We have read elsewhere in this issue that suffering is the promised lot of the Christian in this world. His citizenship and hopes are heavenly, and while down here, he suffers because he follows a rejected Christ.
There are different kinds of suffering through which the believer may be called to pass. The believer suffers because he is part of a groaning creation that is still under sin. As such, he experiences mental and physical illnesses, and all the degenerative diseases that eventually end in death, if the Lord does not come. Likewise, the believer sometimes suffers under the government of God, who may allow difficult circumstances, physical illness, and other trials that are meant to speak to him about something in his life. It is not my purpose to speak about either one of these in this article.
However, the believer may also suffer because he belongs to Christ, and I would suggest that there are at least three ways in which the believer suffers, related to his association with a rejected Christ.
For Righteousness
First of all, the believer today suffers “for righteousness’ sake.” The Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:1010Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10)). Later, Peter tells us, “If ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye” (1 Peter 3:14). We live in an unrighteous world, and since it has rejected the Lord Jesus, Scripture calls Satan both the god and prince of this world. As a result, righteousness suffers in this present age, and sin is rampant. Of the Lord Jesus it was said prophetically, “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity” (Heb. 1:99Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (Hebrews 1:9)). Since the believer has new life in Christ, he too loves righteousness and suffers when he sees unrighteousness all around him.
As the Lord’s coming draws closer, evil is more and more unchecked. It is tempting to try and set things right, but it is not the time for us to do this. This is the day of God’s grace, and while we are to be living witnesses to this world, we are not to act in judgment or deal with evil. When Christ comes back in judgment, we come with Him, and then will be the time to judge unrighteousness.
Our place is, rather, to be “followers of that which is good” (1 Peter 3:13) and “to be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). We are to display righteousness in our lives, while we wait for the day when God will “judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained” (Acts 17:3131Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)).
Suffering for Christ
Second, the believer also suffers for Christ. This is a deeper thing than suffering for righteousness’ sake, for it involves not only a hatred of evil, but also a love for Christ. I may hate unrighteousness without direct reference to Christ, but suffering for Christ brings Him into the picture. Paul could say, “Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Phil. 1:2929For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; (Philippians 1:29)). Later, Paul could remind Timothy that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). When Paul (then Saul of Tarsus) was first converted, the Lord told Ananias concerning him, “I will show him how great things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:1616For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. (Acts 9:16)). How many dear believers since then have suffered for Christ, whether in the loss of their goods, imprisonment, bodily harm or even death.
It is the name of Christ that brings the reproach, for this world has cast Him out and does not want His followers. The world likes the results of Christianity, and even an unrighteous world appreciates righteousness in another. But if the name of Christ is brought in, immediately there is reproach, for He is not wanted.
Although we are promised this kind of suffering, it can be very difficult to bear, and as a result, some dear believers have compromised in order to avoid it. Sometimes the compromise takes the form of the actual denial of Christ, such as overtook Peter at the time of the Lord’s crucifixion. At other times, it may take the form of walking with the world to some degree, getting involved in programs that try to improve the world, and perhaps being connected with a religious system that is also caught up in these pursuits. Surely we need grace to be faithful to our Lord and Saviour, who loved us and died for us. The cross of Christ has forever separated us from this world, and bearing His cross also separates me from worldly religion. True Christianity makes everything of Christ and nothing of man, and the world does not want this.
Suffering With Christ
There is one final type of suffering for the believer, that of suffering with Christ. This is again a deeper thing than even suffering for Christ. “If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together” (Rom. 8:1717And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17)). A similar expression occurs in 2 Timothy 2:12: “If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him.” In Philippians 3:1010That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (Philippians 3:10), Paul speaks of “the fellowship of His sufferings.” Often this kind of suffering is unseen, yet it is perhaps the most precious, for we are identified with Him and His cause in this world. It involves seeing the condition of this world as Christ saw it, and feeling as He did, when He saw the results of sin. All this was not only because of His holiness, but also because of His love. When divine love is operative in our souls, we too will feel in some measure the kind of sorrow He felt and continues to feel. Our blessed Master could weep at the grave of Lazarus when He saw the sorrow and heartache that sin had brought in. He could weep over Jerusalem when they refused all the overtures of God in grace. In the same spirit, Paul could weep over those who walked as “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil. 3:1818(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: (Philippians 3:18)).
In our day, suffering with Christ may take many forms. We not only see and feel the condition of this world as Christ does, but we see and feel the condition of the church as He does. When the Word of God is set aside, when the truth of God is given up, when there is indifference to His claims, when there is little evidence of love for Christ, then we suffer, if we are faithful to Christ. We feel for and suffer with other believers who are perhaps in difficult circumstances, even if the circumstances are the result of the government of God. Paul could say to the Corinthians, “Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?” (2 Cor. 11:29). Yet this suffering was for the most part unseen. It is having the heart of a father toward his children, as Paul could allude to in 1 Corinthians 4:15: “Yet have ye not many fathers.”
Coming Glory
All suffering, whether for righteousness’ sake, for Christ, or with Christ, will find its answer in coming glory. In whatever degree we have shared His rejection, we will share His glory in a coming day. More than this, these experiences of suffering down here enable us to know Christ in a way that we can never learn in the glory. Up there, there will be nothing to cause sorrow in any way; it is only down here that we can have the privilege of suffering for and with our blessed Master. Yet the memories of going through it with Him and having the fellowship of His sufferings will remain for all eternity. Perhaps the “hidden manna” (Rev. 2:1717He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. (Revelation 2:17)) refers to this — the enjoyment of Christ up there in all that He was to us during the wilderness journey, while the “white stone” is His reward for having shared His sufferings. We have such a short time left in which to share in these sufferings. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:2020He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20)).
W. J. Prost