Learning Christ as the Secret to Live a Life that Expresses Christ as Forbearance

We believers in Christ need to let our forbearance be known to all men; only the Lord Jesus lived a life full of forbearance, and this One lives in us, so we need to live a life that expresses Christ as our forbearance, even to learn Christ as the secret, contacting Him in all things and living Christ daily.

Lord Jesus, amen, we take You as our forbearance today! Live in us today! Be the One who is expressed through us! Amen!

Our Lord Jesus is so wonderful! We love Him. We open to Him. We come to Him as we are, for in this age of grace, He receives us as we are, He understands us thoroughly, and He dispenses God into our being as we open to Him.

Even more, He not only dispenses what God is into us, but He also wants to live in us. He wants to be our enjoyment and experience in a subjective way day by day to the extent that He becomes our expression also.

We see this in the book of Philippians, where Paul testified that for him to live was Christ.

Here was a man who not only enjoyed and experienced Christ, seeking to pursue Christ to gain Him and be found in Him, but he also considered that to him to live was Christ.

Later, he said that we should let our forbearance be known to all men; the Lord is near (Phil. 4:5). What is forbearance, and how can we let our forbearance be known to all men?

In the next verse Paul exhorts us not to worry about anything but in all things open to the Lord and tell Him everything. Amen!

On the negative side, we see anxiety; on the positive side, we have forbearance. On the negative side, Satan attacks us with anxious thoughts; anxiety comes from Satan.

When we feel anxious, even when we feel anxious regarding the things in the Lord’s work and in the church, that anxiety comes from Satan.

The Lord was never anxious; He knew exactly what will happen to Him, but He was never anxious. He in us is never anxious. He wants to do many things, and in particular, He wants to release us from any anxiety.

We are released from anxiety by voicing our worries to the Lord, by opening to Him concerning all things, and by bringing our needs to Him with thanksgiving and praises.

He takes care of us, and there’s no need for us to worry. On the positive side, we need to take Christ as our life and live by Him so that we may live a life of forbearance in our daily living.

Forbearance is Christ; Christ is our forbearance, and for us to live a life of forbearance is for us to live a life that expresses Christ.

To live a Life full of Forbearance is to Live a Life that expresses Christ as Forbearance

Forbearance is an all-inclusive virtue; forbearance is Christ, for only Christ is and has forbearance. Forbearance includes being reasonable, considerate, suitable, and fitting.

A person who is forbearing is one who always fits in, one whose behaviour is always suitable. We are not such ones; sometimes we fit in, but most times we just don’t fit in, for we are not happy where the Lord placed us or with the saints we are with.

The reason we do not fit in is that we are not forbearing. The Lord Jesus fit in wherever He was; whether He was with the sinners and tax collectors, the disciples, or the Pharisees and Sadducees, He fit in and was full of forbearance.

He is the suitable One; no matter the circumstances and environment, He fits in. Forbearance includes peacefulness, mildness, and gentleness (Prov. 25:15; Col. 1:28; Isa. 50:4-5).

A person who is forbearing is one who is able to fit in, and this person is also gentle, kind, mild, and peaceful.

We may by disposition be mild and gentle, but forbearance is not something we have naturally; the Lord is faithful to bring about many situations and things to expose our natural being and show us how much we lack forbearance.

Many times we discover that, instead of being forbearing, we demand things from others in an exacting way, and we want to be righteous, so we ask for righteousness from others also.

Being forbearing is to be satisfied with less than our due, but when we don’t express Christ as forbearance, we claim things from others, demanding what is due to us. Oh Lord!

As an all-inclusive virtue, forbearance is Christ Himself; for us to live a life full of forbearance, as Paul tells us in Philippians 4:5, we need to live Christ.

This is what Paul testified in Philippians 1:21, To me, to live is Christ. To live Christ is to express Christ as forbearance.

A life full of forbearance is a life that expresses Christ as forbearance. To let our forbearance be known to all men is to let the Christ whom we live and magnify be known to all men.

We take Christ as our pattern and we pursue Him as our goal; we take Him as our life and live because of Him so that we may live a life that expresses Christ as forbearance.

If we read the entire Bible, we see that only the Lord Jesus lived a life full of forbearance; only Christ can be our perfect forbearance today (see Luke 24:15-19, 28-31; Matt. 17:24-27; John 11:20-34).

