Christ Over Suffering
Notes
Transcript
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Introduction
Keeping Christ preeminent in all things sounds like something we should readily agree to and practice as Christians. And we do…to some degree
Transition
Keeping Christ preeminent in all things means ALL things, as Paul illustrates as he describes his ministry.
Paul’s Joy in Suffering, 24a
Paul’s Joy in Suffering, 24a
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,
I Now…rejoice
Christ’s lordship & preeminence was never a question in Paul’s life
3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The questions, from before the beginning was how much was Paul going to kick against the goads?
Spiritual growth, and the discipline of commitment and compliance, is a process.
Paul’s Cause for Suffering, 24b
Paul’s Cause for Suffering, 24b
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,
Paul is making the point that a Christian will endure the sufferings that Christ would be enduring if He were still in the world
There is a truth that has been uncomfortable in every age: Christians will suffer, and at the hands of, this world.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
Paul’s Plan in Suffering, 25-29
Paul’s Plan in Suffering, 25-29
Despite, or because of, his suffering, Paul was still following the plan.
To faithfully serve God and His House
To faithfully reveal God’s open secret (this possibly for the gnostics in the audience)
The Gentiles are included in the plan of salvation & redemption
Christ (the anointed one) now lives in believers (in the person of the Holy Spirit) Jn 14.17 “17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
The word translated has the idea of knowledge withheld, not knowledge undiscovered
Even “withheld” this mystery was not wholly undiscoverable, but that which is hard to see cannot be found by those who do not look.
Conclusion
Paul did not just assume suffering would come as a Christ follower and endure it, he embraced it. Rather than finding it debilitating, he allowed it to be motivating and continued in the service he had been given.
Application
How do we respond to suffering?
Do we curl up in a ball of self-protection?
Do we fight against those who would cause our suffering?
Do we become indifferent about the Gospel’s power to change even the lives of those who cause our suffering?
Do we become emboldened and motivated to carry out the mission we have been given?
If we keep Christ preeminent in all things, including our suffering, then our suffering can be motivation to move forward rather than backward.