For quite a while now, I have been ruminating on Philippians 3:10, which states, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death.” (BSB)

I have heard people pray and desire “the power of His resurrection”, but I don’t think I’ve actually heard people desire or pray to experience “the fellowship of Christ’s suffering” like Paul prayed. I don’t think I’ve prayed for that either. Challenging prayer to pray right?

What does it actually mean though, to know the fellowship of Christ’s suffering, or as other translations put it, to “share His suffering (ESV), to participate in His suffering (NIV), to partner in His suffering (MSG), to suffer with Him (NLT)? Does it mean we have to suffer because we are Christians? After all wasn’t it all done and dusted at the cross? Why do we have to participate and suffer with Christ?

Reading the context of the entire passage though, we realise that the crux of the matter is knowing Christ, knowing Him intimately, in everyway possible. And that knowing is of such infinite value that Paul considers everything else worthless, garbage, if he can be completely united with Christ, becoming one with Him, as the NLT puts it (Philippians 3:8-9).

Paul realises that part of acquiring this knowledge may mean suffering. There is no knowledge quite like that gained out of lived experience. It is one thing to read about someone being a good or kind person, it is another to experience their kindness in a challenging situation. It is one thing to know in your head that Jesus is a healer, it is another thing to personally experience and/or witness His healing power. It is one thing to know that God is a comforter, it is another to experience His comfort. It is one thing to know God is a saviour and deliverer, it is another to experience His salvation and deliverance. I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the point. And when this is combined with knowledge gained from the Word of God, the result is a much deeper level of intimacy.

It’s a similar principle to when a young person in school engages in a workplace experience scheme. Sure they’ve learnt a lot of stuff in their classrooms, but without the experience to cement it, there is a considerable knowledge gap. And so, Paul writes that knowing Christ encompasses knowing Him as a person, knowing the power of His resurrection, and knowing the fellowship of His suffering. This fellowship of suffering is therefore a key part of our getting to know Jesus.

However, it is not just knowledge for the sake of knowledge. There is great value in it. In John 12:23-26 (ESV), Jesus said, ““The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honour him.” Jesus’ death on the cross led to eternal life and the bearing of much fruit. And so this participation in His suffering is in a sense, a call to die to the things in the temporal that appeal. For it is by this death that we not only prepare for eternity, but bear much fruit while doing so.

Romans 5:3-5(BSB) goes into further detail of how this happens. “Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” Nicholas Wolterstorff writes that “in the valley of suffering, despair and bitterness are brewed. But there also character is made. The valley of suffering is the vale of soul-making.”

You have probably heard all sorts of analogies on this – gold being refined in the fire, wine formed from the crushing of grapes (some techniques involve the grapes literally being stomped on to release their juices), the potter glaze firing the clay, you name it, all as part of the process of getting rid of impurities, of moulding, of transformation into something so much better.

Despite knowing all this, that suffering can refine us and build character, it is still hard to accept and live through. Going through the crushing and pressing is crushing.

Jesus Himself knew it will be hard, which was why in Luke 14:27-33, He told the crowd that they should not begin the journey of following Him until they have counted the cost. Then when they have done that, they should carry their cross and follow Him. He knew how tough it will be. He knew what He himself had to look forward to, and it was certainly not a walk in the park for Him either. When he said “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38, NLT), or “swallowed up in sorrow to the point of death” as HCSB puts it, it was not an exaggeration. Hence Him praying “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Matthew 26:39, NLT). I cannot even imagine the anguish He would have experienced firstly knowing what was to come, and then having to go through it. As an aside, I wonder if sometimes having limited knowledge of what we will have to go through is actually an act of mercy, in order to spare us the pre-anguish.

Despite how painful this process is, the Bible tells us to do something unusual in the midst of it. To rejoice (Romans 5:3). James 1:2-4 (BSB) echoes the same sentiment. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Rejoice? Really? In the midst of persecution, of an awful diagnosis, a painful loss? Is the Bible having a laugh? Believe it or not, there is a rationale for this exhortation. We can indeed rejoice because as Romans 5:3-4 notes, the long game of suffering is not just character, but hope, a hope that does not disappoint. A hope that is not based on us or our circumstances, but on who God is and what He has promised. Isaiah 48:9-11 (NLT), “Yet for my own sake and for the honour of my name, I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out. I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. I will rescue you for my sake— yes, for my own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory with idols!”

