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I. The origin of sufferings:
А. The fall of man.
B. The evil intent of Satan.
C. The will of God.
II. What sufferings are to the believers.
III. What the believers’ attitude toward sufferings should be.
IV. What the believers should do when they suffer.
Now we come to the topic of sufferings. This topic is not connected to the topic in the previous chapter, nor is it related to the topic in the next chapter. Nevertheless, we need to consider this matter because believers encounter sufferings in this life.
In our experiences we know that there are sufferings in the world and that people encounter many misfortunes, but we often wonder why believers experience so many sufferings after they are saved. According to the Bible, these sufferings are related to three things.
1. “Because you...have eaten of the tree concerning which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it; Cursed is the ground because of you; / In toil will you eat of it / All the days of your life. / And thorns and thistles will it bring forth for you... / By the sweat of your face / You will eat bread” (Gen. 3:17-19 see also Rom. 8:20-23).
When God created man, there was no such thing as sufferings. Man was in a peaceful and joyous environment created and prepared for him by God. Outwardly he lived in a paradise, and inwardly his heart was at rest. He did not have any anxious considerations about his living. Natural disasters, human accidents, sickness, pain, and even death did not exist. However, when man sinned and fell, his sin brought in God’s curse and with this curse, suffering. After man fell, God walked in the garden in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8). The word cool literally means “breeze.” This word has deep significance. The garden of Eden was warm, but after the fall there was a cool breeze, indicating that man was no longer in harmony with God. Because man rebelled against God, broke His commandment, and ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God and man came into conflict with one another, and with this conflict there were sufferings. Man brought these sufferings not only upon himself but also upon the land and all the creatures. God ordained man to be the head of all creation. When man was cursed, the creation that he represented also received the curse that was placed upon man. Consequently, the earth, which once worked for man and produced food for man without any hindrance, was cursed, and it became a source of trouble for man by growing thorns and thistles. Following the curse, man had to toil all the days of his life and eat bread by the sweat of his face in order to survive. Moreover, the entire creation was trapped in the slavery of corruption and began to groan and travail together in pain (Rom. 8:20-22). In this changed environment, the heart and body of man were also affected; his heart was no longer at rest, and his body was affected by sickness, weakness, and even death. With the corruption of creation, disharmony, conflict, and dangers arose. Thus, the initially peaceful and joyous earth became a place of suffering, a place full of disasters, accidents, distress, sickness, pain, and death. Thus, the fall of man, based on the sin of man, is the first cause of human suffering.
Romans 8:20-23 says very clearly that all creation is suffering because of the fall of man. The phrases in this portion provide a sense of desolation: subject to vanity, the slavery of corruption, the whole creation groans together, and we ourselves groan in ourselves. Man’s fall is the cause of this desolation, including vanity, corruption, and groaning. In addition, there are also labor and suffering. Because of the fall of man, all creation is under vanity and the slavery of corruption, and it is groaning and travailing. This corruption can be seen in iron, which rusts in a very short time, and in things that break quickly (Col. 2:22). Furthermore, as man lives, he becomes weaker, older, and sicker day by day until he dies. All these things are related to the corruption of creation. There is also vanity. The result of a piece of land or a house is vanity. Riches are vanity, and children also are vanity. All creation is subject to vanity, and vanity works together with corruption to enslave the whole creation, producing groaning and suffering among all creatures. Corruption and vanity are part of a natural law in the universe since the fall of man.
When a baby leaves its mother’s womb, a cry is its first sound. This is a natural condition of fallen humanity. It is quite rare for a child to be born laughing or for a person to die smiling. People are born crying, and they die crying. Today man tries to use all kinds of knowledge to improve human life, but man is still born crying and still dies crying. This is something that science cannot change. Man also cannot control the weather, and he cannot control his surroundings. Both of these limitations cause sufferings. Since the fall of man, human suffering is a natural condition of man.
