Grace and Truth
Bible Ministries

Phil 1:11 Gal 5:22 Patience, A facet of the fruit of Righteousess that is produced in the believer by God the Holy Spirit. Part 2



In the context of our study of the mandate for believer's prayer in the PPOG. . Phil 4:6; 1Thes 5:17;

We are considering Paul's prayer for the spiritual growth of believers recorded in Phil 1:9-11;

We are presently considering verse 11 where Paul is praying for believers:

Phil 1:11; having been completely filled up with the production of righteousness [which is the total fulfillment of spiritual progress] which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God


We are examining the phrase "fruit of righteousness" translated from the Greek words (karpon dikaiosune) which is produced in the believer through TLJC under the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.



We have seen that in the Phil 1:11; passage the production is viewed with regard to the quality of it's character as the “fruit of righteousness,” and in Gal 5:22, the same production is viewed with regard to it's source as the “fruit of the Spirit.”where it is described in more detail.



We have looked at the first (3) facets of this production of Righteousness which are Integrity Love (Agape) , The Happiness of God (Chara) , and Inner Peace and Overt Prosperity (Eirene).



We are presently examining the fourth part of the fruit of righteousness which is the production of the Spirit is described by the Greek noun "makrothumia" which means patience and longsuffering.

This patience and longsuffering is produced in the believer by God the Holy Spirit so it is the patience and longsuffering of God.

Patience enables the believer to operate in the timing of God in order to achieve maximum effect in receiving God's highest and best.

Patience results in right timing, and is a major factor in the execution of the PPOG for the believer's life where a right thing must be done in a right way for the right reason at the right time in order to be right.

Each facet of the fruit of Righteousness which is the Production of the Spirit is contrary to the Old Sin Nature and makes war with it Rom 7:23;

The solution is not in attempts to the stop of the manifestations of the O.S.N. by the use of the moral or "good" side of the O.S.N. but is instead the in the substitution of or the replacement of the production of the O.S.N. with the production of the Spirit which God provides. Phil 2:13; Eph 2:10; Phil 1:6;

There is no growth or improvement or reformation of human patience, instead, in the believer advancing believer, human patience is replaced by the limitless patience of God. Eph 4:22-24;KJV 2Pet 3:9;

We must always remember that at the point of salvation God makes believers in the Church Age into a completely and never before seen new spiritual species (kinos ktisis) that does not sin 1John 3:9; and it is in that new creature that God works.

God does not work on improving or reforming the "Old Man" or "Old Nature". The "Old Nature "is dead and buried because of retroactive positional truth Gal 2:20; Rom 6:6-7;, The "Old Nature" is being put to death as the believer lives in the PPOG Rom 8:13; , and has been replaced by the new. 2Cor 5:17;

Some principles regarding patience and the timing of God in the believer's life.

From the moment of salvation by faith alone in TLJC alone the believer’s timing and schedule must begin to change and priority must be given to the unique spiritual life God has predestined each believer to.



Believers must learn what God's plan entails and learn to live in that plan through His power. When believers are not in the timing of God they are not getting away with anything, they are actually losing out on God's highest and best. Gal 6:7-10; Hosea 8:7;



Good or bad timing is a matter of the proper utilization of the problem solving devices



Divine timing is a part of the virtue of the PPOG and virtue brings capacity. Capacity in the life of the believer then allows God the freedom to convey blessing to the believer, This conveyance also glorifies Him.



God's highest and best can only be distributed under his terms otherwise He would not be glorified. Divine timing is a personal matter between the believer and God, we are not to monitor the timing in any other believer's life, Rom 14:4; Matt 7:1-2.



God is to be the final judge regarding the timing of every believer, John 7:24; 1Cor 4:5;



Every detail of timing is included in the PPOG for the believer. God has accounted for and provided for every day of our lives, right down to the daily provision for the believer to advance in doctrine by the hearing of the word of God. Rom 10:17; Matt 4:4; Job 23:12;



What often passes for coincidence, luck, or good fortune is really a matter of timing in life. There is no luck in divine timing, only the Integrity of God. Isa 46:8-10;



Bad timing is a matter of being out of fellowship with God and as a result, falling apart under pressure, being out of the will of God is the result of having wrong priorities and consequently making bad decisions from a position of weakness due to ignorance or rejection of the plan of God.



