|
WEEKLY
Volume 1 Number 24
12 November 2006
Ye Are Partakers of Christ’s
Sufferings
(Message delivered by Pr Hien Nguyen at the
Sunday Worship Service, 2 pm, Nov 5, 06)
Text: 1 Peter
4:12-19
We thank God that by His grace
and mercy and through the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, we may
be partakers of His divine nature so that we may live a true Christian
life according to God’s Word. Today, may God help us thank Him also for
being partakers of Christ’s sufferings.
The Lord Jesus Christ says,
“Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men
shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so
persecuted they the prophets who were before you.” (Matt 5:10-12).
The fact that our Lord Jesus teaches about true happiness even from
persecutions seems to contradict the thinking, concepts, expectations
and values of the world. Unbelievers assume that a happy life cannot
involve troubles, problems, hardships, afflictions, trials or
persecutions. To them, it is unbelievable and unacceptable! Therefore,
many church leaders nowadays do not want to preach Biblical separation
from sins, worldliness, and wrong doctrines. Instead, they preach a
health and wealth gospel to attract many people to an easy and broad
way, believing in the Lord Jesus to be healthy and wealthy but not
requiring full submission to the Lord and His Word! But here, not only
did our Lord Jesus Christ teach us to suffer but He Himself did suffer a
lot for us, leaving for us an example, that we should follow in His
steps (1 Peter 2:21). Then what does it mean to be partakers of Christ’s
sufferings?
Christ’s Sufferings
Our Lord Jesus came into this
sinful world to suffer many things even the shameful death on the cross
for sinners. Lovingly, He humbled Himself, pressed on and obeyed His
Father unto death: “The Son of man must suffer many things,
and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be slain,
and be raised the third day”
(Luke 9:22). Then what are the
sufferings of our Lord?
He was despised and
rejected.
Although He was the holy God and the Creator, He was despised and
rejected by sinful men, His creatures (Isa 53:3). Even His own people
did not receive nor accept Him (Luke 4:24; John 1:11).
He was hated,
persecuted, blasphemed and evil spoken of
by the Jews, especially the religious leaders. Although He lived a
perfect life, gentle, meek, good, holy and righteous, as well as He
preached the truth and His Father’s Word and served His Father
faithfully and obediently according to His Father’s will, the Jews
persecuted Him and sought to kill Him (John 5:16, 18) and said that He
deceived the people (John 7:12), and that He was a sinner, and had a
devil and was mad (Matt 12:24-32, John 9:24; 10:20).
He was betrayed
by Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, which made Him troubled in
spirit (John 13:21).
He was forsaken
by His disciples as they fled for life (Mark 14:50).
He was denied
by Peter, one of His very close disciples (John 18:17, 25-27).
His soul was exceeding
sorrowful unto death
in the garden of Gethsemane with the great suffering in view ahead of
Him (Mark 14:34).
He was mocked, smitten
and crucified.
They falsely accused Him, spat on His face, smote Him, put a crown of
thorns on His head and mocked Him (Matt 26:67; 27:12, 29, 30, 41); He
was crucified with the two thieves and was derided (Matt 27:35, 38; Luke
23:35).
He was misjudged and
thought to be punished by God
in His afflictions. The religious leaders mocked Him,
saying, “He trust in God; let him deliver him now,
if he will have him: for he
said, I am the Son of God”
(Matt
27:43). Actually, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted”
(Isa 53:4).
He bare the sins of all
human beings in
His own body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:2), and it seems that
His holy Father turned His face from His dearly beloved Son at the
moment when all the wickedness, sins, unrighteousness, iniquities, and
transgressions of human beings were upon the Lord Jesus with His anguish
cry, “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46)
My dear friends, you and I can
never fully understand how great and deep Christ’s sufferings were. That
was not because of His faults, but because of all human beings,
including you and me: “Christ also suffered for us” (1
Peter 2:21; 4:1). It is because of Christ’s love and our salvation that
He has suffered for us. May His love constrain us to be willing to be
partakers of His sufferings.
Partakers of Christ
Sufferings
It is God’s purpose for us to
suffer “Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example,
that ye should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21), to follow
upon His footsteps or His example. Then what proper attitudes should we
have to suffer for our Lord?
