4. Fruit of the Spirit - Longsuffering

FRUIT OF THE SPIRITFRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
“Longsuffering”
(macrothumia)
“Long” “Passion”

Galatians 5:22, 23Galatians 5:22, 23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no
law.
OFTEN IN PERSON-TO-PERSON
RELATIONSHIPS

“Because I don’t
want him to
decide how I am
going to act.”
Longsuffering

Patience & LongsufferingPatience & Longsuffering
• both are to be found in the Christian
– Col. 1:11 “strengthened with all might,
according to His glorious power, for all
patience and longsuffering with joy”
• “patience” (Gk. hupomone)
• “longsuffering” (Gk. makrothumia)

Patience & LongsufferingPatience & Longsuffering
• both are to be found in the Christian
• not exactly equivalent to each other
– “patience” primarily deals with “circumstances”
and “things” (e.g., study, debt, pressing on
through roadblocks, etc.)
– “longsuffering” primarily deals with relationships
(e.g., family, brethren, peers, etc.)
• Eph 4:2, “with all lowliness and gentleness, with
longsuffering, bearing with one another in love”

““Longsuffering” –Modeled By GodLongsuffering” –Modeled By God
• Longsuffering of God’s character
highlighted throughout the Old
Testament:
– “And the LORD passed before him and
proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD God,
merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and
abounding in goodness and truth’” (Ex.
34:6; cf. Neh. 9:17; Ps. 86:15; 103:8; 145:8
Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2)

““Longsuffering” – Modeled By GodLongsuffering” – Modeled By God
• Longsuffering of God modeled in the
days of Noah
– “who formerly were disobedient, when
once the Divine longsuffering waited in the
days of Noah, while the ark was being
prepared, in which a few, that is, eight
souls, were saved through water” (1 Pet.
3:20)

• Longsuffering of God modeled in the
days of Noah
– warned the world through Enoch
– named his son “Methuselah”
(Gk. Mathousala, Lk. 3:37) – “when he
dies, there shall be an emission [vis.,
judgment, sjw]” (Strong’s 3103)
– died the year of the flood
– 969 years of longsuffering!

• Longsuffering during the period of the
Judges
• Longsuffering during the kingdom years
with Israel and Judah
• Longsuffering when the Messiah
suffered
• Longsuffering when evil persecuted the
church (e.g., 1 Tim. 1:12-17)

Why is God Longsuffering?Why is God Longsuffering?
• Repentance (2 Pet. 3:9; cf. Rom. 2:4)
• Salvation (2 Pet. 3:15)
• Imitation (Matt. 18:21-35)
• Judgment – longsuffering didn’t ignore
judgment but temporarily restrained it
(i.e., no sinner has an excuse to chose
hell today)

What About Us?What About Us?
• suffer long with people
• endure difficult people
• accept persecution
• teach with longsuffering
“Preach the word! Be ready in season
and out of season. Convince, rebuke,
exhort, with all longsuffering and
teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2)

What About Us?What About Us?
• Longsuffering:
– in marriage???
– in business meetings???
– in bible discussions???
– driving on the road???
– neighbors

1 Thessalonians 5:14, 151 Thessalonians 5:14, 15
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn
those who are unruly, comfort the
fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient
(Gk. mackrothumeo) with all.
15 See that no one renders evil for evil to
anyone, but always pursue what is good
both for yourselves and for all.

Longsuffering: A Fusion ofLongsuffering: A Fusion of
Patience and PowerPatience and Power
Longsuffering is no longer an everyday
word, but it is a virtue needed more than
ever when impatience, intolerance,
oversensitivity and impulsive anger are so
prevalent.

