The fruit meekness is not often discussed in church, because meekness is not a very popular fruit of the Spirit. In the world we live in, people don’t want you to be meek, but to be self-assertive, independent, standing up for yourself, and having an own opinion. Meekness is not part of todays society. Meekness is not encouraged at schools, teachings, work, and even not in homes. When you are meek, there is big change, that you will be bullied at school. And when you are not self-assertive at your job, your colleagues will walk all over you and will take advantage of you. You have to stand up for yourself. The world (system) is the opposite of God(s) (system); they can’t go together. But what does the Bible say about meekness? What does meekness mean?
What does meekness mean?
Meekness comes from the Greek word ‘praotēs’ (G4236 Strong’s Concordance) and means: gentleness; by implication humility: – meekness.
When you are meek, your are gentle and have humility in your heart. No matter how many miseries or wrongs you have endured, you will stay meek, and full of forgiveness.
The opposite of meekness is pride, arrogance, haughtiness, self-assertive, rebellion etc. You see the worldly characteristics (pride, arrogance, haughtiness, self-assertive, rebellion etc.) versus the Godly characteristics (gentleness, humility, meekness etc.).
God is meek
Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness (meekness) hath made me great (Psalm 18:36)
God is a loving Father; friendly, serving, full of forgiveness and patience. When you read in the Old Testament, you’ll see how meek, and how gentle God really is. God is holy and righteous, and therefore He cannot be a Partaker of the world, of sins and iniquities.
That’s why becoming born again is essential, and not an option, in order to have a relation with the Father. Without being born again, man cannot have communion with the Father. Only those who have become a new creation; born of water and Spirit shall have eternal life (Jn 3:5). It all begins at the cross, at the sacrifice of Jesus Christ; by His blood.
Jesus is meek
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls (Mat 11:29)
Jesus says, that He is meek and lowly in heart. Jesus walked upon the earth, doing the will of His Father; He was meek. Jesus didn’t walk after His flesh; His senses, desires, lust, and will, but He walked after the Spirit; doing His will. Jesus didn’t make concessions with the world, NO!
He stayed in the will of His Father, by keeping His commandments, and therefore He pleased Him and was faithful unto death. So many people despised Him, but Jesus stayed faithful to His Father.
It had cost Him everything, but He did it, because He loved His Father.
Jesus was certainly not a wishy-washy, because He walked and spoke with authority. Jesus was meek towards man, He was gentle and served them, but He wasn’t afraid to confront God’s people, with their sins and their walk.
The new creation is meek
We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, and therefore Gods nature dwells in us. He dwells in us, and if we live according to His will, and walk after the Spirit, then we shall bear the fruit of the Spirit, which contains the fruit meekness.
Just like God and Jesus are meek, we shall also become like them and become meek.
We can only bear the fruit meekness, if our flesh, and our ‘self’ has died, and if we walk after the Spirit and live according to His commandments and His will. Dying to the flesh, to ‘self’ is not fun; nobody wants to die, because it hurts. Jesus never said that it was easy, but He said it was necessary in order to have eternal life.
You may consider many things in your life as normal, and see no harm in doing those things. But when you begin to read and study the Word of God, you will get to know the true will of God.
When you renew your mind with the Word of God, then you will come to the conclusion, that a lot of things, that you consider normal, aren’t normal at all and go against the will of God.
The truth being revealed by God’s Word
When you find out the truth by God’s Word you have a choice to make: will you keep doing those things and do you keep doing, what you want? Or do you submit yourself to the Word of God, obey His commandments and His will and remove those things out of your life?
If you really want to obey God, it means, that you have to remove many old habits, in which you walked in when you were the old creation.
The dying process of the old creation is necessary, because otherwise the new creation cannot appear.
When your ego, pride and arrogance have died, then the fruit meekness can come forth. We should put on meekness and take off pride, ego, arrogance, self-assertiveness etc.
Put on meekness
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering (Col 3:12)
Putting on is an action. The secret is that when you renew your mind with the Word of God and walk in the Word, that you’re putting on Christ. You cloth yourself with Him; with bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering.
When someone does you wrong and you become mad, and start to attack that person, it means that your flesh has not died yet.
It means that your mind is not renewed with the Word of God, because you’ve acted out of your emotions and feelings(your flesh), instead of acting out of the spirit and out of the Word of God.
When you become angry, you don’t bear the fruit meekness.
Another thing to remember is, that as a born again Christian, you don’t have your own opinion anymore, but you have Gods opinion. It doesn’t matter what you think, it matters what God thinks, and what His Word says.
Being meek pleases God
While the world says, that you have to be spontaneous, be loud (because they don’t like quiet people), be self-self-assertive, stand up for yourself, take matters into your own hands etc. God says something else about these matters. God has a delight in a meek and quiet spirit. They are valuable to Him. Peter writes about the adorning of a woman:
But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price (1 Pe 3:4)
Only a meek and willing spirit can receive the Word of God. Because a pride spirit, thinks he knows it all better and shall always be resistant. A pride spirit will never submit and will never be open for correction.
But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace (Psalm 37:11, Mat 5:5)
What doesn’t the fruit meekness mean?
The fruit meekness doesn’t mean consorting with the world, making concessions, and compromising, and walking in sins and iniquities. It doesn’t mean accepting and approving those things, which are against the Word of God.
Jesus is meek, but when He walked upon this earth, He never sinned, nor walked in iniquity. He didn’t compromise with the world, but confronted man with their sins and commanded them to sin no more.
Jesus also didn’t consort with the Pharisees and Sadducees, in order to become accepted by them or to become popular and famous. Jesus walked in righteousness, and in holiness.
Righteousness cannot have communion with unrighteousness, and holiness cannot have communion with sin.
The fruit meekness means being weak after the flesh (death of the flesh), but being strong in the Spirit. Cause when you are weak, God will make you strong. When you are strong in the spirit, you shall walk after the Spirit and speak with authority. You shall do His will and present His Kingdom and bring His Kingdom on this earth .
So let us bear this fruit meekness; and walk in meekness.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