Today mosquitoes and fleas bite people, flies harm people, and wild animals eat people. All creatures and human beings hurt and kill one another. This state of conflict is the result of man’s rebellion against God. As the representative of all creation before God, man brought all of creation into conflict with God through the fall. This produced discord at all levels of creation. In the millennial kingdom, when man submits to God’s authority, all creation will be brought into harmony. The wolf will live with the lamb, and the lion will be in the same herd as the calf. Children will lead them, and infants will play in the viper’s den. Nothing will harm man or other creatures because there will be no conflict between God and man (Isa. 11:6-9). Those who submit to God’s authority and who are at peace with God have the possibility of a foretaste of this condition. Over the centuries some have not been touched by the dangers in creation brought about by the conflict between God and man. Daniel’s three friends, for example, were thrown into a blazing furnace of fire that was made seven times hotter than normal, but the fire had no effect on them (Dan. 3:19-27). Daniel himself was thrown into a lions’ den, but he was not bitten or eaten by the lions (6:16-24). The Lord Jesus was in the wilderness with wild animals for forty days and forty nights, but He was not harmed (Mark 1:13). Paul was bitten by a viper, but he suffered no harm (Acts 28:3-5). Many believers throughout the centuries have had experiences similar to Paul’s (Mark 16:18). When we submit to God’s authority and are in harmony with Him, some of the conflicts in creation brought in by man’s rebellion against God can be avoided.
God has an established order in the universe. God is over man, and man is over all the creatures. When man rebelled against God and was no longer in harmony with Him, the creatures under man rebelled against man and created troubles for him. The universe is in a state of chaos. This chaos is the source of suffering in the world today. Until this chaos is resolved, there will be sufferings in the world. As long as there is chaos in creation, there will be suffering as well. This has been a natural condition in the universe since the fall of man.
Even though, as believers, we are called out of fallen humanity, we still live on the earth and suffer from the consequences of its chaos. For example, we cannot avoid all the sufferings that come from natural disasters and sicknesses. Even if we have some deeper experiences of God’s salvation because of our faith, love, and holiness with sobriety (1 Tim. 2:15), we still live in the flesh in this age. Consequently, it is very difficult to be completely free of the sufferings related to the natural world or to avoid the inward groaning that is associated with these sufferings.
1. “Do not fear the things that you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison” (Rev. 2:10 see also 1 Pet. 5:8-9; Rev. 12:12-13).
The world today is under Satan’s controlling hand. When we, as believers, live for God in this world and testify for Him, Satan uses all kinds of people, events, and things to cause us to suffer. Worldly people persecute and trouble believers, and worldly governments convict and imprison believers, because Satan is working behind the scenes. Many adverse things, such as illness and loss, also come to believers through Satan’s work. As our enemy, his intent is to cause us to suffer. He is like a roaring lion walking about the earth, seeking to devour people. His anger is great, and his efforts to inflict suffering are multiplied toward us because he knows that God will deal with him through us and cause him to lose the position that he illegally usurped. He also knows that the time for his rebellion and chaos is limited. Satan’s evil intent toward us is another leading cause of sufferings.
1. “The Father of spirits...disciplined...for what is profitable” (Heb. 12:9-10).
After God saves us, He wants to perfect us by removing things from our being that we should not have and by adding things to our being that we should have. This enables us to partake of His holy nature more and more. God frequently carries out this perfecting and building work through discipline, and He frequently disciplines us through sufferings in our environment in order to render true spiritual benefit to us. Therefore, our sufferings are also related to His will.
God takes no pleasure in the painful sufferings that His discipline may involve, but He is our Father, and He knows our condition and need. Since our condition requires discipline, His love for us compels Him to discipline us for our benefit. When a father is forced to discipline his child, he often suffers as much as the child. The discipline of a child, however, is for the child’s benefit and correction. Furthermore, some children require much discipline, whereas other children do not require as much discipline. However, regardless of whether the amount of discipline is great or small, every child requires some discipline. God treats us, His children, in the same way. Some of us do not need much discipline from God, and some must be disciplined more. Regardless of our condition, we all need God’s discipline, and so for our benefit, God disciplines us as He sees fit. Although He does not do this happily, His discipline is related to His good will. Consequently, believers experience suffering from discipline that is according to God’s will.