Those two English words are closely related,
both associated with endurance.
More important and fascinating is learning
about the two corresponding Greek words in
the New Testament.
Longsuffering: A Fusion ofLongsuffering: A Fusion of
Patience and PowerPatience and Power

One Greek word— humpomonee —is translated
"patience" in almost all Bible versions and
implies patient endurance.
The other Greek word is even more interesting.
It is makrothumia, translated "patience" in some
Bible versions but more accurately as
"longsuffering" in others.
Longsuffering: A Fusion of PatienceLongsuffering: A Fusion of Patience
and Powerand Power

The Greek word makro (which gives us the English prefix
macro ) means "large" or "long."
The root word thumos means "temper." Therefore
makrothumia literally means long-tempered, the opposite of
short-tempered or having a short fuse.
and Powerand Power

Without makrothumia, we human beings tend to
be temperamental —having an irritable
temperament and bad temper.
We tend to "lose patience" and "lose our cool" and
even "blow up" (like an impatiens plant).
and Powerand Power

We'll focus primarily on makrothumia since it is
the word used in Galatians 5:22But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith,
However, please keep in mind how these two
words overlap in meaning and are both
important to our spiritual understanding and
growth.
and Powerand Power

Longsuffering is virtually the opposite of anger,
especially of "outbursts of wrath"
2 Corinthians 12:20
“For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find
you such as I would, and that I shall be found
unto you such as ye would not: lest there be
debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings,
whisperings, swellings, tumults:”
and Powerand Power

Paul described the behavior of love:
"Love suffers long and is kind . . . [It] does not behave rudely, does not
seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil" (1 Corinthians 13:4-5 [4]
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth
not itself, is not puffed up,
[5] Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil;”
The New International Version renders his words this way: "Love is
patient, love is kind . . . It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."
and Powerand Power

Our thoughts and attitudes are likewise
important, as they are the source of our actions
and words:
"A good man out of the good treasure of his
heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of
the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.
For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth
speaks" (Luke 6:45
and Powerand Power

and Powerand Power
Therefore we should honestly examine our
attitudes.
Each of us should ask:
- “Am I motivated by love, respect,
patience and compassion, or am I motivated by
resentment, contempt, intolerance and hardness
of heart?”

"The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow
to anger and great in mercy" Psalm 145:8
That's the way He expects us to be!
and Powerand Power

LongsufferingLongsuffering is a Choiceis a Choice
All over the Bible there are stories of men and women
experiencing trials and tribulations.
The reactions vary from many of them.
• Some grumbled against God because of lack of water
(Exodus 15:24),
• others worshipped God in trials and adversity (Job 1:20),
• others cried out to God in despair (Psalm 18:6), and the list
goes on.
What is important is that we all have a choice.

We get to decide how we are going to act when adversity hits.
We can be patient and wait on God, or we can be impatient and act
on our own accord.
• The men and women from Exodus 15:24 above chose to grumble
and be impatient.
• Job and David from the other two verses mentioned above acted
rightly.
Job fell down and worshipped God in his afflictions.
He remained steadfast and patient through his torment.
• Likewise, David did the same. “In my distress I called upon the
Lord; to my God I cried for help. From His temple He heard my
voice and my cry to Him reached His ears.” (Psalm 18:6)

So, you may be at a fork in the road right now.
Whatever your problem may be, you must make a
decision.
Will you be patient and wait on God, or be impatient
and act on your own will?
Longsuffering is a virtue that will grow with
your experience of being stretched in faith
especially in times of trial.

Longsuffering and eternal lifeLongsuffering and eternal life
When the Bible mentions waiting, patience,
perseverance or longsuffering, it is often in
connection with trusting in God to intervene for us in
our need, as He assuredly will:
"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and
not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" Isaiah 40:31

James 5:7-8 exhorts us:
[7] Therefore be patient [literally, longsuffering ], brethren, until
the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious
fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early
and latter rain.
[8] "You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of
the Lord is at hand." GN
Longsuffering and eternal lifeLongsuffering and eternal life

Eccl 7:8 Better is the end of a thing than the
beginning thereof: and the
patient in spirit is better than the proud in
spirit. Col 1:10-12 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing,
being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of
God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto
all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto
the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light:
Phil 4:6,7 Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall
keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

2 Peter 1:4-82 Peter 1:4-8
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this,
giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And
to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness
charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that
ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ.”

May we look to the Lord to help us in all areas of our Christian walk.
He has called us by His grace. As we yield to God, we find that He is
more than able to meet our needs and He will continue a good work on
the inside of us. Our confidence must be in the Lord and we must be
yielded to His leading.
Php 1:6
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ”

4. Fruit of the Spirit - Longsuffering

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