Believers Need to Grow in Life vs. Exercise Longsuffering and Endurance

 

Believers Need to Grow in Life vs. Exercise Longsuffering and Endurance

Based on the Bible, we can see that waiting for the Lord’s coming is not merely an outward matter of enduring people and circumstances; it is a matter of allowing the divine life within us to grow and mature while we exercise longsuffering and endurance.

Integrated Comparison Table

Integrated Item	Believers Need to Grow in Life	Believers Also Need to Exercise Longsuffering and Endurance	Integration and Spiritual Relationship
Basic meaning	To grow in the divine life until reaching maturity.	To continue standing, enduring, and waiting in the midst of sufferings caused by people and circumstances.	Growth in life is inward maturity; longsuffering and endurance are the expression of the mature life under suffering.
Main Scriptures	1 Cor. 3:6–7; Eph. 4:13–15; Col. 1:10; Heb. 6:1; Rev. 14:14–16.	James 5:7–11; Rom. 12:12; Col. 1:11; Rev. 13:10.	James 5 connects waiting for the Lord’s coming with longsuffering and endurance, while Revelation 14 connects the Lord’s coming with the ripening of the harvest.
Relationship to the Lord’s coming	The Lord’s coming is related to the maturity of the believers; when the harvest is ripe, the Lord comes to reap it.	During the period before the Lord comes, believers need to patiently wait for Him.	Maturity prepares us for the Lord’s coming; longsuffering and endurance preserve us in our position while we wait.
The farmer’s illustration	The farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth until it receives the early and late rains; this points to growth and maturity in life (James 5:7).	The farmer cannot force the crop to ripen but must patiently wait for the harvest.	Life has a process of growth; waiting for the Lord also has a process of endurance.
Spiritual significance of the harvest	The Lord Himself is the seed of life sown into us, and this life needs to grow, be transformed, and mature (Matt. 13:3–8, 23).	During the process of growth, there will inevitably be difficulties, persecutions, and environmental trials.	The seed sown by the Lord is not intended for us to remain at the starting point of salvation; it is intended to produce a mature harvest.
Source of life	The divine life is Christ Himself as the seed of life sown into us (John 12:24; Col. 3:4).	Longsuffering and endurance are not merely natural human virtues; we need the Lord and the supply of His life.	We do not endure merely by natural strength; we allow Christ’s life to grow in us so that we can face suffering.
Direction of growth	From infancy to maturity; from Christ as life to Christ being formed in us (Gal. 4:19).	From being easily shaken by people and circumstances to remaining steadfast in suffering.	The more the divine life grows, the more we can express Christ in suffering.
Longsuffering	The growth of life enables us to treat others according to Christ’s disposition.	It refers especially to being longsuffering toward people who persecute, offend, or oppose us (James 5:10).	Longsuffering is mainly toward people; it is the expression of the mature life in the face of human opposition.
Endurance	Growth in life enables us to continue standing in difficult circumstances.	It refers especially to enduring sufferings, trials, disasters, and difficult circumstances (James 5:11).	Endurance is mainly toward things and circumstances; it is the steadfastness of the mature life under suffering.
Object	The divine life grows within us.	Longsuffering: toward people; endurance: toward things and circumstances.	We exercise longsuffering toward people, endurance toward circumstances, and continue to allow the divine life to grow.
Biblical example—prophets	They lived before God and spoke for God.	They were persecuted but were longsuffering toward those who persecuted them (James 5:10).	Persecution is not a reason for life to stop growing; it can become an environment in which life matures.
Biblical example—Job	Job’s experience became an example of God’s work in a believer.	He suffered calamities and demonstrated endurance (James 5:11).	Environmental suffering can test and expose the natural life and can also become an instrument for the growth of divine life.
Two sources of suffering	Suffering does not replace the need for growth in life; rather, we need to continue receiving the supply of life in suffering.	Persecuting people → longsuffering; suffering circumstances → endurance.	People and circumstances are two sides of the test; growth in life is the inward answer.
Relationship to transformation	Growth in divine life brings transformation and maturity (2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:2).	Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces approvedness or proven character (Rom. 5:3–4).	Tribulation → endurance → approvedness; growth in life → transformation → maturity. These two lines work together.
Relationship to Christ being formed in us	“Until Christ is formed in you” (Gal. 4:19).	In suffering and waiting, we learn to live Christ.	True maturity is not merely knowing more; it is Christ being increasingly formed in us.
Relationship to the Body of Christ	Growing up into Christ the Head and being built up in love as the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:15–16).	In the Body life we need to bear one another in love and be longsuffering (Eph. 4:2).	Growth in life enables us to practice longsuffering in the Body, and longsuffering preserves the oneness of the Body.
Relationship to hope	Mature life causes us to long more deeply for the Lord’s appearing and kingdom.	Endurance enables us to continue waiting in hope.	Hope causes us to wait; endurance enables us to keep waiting; maturity prepares us to meet the Lord.
Attitude toward the Lord’s coming	We do not passively wait; we actively grow in life.	We do not anxiously force the matter; we wait for Him with longsuffering and endurance in suffering.	Waiting for the Lord = growth in life + longsuffering + endurance.
Common imbalance	Speaking only about the Lord’s coming while neglecting growth in life.	Speaking only about enduring to the end without growth in life.	The Lord’s coming is not unrelated to our spiritual condition, nor can we wait merely by natural determination.
Practical exercise in life	Eat and drink the Lord, abide in Him, and receive the supply of life so that life may grow (John 6:57; 15:4–5; Col. 2:19).	Turn to the Lord in persecution, depend on Him in suffering, and do not stop following Him because of circumstances.	Receive Christ as life → grow in life → live Christ in suffering → express longsuffering and endurance.
Direction of prayer	“Lord, cause me to grow in Your life until I reach maturity.”	“Lord, make me longsuffering toward people and enduring toward suffering.”	These two aspects of prayer together prepare us for the Lord’s coming.
Spiritual order	Life → growth → maturity	Persecution → longsuffering; suffering → endurance	The three lines converge: growth in life + longsuffering + endurance → preparation for the Lord’s coming.
Core relationship	Maturity is an inward condition of life.	Longsuffering and endurance are the outward expression of that life.	As the inward life grows, we can express longsuffering and endurance outwardly; suffering also becomes an opportunity for the inward life to grow.
Ultimate goal	To become a mature harvest ready for the Lord to reap (Rev. 14:14–16).	To faithfully wait for the Lord until He comes (James 5:7–8).	The Lord’s coming requires a mature harvest; the mature harvest is produced through waiting with longsuffering and endurance.