As children of God, we must know that the sufferings that come to us are related to God’s discipline. All the sufferings and problems we encounter, regardless of whether they are from the natural world or Satan, are permitted to come to us by God for the sake of our discipline. We should not consider any suffering that comes to us as natural, spontaneous, or coincidental; we must see that all sufferings are arranged and permitted by God. The Lord Jesus said that two sparrows, which are sold for an assarion, cannot fall to the earth apart from the will of God, and He said that the hairs of our head have not only been counted but also numbered (Matt. 10:29-30). Since God pays attention to such small matters, how could anything happen to us without God’s permission and arrangement? God not only loves His children, but He also is very wise. His will for us is expressed through His wisdom according to His love, and He permits us to encounter sufferings that will discipline and benefit us. His good will, which is carried out for us according to His love and in His wisdom, is a source of sufferings.
The sufferings that are related to man’s fall and the sufferings that are related to Satan’s evil intent and malicious acts are used by God to discipline His children according to His good will. Through His love and in His wisdom the sufferings brought in by man’s fall and by Satan’s malicious acts are used by God as a means to perfect His children. We should be thankful and worship Him.
Sufferings bring many kinds of blessings to the believers because God uses sufferings not only to discipline us but also to perfect us. The Bible speaks much about this, but we will examine only the important benefits below.
1. “That you may be tried” (Rev. 2:10 see also Matt. 13:21).
Sufferings cause us to be tried, and being tried purifies us, just as fire purifies gold. After being saved, there are many extraneous things in our inward being that must pass through the trials of sufferings in order to be eliminated. Believers who pass through many sufferings often are quite pure. Many pure saints have come out of the furnace of sufferings.
The trials of sufferings not only purify us by eliminating negative things in our being, but they also strengthen us and solidify the positive spiritual things in our being. When we hear a spiritual message and receive some light concerning spiritual matters, it may seem that we have obtained these things. In reality, however, they have not been constituted into our life and living to become part of our very being. When we pass through trials, these things are constituted into us, and they strengthen us and become solidified in our being. This can be compared to a potter who draws patterns on a clay vase and then puts the vase into a fire to make the patterns part of the vase and to strengthen and solidify the patterns. Similarly, the teachings that we have received can be strengthened and solidified in our being when we pass through trials. The Lord’s word in Matthew 13:21 concerning passing through trials after hearing the word refers to this process. If we are not stumbled by the trials that come after hearing the word, the word will become something solid in us.
2. “The proving of your faith” (1 Pet. 1:7; James 1:3).
The most valuable part of the believers’ living and work before God is faith, and our faith must be proved by passing through sufferings in order for its preciousness to be manifested. The proving of our faith through sufferings is much more precious than the proving of gold that passes through fire. According to the translation of 1 Peter 1:7 into Chinese, our faith, which is proved by sufferings, is what is more precious than gold proved by fire, but the original Greek speaks of “the proving” of our faith as being much more precious than the proving of gold by fire. This verse does not mean our faith, which has been proved by sufferings, is more precious than gold that has been proved by fire; rather, it says that the proving of our faith by sufferings is more precious than the proving of gold by fire. This proving is related to passing through sufferings and can be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; therefore, it is precious.
James says that the proving of our faith works out endurance. Endurance is not something that we have naturally; it comes from the proving of our faith associated with our passing through sufferings. In order for our faith to be enduring and long-suffering, it must be proved; that is, it must pass through sufferings. Just as sufferings cause our being to have endurance, they also fill our faith with endurance.
3. “That we might partake of His holiness...It yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness” (Heb. 12:10-11).
