longsuffering – Ministry of Grace Church

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Romans 9:22 – Unfair Grace

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Will

But if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

Truth to Learn

God endures the sinfulness of sinners so that His wrath and power will be seen and understood.

Behind the Words

“Show” is from endeiknumi, which means “to point out or to show forth something about oneself.”

The verb translated “make … known” is gnoridzo, meaning “to make something apparent or known to someone else.”

“Endured” is from the verb pherō, which means “to carry or bear like a burden.”

The word “longsuffering” is translated from makrothumia, which refers to “the ability to endure pain or suffering inflicted by others for a long time before getting angry.”

“Destruction” is from apōleia, which is based on the verb apollumi, meaning “to destroy fully.” The Complete WordStudy Dictionary says of this word: “apōleia refers to the state after death wherein exclusion from salvation is a realized fact, wherein man, instead of becoming what he might have been, is lost and ruined.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse we saw that the Apostle Paul postulated that it is fair for God to declare some righteous (through His grace) and to allow the remainder of mankind to remain destined for Hell because of their sinfulness. But that implies that there must be two classes of people on the earth, unforgiven sinners and forgiven sinners. In this and the following verse Paul will show that, in fact, there are two classes of people, and God has a purpose in allowing both.

The first class of people is the class of unforgiven sinners. Remember, according to what Paul demonstrated back in Romans 3:23, all of us are sinners. There is no human being except for Jesus Himself who is without sin. We all deserve Hell. Paul here states that God is desirous of showing His wrath against sin and sinners and He is also desirous of making His power known. In order to do this, though, He is currently being long suffering, enduring the pain of the sinfulness of those who are not chosen, until the day when He will finally pour out His wrath on the sinfulness of all mankind.

God is continuing to endure the pain of the sins of the unsaved sinners in this world. At the same time, however, he knows the eternal damnation that they will receive when He finally slams down the gavel of His judgment on them. But what about our sins? Is God longsuffering with us? The answer is no, because our sins are covered by the blood of Christ and He sees us as sinless, holy, righteous vessels of glory. We are the second class of people, the forgiven sinners.

Application

On the surface this appears harsh and unfair, but keep in mind that God cannot allow sin to abide in His presence. The unfair thing is that He has declared us to be righteous and without sin (because the penalty for our sins has been paid by Jesus Christ on the cross).

Truly, that is not fair! Praise God for His grace!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 2:4 – God’s Goodness, Not Ours

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Will

Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

Truth to Learn

Our salvation is a result of God’s goodness, not ours.

Behind the Words

The word translated “despise” is kataphroneō, which is made up of kata, meaning “against” or denoting evil and phroneō, meaning “to think.” Hence, kataphroneō means “to think evil of.”

“Riches” is translated from ploutos, based on a root meaning “fullness.” It refers to the fullness of possessions.

The word “kindness” is from krēstotēs, meaning “moral excellence, kindness, or goodness.”

“Forbearance” is from anochēs, which is based on the word anechō, made up of ana, meaning “up” and echō, meaning “to have or hold.” Anochēs means “forbearance, self-restraint, or patience.”

The word “longsuffering” is from macrothumia, which is composed of macros, meaning “long” and thumos, which refers to “anger, fierceness or wrath.” This word refers to God’s ability to hold back His fierce wrath for a long time.

“Repentance” is translated from a form of metanoeō, made up of meta indicating “a change of place or condition” and noeō, meaning “to think or comprehend.” Hence we see that this word refers to a change in the way we think about something.

Meaning Explained

Now, putting this all together we find that Paul is asking, “Do you think evil of the great value of God’s moral excellence, His self-restraint, and His holding back His wrath, ignoring the fact that God’s moral excellence is what leads you to repentance?” What Paul is saying is, “God is very patient and suffers the pain of our sin against Him. And because He is so good, instead of squashing us like ants, He actually takes us by the hand and leads us to an attitude of repentance!”

The picture is like that of a loving father who, when his son or daughter has done something wrong, takes the time and effort to lovingly explain the effect of their wrongful action so that they realize they have done wrong and tell their father they’re sorry, asking for forgiveness. The real beauty of this is the fact that without God’s longsuffering and patience and His loving, leading way, we would not repent. For, as Paul says, “the kindness of God leads you to repentance.”

Our sin nature is ever present and it is powerful. Without the greater power of God through His kindness and without His willingness to hold back His righteous anger against our sins, we would not repent of our sinfulness. And without this repentance we would not be saved from our sins.