Proper Attitudes
Be Not Surprised nor
Ashamed (4: 12,
16). Peter exhorted us, “Think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange
thing happened unto you” (v.12) and “Yet if any man suffer as a
Christian, let him not be ashamed” (v.16). Our Lord Jesus
says, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the
world, and men loved
darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth
the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be
reproved” (John
3:19-20), and “if the world hate you, you know that it hated me
before it hated you, because you are not of the world, but I have
chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hated you. Remember the
word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord.
If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John
15:18-20).
The apostle Paul also
confirmed, “But as then he that was born after the flesh
persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now”
(Gal 4:29). “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim 3:12).
My dear friends, if you and I
are born again and determined to live a godly life according to God’s
Word without any compromise but with separation from sins, worldliness
and unbiblical doctrines, we shall surely encounter the hatred,
opposition and persecutions from the world and even from unregenerate
“Christians.” May God help us not to be surprised nor ashamed when we
are despised, rejected, hated, or persecuted.
Suffer According to
God’s Will
(4:19). You and I should not suffer because of our sins as
a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil doer, or as a busybody in other
men’s matter (v.15), but only suffer according to God’s will (v.19),
which means to suffer:
- for the name of Christ
(4:14), as a Christian (4:16), for Jesus’ sake (Matt 5:11).
- for righteousness’ sake
(3:14; Matt 5:10), for good conduct in Christ and for well doing
(3:16-17).
- for a good conscience toward
God (2:19;
3:16; Acts 23:1; 24:16).
- for the word of God and the
testimony of Christ (Rev 1:9; Mark 4:17), and for the gospel’s (Mark
8:35).
Then are you and I suffering
according to God’s will?
Look unto the Lord and
Follow His Steps.
While we are
suffering as following our Lord’s step (1 Peter 2:21), it is vital for
us to look unto Him all the time in order to be strengthened,
encouraged, comforted and carried through by His grace: “Looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of
sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your
minds” (Heb 12:2-3)
Rejoice and Glorify God
(vv.13, 16). How
can you and I rejoice and glorify God even in sufferings for the Lord?
- Surely, it is by God’s
grace, strength, joy and glory upon us through the Holy Spirit, the
Spirit of Glory and of God, our Comforter, resting upon us (1 Peter
4:14). We do glorify God when we do not give up, but persevere, press on
and are still faithful to Him and His Word unto death.
- It is our great privilege to
bear our Lord’s name and suffer for His sake, “For unto you it is
given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also
to suffer for his sake” (Phil 1:29).
- We will know our Lord more,
and His power and even “fellowship of his sufferings”
(Phil 3:10).
-
We will be more refined in
sufferings (1 Peter 1:7; 4:1; Job 23:10) and be counted worthy of God’s
kingdom (2 Thess 1:5).
- We will be comforted and
more mature to comfort others in sufferings (2 Cor 1:4).
- No suffering, no glory (Luke
24:26) and our light and temporary sufferings now are not worthy to be
compared with the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (Rom
8:18; 2 Cor 4:17).
- It is the Lord’s command
with His reward: “Rejoice (Keep on rejoicing),
and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in
heaven” (Matt 5:12), and “If we suffer, we shall also reign
with him” (2 Tim 2:12).
Then, may God help us rejoice
and glorify Him in our sufferings for Christ.
Trust in God and Commit
Everything to Him
(4:19). When Pilate said to Jesus, “Speakest thou not
unto me? Know thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power
to release thee?” Jesus answered, “Thou couldest have
no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above”
(John 19:10-11). Our Lord trusted in His Father’s sovereignty with His
full submission, “The cup which my Father hath given me,
shall I not drink it”? (John 18:11), and “committed
himself to him
that judgeth righteously”
(1 Peter 2:23). Paul did the
same, “For the which cause I also suffer these things:
nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have
believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I
have committed unto him against that day” (2 Tim 1:12). It is
good and wise for us to do the same.
Conclusion
My dear friends, it is a great
privilege to be partakers of Christ’s sufferings. We should not be
surprised or ashamed to be despised, rejected, hated, opposed, forsaken,
mocked, evil spoken of, betrayed, misjudged, and persecuted for the sake
of our Lord, His Name, His Word, His gospel, as well as for our good
conscience toward God, our right relationship with Him and our godly
life in Christ while living in this world of darkness among unregenerate
people with sinful and rebellious nature. May God graciously help us
trust in Him, look unto Him, commit everything to Him, rejoice and
glorify Him and be faithful to Him and His Word until death. Amen.
Top
/ Back
|