Sufferings have a great function with respect to the believers in that they cause the believers to partake of God’s holiness, and they yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Holiness is God’s nature, and righteousness is God’s actions according to His ways. Peace means being in harmony with both God and man. When we inwardly partake of God’s holy nature, we outwardly have righteous actions that are according to God’s ways, and these actions enable us to be in harmony with God and man and to thus have peace. The more we are constituted with God’s holy nature, the more we will act in accordance with His ways and the more we will be in harmony with God and man. However, after we are saved, there are still many things in our being that are not compatible with God’s holy nature, and we do many things that are not according to God’s righteous ways. This makes it difficult for us to be in harmony with God and man and to have peace. Therefore, God uses sufferings to discipline and deal with us. Sufferings eliminate what is not according to God’s holy nature. Then as we inwardly partake of His holy nature more and more, our outward actions will increasingly be in accord with God’s righteous ways; thus, we will be in harmony with God and man and have peace. This beautiful, sweet result is produced through sufferings.
4. “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, / That I might learn Your statutes” (Psa. 119:71).
Our natural man is loose and wild, and it has no understanding of God’s statutes. Although we have been saved and have become God’s people, we still indulge ourselves according to our own will. We have little regard for His statutes or His ways. Therefore, God allows us to be afflicted so that we would learn His statutes. Sufferings experientially teach us God’s statutes so that we can be governed by these statutes instead of by our looseness and lawlessness.
5. “Though the Lord has given you / The bread of adversity and the water of oppression, / Your Teacher will no longer hide Himself in a corner, / But your eyes will see your Teacher. / And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, / This is the way, walk in it” (Isa. 30:20-21).
Often we do not want to accept God’s teaching or leading. Therefore, God gives us the bread of adversity to eat and the water of oppression to drink so that we would be taught through our sufferings. When we are in a natural condition of comfort, it is hard to accept the Lord’s teaching and leading. However, when we encounter difficulties and sufferings, it is easier for us to accept His teaching and leading. Thus, our sufferings become a “Teacher” to teach us how to follow the Lord’s leading.
Some brothers cannot receive God’s teaching or leading, no matter how much they are exhorted with God’s Word; they simply do not want to leave the way that they have chosen for themselves. But when they experience sufferings, they immediately receive God’s Word, accepting its teachings and the Lord’s leading. Sufferings are always precious and effective in helping us to accept God’s teaching and leading.
6. “I will now hedge up / Her way with thorns; / And I will build up a wall against her”; “Bit and bridle to restrain them” (Hosea 2:6; Psa. 32:9).
We are stiff-necked, often taking our own way and being unwilling to change our ways. God, therefore, uses sufferings as thorns to hedge up our way and to build a wall against us. Whenever we come up against such a wall and cannot go forward, we are forced to change our direction. God also uses sufferings, like the bit and bridle for a horse, in order to restrain us and make us obedient so that we cannot move in an unruly manner. Sufferings prevent us from going the wrong way and from doing things that offend God.
More than ten years ago in northern China, there was a co-worker who wanted to labor in a rural area, but the co-workers did not feel that this was the Lord’s leading. Still he insisted on going. When we escorted him to the edge of the city, there was a sudden announcement by soldiers that the roads had been closed and that no one could leave. When we suggested that we turn around and go back, this brother was reluctant, and he stood firmly at an intersection in order to discuss the matter. As he approached us to talk with us, his bicycle hit and damaged the light of an automobile. Then I said, “Brother, are you still considering whether or not to go? Why do you refuse to come back? After encountering these misfortunes, why are you still unclear?” He could say nothing in response to this, and so he came home with us. All the co-workers believed that the Lord hedged up his way so that he would not fall into error. The Lord frequently uses unfavorable environments and troubles to hedge us in and block our way so that we do not take the wrong path and fall into error.
7. “Before I was afflicted, I went astray” (Psa. 119:67).
In this verse the psalmist says that before he was afflicted, he went astray. It also means that after being afflicted, he was able to avoid going astray. Sufferings often cause us to turn back after we have gone astray. There was a brother among us who strayed from the Lord twice after he was saved, and both times the Lord used extreme sufferings to bring him back to the proper way. Sufferings not only bring us back from going astray but also keep us from leaving the proper path.
