Kindness; A Quality All Christians Should Show To Others

Show kindness to others. It is one way to show your love and the love of God.

Welcome

Kindness the Bible study

Welcome, we are so glad you decided to join us. Is this your first visit to our online Bible studies? Please note we use the Scriptures and a few comments in our Bible studies. Let the Holy Spirit teach you all things [John 14:26]. To show love you must be kind to others.

I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned—but if I have no love, this does me no good. 4 Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; [1 Corinthians 13:3-4 (GNT)].

Think about this

Kindness is goodwill. It is an act done gladly to ease the sorrows of people in need. Kind people want to help others. They find joy in giving to supply the needs of others. Acts of kindness go together with love. In fact, love is kind.

Key Points:

1. Produced by the Holy Spirit

   Godly kindness comes as a gift from God through the Holy Spirit. You may know it as part of the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law” [Galatians 5:22-23 (RSV)].

2. Child of God

   Be loving, patient, and kind. It is one that people will know you are a child of God. “We show that we are God’s servants by our pure lives, by our understanding, by our patience, and by our kindness. We show it by the Holy Spirit, by genuine love, 7 by speaking the truth, and by depending on God’s power. This right way of living has prepared us to defend ourselves against every kind of attack” [2 Corinthians 6:6-7 (ERV)].

3. Gentle and Good

   This is chrestotes kindness also known as gentleness and goodness. Love that comes from God is kind [Titus 3:4]. Kindness cares about the needs of others. It is tender, selfless and giving. Does not do things looking for reward. Love is kind [1 Corinthians 13:4].

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Part One

True kindness comes from the Holy Spirit. It is one of the qualities of God that you received when you became a child of God. Kindness is the state, quality, act, or habit of being gentle, helpful, and/or good.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 Gentleness, self-control: against such things there is no law [(RKJNT)].

The King James translators used the word gentleness instead of kindness for the Greek word chrestotes (khray-stot’-ace) in Galatians 5:22. The Revised KJ NT and NKJV translators correctly used the word kindness.

Kindness (gentleness) in Galatians 5:22 is G5544 χρηστότης chrestotes (chree-sto’-tees) n. 1. benignity, kindness. 2. usefulness, i.e. morally, excellence (in character or demeanor).

Chrestotes in the KJV:

a) goodness: Romans 2:4, 11:22. b) good: Romans 3:12. c) kindness: 2 Corinthians 6:6; Ephesians 2:7; Colossians 3:12; Titus 3:4. d) gentleness: Galatians 5:22.

Synonyms

• sympathetic – attending to the needs, feelings, problems, and views of others
• friendly – easily approached
• gentle – of a thoughtful and caring nature
• tender-hearted – having an attentive or sensitive character
• generous – liberal giving; willing to give of oneself and one’s possessions
• courteous – good mannered; full of polite {well-mannered or thoughtful} concern for the well-being of others
• affectionate – showing brotherly love; caring (non-sexual)
• hospitable – friendly to strangers; having an open and giving mind; approachable
• helpful – willing to support or give aid

Defined

Kindness is defined as goodwill; generosity. It is a willful act or mindset which delights in doing for the happiness of others. The focus is to cheerfully satisfy the wishes and needs of others. Ultimately to ease their suffering.

Holman says it is the “steadfast love that maintains relationships through gracious aid in times of need”. Kindness is shown in acts of love.

Be useful

One of the overlooked acts of being kind is to be useful. G5530 χράομαι chraomai (chra’-o-mai) v. 1. to furnish what is needed. 2. to use what is provided.

Put out of your life all these things: bad feelings about other people, anger, temper, loud talk, bad talk which hurts other people, and bad feelings which hurt other people. 32 You must be kind to each other. Think of the other person. Forgive other people just as God forgave you because of Christ’s death on the cross [Ephesians 4:31-32 (NLV)].

G5543 χρηστός chrestos (chree-stos’) adj. (by implication) useful (in manner or morals).

♥ Question for kindness fos: Are you showing kindness to others?

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Part Two

So, as God’s elect [i.e., His people], holy and dearly loved [by Him], clothe yourselves with a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Tolerate one another’s [weaknesses] and forgive each other if anyone [of you] has a complaint against someone else. You should forgive people just as the Lord forgave you [Colossians 3:12-13 (AUV)].

In the New Testament, the word kindness takes on many meanings. ‘Brotherly kindness‘, ‘brotherly love‘ and ‘love of the brethren‘ that comes from the ‘converted’ (transliterated) Greek word philadelphia (Strong’s number 5360) are phrases meaning kindness. However, kindness in Colossians 3:12 is from the Greek word chrestotes (khray-stot’-ace) which is also used in Galatians 5:22. Rotherham used ‘graciousness’. But what must one do to be kind or to show kindness?

