God is NOW ENDURING the "VESSELS OF WRATH" while
He is PRESENTLY MAKING KNOWN His "VESSELS OF MERCY" (Romans 9:22-23)
Paul, the CHIEF (FIRST IN LINE) of SINNERS, is God's PATTERN
(MODEL) of LONG SUFFERING for the showing forth of His MERCY and GRACE (I Timothy 1:12-16 cf.Ephesians 2:1-10)
in "this PRESENT EVIL WORLD (AGE)" (Galatians 1:4)
Believers are exhorted to be KIND and TENDER HEARTED by
FORGIVING one another as God in LOVE has SACRIFICIALLY FORGIVEN them through Christ (Ephesians 4:32 cf.Ephesians 5:1-2)
Negatively - Love is NOT ENVIOUS and is NOT PUFFED UP (I Corinthians 13:4)
WRATH and ANGER are both TERRIBLE ENOUGH, but ENVY is
FAR WORSE (Proverbs 27:4)
Negatively - Love behaves NOT UNSEEMLY, seeks NOT ITS OWN, is NOT EASILY PROVOKED, thinks
(reckons) NO EVIL, and rejoices NOT in INIQUITY (UNRIGHTEOUSNESS) (I Corinthians 13:5-6)
To behave one's self UNSEEMLY is to behave one's self
UNCOMELY (UNBECOMING) as a father would when NOT RESPECTING his daughter's physical need for a spouse (I Corinthians 7:36)
To SEEK NOT ONE's OWN is to put the WELFARE OF OTHERS
BEFORE the concern for ONE'S SELF, i.e. "the GRACE OF our Lord Jesus CHRIST" (II Corinthians 8:9)
as EXPRESSED BY the FLESHING OUT of "the MIND OF CHRIST" (Philippians 2:4-8)
Believing fathers are exhorted NOT TO PROVOKE their children
TO WRATH, BUT rather TO NURTURE (CORRECT) them IN the ADMONITION (MILD REBUKE) of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4),
i.e. NOT being BURDENSOME, BUT being GENTLE as was Paul toward the Thessalonian believers (I Thessalonians 2:6-7)
The Lord would have believers to be "WISE unto that
which is GOOD, and SIMPLE concerning EVIL" (Romans 16:19)
Those who had "PLEASURE in UNRIGHTEOUSNESS"
and "RECEIVED NOT the love of THE TRUTH (CHRIST)" shall be made to "BELIEVE (THE) LIE (ANTICHRIST)"
(II Thessalonians 2:11-12 cf. John 5:43)
Positively - Love rejoices in THE TRUTH, BEARS ALL, HOPES ALL, ENDURES ALL (I Corinthians 13:6-7)
There is no greater JOY for the Lord's people than to
understand THE TRUTH of the Lord's Word (Nehemiah 8:8-12; Luke 24:25-32) and walk according to it (III John 4)
As believers we are NOW PHYSICALLY SUFFERING along with
the rest of this sin cursed creation, BUT PATIENTLY WAITING for the HOPE (EXPECTATION) of "the REDEMPTION
of our BODY", i.e. the RESURRECTION (Romans 8:22-25)
FAITH looks to that which is ETERNAL and UNSEEN and NOT
to that which is TEMPORAL and SEEN and so is able to ENDURE the SUFFERING of the MOMENT (II Corinthians 4:16-18)