By: Jacob Williams Multifaceted Faithfulness
Many of the 9 traits that make up the fruit of the Spirit are frequently recognized by unconverted people as character traits of high moral appeal. Humanity is still quick to praise a so-called “loving” or “joyful” or “patient” person. Faithfulness is no different in its moral desirability, but it is hard to define fully from a worldly perspective. Like all things (no exaggeration), faithfulness cannot be fully understood if not looked at with an adequate view of who God is and why He does the things he does. There is no such thing as being a faithful person when there is an absence of faith in God. To understand faithfulness in its fullness, with the goal of personally growing this aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, we will look at: the faithfulness of God, the faithfulness of humanity towards God, and the faithfulness between each other to make us better promise-keeping, Jesus-trusting, faithfully obedient Christians.
A Man of His Word
As many of the other articles have done, the starting point that will allow us to fully grasp what it means to be faithful is to look to the ultimate example of all that is good. As a principle, faithfulness is holding true to your promises; being loyal or steadfast to commitments that you have made. I could spend years uncovering the depths of the faithfulness of God in all that he does, but time decrees I only briefly cover some of the ways that he makes his faithfulness known to us by grace. God’s perfect faithfulness stems from his transcendent nature throughout the members of the Trinity and throughout humanity in a cascading waterfall of blessing.
God is faithful in character. It is more than the fact that he does faithful things – he is faithful. He is reliable and worthy of dependence because he is completely unchanging. He is immutable. The triune God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). Not only is his faithful nature bolstered by his immutability, but it is the full range of who God is that gives us confidence in God’s faithfulness. He is merciful and compassionate and slow to anger. “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Num. 23:19). Great is the faithfulness of the Lord that pours out almighty love and grace on us anew each morning!
God is faithful in his promises. From before the foundation of the world, God the Father had faithfully elected a people for Christ, his bride the Church. Christ then faithfully died for their sins to satisfy the wrath of the Father. The Holy Spirit faithfully transforms those elected to be the bride of Christ. This covenant of redemption within the Trinity is for the purpose of magnifying the glory of Christ, and that centers around God showing his faithfulness in having a people for himself. These promises play out in human history as we see God consistently withstand trespasses against his covenant with Israel in the Old Testament and raise up for them, time and time again, leaders who would restore them to the ways of the Lord. This love that cried out “how can I give you up, O Ephraim?” in the face of repetitive, hard-hearted stubbornness illuminates the glorious, unending mosaic of a God who remains true to his word to have a people for himself (Hos. 11:8). The constant restoration of a people stubborn and stiff necked in the Old Testament carries over to his saving power in the New Testament. After the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, the Holy Spirit entered into those who trust in the saving blood of Christ as evidence of the faithfulness of God to present us holy and blameless before him (Eph. 1:13-14). Though this evidence is sufficient to prove the faithfulness of God in his promises to us, he does so many other things in our journey of sanctification. Some of these beautiful gifts are assurance that all things will work out (Rom. 8:28), protection from temptations that would lure us away completely (1 Cor. 10:13), forgiveness of sins (1 John 1:9), and so many more.
Faithfulness to the One Who is Faithful
Seeing the faithfulness of God should inspire a desire within us to follow in his example, but we cannot just start being faithful in our word to other humans thinking that we have unlocked the full scale of growing in faithfulness as Paul intended. We must start where the faithfulness of God starts, with faithfulness to God himself. The root of faithfulness is no stranger to the Christian life. It is by grace we have been saved through faith. This is one of those things that you can split into two categories that encompass the whole world: those who have faith in the saving blood of Jesus to cover their sins and those who do not. You cannot be a faithful person if you do not have faith in God. The multifaceted faith that Paul expresses as part of the fruit of the Spirit includes a growing faith in God as life goes on. Faith in Christ is the starting point, but a growing faith that God will follow through in the promises listed above with a life lived according to these promises is the progressive journey of followers of Christ. It’s similar to marital love. A marriage does not start without love, but over time the love that exists between a husband and a wife (in a perfect world) grows exponentially in strength and depth and breadth. This is not just true of faithfulness, but of all the parts of the fruit of the Spirit.
This aspect of faithfulness plays out in the life of the Christian in monumental ways. I can live free of guilt and shame and terror and depression and anxiety and every other joy-stealing threat because I have faith in God and his promises for me. I can tell a stranger in the park the gospel because I have faith that all things will work together for my good. I can spend all my energy loving and serving people because God says he will strengthen me and uphold me. I can put myself out there in an effort to connect with people without fear of being shot down because God will never leave me nor forsake me. Having faith in the promises of God empowers us as Christians to live a radical life for the glory of Christ because we know that we have been redeemed and reconciled to an all-powerful, all-knowing God that is for us.
Faithfulness to the World Around Us
After we understand the importance of having faith in God, we can then emulate this faithfulness to the world around us. Seeing the appeal of a person who stays true to their character, who does everything they say they will do, and who does not do what they say they will not do is an easy task. It benefits us when we have people like this that we can count on, like the friend who picks us up from the airport right when we get there. That faithfulness serves our convenience beautifully, but if we find that it is hard to be that person whilst appreciating that person, it is a surefire sign of our self-idolatry. Being a faithful person means making your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no” regardless of how it inconveniences you. Being a faithful person requires death to self and a love that seeks to serve others. Staying truthful in promises does so much for a person’s ability to witness. It establishes reliability, which brings people back for help when needed, giving several opportunities to share Christ and be a light. More than this, it emulates the faithfulness of God and presents the image of a person inhabited by the Holy Spirit.
Overall, faithfulness in the life of the Christian is multifaceted and important on every level. It stems from the holy character of the Lord himself and defines our relationship with him. It also defines our relationships with the people around us, whether they are believers or unbelievers. We should strive to understand the faithfulness of God in all its dimensions and then implement that knowledge in our lives with such intensity that people cannot help but ask us about the hope that resides within us (1 Pet. 3:15). Practically, his looks like trusting Christ enough to live boldly in all that we do, remaining true to our character, and keeping our word with much diligence as if for Christ. Praise be to God for his faithfulness that extends on into eternity!