Monthly Archive for May, 2000

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Galatians 5:25

Published on May 21, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”
 
Paul now calls us to action based on our status in the Spirit. The dynamics of the Spirit should arrest our proclivity to criticize others.
 
If we live in the Spirit,
Paul’s argument is “if” then “let us.” The “if” relates to principle and the “let us” relates to application. God always appeals to living the Christian life based on our standing in Christ and the Spirit.
The “if” in the phrase “If we live in the Spirit” is not hypothetical but actual. Christians live in spiritual lives because they entered into God’s life at salvation. Paul assumes that every believer lives in the Spirit. Since we hold status with the Spirit, we should walk according to that status.
let us also walk in the Spirit
The word “walk” means to be draw up in line, to hold to, to go in a line or row: to go in battle-order. There is emphasis on the word “walk” in the Greek. The word “walk” means to walk in a straight line, to conduct one’s self (rightly). This is a different Greek word than the word “walk” in verse 16. The word “walk” in verse 16 means to walk around (as a course of life). The word “walk” in this verse means to take a step at a time in line with a leader. With each step we take spiritually, we must walk in line with power of the Spirit.
God wants us to walk in line with the Holy Spirit, to walk according to His principles. The Christian who conforms to the standards of the Spirit, lives in God’s will. Spiritual Christians get in line to march behind the Holy Spirit.
The believer can walk confidently because the Spirit makes it possible for him to live beyond his natural powers. When we keep in step with the Spirit, He enables us to walk our talk.
We can walk in the Spirit because God crucified us to the cross with Christ in terms of spiritual standing. That was an act of sheer grace. God did the doing. Legalism that imposes regulations from without cannot provide what the inner dynamics of the Spirit can afford. When we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit, He takes us beyond the system that imposes rules from without. This form of spirituality is a far cry from the charge of license from the legalists.
Principle:
God always appeals to us to walk with Him based on our standing in Christ.
Application:
Legalism always tends toward the pride and arrogance of self-effort. It always misses the true ground of glorying – Christ and His work on the cross of Christ. We walk in the Spirit on the authority of the work of Christ for us.
In view of the fact that all Christians live in the Spirit, they ought to line themselves up with the Spirit. A grace-oriented person always casts himself on the Spirit of God. When this happens, we stay in harmony with other Christians. We do not provoke or cause envy in them (5:26) because we walk in step with the Holy Spirit.
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Galatians 5:24b

Published on May 20, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”
 
with its passions
 
Paul describes “flesh” in terms of “passions and desires” seeking gratification independent from God. These are the byproducts of the flesh. Jesus gained the victory over passions and desires on the cross. A “passion” is an attitude with a propensity to violate the character of God.
 
“For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death” (Romans 7:5).
 
and desires
Our position in Christ’s death provides for us the facility to conquer passions and desires. A “desire” is a craving or longing. It actively reaches out to find gratification.
Principle:
The flesh always manifests itself first in attitudes then in action.
Application:
The moment we placed our faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, a mighty transaction took place in the offices of heaven. God declared us as right as Jesus is right in His eyes the split second we were born again. Our life took on meaning, point and purpose. As far as God is concerned, everything that we were in our unregenerate state died at that moment. From that moment, we have new privileges and status with God.
Then we made an awful discovery – we still have the capacity to violate God. Our flesh cannot produce anything right in God’s eyes so God always bypasses it. God never attempts to refine our sin capacity. He never saves it. He never educates it. God always bypasses it for another option.
Some of us try to get ahead of others at their expense. That is an unholy passion or desire. If our desire is to be thought well of no matter the motive, then that is an evil ambition or craving.
The byproducts of the flesh are “passions and desires.” When envy, resentment and jealousy crop up, God’s place for them is the cross. That surge of temper and desire to thrust ourselves forward or to make ourselves seen and heard belong on the cross. These things do not come from God. They are unadulterated flesh.
People who walk in the Spirit want to please Jesus. They have no time for pettiness. They take no notice if people snub them. People can overlook them and set their advice aside but they still please the Lord, “I am going to be a blessing, not a cursing. I will not expect anything but I will give everything.” That is victory. This spirituality carries us beyond the petty, little things that sidetrack so many Christians.
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Galatians 5:24

Published on May 19, 2000 in Galatians. 3 Comments
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“And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”
 
Paul shows how the believer has the potential to conquer sin by his position in Christ (5:24-26).
 
