Fruit of the Spirit - Patience Part 1

Our State of Theology – 9i(8)e1

Galatians 5:22-23: Fruit of the Holy Spirit, Longsuffering & Patience

Galatians 5:22–23 (NKJV)

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Fruit (karpos) in Galatians 5:22 is singular, not plural, so true believers will manifest all these elements simultaneously.

There are no true virtues and good affections without the grace of regeneration.

Longsuffering = μακροθυμία makrothumia = state of being able to bear up under provocation, forbearance, patience toward others; of human beings.

Slowness of avenging injuries, long-suffering, forbearance, clemency.

Makrothumia = To be long–suffering. Forbearance, long–suffering, self–restraint before proceeding to action. The quality of a person who is able to avenge himself yet refrains from doing.

In Heb. 6:15, makrothuméō (3114) is used of Abraham’s patient faith in God under the pressure of trying circumstances (James 5:7, 8).

Makrothumía is patience in respect to persons while hupomonḗ (5281), endurance, is putting up with things or circumstances.

Both words are often found together.

Patience (makrothymia) involves self-restraint that does not retaliate reactively.

It endures injuries inflicted by others without the need for revenge and willingly accepts irritating or painful situations.

Longsuffering captures the essential sense in one word.

Patience—This is endurance when circumstances are difficult. Patience doesn’t accept defeat; it is endurance in action.

It doesn’t sit idly by waiting on God or someone else to achieve something.

It is the soldier who endures the battle, seeking complete victory.

It is the runner enduring the hardships of the race seeking the finish.

It is the Christian who will not accept the lies of this world and believe that all hope is lost. We need God’s power for patience.

Longsuffering—This is possessing self-restraint. Where patience deals with circumstances, longsuffering deals with people.

It allows us to overlook their faults and differences, loving them as Christ does, seeing them as Christ sees them.

It doesn’t give up on a man just because he doesn’t act or behave as we think he should.

It is a spirit of fellowship and compassion for all, even those who may have wronged us. We need that kind of spirit in the church today.

Patience, like love and joy, is related to all the other characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 13:4a (NIV84)

4  Love is patient, love is kind.

Colossians 1:9–14 (NIV84)

9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance (hupomonē) and patience (makrothumia), and joyfully

Colossians 1:11 (NKJV)

11strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience (hupomonē) and longsuffering (makrothumia) with joy;

12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

V. 11-12, being strengthened with all power. These words speak of inherent power which gives one the ability to do something. What is that something?

“so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified (to make sufficient, render competent or worthy) you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”

Being strengthened by God results in having “great endurance and patience” with joy.

Patience, like all the other qualities of the fruit of the Spirit is given to every believer by the Spirit of God.

Patience comes from the fruit of the Holy Spirit, not from the fruit of a holy Christian.

The standing of the believer in Christ is here in view, not his Christian character. The Father qualified believers to partake of the inheritance of the saints by placing them in Christ,…

Richard Chenevix Trench (1807-1886): “Makrothumia (Μακροθυμια) expresses patience in respect of persons,

hupomonē (ὑπομονη), patience in respect of things.

The man makrothumei (μακροθυμει), who having to do with injurious persons, does not suffer himself easily to be provoked by them, or to blaze up in anger (II Tim. 4:2).

The man hupomonē (ὑπομονη), who under a great siege of trials, bears up, and does not lose heart or courage (Rom. 5:3; II Cor. 1:6).”

Makrothumia (μακροθυμια) is “a long holding out of the mind before it gives room to action or passion—generally to passion. Anger usually, but not universally is the passion thus held aloof.

Hupomonē (ὑπομονη) does not mark merely endurance, or even patience, but the perseverance, the brave patience with which the Christian contends against the various hindrances, persecutions, and temptations that befall him in his conflict with the inward and outward world.

Makrothumia (μακροθυμια) is patience exhibited under ill-treatment by persons.

Hupomonē (ὑπομονη) is patience shown under trials, difficulties, hardships.

This patience and longsuffering is to be accompanied with joyfulness.

Expositors: “[Joyfulness] forms a very necessary addition; for the peculiar danger of the exercise of those qualities is that it tends to produce a certain gloominess or sourness of disposition.

The remedy is that the Christian should be so filled with joy that he is able to meet all his trials with a buoyant sense of mastery.”

God grants us the ability to be patient when dealing with difficult persons and to endure difficulties in respect to things.

We do this with the joy that He has given us, as we realize that He has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light not based on our Christian character, but because of God’s mercy and grace.

