Walking in Goodness, Righteousness, and Truth

We need to constantly make adjustments in our life — and that is exactly what Paul, speaking by the Holy Spirit, calls us to in Ephesians 5. He reminds us of what we were, what we now are, and what should therefore flow out of us.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:8-10 (NKJV)

We once lived in darkness, doing what we wanted, pleasing ourselves, walking according to the flesh (Romans 8). But now we are light in the Lord. And since we are light, we should walk as children of light — and the result of walking in the light is fruit: all goodness, righteousness, and truth. This is what Jesus meant in Matthew 5 when He called us salt and light. Notice these are the fruit of the Spirit — they do not originate in us. They are God’s own attributes worked out in our lives.

The goodness of God

We have all tasted God’s goodness:

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Psalm 34:8 (NKJV)

And that goodness follows us:

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:6 (NKJV)

Goodness is a fruit of the believer’s life (Galatians 5), and the goodness of God leads people to repentance. Aren’t you glad you are saved — not only saved from hell, but now experiencing the goodness of God? That goodness brings light into a dark, cold world. This world is not your friend; it is cold, dark, and lost. And we are called to carry the goodness of God into it. People are surrounded by negative news — the constant complaining of fallen man — but we bear the good news:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives…

Isaiah 61:1 (NKJV)

The lost soul needs the good news of the gospel — that they can pass from death into life. Those who have experienced the new birth have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, and now we are His ambassadors, proclaiming His goodness. The beautiful thing is that God is the source; we are simply walking it out through Him.

Righteousness — inseparable from love

We are also called to bring the righteousness of God, doing what is right:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Matthew 5:6 (NKJV)

But you cannot separate righteousness from God’s love. Sometimes in the church we act as if love and righteousness were two competing things — “this is righteousness, but this is love.” No: the love of God, when it is truly manifested, produces the righteousness of God. Will you lie about people if you are living in the love of God? Will you steal, deceive, or give way to outbursts of wrath? No — love results in righteousness, because “love does not rejoice in evil, but rejoices in the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). You could say it rejoices in righteousness and in truth.

A people of truth

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:32 (NKJV)

The truth is everything. You may be living by your own feelings and your own thoughts, but if your life does not line up with the Word of God, it is a lie — a fantasy. That is why Jesus said the Word of God will judge people on the last day. The Word of truth is the reality of what is real, what has substance, what will endure forever. And we, as believers, are called to demonstrate the goodness, the righteousness, and the truth of God to our generation.

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