The sufferings of Christ
Jesus was perfected by the things that He suffered. Jesus suffered in His flesh, just as all flesh suffers in this world. Indeed, the way of this life is suffering, whether we wish to or not, because of sin which dwells in us. The entire creation suffers the effects of our sin! Every person alive suffers in this world, it is only a matter of degree. This is the smallest part of the sufferings of Christ.
Jesus suffered rejection. We too, suffer rejection, all the days of our lives in this world. There are very few who accept us as we are, if there are any who do. Most do not accept us, but rather judge us as lacking in some respect, and thus do not receive us. The truth is that each life is the gift of God, to the whole world! And each life is accountable to God for his or her deeds, alone. Jesus, the greatest gift given into the world, such a gift as the world had never seen, and will never see again except in us, was and is still rejected by many. This too is of His suffering.
Jesus suffered betrayal. Those closest to Him left Him in His time of greatest need. We cannot know just how deeply this betrayal hurt Him, because we do not know how much He had committed Himself to His disciples. He committed Himself to them because the Father had given them to Him. The Father has given us to Jesus also, and how often do we betray Him? Jesus gives Himself, commits Himself to us in love because the Father has given us to Him. Betrayal by those you love is a suffering that surpasses every other pain common to this life. Jesus suffered this, as He suffered the other pains, without comment. He did not remark about them.
Jesus suffered God forsaking Him. This He remarked upon. He suffered separation from God when He took upon Himself our sins. He did not stop there, but He also took upon Himself our sinful nature, and our corruption of the flesh, and even the life lived in this world which is the enemy of God. He took all of these things upon Himself and went to the cross to die, carrying these things for us that we might be set free from them. When He did this wondrous thing, He was separated from God because of OUR evil. If we would truly know the fellowship of His sufferings, then we would know this also.
Jesus suffered the burden of sin. When He took our sins upon Himself, His pure and perfect holiness was touched by our unholiness. In this He became the One who could lay a hand upon us and God, the go between, the only priest forever. Because He has done this, we can partake of His perfect holiness. This is the reason why He took upon Himself our sin, yet He remained without sin. We cannot share in this suffering, not as He did, because He alone was pure and clean and spotless. And He took our sins upon Himself, along with all the consequences of these sins. Who can know what He suffered that night in the garden for us?
But the deepest suffering of all that Jesus endured was to see the suffering of people in this world because of what had been and what was coming. He stood above that city and wept for her, because they would not come to Him. He stood outside the tomb of Lazarus and wept. He still suffers this pain to this very day. This pain is the knowledge of what will come to those who profess to know God, but who will not come to Him in truth and Spirit to know Him, those who say that they are His, but hold themselves far away from Him in their hearts. And in that day, He will vomit them from His mouth. In that day, He will be filled with righteous wrath, anger such as the world has never seen.
We cannot separate the death of Jesus from the life of Jesus. They are one, just as He is one. Just so, we cannot separate our death in Him from our life in Him. We are alive in Christ solely because we are dead to sin in Him. Indeed, His death is as active in us as is His life! This will be true until we are perfected in Him. As the scripture says, the word of the cross is to us who are being saved the power of God.
Jesus was perfected by, His Father saw fit to perfect Him by the things that He suffered. Why? Because we are perfected by these very same things, in Him. The scripture says that the one who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. And of these sufferings, it is said that they are not even worthy to be compared to the glory which will be revealed in us. Not to us, but in us! The entire creation is groaning and travailing awaiting the revealing of the children of God! Do we see? We have not been revealed yet! We still wear this tent of death, this vessel of sin, and we will wait and hope for the day when we put it off and put on the temple of holiness and beauty in what will be our redeemed flesh. And everyone who has this hope purifies themselves just as He is pure! We will put off this corruption to put on immortality. And while we are in this corruption, we become perfected through suffering in the flesh with Him, while hoping for release from this very same flesh, which hope makes us pure. Praise God!
When we come into His presence, we bear the shame of this corruption. Thus we come to Him through the death of Christ, through the sacrifice of His love, through the blood of His covenant, through the washing of the Spirit by His word, through His very resurrection life which He has now in the Father's right hand. The veil which separates God from the rest of the world is done away with in His death, and we too must partake of His death, passing through the veil. It is the way that He has made for us into His presence in the holy place.
When we come into His presence, we find another suffering, one deeper still, one which changes us forever into His image. We find God in His glory and truth, and all lies die. We have our hearts opened to the light of His uncompromising love, and we are changed in the inner person. No thoughts of humility or of sharing in His suffering, or of sacrifice, or even of knowing Him, can be complete without this knowing Him. If we would live in this reality, there would be no division, and the church would not be weak, but vibrantly alive in Him. This suffering sorrow will become joy as the joy of the Son of God, if we stay the course, if we do not faint, if we remember that which we received in the beginning, when Jesus came to live in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Do we remember our first love, when He forgave us our sins and convicted us in our hearts that He has been raised from the dead? Do we remember the wonderful joy of knowing that God loves us? If we will stay in the light of His glory and holiness, we will know a joy that will surpass that first joy and will continue to grow and grow as we spend more and more time in His presence. And one day, the suffering will be gone, and the joy of the Son of God will be ours, joy such as only He can give.