G5360 φιλαδελφία philadelphia (fiyl-a-d̮el-fiy’-a) n. fraternal affection. KJV: brotherly love (kindness), love of the brethren.
G5361 φιλάδελφος philadelphos (fiyl-a’-d̮el-fos) adj. fond of brethren, i.e. fraternal. KJV: love as brethren

Showing kindness

In Romans 12:10 Paul encouraged the church in Rome to show love through kindness like a loving family. Verse 13 tells us how to show kindness; share what you have with others {Acts 4:32-37; 1 Timothy 6:18; Hebrews 13:16}.

Be kind to one another with a brother’s love, putting others before yourselves in honour; [Romans 12:10 (BBE)].

To godliness, add kindness for one another. And to kindness for one another, add love [2 Peter 1:7 (NIRV) ].

Share with God’s people who need help. Look for people who need help and welcome them into your homes {1 Peter 4:9} [Romans 12:13 (ERV)]. Romans 12:9-13

But do not forget to do good deeds and share [with others], for God is very pleased with such “sacrifices” [Hebrews 13:16 (AUV)].

To others

Christian brothers, never pay back someone for the bad he has done to you. Let the anger of God take care of the other person. The Holy Writings say, “I will pay back to them what they should get, says the Lord.” 20 “If the one who hates you is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him water. If you do that, you will be making him more ashamed of himself.” 21 Do not let sin have power over you. Let good have power over sin [Romans 12:19-21 (NLV)]!

How do we find the different ways kindness is translated and/or used in the Bible?

If you have access to a good concordance you can search the word ‘kindness’ and find all the scriptures that use the word ‘kindness’ and in some cases get more. In the preceding link to 6 ‘concordance’ tools via studylight.org only 3 have information for ‘kindness’: Nave’s Topical Bible || Thompson Chain Reference || The Topical Concordance. I recommend that you find the one that works best for you, believe me there are more free online concordance tools so do not be afraid to explore the internet for more.

⚔ Kindness challenge #1

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, [Titus 3:4 (KJV)].

1. How did God reveal His kindness? Please share your answer and if you don’t mind tell us how you found the answer.

2. What word in Galatians 5:22 did the KJV translators use instead of kindness as part of the fruit of the Spirit?

End of challenge.

♥ Question for ‘kindness – part two’: Is kindness part of your character?

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Part Three

Welcome to the last part of this three-part series, ‘kindness‘. In order to fully understand the fruit of the Spirit, one must understand some of the history or at least become aware of why we have such controversy in agreement on the correctness of any of the translations. For the sake of this study, we will look at the words that represent a fruit of the Spirit originally translated ‘benignity‘, ‘gentleness‘ and ‘kindness‘ I will do my best to keep it as simple as possible.

Ancient translations

A proper starting point is ‘the Vulgate‘ translated by Eusebius Hieronymous Sophronius normally called St. Jerome {translated circa 400 A.D.} (with English in parenthesis using the word-for-word technique by William Whitaker via ablemedia.com). The following is the translation of Galatians 5:22-23:

“Epistula (Epistle) Ad (to the) Galatas (Galatians) fructus (fruit) autem (of the) Spiritus (Spirit) est (is) caritas (charity) gaudium (joy) pax (peace) longanimitas (patience) bonitas (goodness) benignitas (kindness/benignity) 23 fides (faith) modestia (modesty/temperance) continentia (restraint/self-control/abstinence) adversus huiusmodi non est lex [Galatians 5:22-23 (Vulgate)].

1611 King James (Authorized)

The 1611 revision authorized by King James I of England {some believe the use of the word “authorized” implies it is THE Bible authorized by God as the only true interpretation/translation of the word of God}. The irony about labeling this as the ‘authorized’ version is that the first English version or translation of the Bible considered authorized was the Great Bible ‘authorized’ by England’s King Henry the Eighth circa 1540. I will refrain from this debatable topic, if you care to learn more try these sources for starters: English Bible History: Timeline of how we got the English Bible || English Versions of the Bible || The History of the English Bible via Bible.org.

“But the fruit of the spirit is loue, ioy, peace, long suffering, gentlenesse, goodnesse, faith, 23 Meekenesse, temperance: against such there is no law” [Galatians 5:22-23 (Authorized Version)].

Notice the middle English spelling of love, joy and other words in blue, these are not typographical errors.

Kindness most common

I reviewed over 100 translations to discover the various words used as the fifth fruit of the Spirit (I do realize not all translators list them in the same order, word-for-word). This is a summary of my findings (note: I am not suggesting that the most popular or common translated word equals the right word);

Benignity

The Latin Vulgate (St. Jerome’s) translators used the word benignitas—the English translation is benignity—at the time twelve virtues (fruit) of the Spirit were listed. The other eleven is (according to vulgate.org) charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness, longanimity, Mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity.

• Three American English translations/revisions list twelve virtues: Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV in 2009 A.D. – ‘kindness‘) || The Work of God’s Children (in 2010 A.D. also a Catholic revision continued with ‘benignity‘) || New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (presumed formerly Knox Bible).
• Only a few early English translators continued with the Catholic translation: Wycliffe and Douay-Rheims
• The word ‘benignity‘ is used in 6 of 105 translations/revisions in Galatians 5:22 for the Greek χρηστότης chrestotes (khray-stot’-ace).

