Question: "The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is peace?

"

 Peace

The Biblical concept of peace, εἰρήνη (eirene) in Greek, is inclusive of life

without conflict, as well as wholeness and harmony with God and others. A
life of peace is safe and secure both physically and mentally. 
“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the
Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6)
Peace is a result of allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts and minds.
When we have peace, we are from fear and worry about finances, our
safety, our salvation, and our eternal life. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is seen
in the peace that comes even when our circumstances are far from tranquil.
Jesus encouraged his followers in John 16:33, “I have told you these
things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

This is another major quality that we all need operating in our lives,
especially with all the uncertainty of this life and never knowing what is
going to happen next.
Jobs are no longer as secure as they used to be. You never know when the
company you work for maybe bought out and your job will be gone in a
flash.
Half of all marriages are still ending up in divorce. We are all forced to
constantly live under the threat of future terrorist activity, never knowing
when or where the next attack will come from.
With all this kind of heightened activity that we are all forced to deal with
daily bases, it becomes very easy to lose your sense of peace, especially
your peace in the Lord.
Again, this is one of the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit can
really help you pick up the slack if you start losing your own sense of peace
over some of the storm clouds that could come against you in this life.
Realize that the Holy Spirit has His peace to give to you and that He
can give it to you in great abundance.

Page 1 of 11
I have found that once His peace starts to flow up into your mind, soul, and
emotions, it really is as the Bible says – a peace that surpasses all human
understanding – especially when that peace comes in right in the middle of
a severe storm cloud that you may be going through.
Here is how the quality of peace is described in some of the different Bible
Dictionaries and Commentaries:
1. The presence and experience of right relationships
2. The tranquility of soul
3. Sense of well-being and fulfillment that comes from God and is
dependent on His presence
4. The inner tranquility and poise of the Christian whose trust is in
God through Christ
5. Tranquility, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord
The quality of peace should be one of the main qualities that you should try
and get worked up into your soul through the Holy Spirit in the sanctification
process. Without the peace of God operating in your life, you could become
very easily rattled, shaken, tormented, and knocked right off your game in
the Lord the first time any kind of adversity should ever come your way.

In Romans 12:18, Paul exhorts, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be

at peace with all men." What a perfect example of our role in the fruit of the
Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23. We are to submit our wills to God’s
leading and our actions to God’s Word, but the actual results are up to Him.
Only God can create peace through the work of the Holy
Spirit. Especially the peace mentioned in Galatians 5—the peace of a
harmonious relationship with God.

We are born at war. At birth, our sinful nature has already declared war on
God and His truth. Our heart’s desire is to be separated from Him, and if
we persist in this desire until death, He will give us what we want.

But God’s methods of warfare are not what we expected. Instead of a

Page 2 of 11
battle, He sent us the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus’ goal in coming to
earth was more than simply to cease hostilities; He came to bring about a
full and abiding relationship of restoration and love. The cost of this peace
was His life (Isaiah 53:5).

But, just as we cannot force another to be at peace with us, even Jesus’
sacrifice on the cross did not ensure that we would accept His terms of
peace. Romans 3:10b-11 explains, "There is none righteous, not even one;
there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God." None of
us can accept Jesus’ offer of peace through our own will and power. Our
natural selves do not want it. Only God can lead us to want peace with
Him; the Holy Spirit leads us to want Jesus and His message. Once the
Spirit draws us, we believe in Jesus, and the peace comes. “Since we have
been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

However, the fruit of the Spirit includes a peace that goes beyond that of
salvation. It is a sweet relationship. We are called to His presence
(Ephesians 2:11-18) and called to be confident in that presence (Hebrews
4:16) because we are His friends (John 15:15). As Isaiah 26:3 says, "The
steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You."

The peace of God begins with God's making peace between

Himself and mankind. A true state of peace requires the unity
of at least two parties. It also requires sacrifice as self-interest
is subordinated to the good of the relationship. The peace
between men and God is no different. God's contribution was to
send Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6 ), to submit His life
(Isaiah 53:5 ). When we repent and respond in faith to the gift of
God, He saves us, and peace is born (Romans 5:1 ).

When two people are at peace with God, they will also be at
peace with each other. Jesus told the seventy disciples,

Page 3 of 11
"Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!'
And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him.
But if not, it will return to you" (Luke 10:5-6 ). If the owner of the
home had peace with God, he would naturally be at peace with
God's messenger. Romans 14:13-19  shows that those who
value the kingdom of God will live in peace. And Ephesians
2:14  says that Jesus is more than just an example of peace or
the bestower of it; He is our peace.

God's peace will guard our hearts and minds during times of
trouble (Philippians 4:7 ). It is a peace unlike anything the world
can give and is the antidote to fear and anxiety (John
14:27 ). John 16:33  says, "I have said these things to you, that
in me you may have peace. In the world you will have
tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." Peace
with God overshadows conflict in the world.

Romans 8:6  explains exactly where peace comes from: "For to

set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the
Spirit is life and peace." It's "perfect peace," according
to Isaiah 26:3 . As we allow the Spirit to develop fruit in us, we
will have real peace with God and each other.

