Walk with All Longsuffering

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love.—Ephesians 4:1,2

Timothy Thomassen

The idea of longsuffering is associated with God’s patient endurance. Exodus 34:6,7 indicates that the LORD God is "merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." But he is also one who "will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation."

"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love." (Psalms 103:8) "The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return . . . until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it."—Jeremiah 30:24

The purpose of God’s longsuffering is to lead the creature to repentance. That is his intent! The apostle Paul asked: "despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2:4) God’s longsuffering is a valuable bestowment!

Arrogance is possible if one blinds oneself to the treasures of goodness and patience which are the distinction of God’s dealing with his people. Even in the stern discipline which Isaiah saw in the historical experience of Israel, he recognized God’s presence to heal and to bless. Isaiah wrote: "In his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old."—Isaiah 63:9

This should be apparent to all who with confidence appeal to God. Not to recognize its meaning would be to brand themselves as ignorant concerning the whole purpose of God’s dealing with his creatures. What history teaches is sharpened in individual experience.

Paul shows that there are two alternatives for the person who is arrogantly self-righteous: either he trusts that he will escape judgment, or he despises those qualities which should make him gratefully accept what God does for him. If pride has not blinded his eyes, he will recognize the kindness that is the source from which all gracious and generous actions flow. He should feel something of the forbearance which is slow to press upon him the full consequences of his folly. He should respond to the patience and longsuffering that waits long before actively intervening.

God’s kindness is not displayed in order to create a false security or to approve of one’s irreverent pride. To possess God’s mercy is a privilege, but it carries with it an exacting consequence. One can claim it only if he is willing to use it for its proper purpose, which is always to produce a complete and lasting change.

Anyone who sees what God’s goodness means cannot complacently remain in his old condition. He must repent! Those who refuse to do so declare that they know nothing beyond self.

The fact that God has refrained from manifesting outwardly either his love for the Church, or his wrath against evil-doers, is no argument against the lesson that God is teaching his creatures. God has permitted a continuance of sin and sinners in what may seem to some to be a contradiction of his law, manifesting longsuffering toward subjects of destruction; however, it is God’s option to avenge. And he will repay! (Romans 12:19)

In every age, especially in times of great pessimism, some have found it difficult to understand how God could have anything in common with humanity. Some have been prompted to make a distinction between God’s love and man’s love. God’s love extends downward to save man by his grace. Man’s self-love reaches upward to save himself.

Longsuffering is one of the attributes that Paul urged the Ephesian brethren to develop. He urged them to live a life worthy of the calling that they had received and to be completely humble and gentle as well as patient (longsuffering) while they were bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:1,2).

To a Greek in Paul’s day, meekness was a second-rate virtue. Lowliness was not a virtue at all! The gospel assigns both qualities their true rating. The nearer man comes to God, the more he should feel his own worthlessness and insignificance. This in turn should produce in him more patience and longsuffering in his dealing with others.

Patience and longsuffering are associated with joy. We find this in Colossians 1:10,11 (ASV), where the apostle Paul admonished the Colossians "to walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy."

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering." (Colossians 3:12) The NIV translation states that God’s chosen people should "clothe yourselves with . . . patience." We are to patiently endure with the faults and weaknesses of others.

This means that we should bear with one another’s peculiarities of temperament and disposition, freely forgiving one another if there be found cause of offense. Additionally, we should learn to correct ourselves as we see our own faults and imperfections mirrored in others. The standard for all this is found in the Lord’s course toward us, for he surely has been generous, kind, forbearing and forgiving.

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:15,16, ASV: "Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief: howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his longsuffering, for an ensample of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life."

The gospel of Christ is the message of divine compassion toward sinners. We cannot preach that gospel without exhibiting true longsuffering. As a faithful follower of the Lord once commented: "Preach the gospel. Use words if necessary!"

Believers are admonished to imitate their Heavenly Father. "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour."—Ephesians 5:1,2

"Love is patient and kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4). Likewise, we are to be kind to each other, tenderhearted and forgiving, as God in Christ forgave us (Ephesians 4:32).

God’s word stresses the importance of being patient and longsuffering. We find this emphasized in the following citations: "exhort with all longsuffering" (2 Timothy 4:2); "imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised" (Hebrews 6:12); "As an example of suffering and patience, brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord" (James 5:10, RSV); "God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built" (1 Peter 3:20, NIV); "Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation" (2 Peter 3:15, NIV).

One of my seventh grade students recently wrote a very touching and heart-rending essay entitled From Civil War To The Land Of The Free. In it, she told of her birth and childhood in Yugoslavia (present Bosnia), the subsequent civil war and her eventual immigration to the United States. Here are some of the words she used to tell her story: civil war, unsafe, military, militant groups, politically powerful, violence, guns, chaos, horrors of war, evil, nationalism, cry, sad, darkest dreams, afraid, scared, kill, die, fighting, aggression, immoral, miserable, worry, fear, hunger, detonations, isolation, dangerous, aggressive, unfriendly, refugees, and tears.

Most of these terms have become part of our vocabulary as a result of sin, but the good news is that this terminology will someday change.

God is a God of justice. He will not endure sin forever. He has promised that he will ultimately deal with those who do not repent and trust in him for salvation (2 Thessalonians 1:5–10).

Yes, the Bible assures us that a time is coming when God will wipe every tear from the eyes of his creation. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away (Revelation 21:4, NIV).

We are told in Psalms 46:9,10 that the LORD will make wars to cease and that he will be exalted in the earth. Furthermore, "He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore" (Isaiah 2:4, NIV).

In keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:13). The time is coming when ALL men will pray to God and find favor with him. Man will come into God’s presence with joy and be restored to his righteous state (Job 33:26, NIV).

How do we know this? The Bible says so! Isaiah eloquently stated the case: "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."—Isaiah 55:10,11, NIV

How long will we suffer? As long as God sees fit! "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."—2 Corinthians 4:17,18