What is good?

[WhiteWings]

Several times in the OT we read nobody is good.


Jesus was sinless, cared for people, healed people and still was not good.

Mark 10:18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.

So what does it take to be good?

[rosered]

  I believe you are supposed to do good,  but Give God the glory , praise  and honor , because you could not do anything without Him

Its like consider the source  ,where it comes from .
I think  this is Why Jesus said ,This   above verse  and  as long as He was in a flesh and blood body [33 years?] 
  Every thing He said  and done was to teach us about the Father  while he was in the flesh ........ 

[lomarah]

Yeah I always wonder if He wasn't saying something more to the point of, "You see goodness in me because I have the fulness of God dwelling in me." You know, like you said Rose, "consider the source".

[Tom]

I think Jesus was saying that nobody is good relative to the Father, even him because he was human, but I don't think anybody on earth was ever as good as him or did more good than him. I agree with Rose and Lomarah that we should do good while giving the glory to God, and folks thought Jesus was good because he manifested the love of the Father. I think the problem is the church tells you to do good to be saved, but I think we do good because we're saved. It's really not hard to love rather than hate, but you have to swallow your foolish pride. You need to come to the realization that everybody on this planet is your brother or sister in the human family even though some aren't your brother or sister in Christ. Jesus loved the dregs of society and got the Pharisees tense by doing so. All we have to do is just open our hearts and let God's love flow through us to others. Even if you don't have an opportunity to share the word of God with some folks, you can still share the spirit of God with them even without speaking sometimes. Love really is the powerful force in the universe that overcomes all evil. God is love. "So what does it take to be good?" Just be willing to allow God's love to flow through you to everybody, even those who despise you and persecute you.

"For the entire law is fulfilled in one word, in this: "You shall love your associate as yourself."" (Galatians 5:14) 

[WhiteWings]

Mat 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

We are told to do what Jesus wasn't able to do?
(for me good=perfect or good is included in perfect)

[micah7:9]

What is good? I have that thought every time I read Genesis. Rather than say "good" question I will say swell question. I have no answer. :dsunny:

[gregoryfl]

What is good? I have that thought every time I read Genesis. Rather than say "good" question I will say swell question. I have no answer. :dsunny:

That is a great place to find out, to go back to the beginning. When the Creator chose to put together the letters tet (describing the action 'to coil') and bet (describing the action 'to enter') with a waw in between (making the concept a continuous state), טוב, what was he describing during each day when he finished? A related word describing the same concrete action is tabal טבל, meaning 'to insert'.

[WhiteWings]

What is good? I have that thought every time I read Genesis. Rather than say "good" question I will say swell question. I have no answer. :dsunny:

I would say in Genesis good means "as intended", "good for the purpose in mind".

[WhiteWings]

What is good? I have that thought every time I read Genesis. Rather than say "good" question I will say swell question. I have no answer. :dsunny:

That is a great place to find out, to go back to the beginning. When the Creator chose to put together the letters tet (describing the action 'to coil') and bet (describing the action 'to enter') with a waw in between (making the concept a continuous state), טוב, what was he describing during each day when he finished? A related word describing the same concrete action is tabal טבל, meaning 'to insert'.

Coil makes me think about a serpent.
But combined??? Let the serpent enter? Sound kinda strange  :dontknow:

[gregoryfl]

Coil makes me think about a serpent.
But combined??? Let the serpent enter? Sound kinda strange  :dontknow:

Just think actions, not objects. Picture a coiling and entering action, and see how it relates to the other related word I gave, which means to insert, and you have the concrete meaning from which to build your understanding of what good is. :)

[WhiteWings]

coil + enter makes me think of a screw. (EDIT but they didn't exist back then)
So the action is screw in, turn in, twist in?
Sorry, likely its very obvious when you explain, but right now I'm out of guesses.

[gregoryfl]

Hehe, you have the right idea. Anything having to do with the action of inserting. That is the concept of good. Remember on another post of mine where I described the concept of evil as disjointed? Read from verse 2 of Genesis, where it is described as בוהו bohu, which expresses an unoccupied condition, similarly described as unfilled or unfurnished, void. There were things that needed to be 'inserted', which occurred over the next several days. As each insertion took place...light, sky, land, plants, heavenly clock, animals, and man, he referred to those days as being inserted, filled, furnished, or more abstactly, as you put it, 'as intended'.

A simple explanation I use to explain this is to look at a lamp. It has a cord, but until that cord is plugged in is it 'good'? No, the plug need to be inserted into a socket. If it does not work, what else is missing to make it 'good'? A bulb. So you insert a bulb and now, when it lights up, it is as intended, inserted...or abstractly...good.

Make sense?

[micah7:9]

In BDB I find Teth/Tet is to " avoid." Found nothing for "waw or beth/bet" But that is me just looking. The word for good again in BDB is "excellent" which certainly has a high or low grade, highest when God said it.

I found that from a book on the Qabala..... tet/tayt as the female energy; vaw/waw as the male agent; bayt/bet everything that exists. I can see an excellence in that.

I find your insert and coil interesting as well.

[WhiteWings]

So: "...and God saw it was inserted..."?
I could see God inserted things in a "void creation"

But that would make this verse look very odd.

Mark 10:18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.


Mark 10:18 "Why do you call me inserted?" Jesus answered. "No one is inserted--except God alone.

