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Luke 11:11-13
If a son shall ask bread of any
of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a
fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will
he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your children: how
much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask him?
God is good always. God can only give that which He is; and that is GOOD. The greatest of the good things that God gives is the gift of holy spirit to those who ask Him by confessing with their mouth the Lord Jesus and believing in their heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10).
The records in Matthew and Luke cited above are
examples
from Bible lands culture which are better understood with some
explanation.
It seems unlikely that anyone would make the mistake of offering a
stone
for bread, a serpent for a fish, or a scorpion for an egg.
In the Bible lands they bake bread called
Chapati.
This bread is round and flat; about the size of a dinner plate.
It
is very thin and cooked on both sides. When the bread is done it
is placed on a stone which is about the same size as the bread and
stacked.
Another flat round stone is placed on top of the stack. The bread
is baked with a butter like substance called ghee which soaks into the
stones over time and the stones begin to take on the appearance of the
bread. So it is conceivable that a person could mistake one of
the
stones for bread. However, a GOOD father would never give a stone
to his son or daughter in place of the bread.
In the waters of the Bible lands are many kinds of
fish and there are many kinds of serpents (snakes) that look like
fish.
Someone who was not familiar with the fish and serpents could easily
mistake
one for the other, but a GOOD father would be careful and never give a
serpent to his child in place of a fish.
The white scorpion, which is commonly found in the
Bible lands, has a body about the same size, shape and color as an
egg.
If you were to cut open the scorpion you would see that the inside is
also
white and yellow just like an egg. Once again, someone who was
not
being careful could mistake the two. But a GOOD father would
never
give something that is harmful to his child.
God is good always and that which God gives is always
good and for our good. He gave us holy spirit because we were
without
God and without hope. It is His good gift to us making us His
children.
1 John 1:5
This then is the message which
we have heard of him and declare unto you, that God
is light, and in him is no
darkness at all.
God is light! God is good ALWAYS. There is absolutely NO DARKNESS in God. There is not even a shadow of turning toward darkness. God is pure light and that which He gives is good as He is good.
James 1:17
Every
good gift and every perfect gift (act
of giving) is from above, and cometh down
from the Father
of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
God is light and in Him is no variableness.
God
does not change. That which He gives is always good. God is
light and the Father of lights. When we believed we received His
good gift of holy spirit making us light as well.
That which the Father has given man has always been good:
Genesis 1:3-4a
And God said, Let there be light:
and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it
was good: . . .
Genesis 1:10
And God called the dry land
Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and
God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:12
And the earth brought forth
grass,
and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding
fruit,
whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it
was good.
Genesis 1:16-18
And God made two great lights;
the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the
night:
he made the stars also.
And God set them in the firmament
of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
And to rule over the day and
over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw
that it was good.
Genesis 1:21
And God created great whales,
and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth
abundantly,
after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw
that
it was good.
Genesis 1:25
And God made the beast of the
earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that
creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it
was good.
God is light and God gave light for man FIRST! Then God made the good earth for man. Then God put water on the earth for man. Then God placed grass and fruit trees on the earth for man. Then God made the stars and the moon and the sun FOR the earth for man. Then God created living creatures: whales, fish, birds, cattle, etc. on the earth for man. God was giving good to man even before He made, formed, and created him! Man was the whole reason for the universe.
Genesis 1:27, 31
So God created man in his own
image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he
them.
And God saw every thing that
he had made, and behold, it was
very good. . . .
When God had completed everything the Word of God says that it was not just good; it was VERY GOOD! God has been giving good to man ever since. When God gave His written law to Moses and the children of Israel, He gave it to them for their good.
Deuteronomy 6:24
And the Lord commanded us to
do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for
our good always, that he might preserve us
alive, as it is at this day.
Deuteronomy 10:12-13
And now, Israel, what doeth the
Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in
all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all
thy
heart and with all thy soul,
To keep the commandments of the
Lord, and his statutes, which I commanded thee this day for
thy good?
God gave His good Word to walk in and to make known His goodness. Just look at some of the good things about God declared in the Psalms:
Psalm 25:8
Good
and upright is the Lord:
therefore
will he teach sinners in the way.
Psalm 34:8
O taste and see that the
Lord is good: blessed is the
man that trusteth in him.
Psalm 84:11
For the Lord God is a
sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no
good thing will he withhold from
them
that walk uprightly.
Psalm 85:12
Yea, the
Lord shall give that which is good;
and our land shall yield her increase.
Psalm 86:5
For
thou, Lord, art good, and ready
to
forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
Psalm 143:10
Teach me to do thy will; for
thou art my God: thy spirit is
good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
God is good so He teaches.
God is good so He blesses. God is good so He withholds no good
thing. God is good so He provides increase. God is good so
He shows mercy and forgives. God is good and His spirit given us
is good. The teaching of God's Word rightly divided will lead to
the goodness of God. If it leads any other place it cannot be of
our good God.
Acts 14:15-17
And saying, Sirs, why do ye these
things?
We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye
should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven,
and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
Who in times
past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
Nevertheless
he left not himself without witness, in that he did good,
and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts
with food and gladness.
God's witness of Himself to all of mankind is that
God did GOOD- the earth brought
forth its fruit for everyone! Filled our hearts with food and
gladness!
Matthew 5:45
That ye may be the children of
your Father
which is in heaven:
for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil
and on the good, and sendeth rain
on the just and on the unjust.
God's goodness is manifest in how the earth is taken care of, how it brings forth food for man, how the sun warms the earth and provides for all of man.
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work
together
for good to
them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.
God's Will for the born-again one is goodness all the days of his life. That ALL THINGS work together for GOOD!!
Philippians 2:13
For it is God which worketh in
you both to
will and to do of his good
pleasure.
God is at work within you.......to will and to
do....his GOOD
pleasure.
Certainly, all of God's Will is good! From the opening
chapters of Genesis to the concluding words
of
Revelation, God's Will and actions to man are good. God is light,
and in Him is no darkness, at all. God is good, and in Him is only
goodness,
always!
1 Thessalonians 5:21
Prove all things; hold fast that
which is good.
God is good ALWAYS. He has given us His good gift of holy spirit and His good Word so that we can know His will. With God's spirit inside and God's Word in our hearts we are able to walk in the goodness of His will and do that which is well pleasing in His sight.
Cortright
Fellowship