produces in us. God’s goal is to carefully reproduce Christ’s character in us. We are considering the character or nature of Christ’s faithfulness.
Faithfulness describes God in His relationships with believers.
Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.
The whole concept of faithfulness is perfectly defined in God’s nature.
God is faithful in everything. He keeps His word and what He says, that He will also do. He keeps His covenant of love to a thousand generations. This is not attempting to measure the length of God’s faithfulness, but is showing His reliability. God’s faithfulness exceeds our ability to measure.
Jeremiah spoke about God’s faithfulness to a people who were in great anguish and distress.
In the first part of Lamentations 3, he wrote about the bitterness and woe, the desolation and difficulties, and the affliction and condition of his soul within him. He started chapter 3 by saying, “I have seen the affliction by the rod of His wrath. He has made me walk in darkness and not in the light.” He said, “God has hedged me in so I cannot get out.” With all of the anguish and distress, it would appear that he would have turned against God and lost all hope and faith, but then he remembered God’s faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-24 NIV84 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
What is the significance of God’s faithfulness?
God’s faithfulness gives us assurance in everything that we are facing right now. His faithfulness is steadfast and it is renewed daily.
The Psalmist frequently spoke about God’s faithfulness.
Psalm 89:1-2 NIV I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
Take note how God’s great love and faithfulness are linked.
His love and faithfulness stand firm forever.
Psalm 89:5-6 NIV The heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord? Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?
His wonders and mighty works show God’s faithfulness.
God’s faithfulness surrounds Him like a cloud of glory.
Psalm 89:7-8 NIV In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround Him. O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
Psalm 89:14 NIV Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.
Psalm 89:33-34 CSB I will not withdraw my faithful love… or betray my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or change what my lips have said.
Listen to the words that accompany God’s faithfulness in these verses.
Faithfulness is associated with God’s compassion and love. God’s faithfulness is heavenly and is related to His wonders. His faithfulness is in the company of His righteousness, justice, and love. His faithfulness is as sure as His covenant and word.
God’s faithfulness provides stability for our soul.
He is unchangeable in His faithfulness. This impacts everything God says and does, and everything we place our faith and hope in.
It is not surprising that the nature of God’s faithfulness belongs to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah prophesied the Lord Jesus will be clothed with faithfulness.
Isaiah 11:5 NIV Righteousness will be His belt and faithfulness the sash around His waist.
- He is called Faithful and True, Revelation 19:11.
- He is the Faithful Witness who loves us and has freed us from our sins, Revelation 1:5
- He is the Merciful and Faithful High Priest Who makes atonement for the sins of the people, Hebrews 2:17
Look at the portrait of Christ’s faithfulness.
First, He was obedient to His Father’s will.
He was entirely devoted and obedient to His Father’s will. He refused to do anything that was contrary to His Father. He was faithful even when it hurt. Jesus referred to this often. He was obedient, even to the death of the cross.
Second, He was observant of His Father’s counsel.
He refused to do anything that He did not see the Father do. Jesus was constantly and consistently observing and listening to the Father. Throughout His incarnation, He presented the exact transcript and work of what the Father did. Jesus faithfully did whatever the Father designed, determined, planned, or purposed in His eternal counsels. Every facet of what God formed in our redemption, Jesus Christ faithfully carried out and completed.
Christ’s faithfulness was the exact copy of everything that He sees the Father do, present tense.
The portrait of Jesus’ faithfulness is seen in His eternal present obedience to what He sees the Father do. The impact of this is seen in every thought, work, and word. Jesus said: “Whoever sees Me, sees the Father.” This is indicative of His constant vigil with the Father.
Third, He is equal with the Father’s work.
Jesus said, “Whatever the Father does, the Son likewise does. He did the same things, in the same manner, with the same authority, wisdom, energy, and capacity or power to produce a desired effect. Jesus did this to the extent that He said: “Whoever has seen Me work has seen the work of the Father.”
2 Timothy 2:13 NASB95 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
The portrait of Christ’s faithfulness is clearly seen in His Lordship or power, and His Servanthood or suffering.
As He did works of power, He revealed the Father. As He took up and bore our sickness, sorrow, and sin, He was faithful to the will of the Father. When the work was pleasant and when the work involved suffering, He was faithful. In life and in death, He was faithful.
Look at this in relation to His ministry.
Luke 4:18-19 NIV “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The Lord was faithful in every aspect of His life and ministry.
Watch His miracles, He was faithful to the Father. Observe His power and His majesty, He was presenting the image of the Father. Notice His sinless life, He revealed the holiness of the Father. Pay attention to His obedience, He was not careless in doing what He saw in the Father. Listen to His Words, they are Spirit and they are life. He was faithful in everything.
His faithfulness is our model.
Jesus has made it possible for us to walk in the same faithfulness. He has given us His Spirit so that we will be able to know what is in the heart and mind of the Father. The Holy Spirit has been sent to us so we can know whatever He sees and hears. He will reveal the secret and hidden things of God. God is forming the nature and character of Christ in you.