Jesus was perfected by the things that He suffered. Jesus suffered in His flesh, just as all flesh suffers in this world. Indeed, the way of this life is suffering, whether we wish to or not, because of sin which dwells in us. The entire creation suffers the effects of our sin! Every person alive suffers in this world, it is only a matter of degree. This is the smallest part of the sufferings of Christ.
Jesus suffered rejection. We too, suffer rejection, all the days of our lives in this world. There are very few who accept us as we are, if there are any who do. Most do not accept us, but rather judge us as lacking in some respect, and thus do not receive us. The truth is that each life is the gift of God, to the whole world! And each life is accountable to God for his or her deeds, alone. Jesus, the greatest gift given into the world, such a gift as the world had never seen, and will never see again except in us, was and is still rejected by many. This too is of His suffering.
Jesus suffered betrayal. Those closest to Him left Him in His time of greatest need. We cannot know just how deeply this betrayal hurt Him, because we do not know how much He had committed Himself to His disciples. He committed Himself to them because the Father had given them to Him. The Father has given us to Jesus also, and how often do we betray Him? Jesus gives Himself, commits Himself to us in love because the Father has given us to Him. Betrayal by those you love is a suffering that surpasses every other pain common to this life. Jesus suffered this, as He suffered the other pains, without comment. He did not remark about them.
Jesus suffered God forsaking Him. This He remarked upon. He suffered separation from God when He took upon Himself our sins. He did not stop there, but He also took upon Himself our sinful nature, and our corruption of the flesh, and even the life lived in this world which is the enemy of God. He took all of these things upon Himself and went to the cross to die, carrying these things for us that we might be set free from them. When He did this wondrous thing, He was separated from God because of OUR evil. If we would truly know the fellowship of His sufferings, then we would know this also.
Jesus suffered the burden of sin. When He took our sins upon Himself, His pure and perfect holiness was touched by our unholiness. In this He became the One who could lay a hand upon us and God, the go between, the only priest forever. Because He has done this, we can partake of His perfect holiness. This is the reason why He took upon Himself our sin, yet He remained without sin. We cannot share in this suffering, not as He did, because He alone was pure and clean and spotless. And He took our sins upon Himself, along with all the consequences of these sins. Who can know what He suffered that night in the garden for us?
But the deepest suffering of all that Jesus endured was to see the suffering of people in this world because of what had been and what was coming. He stood above that city and wept for her, because they would not come to Him. He stood outside the tomb of Lazarus and wept. He still suffers this pain to this very day. This pain is the knowledge of what will come to those who profess to know God, but who will not come to Him in truth and Spirit to know Him, those who say that they are His, but hold themselves far away from Him in their hearts. And in that day, He will vomit them from His mouth. In that day, He will be filled with righteous wrath, anger such as the world has never seen.
We cannot separate the death of Jesus from the life of Jesus. They are one, just as He is one. Just so, we cannot separate our death in Him from our life in Him. We are alive in Christ solely because we are dead to sin in Him. Indeed, His death is as active in us as is His life! This will be true until we are perfected in Him. As the scripture says, the word of the cross is to us who are being saved the power of God.
Jesus was perfected by, His Father saw fit to perfect Him by the things that He suffered. Why? Because we are perfected by these very same things, in Him. The scripture says that the one who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. And of these sufferings, it is said that they are not even worthy to be compared to the glory which will be revealed in us. Not to us, but in us! The entire creation is groaning and travailing awaiting the revealing of the children of God! Do we see? We have not been revealed yet! We still wear this tent of death, this vessel of sin, and we will wait and hope for the day when we put it off and put on the temple of holiness and beauty in what will be our redeemed flesh. And everyone who has this hope purifies themselves just as He is pure! We will put off this corruption to put on immortality. And while we are in this corruption, we become perfected through suffering in the flesh with Him, while hoping for release from this very same flesh, which hope makes us pure. Praise God!
When we come into His presence, we bear the shame of this corruption. Thus we come to Him through the death of Christ, through the sacrifice of His love, through the blood of His covenant, through the washing of the Spirit by His word, through His very resurrection life which He has now in the Father's right hand. The veil which separates God from the rest of the world is done away with in His death, and we too must partake of His death, passing through the veil. It is the way that He has made for us into His presence in the holy place.
When we come into His presence, we find another suffering, one deeper still, one which changes us forever into His image. We find God in His glory and truth, and all lies die. We have our hearts opened to the light of His uncompromising love, and we are changed in the inner person. No thoughts of humility or of sharing in His suffering, or of sacrifice, or even of knowing Him, can be complete without this knowing Him. If we would live in this reality, there would be no division, and the church would not be weak, but vibrantly alive in Him. This suffering sorrow will become joy as the joy of the Son of God, if we stay the course, if we do not faint, if we remember that which we received in the beginning, when Jesus came to live in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Do we remember our first love, when He forgave us our sins and convicted us in our hearts that He has been raised from the dead? Do we remember the wonderful joy of knowing that God loves us? If we will stay in the light of His glory and holiness, we will know a joy that will surpass that first joy and will continue to grow and grow as we spend more and more time in His presence. And one day, the suffering will be gone, and the joy of the Son of God will be ours, joy such as only He can give.