8. “Being judged by the Lord, we are disciplined that we may not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:32).
Many times when worldly people sin, God seemingly ignores it, but when believers commit the same sin, God immediately deals with it. He often uses illnesses to discipline us so that we would not be condemned with the world. If God did not discipline us in this way, we would be condemned with the world (Luke 12:46 see the section “The Coming Discipline,” ch. 48). Thus, the discipline of sufferings can enable us to escape the coming condemnation and punishment.
9. “(Because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin), no longer to live the rest of the time in the flesh in the lusts of men, but in the will of God” (1 Pet. 4:1-2).
Sufferings enable people to cease from sin, to no longer follow the lusts of men, and to live in the will of God. After man fell, God ordained that he would suffer, because sufferings can impose harsh restraints upon men so that they would cease from sin. If there were no sufferings in the human life, a person could live his entire life in the pursuit of his own enjoyment and pleasure. Such a person would be sinful to the extreme. Whenever a person is able to live in his own comfort and enjoyment, it is easy to commit sins. David committed his great sin when he was at rest (2 Sam. 11:2-4). Rest, leisure, free time, pleasures, and entertainment all cause people to sin, and in the same way, suffering, labor, burdens, pressure, and troubles cause people to cease from sin. Many brothers who have terrible tempers and who indulge their lusts need to experience the discipline of suffering before they can cease from sinning and from following the lusts of their flesh. In this regard, sufferings are a very good thing.
10. “Comforts us in all our affliction” (2 Cor. 1:4, see also v. 7).
Sufferings also cause us to receive the Lord’s comforting. We can receive the Lord’s comforting only when we are suffering for Him. The more we participate in the sufferings of Christ, the more we will enjoy His comforting. If we never shed tears for the Lord, we can never experience the precious comfort that comes from His wiping away our tears. Many times the tears that we shed for the Lord are His sweet inward comfort to us.
11. “That we may be able to comfort those who are in every affliction through the comforting with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:4, see also v. 6).
Sufferings also enable us to comfort others. When we suffer and are comforted by the Lord, we gain capital with which to comfort others. We often are able to comfort those who are in every affliction because of the sufferings that we have passed through and the scars we have received. If we would be those who can comfort others, we must experience sufferings ourselves.
12. “Tribulation produces endurance; and endurance, approvedness; and approvedness, hope” (Rom. 5:3-4 see also James 1:3).
Tribulation produces endurance, endurance produces approvedness, and approvedness produces hope. If we want endurance, approvedness, and hope, we must experience sufferings. This is the reason believers receive sufferings when they ask for endurance. God allows sufferings because only tribulation can produce endurance, only endurance can produce approvedness, and only approvedness produces hope. When an immature believer encounters troubles, he easily becomes bothered and disappointed; in contrast, experienced believers can maintain a steadfast hope when they encounter troubles. But this kind of approvedness comes only from endurance gained through sufferings. Therefore, if we want the hope that comes from approvedness, we must experience the sufferings that produce endurance.
13. “God..., after you have suffered a little while, will Himself perfect, establish, strengthen, and ground you” (1 Pet. 5:10).
God perfects, establishes, strengthens, and grounds us through sufferings. After we pass through sufferings, we receive God’s perfecting, establishing, strengthening, and grounding. This is the reason that believers who have suffered are perfected, established, strengthened, and grounded.
14. “Though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).
God furthers the decaying of our outer, natural, old man and the renewing of our inner man through sufferings. It is not enough merely to have doctrines or even light. Our outer man must be allowed to decay through sufferings so that our inner man can be renewed day by day.
15. “To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Phil. 3:10).
If we would know Christ and the power of His resurrection and if we would be conformed to His death, we must experience sufferings together with Him. Only sufferings can cause us to practically experience Christ, to experience the power of His resurrection, to know the fellowship of His sufferings, and to be conformed to His death.
16. “That the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Cor. 4:11).
Sufferings cause us to practically experience the Lord’s death, and they also cause the Lord’s life to be manifested in our mortal flesh.