God’s peace transcends earthly matters, as Philippians 4:4-7 illustrates.

Believers are to be "anxious for nothing," for God promises to "guard your
hearts and minds." It is a peace “which transcends all understanding”; that
is, to the worldly mind, such peace is incomprehensible. Its source is the
Holy Spirit of God, whom the world neither sees nor knows (John 14:17).

The Spirit-filled Christian has a peace that is abundant, available in every

situation, and unlike anything that the world has to offer (John 14:27). The
alternative to being filled with the Spirit and His peace is to be filled with
alarm, filled with doubt, filled with foreboding, or filled with dread. How

Page 4 of 11
much better to let the Spirit have control and perform His work of growing
fruit to the glory of God!

Question: "The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is patience?"

Forbearance

Forbearance μακροθυμία (makrothumia) is not a word that most of us

commonly use.  The Greek word in Galatians 5:22-23 is often translated
using other words such as patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness,
perseverance, longsuffering, and slowness in avenging wrongs. The Holy
Spirit empowers believers to withstand challenging situations with
perseverance and endurance. 
The Greek root of this word relates to two words that mean long and
passion. Through the Holy Spirit we are able to wait longer before indulging
our passions- we become “long-tempered” rather than “short-tempered.”
Paul used this word when he was describing Jesus’ patience (μακροθυμία)
with him.
“But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of
sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example
for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy
1:16)
Like Paul, we have all benefited from Christ’s immense patience with us.
The evidence of the Holy Spirit in our life is also seen in our ability to
persevere, be patience, steadfast and long tempered. Ephesians 4:1-
2 encourages us to “be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing
with one another in love.”

One of the main definitions of the word longsuffering is that it is referring to

patience. And patience is another sorely needed quality in the fast-paced
world in which we live in today.
Just watch people standing in line at the grocery store or at your local fast
food restaurant and watch how short some people’s fuses are today.

Page 5 of 11
Road rage is still a major problem on some of our highways. Look at
someone the wrong way and they will want to try and take your head off.
Many people have been killed or seriously injured because someone lost
his temper over something that was very trivial.
With the fast-paced ways of our society, many people have had their fuses
shortened up and it thus takes very little to set them off. As a result, many
people have very little patience operating in their personalities today.
For Christians, this poses a major dilemma. One of the ways of our God is
that He is a very patient and longsuffering God. His ways are not our ways.
And one of the things you will find out very early on about His ways is that
He works on a much slower time frame than we do. And unless you learn to
adjust to His slower way of working things out, you will find yourself easily
losing your patience with Him and how He wants to work things out in your
life.
God operates on a much longer and slower time frame than we are used to
operating in the fast-paced world in which we live in.
You will really have to work with the Holy Spirit on this particular quality to
get it properly worked up into your personality.
The reason for this is that your own impatience will start to act up and try to
override the patience and longsuffering that the Holy Spirit will try and
transmit to you. At times, it may become of battle of wills – your will against
His will.
But once the Holy Spirit starts to try and manifest this quality up into your
personality, then you must try and move with it and allow it to get worked
into your mind and emotions. If you do, then His patience will start to
override your impatience, and before you know it, your fuses will start to
lengthen and you will not lose your patience like you used to do.
Here are the different definitions for the word longsuffering:
1. Forbearance, patience
2. Patient endurance and steadfastness under provocation
3. Forbearance under ill-will, with no thought of retaliation
4. Patience, endurance, steadfastness and forbearance

Page 6 of 11
5. Forbearance under suffering and endurance in the face of
adversity
6. Ability to endure persecution and ill-treatment
With the way all of these definitions are reading, you can really see why we
all need the patience and longsuffering of the Holy Spirit to start operating
in our souls and personalities – especially when we are forced to face any
kind of adversity. Sometimes it will be the patience and longsuffering of the
Holy Spirit that will be the only thing that will give you the ability to last the
entire length of a bad trial.
Learn how to ride and flow with the patience of the Holy Spirit in your
daily life and walk with the Lord – and you will then be able to enter
into a much more restful, peaceful state within your mind and
emotions.

There are two Greek words translated as "patience" in the New

Testament. Hupomonē means "a remaining under," as when one bears up
under a burden. It refers to steadfastness in difficult
circumstances. Makrothumia, which is used in Galatians 5:22, is a
compound formed by makros (“long”) and thumos (“passion” or “temper”).
“Patience” in Galatians 5:22 literally means “long temper,” in the sense of
“the ability to hold one’s temper for a long time.” The KJV translates it
“longsuffering.” A patient person is able to endure much pain and suffering
without complaining. A patient person is slow to anger as he waits for God
to provide comfort and punish wrongdoing. Since it is a fruit of the Spirit, we
can only possess makrothumia through the power and work of the Holy
Spirit in our lives.

Patience comes from a position of power. A person may have the ability to
take revenge or cause trouble, but patience brings self-restraint and careful
thinking. Losing patience is a sign of weakness. We are patient through
trying situations out of hope for a coming deliverance; we are patient with a
trying person out of compassion. We choose to love that person and want
what is best for him.

