God Is Good, Always

Matthew 19:17 - “‘Why do you ask me about what is good?’ Jesus replied. ‘There is only
One who is good’”
Romans 12:2 -“Then you will able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good,
pleasing and perfect will.”

God is good. Always. The word good in these verses is the Greek word agathos which means “intrinsically good.”[1] In Matthew 19:17 Jesus says, “There is only One who is [intrinsically good].” Romans 12:2 we learn that God’s will is intrinsically good. Intrinsic is defined; “belonging to a thing by its very nature”[2] These verses tell us that God in His very nature is good, and that His will is by its very nature good.
In Matthew 12:25 Jesus teaches that, “every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” Since God is in His very nature good, if He was to act in a way against that nature, His kingdom would be divided against itself and be ruined. So if God is always good, and His will is intrinsically good, we need to know what God’s will is so that we know what good is in God’s perspective.
In our culture we often call things good that are not intrinsically good. We often base what is good by how it makes us feel. Feelings however do not have any bearing on whether something is true or not. Everyone feels differently, but the truth remains the same. If we believe that “what true to me is truth for me, and what’s true for you is truth for you, then what happens when my truth says your truth is a lie, is it still true?”[3] There is only one truth. Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life.” God is Truth. God is good. We need to find God’s perspective of what is good. For what He calls good, is truly good.
How do we find God’s perspective of what is good? We can look at His will, which is intrinsically good, to know what God’s view is of what is truly good. We look at His will because the will or actions of a person reveal their heart. So to know Him, we need to know what He wants done. So what is the will of God? Can we even know it?
God actually shows us right in His word what His will is. In the Lord’s prayer Jesus prays, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus is showing us how to pray. Jesus is God. God’s will for the earth is that His will be done on it, as it is in Heaven. If something is not His will in heaven, then it is not His will on this earth. This is God’s perspective of what is good. If it’s something you wouldn’t see in heaven, then it’s not good from God’s perspective. God is always good. He can’t work against Himself. He does not give gifts that are not good (Luke 11:10-13). Things that you receive that are not good are not from God, and they are not His will for your life.
[1] Strong’s Concordance from Esword
[2] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/intrinsically
[3] Lecrae- Album Rebel, Song Truth