Ephesians 4.2b-Tolerating One Another with Patience
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday October 29, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:2b-Tolerating One Another With Patience
Lesson # 197
Ephesians 4:1 Therefore, I myself, the prisoner because of the Lord’s will, exhort and encourage each and every one of you as a corporate unit to live your lives in a manner worthy of your effectual calling with which each and every one of you as a corporate unit have been effectually called 2 with the fullest expression of that which characterizes humility resulting in that which characterizes gentleness. Specifically, by each and every one of you as a corporate unit continuing to make it your habit of tolerating one another with that which characterizes patience by means of the practice of divine love. (Lecturer’s translation)
In Ephesians 4:2, the noun makrothumia (μακροθυμία) speaks of the recipients of this epistle remaining patient with their fellow believer when interacting with them.
Specifically, it describes them remaining in a state of emotional calm in the face of provocation or adversity or underserved suffering without complaint or irritation as a result of interacting with their fellow Christian.
It speaks of them remaining in a state of being tranquil despite undeserved suffering and adversity or persecution, which is the result of interacting with their fellow Christian.
Therefore, this word indicates that the recipients of the epistle were to exercise patience when interacting with each other in the sense of the enduring the pain or suffering, which is at times inflicted upon each other as a result of interacting with each other.
The anarthrous construction of the noun makrothumia (μακροθυμία) is qualitative in that it emphasizes the qualitative nature of patience with one’s fellow Christian as a manifestation of tolerating them.
On the other hand, it is also definite in that it emphasizes that tolerating one’s fellow believer is characterized by patience.
The noun makrothumia (μακροθυμία), “patience” is the object of the preposition meta (μετά) again functions as a marker of manner when it is used a second time in this verse.
As we noted, this prepositional phrase meta makrothymias (μετὰ μακροθυμίας), “with that which characterizes patience” modifies the participle clause anechomenoi allēlōn (ἀνεχόμενοι ἀλλήλων), “by each and every one of you as a corporate unit continuing to make it your habit of tolerating one another” and is fronting it for emphasis.
Therefore, this prepositional phrase indicates that the manner in which the believer tolerates their fellow believer will manifest that which characterizes patience.
Some expositors argue that this prepositional phrase modifies the infinitival clause in Ephesians 4:1 instead.
However, the repetition of the preposition meta (μετὰ) indicates that the prepositional phrase meta makrothymias (μετὰ μακροθυμίας), “with that which characterizes patience” (Author’s translation) is fronting the participle clause anechomenoi allēlōn (ἀνεχόμενοι ἀλλήλων), “by each and every one of you as a corporate unit continuing to make it your habit of tolerating one another” (Author’s translation) for emphasis.
If Paul meant for the prepositional phrase meta makrothymias (μετὰ μακροθυμίας), “with that which characterizes patience” (Author’s translation) to modify the infinitival clause in Ephesians 4:1, he would not have employed meta (μετὰ) a second time.
Instead, he would have used the conjunction kai (καί) to link the nouns prautēs (πραΰτης), “gentleness” and makrothumia (μακροθυμία), “patience” together.
Thus, all three nouns tapeinophrosunē (ταπεινοφροσύνη), “humility,” prautēs (πραΰτης), “gentleness” and noun makrothumia (μακροθυμία), “patience” would be modifying the infinitival clause in Ephesians 4:1.
However, such is not the case.
The verb anechomai (ἀνέχομαι) means “to tolerate” and expresses the idea of the recipients of the epistle enduring personal difficulties with each other without retaliating against each other and without complaint.
It suggests they successfully overcome the urge or impulse to retaliate or resent something injurious or distasteful and without complaint.
The reciprocal pronoun allēlōn (ἀλλήλων) means “one another” since the word pertains a reciprocal reference between entities.
In our context, this would be the recipients of this epistle who we noted were not only members of the Ephesian Gentile Christian community exclusively but rather, the members of the Gentile Christian community throughout the Roman province of Asia.
Therefore, this word pertains to their interaction with each other and expresses the mutual exchange of tolerating one another.
The reciprocal pronoun allēlōn (ἀλλήλων) functions as a genitive direct object which serves to emphasize the personal interaction of the recipients of this epistle exercising tolerance when interacting with each other, which brings out of the concept of reciprocation.
In Ephesians 4:2, the present tense of the verb anechomai (ἀνέχομαι) is a customary present which expresses the idea of the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia “making it their habit” of tolerating one another.
Also, the idea of “continuing” to make it their habit of tolerating one another is expressed by the present tense as well.
The latter is indicated by the contents of Ephesians 1:15, which asserts that they were already practicing the Lord Jesus Christ’s command to love one another, which would manifest itself by showing toleration for each other.
The participle conjugation of this verb expresses the idea that these Gentile Christians continuing to make it their habit of tolerating one another with that which characterizes patience is “the means by which” they will their lives in a manner worthy of their effectual calling with which they have been called by God Father.
Therefore, the participial conjugation of this verb functions as a nominative of simple apposition, which means it stands in apposition to the nominative subject, which appears in Ephesians 4:1 and is the nominative first person singular form of the personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “I.”
Thus, this personal pronoun performs the action of the verb parakaleō (παρακαλέω) whose thought is completed by the peripateō (περιπατέω).
Therefore, as we noted, this indicates that Paul as the subject performs the action of this verb of exhorting and encouraging the recipients of this epistle through the Spirit inspired contents of this letter to live in a manner worthy of their effectual call with which they have been effectually called by God the Father.
Now, the participle conjugation of the verb anechomai (ἀνέχομαι) stands in apposition to Paul and his exhortation and encouragement of the recipients of this epistle to live their lives in a manner worthy of their effectual calling with which they were called by God the Father.
Thus, it “defines specifically how” or “by what specific means” the recipients of this epistle were to live their lives in a manner worthy of their effectual calling with which they were called by God the Father at justification.
Thus, they were to do so “by means of” tolerating one another with that which characterizes patience by means of the practice of divine love.
The question arises as to why tolerating one’s fellow believer with that which characterizes patience by means of the practice of divine love defines the specific means by which the believer is to live their life in a manner worth of one’s effectually calling with which one has been effectually called by God the Father?
The answer is that humility and gentleness are words which describe human relationships and secondly, tolerating one’s fellow believer with that which characterizes patience by means of divine love identifies specifically the means by which humility and gentleness are manifested in the life of the believer when interacting with their fellow believer.
This is indicated by the fact that if the believer is patient with their fellow believer because of practicing the command to love one another as Christ loved them, then they will not only be humble with their fellow believer, putting them ahead of themselves, but also they will be gentle with them as well.
The believer receives the capacity to practice the command to love one another when they accept by faith God the Father’s love for them when they were His enemies and spiritually dead and enslaved to the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system.
This faith produces obedience to the command to love one another (cf. Heb. 11:8).
Furthermore, they will be humble with their fellow believer because they accepted by faith that God the Father accepted them when they had no merit whatsoever with Him when they unregenerate sinners enslaved to sin and Satan.
This participial clause anechomenoi allēlōn (ἀνεχόμενοι ἀλλήλων), “by each and every one of you as a corporate unit continuing to make it your habit of tolerating one another” (Author’s translation) in Ephesians 4:2 is one of the many “one another” Spirit inspired commands in Scripture, which manifest the love of God in the life of the believer when they obey these commands.
They are inextricably tied to the concept of reciprocation.
Loving and caring for one another is not an option for the Christian but rather it is a mandate, or in other words, a command.