:dunno2:

[WhiteWings]

A simple explanation I use to explain this is to look at a lamp. It has a cord, but until that cord is plugged in is it 'good'? No, the plug need to be inserted into a socket. If it does not work, what else is missing to make it 'good'? A bulb. So you insert a bulb and now, when it lights up, it is as intended, inserted...or abstractly...good.

Make sense?

Yes.
Until, I apply it to Jesus. It basically means He wasn't the perfect sacrifice because something was missing about Him. :dontknow:

[Tom]

If God's spirit is "inserted" in you, you will probably be good.

[WhiteWings]

I found that from a book on the Qabala..... tet/tayt as the female energy; vaw/waw as the male agent; bayt/bet everything that exists.

Planting a seed?

[gregoryfl]

So: "...and God saw it was inserted..."?
I could see God inserted things in a "void creation"

But that would make this verse look very odd.

Mark 10:18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.


Mark 10:18 "Why do you call me inserted?" Jesus answered. "No one is inserted--except God alone.

:dunno2:

Most concepts of the Semitic language do not make sense to most today, since we are taught to think abstractly. God being 'inserted' in the ultimate sense makes perfect sense to me in that, there is nothing lacking in him for him to function as he intends himself to. We are only 'good', or inserted to the extent that God inserts what we need in order to operate as we were intended. The insertion we need for that to take place is the spirit, and our awareness of His presence in us.

[micah7:9]

Still no one is "good" except God.   even with, " our awareness of His presence in us." we still are not "good."

[gregoryfl]

A simple explanation I use to explain this is to look at a lamp. It has a cord, but until that cord is plugged in is it 'good'? No, the plug need to be inserted into a socket. If it does not work, what else is missing to make it 'good'? A bulb. So you insert a bulb and now, when it lights up, it is as intended, inserted...or abstractly...good.

Make sense?

Yes.
Until, I apply it to Jesus. It basically means He wasn't the perfect sacrifice because something was missing about Him. :dontknow:

Not at all. Notice that Yeshua did not say that he was not good. I believe he was trying to drive this man, who thought himself good because he kept the physical commandments according to the letter, to realize that, on our own, apart from God, we all lack, we all fall short, there is something that needs to be inserted, if you will. Yeshua was simply describing the human experience, including his own as a man, not that he was not good, but that his goodness was dependent on God's insertion in him, that he did whatever the Father did, and spoke only whatever his Father spoke, etc. He knew he could do nothing of himself. This man, like man in general, had the idea that he could be complete, inserted, on his own, by his own actions.

Ronen

[gregoryfl]

Still no one is "good" except God.   even with, " our awareness of His presence in us." we still are not "good."

Very true, our goodness is only relative compared to God's absolute goodness.

[WhiteWings]

Eph 1:23 23 which is his body, the fulness of Him who is filling the all in all,

1 Cor 15:28 28 and when the all things may be subjected to him, then the Son also himself shall be subject to Him, who did subject to him the all things, that God may be the all in all.

Can those alls be replaced with good?

[Seth]

I have often wondered if Christ was testing them. They thought he was a prophet but that's not the extent of who he was. In other words, if they didn't believe in him, they shouldn't be calling him Good. You shouldn't call ordinary men good

I've often heard that the Hebrews thought good meant holy.

[WhiteWings]

A simple explanation I use to explain this is to look at a lamp. It has a cord, but until that cord is plugged in is it 'good'? No, the plug need to be inserted into a socket. If it does not work, what else is missing to make it 'good'? A bulb. So you insert a bulb and now, when it lights up, it is as intended, inserted...or abstractly...good.

Make sense?

Yes.
Until, I apply it to Jesus. It basically means He wasn't the perfect sacrifice because something was missing about Him. :dontknow:

Not at all. Notice that Yeshua did not say that he was not good.

If only God is good that excludes all others from being good; including Jesus.

I believe he was trying to drive this man, who thought himself good because he kept the physical commandments according to the letter,

The man called Jesus good and Jesus replied with that He (Jesus) isn't good.

Mark 10:17-18 (HRB2012)
17 And He having gone out into the highway, running up and kneeling down to Him, one questioned Him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
18 But Yahshua said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One, YAHWEH.

to realize that, on our own, apart from God, we all lack, we all fall short, there is something that needs to be inserted, if you will.

That was clear before I started this thread. It's just I would have thought that Father, Son and HS all are good.

Yeshua was simply describing the human experience, including his own as a man, not that he was not good, but that his goodness was dependent on God's insertion in him, that he did whatever the Father did, and spoke only whatever his Father spoke, etc. He knew he could do nothing of himself. This man, like man in general, had the idea that he could be complete, inserted, on his own, by his own actions.

So perfect following of the law (which means sinless), being kind etc, just makes 'you' a better person but not a good person?

If so nobody is bad only satan is bad. :dunno2:

[gregoryfl]

I have often wondered if Christ was testing them. They thought he was a prophet but that's not the extent of who he was. In other words, if they didn't believe in him, they shouldn't be calling him Good. You shouldn't call ordinary men good

Exactly. That ties in to my point perfectly. He was getting this man to think. Yeshua was not saying that he was not good. If we remember that he is the Word that tabernacled in flesh, the very Word with God in the beginning, we can see how he truly was 'good', in a way the Jews did not believe, as it is written:

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
(Isa 55:11)