If we read Luke 24 we see how forbearing the Lord was; He walked alongside two of His disciples as they were going down to Emmaus, and He entered into their conversation.

He didn’t teach them or rebuke them; He simply asked them to tell Him what are they were talking about, and then He pretended not to know what was going on.

So they, with a rebuking tone, explained to Him what was happening with Jesus the Nazarene, whom they described as a Prophet powerful in work and word before God and all the people.

The Lord Jesus was the One who went through all these things, but He was forbearing with them, and then He expounded the Scriptures to show them the things concerning Him as Messiah as prophesied in the Old Testament. How forbearing He was with them!

They only recognised it was the Lord when He broke the bread at dinner; in this we see the Lord’s forbearance.

So many times the Lord is with us in the same way; He pretends not to know what’s going on with us, for He wants to hear from us.

As we open to Him and tell Him everything, He is near to us, and He speaks to us something from His heart to us.

He wants to not only calm our fears, remove our anxiety, and cause us to be calm and tranquil, but even more, He wants to live in us as our forbearance. He wants to be enjoyed, experienced, and expressed through us as our forbearance.

For us to make our forbearance known to all men is for us to live a life that expresses Christ as the totality of all human virtues.

Immediately after Paul spoke about forbearance, he said that the Lord is near. With respect to space, the Lord is near us, ready to help us; we can simply turn to Him and contact Him in spirit by calling on His name.

With regard to time, the Lord is at hand, coming soon (see Rom. 9:8-13); if we just call on Him, He’s right there with us, even in our hearts and in our mouths.

The Lord being near primarily refers to His presence with us (Matt. 1:23; Exo. 33:14). He’s near to us in both time and space; He is present with us.

We can turn to Him, enjoy Him, speak to Him, and open to Him; He then will fill us with what He is, and He will live in us. The result is that we live a life that expresses Christ as forbearance.

Lord Jesus, thank You for being with us; thank You for Your presence with us all the time. We love You, Lord, and we open to You. We turn to You in spirit. We take You as our life and person. We want to live a life full of forbearance and with no anxiety. Oh Lord, You are our forbearance. You are the One who always fits in, no matter the people around us or the circumstances. You in us are happy with our environment and the people we are with; we want to live a life that expresses Christ as forbearance. Oh Lord, Your behaviour is always reasonable, suitable, considerate, and fitting. You are peaceful, mild, and gentle, and You are meek and moderate. We take You as our life and we want to live You out today. You in us are satisfied with less than our due. Amen, Lord, You in us are full of compassion for others. Live in us today. Keep us turning to You and calling on Your name. May our life be one that expresses Christ as forbearance toward all men!

We need to Learn Christ as the Secret of Being Transformed and being Forbearing by Contacting the Lord in All Things

Living a life full of forbearance and with no anxiety seems to be impossible to us, for there are so many things around us that worry us and load us with anxiety, and in ourselves, we just can’t be forbearing.

Therefore, we need to learn Christ as the secret (Phil. 4:12). Our secret is Christ. We need to learn Christ as the secret of being transformed.

He wants to metabolically change us in our natural life so that we may live Christ as our forbearance in any kind of environment, situation, or circumstance.

The practical and simple secret is in Philippians 4:6-7 where we are told to be anxious in nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let our requests be made known to God.

If we do this, the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard our hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus.

May we learn the secret of being transformed so that we may be content in all things and live a life that expresses Christ as forbearance.

Paul learned the secret of both how to be abased and how to abound. He learned the secret of enjoying Christ, experiencing Christ, and expressing Christ in all kinds of situations, whether good or bad, positive or negative.

May we learn the secret today. We may be anxious about a particular thing we have to do for work, or we may have an exam coming up; how can we not be anxious when these things are happening?

We may be anxious about our children, their health, their education, and their future; how can we not be anxious when we see all these things happening with them and around them?

Nothing outwardly seems to lead us to peace but rather, more and more anxiety comes to us.

We need to learn the secret not to be anxious in anything but in everything, by prayer with thanksgiving, we would let our requests be made known to God.

In all things, we need to speak to the Lord. We need to contact the Lord in all things and concerning all things. How can we live a life full of forbearance?

It is by contacting the Lord all the time. How can we live a life that expresses Christ as forbearance? It is by talking to the Lord all the time and concerning all things.