Gentleness

William Tyndale’s English NT was the first printed version and the first known English translator to use the word ‘getlnes‘ (1530’s gentleness). Other translators followed suite including the translators authorized by King James.

• Modern King James revisions that use ‘gentleness’ include: Updated KJV UKJV), American KJV (AKJV), KJ 2000 (KJK), KJ Clarified (KJC) and 21st Century KJ (KJ21).
• The word ‘gentleness‘ is used in 26 of 105 translations/revisions in Galatians 5:22 for the Greek χρηστότης chrestotes (khray-stot’-ace).

Kindness

Martin Luther’s 1522 A.D. (Latin to) German Bible used the word ‘kindness’ (using modern online translation tools). The word kindness became the standard after Julia E. Smith‘s 1867 translation (not to imply that her literal translation caused the change).

Colossians 3:12-13 (RKJNT) Therefore, as the chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on hearts of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; 13 Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another. If any man has a complaint against another; just as Christ forgave you, so you do the same.

Language changes

English evolved rapidly in just a few centuries. Many present-day speakers find Shakespeare’s sixteenth century texts difficult and Chaucer’s fourteenth century Canterbury Tales nearly impossible to read. —Language change National Science Foundation

As a child I recall reading the King James Version—most likely the 1768 version—I did not understand many words especially those considered sinful like lasciviousness and licentiousness. The New American Standard Version was the first non-King James version I read, it was the Easy-to-Read (ERV) that made sense without the use of dictionaries [see the comparison of Galatians 5:17-21].

God has been very kind to you, and he has been patient with you. God has been waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his kindness. Perhaps you do not understand that God is kind to you so that you will change your hearts and lives [Romans 2:4 (ICB)].

Romans 2:4 (KJV) Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Galatians 5:22 word use for chrestotes

The word ‘kindness‘ is used in 69 of 105 translations/revisions so it is the most common word translated in Galatians 5:22 for the Greek χρηστότης chrestotes (khray-stot’-ace). The total included the words kindliness (2) and kind (3); phrases being kind (2) and kind acts (1).

Modern translations particularly King James revisions that use ‘kindness’ are: New KJV (NKJV), Green’s Modern KJV (MKJV), and Revised KJNT (RKJNT).

• gentleness.
• benignity; suavity.
• KINDNESS; being kind; kind; kind acts; kindliness.
• graciousness; sweetness; caring.

Other KJV word meanings for chrestotes

• “good” Romans 3:12
• “goodness” Romans 2:4 and 11:22
• “kindness” 2 Corinthians 6:6; Ephesians 2:7; Colossians 3:12 and Titus 3:4

♥ Question for “kindness – part three”: How do you show kindness to others?

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Conclusion

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the children of the Most High: for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be merciful, as your Father also is merciful [Luke 6:35-36 (RKJNT)].

Jesus used the word ‘kind‘ from the Greek chrestos (khrase-tos’) {the root word for chrestotes} meaning useful (in manner or morals), courteous, polite, thoughtful, gentle, easy-going and considerate. Kindness or being kind extends beyond an act or action to or for another it is also a part of one’s character. 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 is a good example of the Christian way of doing things to show others we are servants of God, the list includes kindness.

Being kind to others becomes a natural thing when you have the kindness given by the Holy Spirit. It is a quality God shows “…the incomparable riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” {from Ephesians 2:7; read Ephesians 2:1-10}.

Kindness is a quality that all Christians should have and show to others. Godly kindness considers the needs, feelings, problems, and views of others and does whatever is needed to help change the condition. Be blessed as you show kindness to others! —Tim

♥ Question for kindness – Conclusion: Is your kindness showing and actively coming from your heart with love?

Scriptures to read and study:

Romans 12:9-21 (9-13); Ephesians 4:25-32 (32); 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 (6-7); Philippians 2:1-4 (4). Colossians chapter 3 (key verses: 12-17; 12-13); 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 (14-15); 1 John 3:16-23 (16-19). 2 Peter 1:5-11 (7); Matthew 5:1-12 (7); Romans 2:1-5; Ephesians 2:1-10 (7)

Related studies/lessons/snacks for further Spiritual growth:

Fruit of the Spirit; Helpful Qualities Just For You! – an estimated 19-minute read.

Help the Needy; Show People the Love of God – an estimated 21-minute read.

Prosperity, 7 Simple Lessons On True Wealth God’s Way – an estimated 34-minute read.

Chrestotes (Forerunner Commentary) – BibleTools.org – an estimated 18-minute read.

See what is available on the Sound Truth Ministry website.

Copyright information:

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved. || (ERV) Taken from the HOLY BIBLE: EASY-TO-READ VERSION © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center, Inc. and used by permission. || (ICB) Scripture taken from the International Children’s Bible®. Copyright © 1986, 1988, 1999 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. || (RSV) Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Sources

Language change || Websters Dictionary 1828 || Holman’s Dictionary || G5544 Greek lexicon