μακροθυμία (G 3115) makrothumía; gen. makrothumías, fem. noun from makrothuméō (G 3114), to be long-suffering. Forbearance, long-suffering, self-restraint before proceeding to action. The quality of a person who is able to avenge himself yet refrains from doing so.[1]
"Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4, NASB95)
Patience is the ability to allow our weaker brothers and sisters in Christ to grow up. It is the ability to wait upon God and his timing and not demand our own. It is an aspect of love. Patience is our ability to let God’s grace happen. Without patience no one would have ever been saved.
Χρηστότης (G 5544)chrēstótēs; gen. chrestótētos, fem. noun from chrēstós (G 5543), useful, profitable. Benignity, kindness, usefulness. It is the grace which pervades the whole nature, mellowing all which would be been harsh and austere. The word is descriptive of one's disposition and does not necessarily entail acts of goodness as does the word agathōsúnē (G 19), active benignity. Chrēstótēs has the harmlessness of the dove but not the wisdom of the serpent which agathōsúnē shows in sharpness and rebuke.[2]
Kindness as defined here is not an action, but is the disposition that leads to an action. In other words kind deeds flow from kind intentions. God’s kindness is an attribute of His nature; our kindness is a reflection of God’s nature. And this leads to us doing good deeds, not as a means to buy favor with God, but because of God’s favor to us.
[1] The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament
[2] The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament
No comments:
Post a Comment