The Shared Sufferings of Christ

Philippians 3:10-11; 2 Corinthians 1:5-6; 1 Peter 2:19-23

Reading, memorizing, and meditating on Scripture is important. So is receiving teaching and preaching from the Bible as a church. What we’re going to learn from Scripture today does not replace the direct intake and teaching of God’s Word as the foundation and guide of our spiritual growth and change.

However, hands-on, interactive, personal experience is also a necessary factor in how God changes us to become more like Christ. This is why, in part, we observe the Lord’s Supper. Observing the Lord’s Supper is more than a teaching moment – it’s a hands-on, personal experience that consists of eating bread and drinking juice together as a church. This interactive, sensory, experiential component makes it more meaningful and impactful than only talking and thinking about Christ’s death. Baptism is similar in this way.

But there is another, more intense and personal experience that God uses to accomplish his purposes and to change us to become more like Christ. This experience is the experience of suffering.

In the NT, Christ warned both his followers and prospective followers that if they were serious about following him, they should expect to suffer in doing so. Throughout the book of Acts, we see that believers suffered. Paul speaks frequently about suffering for Christ throughout his letters, and Peter’s entire first NT letter speaks about suffering. James speaks about it, Hebrews speaks about it, and John speaks about it.

While we don’t like to suffer – no one does, and while we should not go out of our way to bring suffering into our lives, as followers of Christ, we should confidently accept that suffering is and will be a part of our life if we are serious about following Christ. As we remember Christ’s death, we should consider how our own suffering helps us understand and share in Christ’s suffering for us.

Suffering can draw you closer to Christ.

Paul speaks about suffering in Phil 3:10-11:

that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Suffering here refers to afflictions, hardships, and pain (difficult experiences). These are not things we set out to experience but are things that come into our lives. Paul even acknowledges that such suffering may even bring a person near to are as far as death.

In this statement, Paul focused upon the sufferings and death of Christ, those incredibly hard and painful experiences which came into Christ’s life because of our sins. But Paul also draws a close connection between Christ’s past suffering and our suffering today. He makes this connection by using the word fellowship.

To “fellowship” means to share something together, which in this case refers to a shared experience of suffering. When we suffer as followers of Christ, we are not just suffering for Christ but with Christ. This does not mean we add to what Christ did on the cross, for what he did on the cross is complete and sufficient. Instead, it means that we suffer in a similar way and for a similar reason as Christ.

As a result of this shared experience of suffering, two things occur. One is something we must pursue actively ourselves. The other is something that happens to us from God as we persevere through the suffering the comes into our lives.

The first thing that happens is we come to “know” Christ better. To “know” here means something more than knowing about someone, as in knowing their name or knowing information about them. It refers to knowing someone in a personal and relational way – knowing them as a friend or close relation. This is how the Bible frequently explains the way a husband should know his wife and vis versa. This is a close, intimate knowledge that involves up-close, hands-on empathy and understanding.

As Paul explains, this was his goal – it was something he pursued more seriously than anything else. It was the goal which motivated everything else he did and the way he responded to the circumstances in his life. He wanted to know Christ so closely and understand him so well that he set aside other experiences and goals so that he could focus on knowing Christ better.

The second thing that happens when we suffer for Christ is that we become “conformed to his death.” To be “conformed” here means to take on the same form or shape as something else. This means that when we accept whatever suffering comes our way as followers of Christ, our life becomes more like Christ’s life and our character, disposition, and nature becomes more like Christ, as well. We can say this because suffering was a significant factor in the experience of Christ.

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isa 53:3)

If this was what Christ experienced as he did God’s will in the world, we should expect no different. Yet, as American believers, we have a low view of suffering. We view suffering as a detriment rather than a means of knowing Christ better and becoming more like him. We view it as a hindrance, even a mark of God’s judgment and poor performance, which sometimes it is. Much suffering, though, is not any of these things but is evidence that God’s work is being accomplished successfully in and through your life.

Cherish any suffering that occurs with Christian service.

To develop a proper view of suffering, we must identify the kind of suffering that Paul is speaking about. He is not speaking universally of all suffering, but he has in view the kind of suffering that happens – first of all – when and even because a person is actively serving Christ. He explains this distinction elsewhere, in 2 Cor 1:5-6:

As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

This is not the only time Paul speaks about this, esp. in 2 Corinthians. But this shows how Paul viewed suffering. He had learned to accept, appreciate, cherish, and value any hard or painful experiences which happened to him if they were the result of his gospel ministry for Christ. In fact, he believed that any suffering in this way was not only beneficial for him but was beneficial for others, too. Only through the suffering he endured would some people be persuaded to follow Christ. And only through the suffering he endured would some followers of Christ learn more about Christ and be encouraged to serve Christ more faithfully, as well.

