God's goodness

God is good.

God’s original creation was good.

We can overcome evil with good.

There is good news!

There are over 600 occurrences of “good,” or variations on it, in scripture. Below is a sample. Many of these are much like other occurrences not listed. Warning: all of them are out of context! Quotes are from the public domain World English Bible.

Genesis 1:31a God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. (In this chapter, there are six previous references to a good creation.)

Psalm 31:19a Oh how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you,

Psalm 34:8 Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Psalm 16:2 My soul, you have said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.”

Psalm 84:11 For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield. Yahweh will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.

Psalm 106:1 Praise Yahweh! Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. (A similar phrase occurs in several Psalms.)

Amos 5:15a Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the courts.

Nahum 1:15a Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace!

Matthew 12:35 The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. (Luke 6:43 For there is no good tree that produces rotten fruit; nor again a rotten tree that produces good fruit.)

Matthew 19:17 He said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God.

Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, 19 and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Quoting Isaiah 62:1-2)

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Acts 13:32 We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers …

Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 12:21 Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,

Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow. 18 Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

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