Praise be to God for His kindness!

Application

If this doesn’t cause you to fall to your knees with a prayer of thankfulness to God for His kindness, then you don’t underestimate the effect of your sinfulness in the presence of a holy God. God must judge sin, but He loves you as His precious child.

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 4:2 – Humble, Gentle, Patience

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Will

with all humility and meekness, with longsuffering, holding up one another in love,

Truth to Learn

As we serve God and others within the church, we need to keep in mind how He treats us.

Behind the Words

The word “humility” is translated from the Greek noun tapeinophrosunē. This is made up of tapeinos, meaning “lowly attitude or low social position” and a form of phrēn, which refers to “a person’s feelings.” Tapeinophrosunē refers to “an attitude of humility” or “humbleness.” This word implies an attitude about self (humble, not proud).

“Meekness” is translated from praotēs, which refers to “meekness, mildness, or gentleness.” This word implies an attitude toward others (not harsh, demanding, or judgmental) and how we feel about what others do to us.

The word “longsuffering” is from makrothumia, which is a compound word made up of makros, meaning “long” and thumos, which refers to “fierceness” or “wrath.” It refers to the ability to patiently endure adversity or unfair treatment without getting angry.

Anechomai is the Greek verb translated here as “holding up.” It is composed of ana, meaning “up” and a form of echo, meaning “to hold.” So, it means “to hold oneself up;” that is, “to restrain oneself.” When referring to our actions towards others, it means “to bear up, to hold up (support), or to patiently endure.”

Meaning Explained

In yesterday’s verse Paul urged us to live our lives in a manner that is consistent with our calling from God. In our discussion of that verse we talked about the fact that every Christian has a calling, that is, an area of service within the church. In today’s verse he tells us how we are to perform that calling. Whether your function involves a lot of responsibility or a little, you are to perform it with a humble spirit. This is especially true of a position that requires a lot of talent and/or training, or one of leadership. Let us take Moses as our example here. In spite of the stubbornness and rebellion of the Israelites even to the point of questioning his leadership, we are told this about him:

And the man Moses was very humble, more than any of the men who were on the face of the earth.) (Numbers 12:3)

In addition to having a humble attitude about ourselves, we are to perform our calling with meekness and gentleness towards others. Since every function within the church involves others, it is easy for some of us to get impatient or judgmental with those who don’t respond to us the way we want them to. Nonetheless, Paul tells us to be gentle with others. And this leads us to the third thing Paul teaches us about performing our calling. We are to do it with patient endurance. We are not to be easily angered or frustrated by what others do or don’t do. Instead, we are to restrain ourselves and patiently endure so that we can strengthen each other with our acts of love.

Application

This is a tall order that Paul gives us as we serve God within the church. None of us will do it perfectly. Nonetheless, if we keep in mind how gentle and patient God is with us, it will be easier for us to treat others the same way. Let us serve Him as humble, gentle, patient, supportive servants.

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 4:2 – Humble, Gentle, Patience

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Will

with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,

Truth to Learn

As we serve God and others within the church, we need to keep in mind how He treats us.

Behind the Words

The word “lowliness” is translated from the Greek noun tapeinophrosunē. This is made up of tapeinos, meaning “lowly attitude or low social position” and a form of phrēn, which refers to “a person’s feelings.” Tapeinophrosunē refers to “an attitude of humility” or “humbleness.” This word implies an attitude about self (humble, not proud).

“Gentleness” is translated from praotēs, which refers to “meekness, mildness, or gentleness.” This word implies an attitude toward others (not harsh, demanding, or judgmental) and how we feel about what others do to us.

Anechomai is the Greek verb translated here as “bearing with.” It is composed of ana, meaning “up” and a form of echo, meaning “to hold.” So, it means “to hold oneself up;” that is, “to restrain oneself.” When referring to our actions towards others, it means “to bear up” or “to patiently endure.”

Meaning Explained

(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.) (Numbers 12:3)

Application

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 9:22 – Unfair Grace

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Will

Romans 9:22 – Unfair Grace

What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

Truth to Learn

God endures the sinfulness of sinners so that His wrath and power will be seen and understood.

Behind the Words

“Show” is from endeiknumi, which means “to point out or to show forth something about oneself.”

The verb translated “make known” is gnoridzō, meaning “to make something apparent or known to someone else.”

“Endured” is from the verb pherō, which means “to carry or bear as a burden.”