And those who are Christ’s
We must distinguish “those who are Christ’s” from those who are not. A child of God belongs to Christ. Believers belong to Christ. Not everyone is a Christian.
“For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8).”And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:23).
“Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even so we are Christ’s” (2 Corinthians 10:7).
“Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:19).
have crucified the flesh
“Crucified” is not self-crucifixion but our positional crucifixion in Christ. This is something that God does, not us. When Christ died on the cross, He died there for our sins. God identifies Christians with Christ’s death and resurrection. Our part is to apply that work of Christ to sin in our lives. We do this by placing faith in Christ initially at salvation and progressively through confessing sins by faith.
“Flesh” is that force that makes us violate a holy God. Jesus crucified the flesh. The grammar here (aorist indicative) indicates a definite and decisive act. This does not say that this is something that we must do. He did not say, “Those who are Christ’s should crucify the flesh.” The reality of crucifixion took place when we put our faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.
Jesus settled the issue of our sins on the cross and we believed Him. When we recognize this as an ongoing fact, we make victory actual in our experience. Christ made the positional truth of a crucified flesh actual on the cross. We make it real to ourselves by faith.
Neither does this mean that Christ eradicated the present active function of our sin capacity on the cross. It simply means that God judged our sins by Christ’s death on the cross in a judicial or positional sense.
Jesus nailed our flesh one and for all on the cross (Romans 6:3,4,6). This is true of the believer in position and in principle. It is important to understand that Paul does not appeal to self-crucifixion here but to our identity in Christ’s death (2:20) and resurrection (Romans 6:1-6; 11-12).
Principle:
We appeal to the cross by faith to live the Christian life.
Application:
It is vital that we recognize that Christ crucified the flesh, that it was His work on the cross that did this. Jesus settled the issue there. This means Christ’s crucifixion is our crucifixion. We do not try to do what is already done; we do not crucify ourselves. We believe that Christ crucified us.
When we appeal to the cross by faith, we draw on the finished work of Christ to live the Christian life. Faith takes hold of God’s facts and appropriates them to experience. When we lay hold on the naked Word of God, we honor God’s promises.
We do not have to pray about being crucified; we are crucified with Christ. This is the crux of how we get victory in the Christian life. If we do not know our position in Christ, we do not know how to live the Christian life. Many sincere Christians try to crucify themselves but they always end in frustration. It is oh so unnecessary because it is already an accomplished fact.
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Galatians 5:23c

Published on May 18, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“…gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law”
 
Against such
 
The word “such” indicates that this list of the fruits of the Spirit is representative of other fruits of the Spirit. This is not an exhaustive list. The Holy Spirit will do more for us than simply what this list indicates.
 
there is no law
God puts no ban on the fruits of the Spirit. There is no law forbidding the fruit of the Spirit because they fully discharge the demands of God’s character [the law]. Obedience by our own bootstraps cannot fulfill the demands of the law. The law cannot prevail over the fruit of the Spirit because the fruit of the Spirit transcends the law. Paul says in effect, “So you want to merit God’s favor by obedience to the law? There is no law that prohibits the fruits of the Spirit and no law necessary to produce them. There is no obedience to produce the fruits of the Spirit. ”The fruit of the Spirit” does not require an act of Congress to gain God’s approval.
The fruit of the Spirit is the natural outflow of walking in the Spirit. No law makes a person love or forgive or give peace. A person walking in the Spirit does not need law for anything but something that establishes standards. Living the Spirit-controlled life goes beyond anything the law can provide. The law attempts to keep sin in check but does not have the power to do so. The Holy Spirit can do what the law cannot do.
Principle:
The power of the Holy Spirit can do what obedience to the law by operation bootstraps cannot do.
Application:
The purpose of the law is to bring sin under control but in doing so it provokes greater rebellion against God’s standards. Walking in the Spirit (5:16), on the other hand, wars against the flesh (5:17). This live goes against our natural tendencies.
The law cannot reach the scope of living by the Spirit filled life because spirituality goes far beyond morality. Government cannot pass legislation to control the sinful appetites of man to help him control his behavior. Even the law of God cannot legislate spirituality. On the other hand, a believer controlled by the Holy Spirit, does not need law to govern her life because she has the dynamics of the Holy Spirit living within her.
Motivation comes from within the Spirit filled believer. Christianity is not primarily a system of morality but a system of spirituality. Christian dynamics do not come from legislation but from life, the life of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit takes the life of Christ and makes them real in our lives (John 16:14).
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Galatians 5:23b

Published on May 17, 2000 in Galatians. 2 Comments
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“…gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law”
 
self-control
 
“Self-control implies that a Spirit-filled Christians can control their desires. “Self-control” is self-mastery over a person or thing. It is inherent power over the self. Unrestrained flesh indulges the self but a person walking in the Spirit has power to control inner urges than a person walking in the flesh.
 
Biblical self-control is the concentration of the power of the Spirit toward the end of doing God’s will. This goes beyond abstinence or unadulterated power in self. A purpose or end in view is always at the heart of biblical self-control. There is a reason beyond self to deny oneself of something whether it is the control of our tongue or our anger. We watch where we let our eyes fall because we want to please the Lord.
 
Principle:
The Spirit-filled believer has the power of the Spirit to enable him to master his passions.
Application:
Do you have control over your temper? Spirit-filled believers have the power to overcome their anger because they operate in the power of the Spirit.
“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32)
Joseph exercised self-restrain in the presence of his brothers (Genesis 43:31). A self-controlled person can rule his anger although he might have just cause for his anger.
The dynamic Christian always concerns himself with not only his character but also his reputation because he does not want non-Christians to lose credibility in Christ.
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate [self-controlled] in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
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Galatians 5:23

Published on May 16, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“…gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law”
 
gentleness,
 
Trench, a Greek scholar, renders “gentleness” as inwrought grace exercised chiefly towards God. This person carries a temper that accepts all God’s dealings with us as good. He endures anything that may come his way because he accepts adverse circumstances as from God. He does not fight God on any issue.
 
Meekness is not weakness but unselfishness. There is a big difference between weakness and selflessness. A meek person is a powerful person. Moses was a strong leader but at the same time bore meekness in his soul. He did not have the attitude of haughty self-sufficiency.
Neither does meekness mean self-effacement. Meekness means that we have no illusions about ourselves. We think in terms of inwrought grace. Everything that we have and are is from God’s grace. We deserve nothing from God. Everything is a gift from God. Neither do we deal with God or others on a merit system.
Jesus called Himself “meek” (Matthew 11:28, 29) His mission was to do the Father’s will. Jesus was meek because He understood that He had all the infinite resources of God at his call.
“Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ— who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you” (2 Corinthians 10:1).
Principle:
A meek person understands that he has the infinite resources of God at his call.
Application:
A meek person does not try to make deals with God. He views himself as worth nothing before God. He operates on inwrought grace exercised chiefly toward God so he does not resist God’s sovereign actions on his soul. He does not fight God’s will. Everything that he has, he has from God.
When Shimei cursed David and flung stones at him, David accepted that action as from God, not from Shimei (2 Samuel 16:11). David accepted this action as an action of God’s justice.
A meek orientation does not mean that we have no regard for self but that we do not assert ourselves for our own sake. This is the opposite of pride. When we completely commit personal vengeance to God’s justice, we depend on God. This not to say that we cannot stand up for ourselves but it does mean that we do not assert our rights for our own sake independently of God.
When a “meek” person accepts God’s dealings with us a just and right, this is grace shaped into his soul. He recognizes God’s dealings in his life and accepts those dealings as God’s perfect will. This is the polar opposite of self-assertiveness. This is a person who does not live for self-interest but for others. He has a sense of equanimity toward others.
“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1).
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering…” (Colossians 3:12 ).
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…” (1 Peter 3:15).
God does not take delight in weakness. Meekness is not weakness. God does not want us to come to Him with our tales between our legs like a whipped dog. God does not take delight in dispensing His grace to whipped dogs that wag their tales out of fear. He does not hold feeble character in high value.
Some people by nature are more mild-mannered than others. This is not meekness. A good disposition comes from our heritage, not our character. This would mean that a person who has coarse character could not develop meekness in the power of the Spirit. Moses was meek, not because he was that way by nature. He killed an Egyptian in a rage. A meek person is someone whom God orients to a blessed life (Matthew 11:28). Jesus does not say, “Blessed are those who have the greatest success in life” or “Blessed are the gifted and clever” but “Blessed are the meek.”
Meekness is the state whereby a person enjoys who and what God is. We cannot acquire meekness by following some overt behavior pattern. Meekness comes from God who works within us. We cannot have this apart from God. When we have it, we operate independent from external influences on our souls for we enjoy God regardless of circumstance. We cannot make God blessed but He can make us blessed.
“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).
What happens within us is more important than what happens to us. If we build no inner buttresses, then we will fall prey to what happens to us. We have no defense against the enemy. Some fall prey to bitterness because they do not have a counteracting quality of character to stand against it.
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Galatians 5:22h

Published on May 15, 2000 in Galatians. 1 Comment
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…”
 
faithfulness
 
“Faithfulness” here is the character of fidelity. Those are people who keep their promises. People can count on these people with assurance that they will keep their word or do what they say. They are reliable.
 
People who carry the character of fidelity carry convictions about certain norms. We can rely on them because they commit themselves to those norms. They will be true to what they say because their beliefs transcend the circumstance or situation. They do not put their finger to the wind to watch for the prevailing opinion. They do what is right even in the face of opposition. We can count on them because they will be true to their convictions regardless of the context. They are trustworthy and true.
Principle:
Faithfulness is the quality that renders a person trustworthy or reliable.
Application:
Genuine salvation faith produces an ongoing vital faith. A “faithful” person unconditionally trusts God alone. He does not doubt that God sovereignly works all things together for good.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
The Holy Spirit not only enables us to initially believe in Christ but He also enables us to sustain unconditional trust in God. It is reliance on God for our daily Christian walk.
Doubt dims the soul and makes ongoing closeness with the Lord impossible.
“But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:32).
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2).
It is the object of our faith that makes our faith legitimate. Because we believe something intensely does not make it true nor does not believing it make it untrue. When a Christian believes a promise from God, that does not make the promise true. The promise is true whether we believe whether we believe it or not. However, if we fail to believe it, we lose the enjoyment of it.
Faith enables us to enter into the reality of what is objectively true. Faith sees the invisible but not the nonexistent (Tozer). That is the difference between faith and superstition.
Trust never tests God’s promises. Testing God’s promises shows lack of confidence in God. On the other hand, those who trust God can take the shocks of life. When that telephone call comes, a believer with strong faith can cope more powerfully than a Christian with little faith.
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Galatians 5:22g

Published on May 14, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…”
 
goodness,
 
“Goodness” is a quality of a Spirit filled believer that does good to another person although in doing so, it might cause them pain. The idea is that a good person orients himself toward the benefit of others. It is possible to be moral but not good, a willingness to give oneself sacrificially for others.
 
This word can carry the idea of “stern” goodness but always with the idea that that kind of goodness benefits the person receiving it.
Principle:
Goodness is moral excellence – a generosity of soul that benefits others.
Application:
Goodness is an act of grace toward someone else. This stems from being oriented to God’s grace. This is latent in a grace-motivated person who is so because he has no illusions about himself. Therefore, he does not deal with other on the basis of merit. He knows that he cannot make deals with God by meriting His favor so he does not let others make deals with him to receive his blessing. He gives to others without any strings attached.
Christians should be good in character and constitution – upright in soul and action. A Christian with a high capacity for goodness can reach out to others even when they do not deserve it. He can be good to someone without liking his or her personality or attractiveness.
Many Christians try to humanly bend out something that looks like goodness. These people are not motivated by grace but by self-righteousness. In this case, people are motivated by what benefits themselves rather than others. The grace Christian does not twist himself like a pretzel to look like goodness.
Barnabas was a “good man.” He was not as brilliant or as gifted as Paul but he was a “good man.” He did not make himself good. God did that. God changed him so that he was benign in his attitude toward others and generous in material and spiritual matters. The Spirit of God always moves the child of God to live out the Word of God. He always moves Spirit-filled Christians toward generosity. Also, a Spirit-filled believer does not believe anything contrary to the Bible.
“For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord” (Acts 11:24).
God is in the business of making bad people good but no one is good in himself or herself. God does this judicially. After He forensically declares us right with Himself, He then begins to change the character of those who own Him as God and Savior.
“Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness…” (Romans 15:14).
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8-10).
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Galatians 5:22f

Published on May 13, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…”
 
The second triad of the fruit of the Spirit is directed toward others. We now come to the second fruit in the second triad.
 
kindness,
“Kindness” carries the idea of goodness, generosity. A good person is upright toward others thus he has a sense of kindness toward them. This quality is both an attitude and an action. It expresses itself in implementing kindness in concrete compassion toward others.
Kindness is benevolence in action. This is a person who says the right thing at the right time. Sometimes a kind person is someone who keeps his mouth shut at the right time.
Kindness is compassion in action, a category of love. It is someone who acknowledges his grace from God and so acts upon that grace toward others.
Principle:
A kind person cares about others more than themselves.
Application:
Kindness is active benevolence toward others that mimics God’s kindness toward us (Romans 2:4; Ephesians 2:7). If God is kind toward us, we should be kind toward others (2 Corinthians 6:6; Colossians 3:12).
A kind person is not occupied with himself. If what we say injures or slanders another person, this is the opposite of kindness.
“Love suffers long and is kind…” (1 Corinthians 13:4).
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering…” (Colossians 3:12).
Sometimes it is better to keep our mouth shut if what we say hurts others. We are very adept at injuring and slandering others. If there is anyone on the face of the earth that ought to be kind to others, it is the child of God.
“Kindness” is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest. A kind person carries a spirit of equability for he is not cast down by defeat nor overly elated at some victory. He does not react to every adversity that comes his way. On the other hand, he completely depends on God and commits his cause to Him. He leaves vengeance with God sense of justice.
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Galatians 5:22e

