For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too (2 Corinthians 1.5).
Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God; they have received the Spirit of adoption whereby they approach God as “Abba! Father!” Their adoption is sealed by the reception of the Holy Spirit who guarantees their filial relationship with God: In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1.13-14). The believer’s future is connected with Christ’s. Christ is the faithful Son and is the Father’s rightful heir. The Christian by means of his adoption is a joint heir with Christ and may look forward to eternal glory in the presence of the Son (cp. John 14.3). However, Paul links this future glory with a present suffering.
The theme of suffering is not a tangential issue for Paul. It is connected to his gospel at several points. First, the passion of Christ (Christ’s suffering on the cross and the events that led up to it) is at the heart of the good news: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5.6); also, For our sake he [God] made him [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him [Christ] we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5.21; Philippians 2.8; cp. Luke 9.22; 22.15; 24.26). Second, Paul recognized that Jesus’ message about the kingdom included the willingness to suffer: And he [Jesus] said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it (Luke 9.23-24; cp. 9.57-62; Matthew 5.11-12). Accordingly, Paul’s letters frequently refer to the believer’s suffering: 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, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have (Philippians 1.29-30; cp. 2 Timothy 1.8-12). Finally, Paul’s appointment to the apostolic ministry was included the destiny of personal suffering. As you may recall from Luke’s account of Paul’s conversion, Ananias initially resisted the Spirit’s prompting to pray for the restoration of Paul’s eyesight because Paul had a reputation for persecuting Christians. However, the Lord persisted and said to him: “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name (Acts 9.15-16). Paul came to understand that a willingness to suffer for the gospel was central to its proclamation (cp. Colossians 1.24-29).
Suffering was not a side effect of the Pauline mission; rather it was at the very center of his apostolic evangelism. His distress validated and legitimated his message, demonstrating the truth of the gospel. This is not to say that sufferings in and of themselves ratify the truth of the Pauline gospel. Rather, Paul’s sufferings provide evidence of the truth of his gospel. Indeed, his sufferings are a corollary of the sufferings of Jesus. (Thomas Schreiner, Paul Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ, p. 87)
PAUL’S SUFFERING
It is impossible to disassociate Paul’s gospel from his suffering without radically altering the context of his gospel. The comparison between the life of Paul and the lives of the great suffering prophets of the Old Testament is immediately obvious to the observant reader. Men, who for the sake of God’s Word, had been exiled, beaten, stoned, sawed in half, imprisoned, thrown to the lions, cast into fires, and excluded from the company of “acceptable society” comprised a fellowship of suffering to whose ranks Paul would have been an honored member. The list of Paul’s sufferings and persecutions may be found in 2 Corinthians 11.23-12.10. For those who knew something of his exploits, his passing comment, I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us, must have seemed to be something of an understatement. Indeed, while Paul’s sufferings were secondary to the gospel, he understood that the progress of the gospel was served by his suffering: I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the believers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear (Philippians 1.12-14). Suffering for the gospel was a way of life for Paul, a way of life that he encouraged others to join: Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which has now been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the God, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me (2 Timothy 1.8-12). As with Paul, so too every Christian may expect to be excoriated for his unwavering faith in Christ. To identify with the cross is to identify with Christ (1 Peter 4.12-16). The shame suffered by Jesus (Hebrews 12.2, for the joy set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God) is an example for the believer, Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted (Hebrews 12.3).
The association between the gospel and Paul’s suffering is evident throughout his letters. For example, in the introduction to 1 Thessalonians he thanks God for their faithfulness: For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction, you know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit (1.4-6). Paul commends the Thessalonians for their response to the gospel; they became a model for the churches in their surrounding area and their suffering served as a megaphone for the gospel (1.7-8). Paul’s willingness to suffer rejection and abuse for the sake of the gospel bears witness to his character and his commitment to the gospel. Despite the strong opposition to the content of Paul’s gospel, he does not change his message to suit his listener’s sensibilities: On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else (1 Thessalonians 2.4-6). Such boldness invoked fiercest opposition from his opponents, as was the case when he first preached the gospel to them and some jealous Jews formed a mob and started a riot (Acts 17.1-9).
BELIEVERS AWAIT THEIR COMPLETE REDEMPTION
The suffering common to the Christians of Paul’s world was insignificant compared to the glory that awaits them in the resurrection. Elsewhere he writes: And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15.30-32). It is through weakness and suffering that the power of the gospel becomes plain. It is not human power, but human weakness through which the power of the gospel is evident: I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2.3-5). Paul desires that his hearers focus their attention on Christ, not the oratorical ability of the messenger. In order to do this effectively it is necessary that the messenger not obscure the message.
Then as now, it seems incongruous to most people that God would not materially prosper those who express faith in Christ. Paul’s appearance and presentation of the gospel is not compatible with the popular understanding of what the gospel ought to be about. Paul was forced to confront a number of church factions who had attempted to discredit both him and his gospel. In 2 Corinthians, wherein Paul defends his apostolic ministry, he opens his epistle with a balanced statement of suffering and comfort: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. For if we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort (2 Corinthians 1.3-7). Paul’s sufferings became the very means by which the Spirit of God was poured out into their lives. Paul’s life is a model of the sufficiency of God’s grace. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us. Our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3.4-6). Without the sufficiency of God’s grace, who would be up to the task of preaching the good news of Christ in the face of such opposition?
CREATION IS WAITING FOR ITS TRANSFORMATION
Creation itself suffered the effects of God’s judgment on Adam’s sin and is waiting for the effects of mankind’s final redemption to set it free from its own bondage to decay. This is not an unfamiliar thought in the Old Testament (cp. Isaiah 24.4-7; 55.12-13), so it is natural for Paul to echo its sentiment. There is a groaning under the effects of a fallen world, but there remains a hope for a future eschatological deliverance. The trauma of suffering will not last forever. As the prophet Jeremiah consoled the Israelites (Lamentations 3.31-33), so too Paul assures the believer that his suffering is a temporary thing (cp. John 16.20-22; Revelation 21.1-8). God has already begun the eschatological work of redemption by sending his Spirit to live in the hearts of believers (cp. John 14.15-17). It is the indwelling Spirit who creates a yearning for Christ’s glory to be revealed. Every Christian who walks in the Spirit has a hope for heaven (cp. 1 Peter 1.3-12).
