Section 10
to all men. This requires growth in both our human life and our spiritual life. The more a per son grows and matures, the more forbearance he has. Therefore, forbearance requires the growth of life. It demands maturity.
In Philippians 3:15 Paul says. "Let us therefore, as many as are full-grown, have this mind." To have this mind is to have the mind to live Christ and pursue Him. However, the very Christ whom we live and pursue should be expressed as forbearance. If we put together these verses from chapters three and four, we see that forbearance requires matur ity. Without growth and maturity it will be ex tremely difficult to make known our forbearance.
WALKING BY THE RULE
OF FORBEARANCE
In Philippians 3:16 Paul says, "Only this, whereunto we have attained, by the same rule let us walk." It is true that the rule here is the rule of pursuing Christ. But since in our practical daily life Christ is to be expressed as forbearance, we may say that to walk by the same rule is to walk by the rule of forbearance.
THE SECRET OF CONTENTMENT
After speaking of forbearance in Philippians