As the Spirit produces patience in us, He is making us more

Page 7 of 11
Christlike. Second Thessalonians 3:5 speaks of the “patience of Christ”
(ASV). Christ is even now patiently awaiting the completion of the Father’s
plan: after Jesus “had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down
at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be
made his footstool” (Hebrews 10:12-13). We should be patient, even as He
is patient.

God is patient with sinners. Romans 2:4 says that God’s patience leads to

our repentance. Romans 9:22 points out that only God’s patience prevents
Him from destroying “the objects of his wrath.” Paul glorifies the Lord for
His “unlimited patience” that saved him, “the worst of sinners” (1 Timothy
1:16). Peter highlights the patience of God in 1 Peter 3:20, pointing out that
God had immense patience with the evil people of Noah’s day, delaying
judgment as long as possible (Genesis 6). Today, “our Lord’s patience
gives people time to be saved” (2 Peter 3:15, NLT).

James urges believers to be patient and not to complain as we wait for

Jesus to return. James holds up the prophets as models of patience
(James 5:7-11). The Old Testament prophets ceaselessly spoke God’s
Word to unheeding and abusive audiences. Jeremiah was thrown into a
cistern (Jeremiah 38:1-16), Elijah was so worn out from his fight with
Jezebel that he wanted to die (1 Kings 19:1-8), and Daniel was thrown into
the lion’s den—by a king who was his friend (Daniel 6:16-28). While God
delayed judgment, Noah prophesied of the coming destruction, and in 120
years did not have a single convert (2 Peter 2:5).

The opposite of patience is agitation, discouragement, and a desire for

revenge. God does not want His children to live in agitation but in peace
(John 14:27). He wants to dispel discouragement and replace it with hope
and praise (Psalm 42:5). We are not to avenge ourselves; rather, we are to
love others (Romans 12:19; Leviticus 19:18).

God is patient, and His Spirit produces the fruit of patience in us. When we
are patient, we leave room for God to work in our hearts and in our
relationships. We lay down our schedule and trust in God’s. We thank the
Lord for what and whom He is brought into our lives. We let God be God.

Page 8 of 11
In what way is patience a fruit of the Holy Spirit?
The Greek word for "patience" used in Galatians
5:22  is makrothumia, which means "forbearance" or
"longsuffering." The Greek word is a compound of two words
meaning "long" and "temper." Makrothumia is the equivalent of
our English idiom "having a long fuse"; a patient person can
take a lot of provocation before reacting. Patience is one
aspect of the fruit of the Spirit . As the phrase "fruit of the Spirit"
implies, we can only have patience when the Holy Spirit works
through us.

Job is often put forward as the personification of patience, and

rightly so. He endured the loss of his possessions, his children,
his health, and his wife's support, but he took it patiently. When
Job's wife told him to "Curse God and die," Job responded,
"You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we
receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job
2:9-10 ). Job knew God had control over his situation and his
suffering. He had the patience to wait for the unfolding of God's
plan, going so far as to say, "Though he slay me, I will hope in
him" (Job 13:15 ).

Jeremiah is another great example of patience. He prophesied

to the nation of Judah for forty years, and no one listened.
Instead of giving up, he wept over the foolish people who
refused to turn from their sin. God forbade Jeremiah to marry
(Jeremiah 16:2 ), Jeremiah's friends abandoned him, and his
message so riled the people that they threw him into a cistern
(Jeremiah 38:1-13 ).

Then there's Moses. He had the job of gathering a few million

slaves, teaching them a new religion, and forming them into a
great nation. At every turn, the Israelites did their best to
frustrate Moses, complaining about the food, threatening to
return to Egypt, and challenging Moses' authority. It reached
Page 9 of 11
the point that God offered Moses a deal: He would destroy the
rebellious Israelites and make Moses the father of a great
nation. But Moses interceded for the unruly rebels. He replied,
"O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people,
whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great
power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say,
'With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the
mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth'?
Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster
against your people" (Exodus 32:11-12 ). Talk about patience!
Moses had it. Moses had his lapses, of course (Exodus
32:19 ; Numbers 20:8-11 ), but for forty years he led an
obstinate people and delivered them safely to the border of the
Promised Land. And he did it all for no earthly reward.

The greatest example of patience, however, is God Himself.

God's patience leads us to repentance: "Or do you presume on

the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not
knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to
repentance?" (Romans 2:4 ).

God's patience saves us from judgment: "What if God, desiring

to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured
with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?"
(Romans 9:22 ).

God's patience completely changes lives: "The saying is

trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the
foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as
the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as
an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life"
(1 Timothy 1:15-16 ).

God's patience gives us salvation: "And count the patience of

Page 10 of 11
our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also
wrote to you according to the wisdom given him" (2 Peter 3:15 ).

Without God's patience, none of us would live long enough to

come to a saving relationship with Jesus. His patience has a
purpose; it is to delay judgment so that we can seek Him and
escape judgment. The prophets reflected this patience, and we
should, too. Judgment is coming, but even now "The Lord
is . . . patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish,
but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9 ). Through the
Spirit's power, we can display the same patience to others.

Page 11 of 11