Published on May 12, 2000 in Galatians. 0 Comments
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…”
 
The second triad of a Spirit-filled believer is directed toward others.
 
longsuffering,
A person with “longsuffering” has a sense of forbearance, patience, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance and endurance. This person is slow to avenge wrongs done to him. Longsuffering carries the idea of patience toward people under provocation. It will not retaliate when treated unjustly.
There is another Greek word that means maintaining patience under heavy circumstances. There are then two terms for “longsuffering” or “patience.” One has to do with longsuffering with circumstances and the other has to do with longsuffering with people. Our term is longsuffering with people.
A longsuffering person is a person who is slow to anger and is anxious to forgive injuries. He has more capacity to put up with personal insults. People cannot easily offend a longsuffering person.
God Himself carries the characteristic of longsuffering in His soul (Romans 2:4; 9:22; 1 Peter 3:20). Jesus as well is patient (1 Timothy 1:16; 2 Peter 3:15).
Principle:
The Spirit-filled believer has a sense of calm in the face of provocation, a capacity to defer anger.
Application:
Spirit-filled believers have a sense of calm in the face of provocation. They do not complain about other people nor do they allow themselves to become irritated. They have the capacity to defer anger and are willing to accept pain inflicted by others (Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:12; 1 Timothy 1:15, 16).
Longsuffering is the steadfastness of the soul under adversity. This person manifests the quality of forbearance under provocation from others. It does not retaliate even when wrongfully mistreated
“My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience” (James 5:10).
Longsuffering entertains no thoughts of retaliation even when wrongfully treated. This is a person with a long temper.
“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32).
Chrysostom said, “It is the grace of the man who could revenge himself and who does not, of the man who is slow to wrath.” That is like God, for He could have wiped man off the face of the globe for his sin but He did not. It is incumbent upon us to long hold out our anger before taking action. If we defer anger, we can characterize ourselves as longsuffering. Those who are short-tempered do not suffer others very long. Longsuffering carries the qualities of forbearance and patient endurance.
How do you endure exasperating people? Do you lash back and bash them with words? So many of us suffer shortly when it comes to our family, “Well, I told her a hundred times that I don’t like the sport’s page detached from the front page!”
God expects us to suffer long even if the cause is just, that is, your wife may be a nag or your husband may be a slob! “You do not know the jerk that attends my church. He gripes about everything. His personality rasps me. His character is in the negative case. He has never had a positive thought in his life. He always gripes about how the church is run.” The Bible tells to put up with them.
Suffering people difficult because they hit us in the area of our preferences toward life. It touches the world where we live. You say, “But he is a personality assassin.” God gives no exceptions for longsuffering. Suffer them long. Keep your attitude in a state of prolonged freedom from revenge.
The length of our patience with people determines the measure of our spirituality. Take the guff. Keep your mouth shut. Bitterness or retaliation never improves anything. A long temper always gains victory over the short temper. The quality of self-restraint does not punish others. It is not hasty to retaliate. It does not surrender to adverse persons or succumb to duress.
“Love suffers long…” (1 Corinthians 13:4).
Love does not repay hate for hate or scorn for scorn. Anyone can answer a fool according to his folly. It takes two to tango and it takes two to make a quarrel. That is why God asks us to be looooong suffering. It is the Holy Spirit who produces the fruit of the capacity to suffer for a long time.
“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls” (Hebrews 12:3).
Most believers have a low boiling point. That means that most of us boil most of the time. To counteract this, the Holy Spirit produces longsuffering in us.
God took an oath that every born-again person will be just like the Lord Jesus (Romans 8:29). He inaugurates this the moment we become Christians and keeps working on it until we meet Him face to face. The sin of short temperedness shortcuts this process. It is time to stop blaming others no matter if we believe that we are in the right. The sooner we come to that position, the sooner we will get squared away with God. The fruit of the Spirit of longsuffering is available to us if we allow the Holy Spirit to control us.
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