Goodness: Defining TermsGoodness is the quality of being good. Good is a word that has so many uses and applications in the English language that its almost meaningless. For example; we use it to express: l Satisfaction & pleasure: that was a good milkshakel Having necessary skills for a role: she's a good accountantl Enjoyment: Everyone had a good time at my partyl Thorough: take a good look aroundl Possessing moral virtue: he's a good person When I read about what  the holy spirit produces in believers… and I read love, joy, peace, patience, kindness... goodness. I don't feel like I understand what the scriptures are getting at unless I dig in and take a closer look. Especially so with Goodness. That is what I hope to do today. Do your own personal bible study on the Holy Spirit of God with this free bible study guide: The Power of the Holy Spirit In your bible you'll see "good" used in a variety of ways [loosely lining up with the examples I just went through. But the Greeks used different words for the different meanings: 1. Eudokia - pleasing, delightful, satisfactory {good milkshake, good party]2. Kalos - acts which demonstrate virtue3. Agathos - virtue, a state of mind, a quality of character We are going to dispense with Eudokia because it does not apply to the work of the holy spirit. Instead we are going to focus on the first two: Agathos, and Kalos which both relate to virtue. Matthew 7:17-20 here we see both words [agathos and kalos] used together in a sentence. "every good tree" --> agathos"bears good fruit" --> kalos Every peach tree produces peaches, every cherry tree produces cherries, virtuous people do virtuous things.Agathos represents the ability to tell the difference between good and evil. Whereas, kalos represents the doing of good rather than evil. In What Way Is Goodness of God’s Spirit?Go back to Galatians 5:22 where we find the listing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness... the Godly character trait of goodness is from the word agathos, not kalos. Its referring to the good tree rather than the good fruit. The power of God's holy spirit at work in you is so that you might know the difference between good and evil, and be convicted, or “put on notice”, that good acts are better than bad acts. But, the holy spirit does not itself produce the good works. John 16:8 the spirit of God provides proper judgement regarding sin and righteousness! When I was a young man I was not living a virtuous life. One day I was with one of my comrades and I blurted out "you know... we shouldn't be doing this stuff. It's wrong".  They gave me a funny look. I can look back now and see that as the turning point after which everything started to change. My friends started dropping off, my weekends started to become rather lonely. Not all at once but slowly, one by one, I started acting on matters I was becoming convicted of.  I started to change who I was and what I did… I was struggling towards goodness. What changed? Three elements:1. Conviction given to me though God's spirit working with me [although not yet in me]2. Increased contact with God's word... I found a modern English translation of the bible on a subway car. I read it. Some things in scripture were plain and obvious. But some things I found rather confusing... 3. Then I found the Church of God who offered me better understanding of what the scriptures really said. God will give you the conviction concerning what is good versus what is evil… like a seed, a little sprout, and if you respond to it… it will grow. Doing is prompted by thinking & thinking is re-enforced through doing. This is one of  His gifts to you through the spirit, through the word, and through the church. But your Creator will not force you to act upon your conviction. He will not force you to do the good rather than do the evil. Analogy: God