Tag: makrothumia

Romans 9:22 – Unfair Grace

Posted on 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,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 4:2 – Humble, Gentle, Patience

Posted on 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,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 4:2 – Humble, Gentle, Patience

Posted on 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.

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 “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

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:

(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all 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,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

Romans 9:22 – Unfair Grace

Posted on 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.”

“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 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

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,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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