Here is the kind of suffering Paul experienced as he served Christ and the church. If you knew another believer who suffered this way, would you consider them a successful Christian? Or would you wonder if maybe they were doing something wrong? Many people thought that Paul was being disciplined by God and was a teacher to avoid due to all his sufferings, but Paul claimed instead that his suffering proved that he was actually a genuine servant of Christ because of his sufferings.

In all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. (2 Cor 6:4-10)

Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. (2 Cor 11:23-29)

There is a trend today in many Christian circles and churches for people to avoid committing themselves to doing Christian service. To be sure, we must aim for a healthy, God-honoring balance in life that doesn’t overcommit to one thing or another. But in our effort to achieve that balance – or so we claim – we commit ourselves to the minimum, if any at all, of hands-on, regular Christian service. And when our Christian service adds new kinds and layers of difficulty and pain into our lives, we withdraw from serving rather than continue on.

May we learn to be like Paul and recognize that serving Christ with any seriousness or commitment will require some degree of difficult and pain. I can assure you that this is true of being a pastor! But the same is true for any other follower of Christ and member of the church who also gets serious about service. Serving Christ will require some kind of suffering along the way. And in fact, it is only by suffering through serving, not just serving alone, that (1) we will be able to experience Christ’s resurrection power, (2) be shaped to become more like Christ, (3) come to know Christ in a more personal and understanding way, and (4) be most effective in demonstrating and expressing the truth about Christ to others.

That being said, not all suffering is created equal.

Avoid suffering that results from sinful or foolish choices.

For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. (1 Pet 2:19-20)

According to Peter, there is no credit or glory is suffering because you made a sinful or ill-advised choice. This is not the kind of suffering the New Testament urges us to embrace. The hardship and pain we experience because we disobeyed God’s Word or made a foolish, unwise decision has disciplinary value and occurs as a consequence for wrong behavior.

Hopefully such suffering will encourage you to submit to Christ and follow the teaching and wisdom of God’s Word. But when you submit to Christ and follow the teaching and wisdom of his Word, you will probably experience another kind of suffering, a kind tht is honorable and glorious. This is the kind we should cherish.

Accept any suffering that occurs as you follow Christ’s commands.

If you read the verses before and after 1 Pet 2:19-20, you will see that Peter speaks about our relationships and roles in society. As followers of Christ, we must participate in these relationships and roles the way that Christ taught us to do. We see the same kind of teaching in Paul’s letters (esp. Eph 4-5 and Col 3).

• We should submit to our government officials and laws, disobeying only when doing so requires clear disobedience to God’s Word. We should not disobey government on the grounds that doing so is uncomfortable, expensive, or inconvenient – we should accept such suffering if that’s what obeying government requires. And we should also accept the suffering that comes when we disobey government in those instances where we must obey God’s Word instead.
• We should submit to our employers and treat our employees well, even when our employers or employees don’t treat us well. This is especially true when being a follower of Christ puts us into a difficult position (unable to go to a company party, unwilling to participate in foul humor, unwilling to cheat or cut corners, reporting workplace violations, requesting time off for worship and ministry, etc.).
• Wives should submit to their husbands (following and supporting their husband’s choices and meeting their husband’s needs). For followers of Christ, this applies even when the husband is a nonbeliever, meaning that this may not always be easy or comfortable to do (which is why you should think twice before marrying someone who is not a serious and committed follower of Christ). A wife should only refrain from supporting and serving her husband if doing so requires her to disobey the clear teaching of God’s Word. To be a godly, Christian wife who follows Christ’s commands will often require suffering (whether supporting a spiritually deficient husband or obeying God’s Word when it contradicts a husband).
• Husbands should love and care for their wives. For followers of Christ, this applies even when a wife is not a believer (again, which is why you should think twice before marrying someone who is not a serious, committed follower of Christ). A husband should love and care for his wife, meeting her needs and serving her, even when doing so is inconvenient and hard to do. This can require some suffering. Another way that Christian husbands may suffer is in making biblical, godly, Christ-honoring choices in instances when a wife is uncooperative. Just as a wife should not disobey the clear teaching of Christ to honor her husband, so a husband should not disobey the clear teaching of Christ to prove his love to his wife. What does all of this mean? It means that being a godly husband will often require some suffering – if you are doing so in a way that makes Christ’s teaching your top priority.