 

The Important Spiritual Lines

These messages can be condensed into four interconnected lines:

1. The Line of Life

Christ as the seed of life
↓
Growth in life
↓
Transformation in life
↓
Maturity in life
↓
The harvest becomes ripe

2. The Line Concerning People

Suffering persecution from people
↓
Longsuffering toward people
↓
Not repaying evil with evil
↓
Expressing Christ’s disposition

3. The Line Concerning Circumstances

Encountering suffering
↓
Exercising endurance
↓
Passing through testing
↓
Producing approvedness / proven character
↓
Waiting in hope

4. The Line Concerning the Lord’s Coming

Growth in life + longsuffering + endurance
↓
Preparation for the Lord’s coming
↓
The harvest becomes ripe
↓
The Lord comes to reap

An Important Balance

Not Merely	But Rather
Merely waiting for the Lord’s coming	Growing in life while waiting
Merely enduring persecution	Being longsuffering toward people while growing in life
Merely enduring circumstances	Enduring suffering while receiving the supply of life
Merely hoping that the Lord will come quickly	Being prepared for His coming through growth and maturity in life
Relying on natural strength to endure	Living by Christ’s life to express longsuffering and endurance
Viewing the Lord’s coming objectively	Recognizing that the Lord’s coming is related to our growth and maturity in life

 

The Key Distinction between Longsuffering and Endurance

Longsuffering
→ Toward people
→ Facing persecution, offense, or opposition
→ Not becoming impatient, retaliating, or giving up on people
→ Expressing Christ’s disposition

 

Endurance
→ Toward things and circumstances
→ Facing disasters, trials, afflictions, and suffering
→ Not retreating, collapsing, or giving up the Lord
→ Standing firm through the trial

 

Therefore, the thought in James 5 is not simply that we should “be patient” in a general sense. Rather, it shows a specific spiritual order:

When people persecute us → we need longsuffering.
When circumstances cause us to suffer → we need endurance.
In both kinds of suffering → we still need to grow in life.

Spiritual Formula

Christ as the Seed of Life
↓
Growth in Life
↓
Persecution from People → Longsuffering
Suffering from Circumstances → Endurance
↓
Continue to Grow While Waiting
↓
Maturity in Life
↓
The Harvest Becomes Ripe
↓
The Lord Comes to Reap

One-Sentence Prophetic Summary

We wait for the Lord’s coming not by passively waiting for an objective day, but by exercising longsuffering toward people who persecute us, endurance toward suffering circumstances, and allowing Christ as the seed of life to grow continually within us unto maturity; when the harvest becomes ripe, it becomes the preparation for and the occasion of the Lord’s coming.

Key Scriptures

James 5:7–11; Matthew 13:3–8, 23; 1 Corinthians 3:6–7; Ephesians 4:13–16; Colossians 1:10–11; Romans 5:3–5; Galatians 4:19; Revelation 14:14–16.

 

*Please refer to the April 2026 Summer Training General Topic: Believers, Chapter Twelve: The Maturity of the Bride and Groom, and Being Warriors to Defeat God's Enemy.