What does First B Jackson teach about goodwill toward men?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on goodwill toward men starts with a single Greek word: eudokia, the word sitting at the end of the angels' announcement in Luke 2:14. Pastor Ray, Pastor Joel, and Pastor Mark have each worked through what that word actually means, and the range is significant: goodwill, kindly intent, benevolence, delight, pleasure, desire. The word shows up nine times across the New Testament, and every time it points in the same direction. God is not distant or punishing toward people. He is favorably disposed, slow to anger, rich in mercy, and genuinely pleased when people receive what He has planned for them.
The teaching has also sat honestly with a textual question that the congregation does not need to be afraid of. Whether a single Greek letter, a sigma, appears at the end of eudokia changes the grammar of the verse in a meaningful way. With it, the phrase reads something like peace belonging to those on whom God's favor rests. Without it, it opens outward as goodwill toward men broadly. Ancient manuscripts go both ways. The consistent answer from the pulpit has been that both readings are true at the same time, and the tension between them is not a problem to be solved but a biblical reality to be held. God's sovereignty and human responsibility both stand in Scripture, and the goal is not to pick a side.
To show how those two things fit together, the teaching has returned repeatedly to what Pastor Ray and Pastor Joel call the hina clause, a Greek construction that expresses purpose. Galatians 4:4-5 says God sent His Son so that we might receive adoption as sons. Second Corinthians 8:9 says Christ became poor so that we might be enriched. The pattern is consistent: God acted, definitively, and then the so that tells us what He intended that action to accomplish. Goodwill toward men is not a vague sentiment. It is the posture behind a very specific plan, carried out at Christmas, aimed at bringing people into relationship with God.
Taught from Luke 2:14 · Galatians 4:4-5 · 2 Corinthians 8:9 · John 3:16 · 2 Peter 3:9
The passage taught · 2 Corinthians 8:9
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.
World English Bible
The messages that teach on it
- December 27, 2024 To Sigma or Not to Sigma A Wyoming pastor traces the Greek word for "goodwill" through the Christmas angel's song to show what God's favor means and what we do with it.
- December 22, 2024 Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Men Pastor Ray explores the angels' Christmas declaration in Luke 2:14, tracing God's goodwill toward humanity through Greek grammar, scripture, and the tension between God's sovereignty and human responsibility.
- December 22, 2024 Goodwill Toward Men Pastor Joel explores "goodwill toward men" from Luke 2:14, tracing God's purpose and desire for all people to receive peace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Mentioned along the way
- December 17, 2017 Good News of Great Joy A Christmas sermon from Luke's Gospel on the shepherds, Mary, and what it means to receive God's message of good news and keep it faithfully.
- December 17, 2017 Good News of Great Joy Ray walks through the Christmas story, the shepherds' response, Mary's response, and what it means for anyone who receives the good news of a Savior born in Bethlehem.