A PRINCIPLE

"If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us." (2 Tim 2:12)

THE PATH TO GLORY through the valley of suffering. It is only as we "suffer with Him," or to that exact degree, that we will "reign with Him." That is the solemn announcement of this text. If men can receive it, and not pervert it, suffering enables us to be "worthy of the kingdom of God," for which they suffer – that is the express statement of Scripture (2 Thess 1:5). This is the perspective that prompted the Apostles to rejoice when they were harshly punished for preaching the Gospel. "So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name" (Acts 5:41). They associated suffering here with reigning there, and it proved to be a most happy prospect.

OUR LORD JESUS referred to this principle when He said, "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matt 5:10-12). Let those who are oppressed because of their faith be courageous and bold. They are being tested. Their faith is being refined. They are actually being suited for a glorious future. Their suffering can become the means through which they obtain their reward in heaven.

LOOKING AT THIS PRINCIPLE from another perspective, we can see the righteousness of God. We are apprized that at the judgement, the saved will inherit the Kingdom prepared for them from the "foundation of the world" (Matt 25:34). Peter affirms that the inheritance is reserved for us in heaven, and is not fading away (1 Pet 1:4). That inheritance, however, will not be given indiscriminately. It has been purchased at great price, and men must be suited and prepared for it. When you suffer for righteousness sake, or are put through difficult and painful tests, you must reason in this manner. "I have a great inheritance reserved for me in heaven. The Lord has given me these difficult times in order that I may qualify for the prize." Some will view this as glorifying works, but it is not so. Suffering is not a work, it is a fellowship – the "fellowship of His sufferings" (Phil 3:10)! It is not something we achieve, but something we endure. Sufferings are not something we accomplish, but are evidence of something God is accomplishing.

THIS TRUTH SHEDS LIGHT on a remarkable word from the Spirit. "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ" (Col 1:24). There is no justifying power in the sufferings we experience "for righteousness sake," nor are they the subject of the prophecies of old (1 Pet 1:11). These are sufferings "left behind" – a residue, as it were, which allows us to fellowship more deeply with Christ. There is a unity realized with Christ in such suffering than cannot be accomplished in any other way.

THIS TYPE OF SUFFERING leads to reward. Once this facet of spiritual life is seen, holy resolution grips the soul. How wonderfully Paul expressed it. "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death" (Phil 3:10, NIV). Jesus suffered because He was not of this world. He came to this world, but He was never a part of it. To His critics Jesus said, "Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world" (John 8:23). This circumstance was the root from which all opposition to Christ sprang.

THE WORLD OPPOSES the people of God because it senses they are of another order. They cannot fully explain that circumstance, but they can sense it. As our Lord said, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. It is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you" NIV (John 15:19). Whether intentional or otherwise, the course of this world chaffs against the spirit of the redeemed, and the saved are irritating to the world. For believers, the world is like a contrary wind that makes it difficult to row to a distant shore (Mark 6:48).

OFTEN THE ENVIRONMENT of the world and flesh becomes like the burning fiery furnace to the three Hebrew children. It puts us to the test, revealing our true character. Scripture informs us that enduring these tests results in the development of godly character (Rom 5:3-4). True character is not developed by mere discipline, but by opposition, stress, and difficulty. Fortitude, or endurance, is matured in the crucible of hardship! Thus we become acquainted with the principle of suffering.

– Given O. Blakely