We can rejoice because we have the promise of God’s comfort in the meantime. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (ESV) says “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” God never leaves us to suffer alone. He is with us, right beside us in the midst of the suffering. He is the fourth man in the fire (Daniel 3:24-25). He doesn’t watch the ones he loves roasting in the fire, arms folded. He steps in, experiences it with us and delivers us.

We can rejoice because as 2 Cor 4:17-18 (CEV) exhorts, “These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing. Things that are seen don’t last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. This is why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen.”

This was why Stephen, even when facing death, “…full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55-56, ESV). It was also why even as the stones hit Stephen from all angles, “he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”” (vs 59 – 60).

Stephen’s example shows us exactly what to do even in the midst of the suffering, the crushing, the pain. He illustrates through his actions that the most powerful thing we can do then is to look up to God. It is this decision and act of focusing on God that allows us to see things from a different perspective, an eternal one not a temporal one, and to do what 1 Peter 4:19 (ESV) encourages, “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” Which is precisely what Stephen did, entrusting his soul/spirit to God while forgiving those who hurt him, which is one of the most powerful acts of good we can do.

We are able to rejoice because we know that no suffering that God allows us to go through is just for sufferings sake. There is a purpose, a reason behind it. God does not cause suffering, but He permits it in His infinite wisdom and knowledge, and because He is God, and an extraordinary strategist, He can use anything to bring His plans and purposes to pass. Romans 8:28 (ESV) reminds us that “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” It is interesting that it takes our knowledge of this as a given, by preceding it with “and we know…” And indeed, we should get to the point where we know, both head knowledge and heart knowledge.

I lead a prayer group where we pray for our brothers and sisters all over the world who are experiencing persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ. A lot of the stories we come across are so painful, you may be left wondering how people can experience such atrocious cruelties and still hold on to their faith. We read of people, like Stephen, who are literally willing to die for the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus. I can only marvel at their incredible faith and trust in God.

One thing I have realised over time though is that every single bold act of faith and love the persecuted church displays is a seed, and the fruit it bears is truly amazing. It is also a testament to the depth of their knowledge of who God is, that they are willing to sacrifice their all for Him. They might not have the opportunity to partake in Bible studies, or to attend a church service like we do, but my oh my do they know God! That is the kind of knowledge Paul was aspiring to, and that is the kind of knowledge we should aspire to. Intimate knowledge of Christ at all costs. Knowledge which builds the kind of trust which in turn propels us to sacrifice our all for Him.

Before I conclude, I need to point out something. It is possible to suffer for doing good as well as for doing evil. And as 1 Peter 3:17 notes, the former is of course better. As such, if there is an element of our suffering that is caused by our own sin, then we need to repent of it. However it is important to emphasise that it is certainly not the case that all suffering is as a result of personal sin. Jesus suffered and he was the only sinless person to walk this earth (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:22). Job suffered and God Himself said of Job, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 1:8, ESV). (As an aside, it really irks me when people try to come up with various concocted explanations as to why Job’s suffering was his fault. God Himself called Job blameless, but somehow such people seem to know more than God and have the uncanny ability to find that secret sin that escaped God’s watchful eye. What incredible detectives!).

That said, even Job’s era of suffering was also an era of considerable expansion of His knowledge of God (read Job 38-42 to find out more). May God open our eyes and grant us the wisdom and discernment to know the root cause, where relevant, and if necessary, and how to deal with it. Saying that, irrespective of the cause, these times of suffering can still be opportunities to deepen our knowledge of God.

As we reflect on this, I pray that we will continuously desire intimacy with our Lord Jesus Christ, and be willing to do all it takes to achieve that intimacy. If you are in a season of suffering now, I pray that you will truly know God as comforter, counsellor, strength, healer, grace-provider, deliverer and lover. May your knowledge of God and His love continue to grow, even as you grow in perseverance, character, faith, and the hope that does not put us to shame. Amen and Amen.

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