By Mark A. Horne
“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” ~ Galatians 5:22-23
Thanksgiving month is upon us and I can think of no better holiday illustration for the fourth fruit of the Spirit than good ol’ Turkey day. Thankfully it is a day that one, especially the Christian, should take time and reflect on the things for which he or she is grateful. I am sure that most people give a little extra thought for the blessings bestowed upon them. However, this is not a post on thanksgiving, or thankfulness. It is a post on how God expects us to deal with the everyday, ordinary issues of life that come before, during and after the holiday – patience.
Think about these cases. Your parents tell you that lunch is at twelve o’clock. You wake up and realize that you overslept. You make your way to the kitchen and perceive that your kids are up and decided to help you with breakfast. There is cereal all over the floor, a half of a gallon of milk spilled on the counter, and they used their socks to try and wipe it up. You have one hour to clean the mess, get the kids ready, get ready yourself, pack the car, and drive two hours to mom’s house. On what level is your patience on a scale of one to ten?
Next, you pull an all-nighter to meet a deadline for work or school. You only have 2 hours of sleep (more like a power nap) and your boss/teacher won’t take the project because it is ten minutes late. How thin is your patience at that moment? Maybe the lack thereof wouldn’t manifest itself in the moment; but if a friend tells you that you look like you’ve been hit by a train, you might just lose it on them. They tell you to chill-lax, but your fuse is already gone.
Those are just some attempted comedic anecdotes. We know there can be much lighter issues that set us off, like having a flat tire. And there are much heavier trials that can wear our nerves thin, like caring for a loved one with a debilitating disease.
The Apostle James in his letter to the church had a situation that needed an exhortation concerning patience. At the beginning of chapter one, he tells the church in verse two through four, “2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Now the word for endurance here (hupomone) is literally abiding under. The root idea is that of remaining under some discipline, subjecting one’s self to something which demands the acquiescence of the will to something against which one naturally would rebel. It portrays a picture of steadfastly and unflinchingly bearing up under a heavy load and describes that quality of character which does not allow one to surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial, a picture of being under a heavy load and resolutely staying there instead of trying to escape. And so, endurance does not describe a grim resignation or a passive “grin and bear” attitude but a triumphant facing of difficult circumstances knowing that even out of evil God guarantees good. It is courageous gallantry which accepts suffering and hardship and turns them into grace and glory.
This is important to understand for two reasons. The first has to do with the context. James is dealing with a church that has factions. They are not split over issues or doctrine. Rather they are split over class. The rich in the church are treating the poor very badly. They are lording their resources over the less fortunate and treating them as second rate Christians. And James wants to encourage his readers to be patient under such hardships and trials. R.C. Trench helps us understand the second reason. He states, endurance “does not mark merely endurance, or even patience, but the perseverance, the brave patience with which the Christian contends against the various hindrances, persecutions, and temptations that befall him in his conflict with the inward and outward world.”[1] Barclay adds, “[Endurance] does not mean… the patience which sits down and accepts things but the patience which masters them.”[2]
So, the idea with which James begins his letter is that of a patience that is long lasting. He brings this idea back around in chapter five of his letter as he closes it out, but with a warning for the heavy handed and another word for the trial bearers. To the self-righteous, selfish rich, James begins the chapter basically telling them if they don’t turn from their wickedness, trust Jesus as Lord, and treat their brothers and sisters in Christ as true brothers and sisters, then they have proven they are not true Christians and they are going to hell.
However, in verse seven he turns his attention once again to the less fortunate trial bearers. Read the text, “7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. 10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”
Here the word used is makrothumeo and is translated as patience, and it is the same word Paul uses for the “fruit” listed in Galatians. It literally describes prolonged restraint of emotion, anger or agitation. It also can literally be translated as “long-tempered” (as opposed to “short tempered) and does not give way to a short or quick temper toward those who fail. It describes holding out of the mind for a long time before it gives room to action or passion. The picture of this word is that of a person in whom it takes a long time before fuming and breaking into flames. Again, R.C. Trench adds that this word refers to one who has the power to avenge himself and yet refrains from exercising this power.[3] So, one can see how patience and endurance are synonyms of one another. James even continues with three examples of patience using a famer, a martyr and Job; all-the-while switching back to the word endurance towards the end.
In this past month’s edition of Tabletalk Magazine, Don Bailey makes a poignant comment concerning this patience. He stated, “Instead of igniting like a quick fuse, a patient man ‘keeps his cool.’ Patience is intrinsic to the nature of God: ‘But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.’ As God is the giver of all good gifts – and make no doubt, patience is a wonderful gift – you must seek the Divine Giver (James 1:17). Growing in patience without prayer is a fool’s errand. Therefore, you must ask God to give what flows from his character to yours.”[4]
Notice two things Bailey stated concerning this fruit that we have learned from the previous fruits studied. One, it is a fruit gifted to us. God gives it to you to have as a believer in Christ. If you trust Christ as your Savior and are a new creature in Him, you can’t say you don’t have this fruit. Second, it is a fruit that flows from God’s heart to your heart. What often happens as believers is, we have the fruit, but we don’t nurture the fruit. The fruit is in us, but we do not manifest it towards others. Be sure of this dear one, God will not leave His child in such a state. He will mold and shape you even in the area of patience, which may include enduring trials – even hard ones. Oswald Chambers reminds us, “if our hopes are being disappointed just now, it means they are being purified.”[5]
So, as we endure trials our patience is being molded into Christ’s. God’s heart of patience is flowing into our hearts. And all of this must be understood with the backdrop of God’s sovereignty at work in our lives. As Sanderson states, “Christian patience is based on the belief that a sovereign God is at work in men’s affairs, and it springs from the expectancy that a believer will not be mocked or forgotten by the God to whose keeping he has committed his soul… the fruit of the Spirit which is patience grows where there is continual awareness of God.”[6]
Paul realized that his patience
grew best in the awareness of God working in his life. He didn’t see patience
as indifference to the circumstances he faced. Rather, he saw patience
conveying the idea that God was at work in his life. He could endure the trials
and sufferings with great patience because he knew the God who is long-tempered
is at work in his heart with such character. He knew that he could withstand
the onslaughts of life because he stood on the Rock of Jesus Christ and the
Holy Spirit was making this fruit abound in his life. If Jesus is so
long-tempered with us, even when we were nailing him to the cross; if Paul was
so long-tempered when he endured the forty lashes less one; shall we not
cultivate this fruit in our own lives? Yes – we can and shall. Now go and clean
up that spilled milk.
[1] Trench, R.C. Synonyms of the New Testament. Detroit: Baker Books, 2000.
[2] Barclay, William. The Daily Bible Study Series. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Bailey, Don. “Be Patient and Pray.” Tabletalk Magazine 43, no.10 (October 2019): 6-7.
[5] Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest. Uhrichsville: Barbour Publishing Inc.: 2/22.
[6] Sanderson, John W. The Fruit of the Spirit. Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 1985: 92.
Andrews PCA 