Every Believer is given one day at a time, and if we do not live each day for God it is considered lost opportunity. Under the principle of equal privilege and equal opportunity for every believer, bad timing equals lost opportunity.



Believers must realize that we are imperfect and therefore our timing is imperfect unless we are living in the will of God. Apart from the will of God timing in the life of the believer is related to their own flaws, emotions, and arrogance.



Divine timing does not always guarantee what the believer would consider to be success in this life, but it does offer divine options when failure presents itself, Rom 8:28; 1Cor 2:9;



Regardless of the believer's success or failure according to the world's standards, the believer's application of Bible Doctrine regardless of success or failure always results in reward in eternity when the believer is evaluated by TLJC.



God is interested in the right application of Bible Doctrine for the right reason at the right time, the world is interested in production and achievement.



In the world's system, the end often is used to justify the means, In God's system the means (the application of Bible Doctrine) is the end. Rom 1:17;



Good timing requires humility, apart from which bad decisions are inevitable. Remember Humility is the synergy of grace orientation, doctrinal orientation and authority orientation.



The price that is paid for bad decisions is never fully revealed until the eternal state.



Under the timing of God the believer leaves all the details of life and any opposition the believer faces to God. Rom 12:19-21; This principle of application becomes a great source of peace to the believer who truly operates in it. God will bring divine blessing forward only when the believer remains obedient to His will. And His will includes the patience to wait on His timing and his justice.



The normal desires we have in our hearts, which were placed there by God, can cause us to seek out our own timing which we believe will be quicker. But if we seek God first and remain obedient to God's will our desires will be met in the proper time and the proper time always offers the greatest happiness.



God must come first, in the believer’s daily decisions and priorities. God will not tolerate anyone or anything placed before Him.



This was the case with Abram and his father, Terah. Gen 11:31; Gen 12:1; Net note1



Abram limited himself in his advance in his spiritual life while he stayed with father, who was a worshipper of the moon god.



Abram attempted to obey God's will but only got half way to his destination and stopped to remain with his family. It wasn’t until after his father died that he continued on in God's plan for his life.



The believer’s timing will always be off until God's plan becomes the most important thing in life.



Divine timing requires the humility to make the proper adjustments while not blaming others or justifying one’s self. Every time environment or circumstances are used as an excuse for bad decisions the believer is out out of line with divine timing.



God can never be wrong, only our perception of what is happening can be wrong. And that false perception is due to arrogance from ignorance of Bible Doctrine or the arrogance of the rejection of Bible Doctrine.



Becoming pushy and trying desperately to make things happen is a sign of relying on your own timing. In divine timing situations flow naturally together. In God's plan, under divine timing happiness actually chases the believer, Psa 23:6.; The word translated "follow" is the Hebrew "Radaph" which means to chase after, to pursue, to follow closely, to run after, or to dog.



Believers who wait on the timing of God are chased down by God's "divine good and grace in action"



When believers get doctrine in their soul FIRST . . . they will LEARN to be patient and content regardless of the circumstances and Prosperity will pursue the believer.



We are born at the right time and we die at the right time since both of these decisions are made from the sovereign will of God. Eccles 3:2; Psa 116;15;



Between one's birth and death there is the matter of all of the decisions that are made that can and should be made in the right time which requires the understanding of God's plan for the believer's life.



Right timing in life becomes a matter of the understanding and prioritizing of God's plan for the believer's life. Psa 37:4-7;



Conversly, the believer’s timing is off when their priorities and scale of values are misaligned and the believers activities become the endless pursuit of nothing.

Eccles 2:11;



The whole problem of timing rests on man's failure to do the right thing at the right time which is due to man's failure to be patient and depend on the timing of GOD.



If the believer enters disaster in life outside of the timng of God, the believer most likely will not be prepared to handle it properly because they have not had the patience to learn the doctrine necessary to handle the disaster.



One of the biggest problems people have is that they do not want to wait for God.

People are generally more interested in advancing their own plans rather than having the patience to wait on the timing of God.



Inordinate ambition causes people to seek the fulfillment of their desires in the wrong way and for the wrong reason at the wrong time. James 4:1-3;



Promotion in God's plan requires the believer to avoid being led by the O.S.N.. The option is always available for the believer to be led by the Spirit but it requires humility, patience and understanding. James 4:6;

 

 

 

© Copyright 2007, Michael Lemmon Bible Ministries. World Rights Reserved.  This document was created on  4/18/2007