Rejoicing in Present Hardships and Sufferings

Part 4 of 4: Some Fruits of Justification Series

Gleaned from Romans 5:1-4

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." (NIV)

Because we have been justified, we could rejoice even in the most difficult times of our lives.

Of course rejoicing here is not denying our pains. It's not moving around the street shouting “Hallelujah!, my only son has cancer!" Christians still mourn over the pain they are going through. For how could we call it suffering if it is pleasant? Heb. 12:11 “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful..."

Rejoicing in present hardships means finding comfort in the fact that God is doing something and what he is doing is beneficial to us.

" Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Heb.12:11)

When we suffer, we can rest in confidence that God is for us not against us, and he is using our sufferings to make us better.

It says here that our sufferings produce perseverance. Hebrews 12:1 presents the Christian life as a race. And it seems to me that this is a long distance run. This is not a sprint. If this is a hundred meter dash, the emphasis would have to be speed. But the quality emphasized here that the runners need is endurance.

Heb.12:12-13 reveals that sometimes we become to weary and weak too finish the race. Here in Rom.5, it is shown that the means by which God builds endurance among the weaklings is by subjecting them to suffering.

Verse 4 of our text says that after endurance is built, then comes character development. Suffering weans us away from sin. We see more and more of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22-23). We see more and more of love for God, the brethren and the rest of humanity (1 Cor.13).

Enduring hardships is also a test of the genuineness of our faith:

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:6-7).

You are not as Christlike as you are today without those pains you experienced in the past. Do you have a model Christian in mind? Why don't you try interviewing him or her for the post-justification sufferings he or she has to go through.

When perseverance is built up and character honed, the last link will be hope. It will only build your hope for the future. Your faith will be strengthened. His faithfulness to us amidst our present sufferings is just a preview of his faithfulness to fulfill promised future blessings.

Weaklings Sustained; Christ Displayed (part 5 of 6: "God's Power Manifested Through Weak Servants"-- Insights from 2 Cor. 4:7-12)

"For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake,
so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body" (NIV)
2 Corinthians 4:11

As God exposes the fragility of his servants, he does not leave them on their own. Rather he sustains them that Christ may me displayed. For this post, I will just reproduce Linda Belleville's Commentary on 2 Cor.4:8-9 (2 Corinthians, IVP New Testament Commentary):

hard pressed on every side, but not crushed- "The verb hard pressed means "to press in hard against" someone, or, as we say today, to squeeze the life out of a person, while the term not crushed indicates that the pressure never got to the point where there was no escape or way out."

perplexed but not in despair- "There is a play on words here that the NIV misses. To be aporoumenoi is to be at a loss how to act, while to be exaporoumenoi is to be utterly at a loss (i.e., in extreme despair). Although Paul may have been at a loss about how to proceed, he never--as we say--went off the deep end."

persecuted but not abandoned- "The Greek verb means "to pursue" and is commonly used of tracking a prey or enemy. Paul was pursued from city to city by hostile Jews. But through it all, God never abandoned him. The idea here is that God did not leave Paul behind or in the lurch for the enemy to pick up."

struck down by the enemy but not destroyed- "Paul was not only pursued by hostile Jews, but when they caught up with him, they stirred up trouble whenever they could. He may also be thinking of the time he was stoned at Lystra and left outside the city for dead. Yet he lived."

Belleville further comments on verse 11:

"Paul's approach is to make clear that it is God's power (v. 7)
and the life of Jesus (v. 10) that empower and sustain him,
and not his own fortitude."

Belleville's commentary on 2 Corinthians and other volumes in the
IVP New Testament Commentary are available at Bible Gateway. Click here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The Power of God and the Fragility of His Servants (part 4 of 6: "God's Power Manifested Through Weak Servants"-- Insights from 2 Cor. 4:7-12)

“to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”(2 Cor. 4:7)

Aside from the contrast between the great treasure and its cheap containers, we also see the contrast between the power of God and the fragility of these clay vessels. God shows his power when we are weak.

We have an Old Testament precedent for this. In Gideon’s time, Israel was getting ready for battle against the Midianites. They initially assembled an army of 32,000. The Midianite forces outnumber them with 135,000 warriors.

But what did God say?
"You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, `Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' (Judges 7:2-3 )

Immediately, 22,000 left. But God was not satisfied. He further trimmed it down to 300. The ratio is now 450 to 1. One soldier against a batallion! The message will be clear that Israel’s victory will not be because of their might, but because of God.

If you want credit for yourself, then God will not be pleased to use you. He wants to engrave in your heart that power belongs to him, not you.

That is why God actively exposes the vulnerability of his servants. He arranges the circumstances of his servants in a way that exposes their weakness forcing them to rely solely in him. The passive voice in verse 11 (“always being given over to death” NIV)shows that someone else is actively arranging our circumstances, and it is God.

Perhaps, the super-apostles, like some today, taught that adversity has no place for those who are anointed. So in 12:12, Paul reminded them that the signs of an apostle: miracles signs and wonders were manifested in his ministry. So he is not inferior when it comes to anointing. But when it comes to listing his credentials, he shows them his sufferings (2 cor. 11:25ff.) He was not boasting about his exploits, he was telling them about how weak he is (11:30). And if you will move to chapter 12, he boasts about a prayer denied!!! Three times he asked for a thing, and three times God said "No". Why? Because his grace is sufficient and his power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:7-9)
--------------------------------------------------