Other forms of this kind of suffering, the kind that comes from obeying Christ's commands, include: (1) remaining single and unmarried for gospel reasons, (2) being short on financial resources due to generosity to the kingdom or job-related challenges due to your faith, (3) ostracization from family relatives due to your faith, (4) damaged public reputation due to false information and publicity, (5) physical, mental, and emotional weakness due to spiritual challenges, (6) abandonment by friends due to your faith, etc.

We have to acknowledge that we live in a self-protective culture which values self over Christ and over others. We must also recognize that this self-protective worldview has infiltrated our Christian worldview, making us unwilling to endure hardship and pain whenever moving forward in relationships and Christian duties requires it.

But it is only through such suffering that we are able to know Christ and experience his resurrection power in our lives. When we withdraw from the suffering that serving Christ and obeying Christ brings our way, we embrace a view that believes suffering is an evidence that something is wrong. That’s what Peter and the other disciples believed about Christ’s commitment to go to the cross. That’s why they endeavored to persuade him otherwise. That’s also what other people thought about Paul because of the things that he suffered.

Like Christ, Paul had learned to accept all hardship and pain that came his way, if it was the result of obeying or serving Christ. He believed that only through such suffering would he have an authentic, genuine, and effective testimony and ministry for Christ. This is not a popular, Western perspective but it is a biblical one.

But aren’t we glad that Christ “endured the cross and despised the shame” (Heb 12:2)? Don’t we commend and respect Paul for going forward into suffering and suffering gladly rather than backing away and choosing an easier, more likable path?

If Christ had not endured such hardship and pain as he did at the cross, we could not be saved and there would be no resurrection. If Paul had not endured such hardship and pain as he did in life, what example would we have in following Christ today?

Consider these excerpts from the final moments of Christ’s greatest suffering for us:

He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:21-44)

Can you sense the agony and pain here in Christ’s words and experience? What if he had chosen to back away from the suffering which was required of him?

Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:33-34)

What agony, what excruciating pain, what terrible separation in this moment of distancing of the Father from the Son. Does it not only stand to reason that to obey Christ’s commands and to serve Christ to others, we should also anticipate and even appreciate suffering similarly ourselves?

Let me encourage you today not to let the prospect of hardship and pain prevent you from committing to Christian service or prevent you from persevering in doing the right thing for Christ in your relationships and roles in society. If knowing and understanding Christ better is your number one goal – not the preservation of your life or the preservation or success of your relationships and other priorities – then you will view such suffering not only as a necessary evil to endure but as a prime, unparalleled opportunity to know and understand Christ better.

What suffering are you facing right now? Are you being tempted to withdraw, to remove yourself from that hardship and pain? How can you learn to understand and know Christ better through it instead? How may your willingness to endure that suffering instead help others to know and understand Christ better through your example? How may the power of the resurrection be experienced and demonstrated in your suffering?

So, as we eat the bread and drink the juice today to remember Christ’s death and suffering for our sins, as we eat the bread and drink the juice, may we acknowledge that, just as we take that bread and juice into ourselves, so we accept into our lives the same kind of suffering and pain that Christ experience for us. May we appreciate the privilege we have to suffer in serving Christ and in obeying his commands. May we not run from that suffering but embrace it. May we realize that it is only through such shared suffering that we will come to know and understand Christ better, become more like Christ, be able to experience resurrection power in our lives, and be more effective and fruitful in influencing others for Christ.

Discussion Questions

• What is natural for us to feel that suffering is good or bad?
  • Do we feel as though something must be wrong when we are suffering?
  • Why is that?
• What does an aversion to Christian suffering say about our priorities?
• How could suffering practically enable us to help others follow Jesus?
• How does knowing Christ better personally in the ways that we do so through suffering help us do be better disciple-makers?
• How can we help believers who are suffering because of their own choices? How should we handle suffering in God’s discipline caused by our own sin?
• Why is the question, "How can on all-powerful, only good God allow suffering?” so resonant in our hearts?
  • How might viewing suffering as a problem differ from how we should view suffering based on Philippians 3:10-11?
• How does a Christ-focused perspective on suffering change how we should feel about our obligations, especially when difficult obedience is required?