Romans 8:18–25 (NIV84)

18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.

20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope

21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?

25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently (hupomonē).

Charles Spurgeon: To make up waiting, I think there is a third thing, and that is patience—to hold out, and wait the Lord’s time and will. The three together—dependence, expectation, patience—make up waiting upon the Lord.

Believers eagerly look forward to that day when they will be set free, and they wait for the day of His redemption not with despair but with hope.

When we are redeemed by the work of the Spirit, the Lord plants the seed of this hope deep within our hearts. At that time, we are given a new perspective on everything that we have experienced. We now understand the condition of our new life in Christ; we understand the way that the world suffers because of sin, and we eagerly look forward to that day when our hope will be realized.

This hope is not some mere desire for something better than our current circumstances but a confident expectation of all that our inheritance in Christ entails.

Hope is part of the conversion process. Our conversion initiated a life of hope in our final deliverance.

Hope is not mere wish-fulfillment with an uncertain prognosis.

Hope makes us confident that what God has promised will indeed come to pass.

At conversion the idea of an uncertain future has ended once for all, and we absolutely know what our final end will be.

Hope deals with what is unfulfilled and not yet here.

The object of our hope is in the future.

Our present life in the Spirit must be centered on this future hope.

Hope is not a present-oriented reality, so Scripture is preparing believers for a lengthy time of waiting before it is realized.

As we groan in the midst of our present troubles, we do so in expectation and hope.

This is an eternal perspective.

Proverbs 14:29 (NIV84)

29A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

Patience is a sign of discernment and understanding, but the short-tempered act and speak foolishly, provoked by life in general and everyone and everything in particular.

A short temper is not a virtue, nor should it ever be used to “excuse” unacceptable behavior.

The quickly angered are dangerous: they have foolish hearts and would rather talk than listen or learn, which inevitably leads them into trouble.

Proverbs 18:2 (NIV84)

2A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.

Proverbs 18:6 (NIV84)

6A fool's lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.

Proverbs 12:16 (NIV84)

16A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

Proverbs 15:18 (NIV84)

18A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.

Proverbs 16:32 (NIV84)

32Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.

“He who masters his passions is a king even while in chains. He who is ruled by his passions is a slave even while sitting on a throne.” Richard Wurmbrand

Proverbs 25:28 (NIV84)

28Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.

The walls of a city or residence is the first line of defense. Lack of self-control disintegrates that wall.

Are broken down = אַיִן ʾayin: not-existence; nothing; not, no; without.

A person without self-control has a non-existence first line of defense. They are like a city that has no wall of defense.

We allow the enemy entrance when we give the flesh free reign, having no self-control over our spirit.

A city that is broken down and without walls is exposed to the enemy and is very vulnerable to more destruction. So is the person who does not control his passions. He is exposed to much evil and is vulnerable to every temptation. A man of character will control his passions.

James 1:19–27 (NIV84)

19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

Slow to become angry = Patience.

Patience (Heb. ˒ereḵ ˒appayim “slow to anger”; Gk. makrothymía, hypomonḗ, anochḗ).

Jerry Bridges defines impatience as “a strong sense of annoyance at the (usually) unintentional faults and failures of others.”

Proverbs 19:11 (NIV84)

11A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

20for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror

24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 3:1–2 (NIV84)

1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

James 3:2 (NKJV)

2For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

To keep in check = to bridle = χαλιναγωγέω chalinagōgeō = to lead, direct, govern. To direct or restrain by a bridle; to restrain, govern or control. Control, hold in check, guide with a bit and bridle, bridle.

It implies restraint from wrong directions and guidance in right directions.

restrain oneself from something.

James 1:26-27 (NIV84)

26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Great emphasis today is placed on being religious or upon religion. Religion has a tendency to make men feel good about themselves and secure in their own deeds and merits.

Religion or being religious does not get a man to Heaven. It is Jesus Christ that saves a man’s soul. All religions do not lead to Heaven.

Christ is the only way to Heaven.

Men’s works have no merit at all when it comes to the matter of salvation.

The true test of any religious profession is not the outward ritual of worship, which many go through unthinkingly and with little heart commitment.

The real litmus test of religion is obedience; without it, religion is worthless: empty, useless and profitless.

Galatians 4:1–7 (NIV84)

1What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.

2He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.

3So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world.

4But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,

5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

6Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

The time set by his father. The time had fully come.

What does the Scriptures say regarding our exercise of patience to God relating to His timing?

What do the Scriptures say about God exercising His patience towards us?

Next Week!!! (The Lord willing)