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 be self-assertive, independent, standing up for yourself, and having an own opinion. Meekness is not encouraged at schools, in teachings, at work, and not even 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 take advantage of you. You have to stand up for yourself. The world (system) opposes God(s) (system); they can’t go together. But what does the Bible say about meekness and the meaning of the fruit of the Spirit meekness?
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; gentle, serving, full of mercy, forgiveness and patience. When you read the Old Testament, you’ll see how meek and gentle God really is. God is holy and righteous. Therefore God can’t be a Partaker of the world and of sins and iniquities.
That’s why becoming born again is essential instead of an option, to be reconciled with God and have a relation with the Father. Without regeneration, people can’t commune with the Father. Only those who have become a new creation; born of water and Spirit have eternal life (John 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 said, that He is meek and lowly in heart. He walked on earth, doing the will of His Father; Jesus was meek
Jesus didn’t walk after His flesh; His senses, feelings, lust, desire, and will. But Jesus walked after the Spirit; doing the will of the Father. Jesus didn’t compromise with the world, NO!
Jesus stayed in the will of His Father, by obeying and doing His words and keeping commandments. Therefore Jesus pleased the Father and was faithful to Him unto His death.
So many people despised Him, but Jesus stayed faithful to His Father. It had cost Him everything, but Jesus did it, because He loved His Father.
Although Jesus bore the fruit meekness, Jesus was not a wishy-washy. Jesus walked and spoke boldly 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 evil 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, you will find out that a lot of things that you consider normal aren’t normal at all and oppose the will of God.
The truth is revealed by God’s Word
When you find out the truth by God’s Word you have to decide to submit to the Word of God and obey His words and commandments and do His and remove those things from your life or will you reject the Word of God and keep those things in your life and keep doing what you want to do?
If you really love God and want to obey Him, 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.
Christians put on meekness
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering (Colossians 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, loud (because they don’t like quiet people), 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. A meek and quiet spirit are valuable to Him.
Peter wrote 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 Peter 3:4)
Only a meek and willing spirit will submit to God and receive and obey His words. Because a pride spirit, thinks he knows it better and shall always be resistant. A pride spirit will never submit to God 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, Matthew 5:5)
What doesn’t the fruit meekness mean?
The fruit meekness doesn’t mean consorting and compromising with the world and allowing sin and iniquity. The fruit meekness doesn’t mean accepting and approving the evil things that oppose the Word of God and are an abomination to God.
Jesus is meek. However, when Jesus walked on this earth, He never sinned nor walked in iniquity. Jesus didn’t compromise with the world and allow sin. Instead, Jesus confronted the people with their sins and commanded them to repent and sin no more.
Jesus also didn’t consort with the Pharisees and Sadducees, in order to be accepted by them or to become famous. Jesus walked in obedience to His Father in righteousness and in holiness.
Righteousness can’t have communion with unrighteousness. Holiness can’t have communion with sin.
What does the fruit meekness mean?
The fruit meekness means being weak after the flesh (death of the flesh), but being strong in the Spirit. Because only when you are weak, God will make you strong.
When you are strong in the Spirit, you shall walk after the Spirit according to the Word and be a witness and speak with authority. You shall do the will of God and represent and bring His Kingdom on earth .
So let us bear this fruit meekness; and walk in meekness towards God and towards others.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
