For It Has Been Granted To You...(Part Two)

"For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake" [Phil 1:29] Part 2

We saw from part 1 of this series that many people have not only designated themselves editors of God’s word but that this editing ill-prepares them and the churches they lead for hard times. But how can one escape the teaching about suffering from Genesis through to Revelation? Which of God’s servants has not been through difficult times? Which of them has not endured hardship like a good solider of Jesus? The greatest of them went through thick and thin, and though they may have failed at some stage in life, their hearts were fully given to the Lord nonetheless. 

People love the success of Abraham, Joshua, Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, the apostles; John, Peter, and Paul to name a few of God’s servants but they do not want to look at what they went through for them to be victorious. How I wish everyone had a copy of Fox’s Book of Martyrs which narrates the persecutions the people of God have gone through since Bible times until recent times. Nevertheless, the question remains “why should believers go through persecution”? We need to know that encounters with suffering or persecution are promised in the Bible (John 15:20, 2 Timothy 3:12 et al).  Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves (Luke 10:3) said Jesus to his believing disciples. He was sending them as weak sheep in a world with ravenous wolves that were ready to attack them but there was a purpose and benefit designed in the suffering. We will look at a few of the purposes and benefits. 

The benefits and purposes of suffering are found in the Bible. For example, Peter writes, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:6-7). He talks about joy, trials, genuine faith, testing, praise and honor at the revelation of Jesu Christ. And when Peter talks about these, he is not talking about a theory or theological idea spewing from his mind. He is talking about what he has seen and lived. Remember he and the apostles “left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” (Acts 5:41) after they were threatened and beaten by the religious establishment. Their faith was tested and they passed the test. They went out rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. Now this is beyond comprehension but they did rejoice. 

Like Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:17, Peter says these trials are only for a little while. They will not last forever. They are only for a lifetime. Then comes eternity. They had only one life to live for Christ and they used it to the end that praise and glory and honour would go to Jesus at his revelation. 

God considers the faith of the believer to be more precious than gold. And so that faith has to be tested in order to remove any earthly dross. As gold is taken from the earth and purified with fire, so are believers taken out from the world and need purification. Genuine faith is not tested by how high one can shout “I receive” or “I believe”. It is tested by fiery trials. So, God grants not only the faith to see you through, but grace through suffering as well. 

Lest we think that this is some kind of heresy. John Piper in his excellent book, “Brothers We Are Not Professionals” talks about this subject and says these sufferings come from God. He says both Job and Paul have this in common that “When struck by Satan, they felt the hand of God. Ultimately their suffering was from God and they knew it” (page 138). He says, “Even if Satan is sometimes involved in the nearer cause of our calamities, it is not sin to see God as the more distant, primary and ultimate cause. Satan’s design is the destruction of faith (Job 2:5; 1 Thess. 3:5), but God’s design is the deep cure of our soul…”. Paul knew that the thorn in his flesh was a messenger from Satan (2 Cor. 12:7) Piper says, but that was designed by God for a gracious purpose of keeping Paul from being conceited, proud, arrogant or from having an air of self-importance. And we know how the Lord hates the proud. 

The Christian Life is a life of putting off and putting on. And once you have come to Christ you put off the things of the world - you yourself have to put off the things that you know are of the world and not of Christ. But there are other things that Christ himself knows are in you. Things otherwise known as the remaining sin. He has to purge you of the remaining sin and he does that through and by allowing believers to go through suffering. God uses affliction to purge you so that you may be separated from the world, be clean and be more like him. He designed suffering so that through it, he might consume the dross that is in you and that your faith which is more precious than gold may be refined and purified.

Every true leader has a testimony of some suffering or testing. And despite being an apostle of the Lord, Paul went through great suffering. He said “our affliction is for their comfort and salvation” (2 Corinthians 1:6) and if you are wondering “What kind of afflictions did Paul go through?”, read 2 Corinthians 4:9-13, 2 Corinthians 11:24-33. At one time he and his companions felt the sentence of death after having been burdened beyond their strength (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). They however got to know God’s purpose for them that that affliction was to make them not to rely on themselves but on God who raises the dead.  Yet quite often we hear people say that God will not give you a burden that is beyond your strength.

 

Ministry cannot be accomplished by human strength. We need divine enablement; a divine strengthening in order for us to overcome and we will overcome because God fights all our battles and gives us the strength to endure suffering. The question is, how has your suffering brought comfort and salvation to others? Are there any people whose faith is encouraged and strengthened by your steadfastness in the midst of trials? Do they find comfort in you and say the God who took you through will also see them through their trials? Have your afflictions and perseverance in the Lord brought hope to the saints and salvation to the unbelievers?  Has your suffering attracted and drawn people to Jesus?

It really takes a lot to evade or dodge texts that talk about the suffering of the saints in the Bible. You see it in almost every page of the Bible. Now, one might say well, these afflictions were meant for Paul then, and today they are meant for leaders alone. Well, let us see what Paul says about the church and suffering. Having been hindered by Satan to see them (1 Thessalonians 2:18) he wrote the saints at Thessalonica that he had Timothy to them in order to, “… establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions.” (3:2-3). But verse 3 does not end there; he then says, “For you yourselves know that we are destined for this”. What were they destined for? Faith and afflictions. What an encouragement they brought to Paul by their faith and steadfastness in the midst of trials (1 Thess. 3:8) because they were able to stand (Galatians 5:1, Ephesians 6:13-14, Philippians 4:1). 

Another passage that talks about the suffering of the saints is Hebrews 10. Soon after they had been enlightened, they encountered sufferings they had to endure (10:32-34). We however see their joy in affliction once again because these saints are said to have joyfully accepted the plundering of their property. They had an indestructible hope in things eternal. Like the Thessalonians who “received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1Thessalonians 1:6), the Hebrews were prepared and knew that they were also destined to suffer for the gospel. 

Today you'll find that Christians believe in karma more than they believe in grace. They quote religious leaders like Confucius, Buddha or the Dalai Lama, yet the Bible is clear to us that we will go through suffering and these sufferings come from God our Father. And their main purpose is to purify and establish us in the faith. We may not individually understand or know God’s particular purposes and plans when we are in the midst of divers trials (James 1:2, KJV), but we can know today that God designed them for our growth and joy. We should therefore not be surprised or lose heart when affliction comes (2 Corinthians 4). Now, this is not an easy subject, yet questions remain. How many of us are willing to go through that today and how many of us would suffer joyfully for the sake of Christ first? Only by God’s help and grace can we do it. Cling to him alone in good times and in bad times. For the joy that was set before him, Jesus despised the shame of the cross.

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About The Author:

Pastor Sam Machacka is co-founder of Brink Ministries Southern Africa. A wonderful colleague and good friend. Equipping Pastors and Church leaders in Southern Africa. He grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe with his beautiful wife Mildred and they are blessed with three lovely children namely Samantha, Munashe and Joshua but they are now serving as missionaries in Malawi since August 2018

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