What Does Longsuffering Mean? A Biblical Definition Of Longsuffering

Here is a biblical definition of longsuffering according to the scriptures.

Longsuffering is…

In short, longsuffering is suffering long! It is like patiently enduring a lasting offense or hardship and is referring to a great deal of patience or endurance of something or someone like an illness or the mistreatment by others of one’s self. The single mother who raises children by herself with little or no help of others must be longsuffering for she has the full weight of all of the families responsibility placed squarely upon her shoulders. It is the father or mother who prays for her son or daughter who’s been in prison for many years or having children living in a lifestyle that will end up in receiving the wrath of God unless they repent and believe the gospel. Longsuffering is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and it enables us to never give up, regardless of our circumstances.

God is Longsuffering in the Old Testament

The psalmist knew that God is longsuffering as he wrote “You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15). When the Israelites refused to believe that God would go before them into the Promised Land and refused to cross over, He was angry at their lack of trust in Him so Moses interceded for the people saying that God had earlier said “The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation” (Num 14:18). When the Lord had passed by Moses, He “proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth” (Ex 34:6). The points in these Old Testament passages are that God has great patience with the frequently disobedient nation of Israel and that He suffered their disbelief and disobedience for a very long time and for very many times and yet He did not destroy them. The same could be true of us; God is longsuffering with us.

God is Longsuffering in the New Testament

God is longsuffering as we have read in the Old Testament but this same attribute of God is found in the New Testament as well since God never changes as we read in Malachi 3:6, “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed” but he also shows us great patience which is just another word for longsuffering. Paul is concerned that we might take God’s longsuffering for granted which is why he wrote “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance” (Rom 2:4) because for Paul it was “for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life” (1st Tim 1:16). Peter knew a lot about longsuffering as he betrayed Jesus three times and yet wants us to “consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you” (2nd Pet 3:15) since “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2nd Pet 3:9).

The Longsuffering of the Saints

Just as in the Old Testament, those “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” (1st Pet 3:20) so must we be longsuffering too, not wanting any to perish apart from Christ. Longsuffering is one of the fruits borne of the Holy Spirit as we read in Ephesians that with longsuffering, we are to “bear with one another in love” (Eph 4:2). This should be natural for the born-again since “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness” (Gal 5:22) so Paul writes “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering” (Col 3:12).  Longsuffering is not a fruit of human effort.

Conclusion

It is hard to suffer long in this world without the Holy Spirit. I truly don’t know how people without God live through all of the hardships and agonies in life, having no hope of an eternal future, free from all suffering. We must bear one another in love in the church but we must also pray that God grants those outside of the faith repentance that they too can be saved. Until our lost family members, friends, and co-workers come to saving faith in Christ, we must be kind to them, pray for them, love them, and be longsuffering in their resistance to our belief in Christ because some of such were we!

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.