The word “longsuffering” is translated from makrothumia, which refers to “the ability to endure pain or suffering inflicted by others for a long time before getting angry.”

Meaning Explained

The first class of people is the class of unforgiven sinners. Remember, according to what Paul demonstrated back in Romans 3:23, all of us are sinners. There is no human being except for Jesus Himself who is without sin. We all deserve Hell. Paul here states that God is desirous of showing His wrath against sin and sinners and He is also desirous of making His power known. In order to do this, though, He is currently being long suffering, enduring the pain of the sinfulness of those who are not chosen until the day when He will finally pour out His wrath on the sinfulness of all mankind.

God is continuing to endure the pain of the sins of the unsaved sinners in this world. At the same time, however, he knows of the eternal damnation that they will receive when He finally slams down the gavel of His judgment on them. But what about our sins? Is God long suffering with us? The answer is no, because our sins are covered by the blood of Christ and He sees us as sinless, holy, righteous vessels of glory. We are the second class of people, the forgiven sinners.

Application

Truly, that is not fair! Praise God for His grace!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 2:4 – God’s Goodness, Not Ours

Posted on September 7, 2009 by admin

Romans 2:4

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Truth to Learn

Our salvation is a result of God’s goodness, not ours.

Behind the Words

“Riches” is translated from ploutos, based on a root meaning “fullness.” It refers to the fullness of possessions.

The word “goodness” is from krēstotēs, meaning “moral excellence or goodness.”

Meaning Explained

Our sin nature is ever present and it is powerful. Without the greater power of God through His goodness and without His willingness to hold back His righteous anger against our sins, we would not repent of our sinfulness. And without this repentance we would not be saved from our sins.

Praise be to God for His goodness!

Application

If this doesn’t cause you to fall to your knees with a prayer of thankfulness to God for His goodness, then you underestimate the effect of your sinfulness in the presence of a holy God. God must judge sin, but He loves you as His precious child.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, you can call the church phone (618) 614-3070 and leave a message telling us your name and e-mail address or you can send an e-mail to:

1 Peter 3:20 – The Message Proclaimed

Posted on February 2, 2009 by admin

1 Peter 3:20

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.

Truth to Learn

Salvation comes through believing the message we proclaim, that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins.

Behind the Words

The word translated “disobedient” is apeitheō, which is made up of a (called a privative), meaning “not” or “without” and a form of peithō, meaning “to persuade.” Hence, apeitheō means “not persuaded” or “not believing.” This word is expressed as an aorist participle, indicating continuous action occurring at a time before the main verb (“preached” in the previous verse). Hence, Peter is saying that these who were preached to had been previously disbelieving.

The word “ark” comes from the Greek word kibōtos, which means “a box” or “a wooden chest.”

The word translated “saved” near the end of this verse is the Greek word diasōdzō, which is a compound of dia, used here as an intensifier and sōdzō, which means “to save.” Hence, it means “to thoroughly save.”

Meaning Explained

Continuing on from the previous verse, you will recall that it said Christ preached to the spirits in prison. These spirits are identified in today’s verse. They are the people who were disbelieving in the days that Noah was building the ark.

There are those who contend that there was no word for boat at the time of Noah so “box” was a reasonable word to describe it. I find that argument lacking in that there were rivers before the flood and likely were boats of some kind. Also, since this book was written by Peter (a fisherman), if he had intended that the vessel was a boat, he would have used the word for boat. Instead, he used the word for a box. A further reason that I believe the ark was a box not a boat, is that marine architects have demonstrated that a boat with curved sides and hull as we see in depictions of Noah’s Ark would not have held together under the stress of the turbulent flood waters. They have also demonstrated that the most stable craft in a turbulent ocean is a box of the approximate proportions of Noah’s Ark.

Not only did Noah accomplish physical salvation for himself and his family by building the ark, but his faith (his belief that God really was going to bring a flood), which was demonstrated by his construction project, was a saving faith. And, it appears that all the time that he was building the ark, Noah was proclaiming that God was about to bring a flood, but no one believed.

Therefore, Peter is saying, the spirit of Christ in Noah was proclaiming a message to unbelieving people all the time he was building the ark to the saving of his soul and those of his family. The spirits who were preached to are now in the prison of Hades awaiting the Great White Throne Judgment of the unsaved, which we read about in Revelation 20:11-15.

Application

Things are not much different today than they were in the days of Noah. Many in the world do not believe the message that we proclaim. But, like Noah, we must not give up proclaiming the truth, for Christ is coming back soon!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –