Ps. 34:8-14, God’s Communicable Attributes (8, Goodness)

d)    Goodness: He is good in Himself, & good for His creatures in every way.  [This definition doesn’t tell us in what sense God is good.  Are we talking about moral goodness?  Or are we talking about kindness?  In Hebrew there is a word, tob, usually translated “good” in the sense of pleasant, agreeable, appropriate, kind, and so forth.  It is 4x in today’s passage.  In Greek there is a word, eudokia, that refers to what is delightful or satisfying.  There is another NT word, chrestotes, that combines both moral goodness (integrity) and kindness.  It is in the fruit of the Spirit, Gal. 5:22.  In the same passage, in the NKJV, is “goodness” which is the Greek agathosune, which Strong defines as “uprightness of heart and life, goodness, kindness.  As both of these are “fruit of the Spirit” we gather they are attributes of God to be produced by the Spirit in our lives.  2 Thess. 1:11 is a prayer asking God to fulfill all the good pleasure (eudokia) of His goodness (agathosune).  Perhaps these, and likely other terms, combine to describe God.]

Matt. 11:16: Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight.  Jesus said this after acknowledging that God had hidden things from the wise and revealed them to babes.  This was well pleasing to God.  The exercise of God’s will is a good thing. 

Mark 10:18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.  The word here is agathos.  Only God is good.

Psalm 36:9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. This just speaks of God is a way that emphasizes His goodness.  To opt for idols, Jeremiah said, was to forsake God, the fountain of living waters and in His place to make cisterns – broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer. 2:13).

Romans 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?  This use chrestotes in this verse.  What a great thought.  It is not threats of judgment and wrath that lead to repentance but God’s goodness. 

As with each of these attributes, we are only seeing the edges of God’s glory (Job 26:14).  Scripture is filled with references to God’s goodness.  What we hear from those who suppress the truth of God is complaints about one thing or another.  They do not know God nor do they understand “goodness.”  But if you have bowed to the god of evolution, where is there any expectation of goodness?  There is only cause and effect.  It can be no different.  What happens to us may be good or it may be bad.  But the God who is always “good” is the One who promises that all things, even those things that hurt, will have a good purpose (Rom. 8:28).  As Joseph told his brothers, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good (Gen. 50:20).  And remember: everything God created was good (Gen. 1)! He said so.