In nothing be anxious is to stop worrying; we need to stop worrying! Satan brings in anxious thoughts about everything, but we stop worrying simply by contacting the Lord in all things!

We bring all things that cause us to worry to the Lord in prayer.

In everything, by prayer and petition, we make all things known to God and voice our requests to Him. And we do this with thanksgiving.

When we do this, when we open to the Lord and tell Him all things, whether good or bad, whether pleasant or unpleasant, whether joys or griefs, He takes it all away and gives us His peace.

Do not bear the burden of anxiety with you; give it all to Him and He will bear it for you.

Do not stay in your anxious thoughts; learn to open to the Lord! Sometimes it may help even to speak out loud to the Lord, that is, to find a place where you can cry out to Him!

We can break through simply by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, letting our requests be made known to God!

As we do this, the peace of God will guard our thoughts and hearts in Christ Jesus. This peace surpasses every man’s understanding.

How can you have peace when so many things cause you to worry and be anxious? It is beyond man’s understanding, but the peace of Christ guards our hearts from any anxious thoughts. May we learn this secret today. May we practice speaking to the Lord and contacting Him in all things and concerning all things!

Lord Jesus, we want to learn Christ as the secret of being transformed and being at peace in all things! Amen, Lord, we open to You to be metabolically changed in our natural life so that we may be content in all things! We choose to turn to You in all things and bring all things to You in prayer. Oh Lord, in nothing we are anxious but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, we let our requests be made known to God! We open to You and we pour our heart before You. We come to You and we make our requests known to You. Search our heart, Lord, and see if there’s any anxious thoughts in us. We open to You concerning all the things that cause us to worry. We exercise our spirit to speak to You and bring to You our requests, worries, and problems. May the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, guard our heart and thoughts in Christ Jesus! Hallelujah for the peace of Christ guarding us and protecting us from all anxious thoughts! Amen, Lord, we want to learn Christ as the secret of being transformed to live a life that expresses Christ as forbearance!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brother Ed Marks in this conference, and portions from, Life-study of Philippians, msgs. 57-58, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (part 3 – 2025 Summer Training), week 25, Christ as Our Virtues, the Peace of God, Our Secret, and the One Who Empowers Us – day 3.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Taking Christ as our forbearance, a portion from, The Experience and Growth in Life, Chapter 13, by Witness Lee.
  – As an all-inclusive virtue, forbearance is Christ Himself; since Christ is forbearance, for Paul to live was forbearance, sharing via instagram.
  – A life full of forbearance but without anxiety (2), a portion from, Life-Study of Philippians, Chapter 57.
  – Experiencing, enjoying, and expressing Christ (2) – outline via, Church in Plano.
  – Philippians (Program #58) – A Life Full of Forbearance But Without Anxiety (6 & 7), via, Bible study radio.
  – Christ as our pattern and expression, a portion from, The Experience and Growth in Life, Chapter 11, by Witness Lee.
  – The Triune God’s Dispensing, Mingling, and Expression, Now to New Jerusalem, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – A Life Full of Forbearance, PDF/ebooklet via, LSM.
  – Living in the Mingled Spirit, The Secret of the Christian Life, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Magnifying Christ in the Midst of Turmoil, via, Shepherding Words.
  – Why Enoch Walked with God | Christian Students on Campus in UT Austin.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – All my sicknesses I bring Him, / And He bears them all away; / All my fears and griefs I tell Him, / All my cares from day to day, / All my strength I draw from Jesus, / By His breath I live and move; / E’en His very mind He gives me, / And His faith, and life, and love. / I’m abiding in the Lord / And confiding in His word; / I am hiding in the bosom of His love. / Yes, abiding in the Lord / And confiding in His word, / I am hiding in the bosom of His love. (Hymns #564 stanza 3 and chorus)
  – In the secret of His presence / How my soul delights to hide! / Oh, how precious are the lessons / Which I learn at Jesus’ side! / Earthly cares can never vex me, / Neither trials lay me low; / For when Satan comes to tempt me, / To the secret place I go. (Hymns #553 stanza 1)
  – Ever tender, quiet, restful, / Inclinations put away, / That Thou may for me choose freely / As Thy finger points the way. / Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me, / For my very life art Thou; / Thee I take to all my problems / As the full solution now. (Hymns #403 stanza 4)