17. “All things work together for good to those who love God” (Rom. 8:28).
Sufferings are the main component of the things that work together for our good. Sufferings work with all things for our good, and according to the next verse, this good is our conformation to the image of God’s Son. The Holy Spirit inwardly conforms us to the image of Christ through our outward sufferings. Therefore, sufferings are necessary if we want to be conformed to Christ.
18. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or anguish?” (Rom. 8:35, see also vv. 38-39).
Sufferings also cause us to experience the love of Christ from which we cannot be separated. It is only through tribulation and anguish that we truly come to know that we cannot be separated from the love of Christ. In our sufferings we truly taste the flavor of His love and understand its power.
19. “Blessed are you...for your reward is great in the heavens” (Matt. 5:11-12).
Suffering for the Lord also causes us to receive a heavenly reward, a reward that is great in the heavens. No one who suffers for the Lord suffers in vain; all who suffer for Him will receive a reward for their sufferings. Our coming reward is based on our suffering today.
20. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens” (Matt. 5:10 see also Acts 14:22; 2 Thes. 1:5; Rev. 1:9).
Suffering also causes us to obtain the kingdom of the heavens. We must experience much suffering and endure many tribulations for the sake of the kingdom of God. We must pass through these troubles with the Lord before we can enter the kingdom of the heavens and obtain the kingdom.
21. “Affliction works out for us, more and more surpassingly, an eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17 see also Rom. 8:17-18).
Sufferings also work out an eternal weight of glory for us, which we will obtain in the future. If we want to be in glory with the Lord, we must suffer with Him. We must be willing to take the way of sufferings in order to obtain glory.
Since sufferings bring many benefits to believers, we should have a proper attitude toward sufferings.
1. “That no one would be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed for this” (1 Thes. 3:3).
The believers must consider sufferings as something appointed by God. God did not appoint us to have enjoyment and rest in today’s world. God appointed us to suffer. We must see this matter clearly so that we would not be shaken by sufferings.
2. “Since Christ therefore has suffered in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same mind” (1 Pet. 4:1).
The believers must not fear sufferings and must have a will to suffer; they must arm themselves with the mind to suffer in order to battle against sin and lusts.
3. “Endure...suffering” (1 Pet. 2:20).
The believers must endure suffering. The endurance of suffering spoken of here is not related to suffering in response to sin and discipline. Rather, it is to endure suffering in anticipation of doing good works in order to keep our conscience clear before God and to maintain the Lord’s testimony. This endurance of suffering is pleasing to God.
4. “Suffer because of righteousness”; “Suffer...as a Christian” (1 Pet. 3:14; 4:15-16 see also 2:20; Matt. 5:10).
Believers must also suffer because of righteousness and as Christians. We should not forsake righteousness because we are afraid to suffer; we should not fail to keep Christ’s testimony because we are ashamed.
1. “Does anyone among you suffer evil? Let him pray” (James 5:13).
When the believers suffer, they should pray. Sufferings are a call to prayer. We must pray; only then can we be enlightened concerning the meaning of our suffering, and only then will our suffering be of benefit to us.
2. “God is faithful, who will not allow that you be tempted beyond what you are able, but will, with the temptation, also make the way out” (1 Cor. 10:13).
The Lord will never give us more sufferings than we can bear. Therefore, when we are suffering, we should believe that the Lord will surely make a way out for us and enable us to endure the sufferings.
3. “Rejoice and exult”; “Count it all joy” (Matt. 5:12; James 1:2).
When we suffer, we should rejoice and exult; we should count it all joy because our sufferings are beneficial to us.
4. “Be humbled under the mighty hand of God”; “Withstand the devil” (1 Pet. 5:6; James 4:7).
The devil enjoys bringing sufferings to us, but God takes no pleasure in our suffering. God uses sufferings only to perfect us. Therefore, we should not seek to suffer, welcome sufferings, or pray for them. If we do, we will increase the enemy’s attacks. God will not listen to any prayers that ask for sufferings, but the devil will hear and answer them with more of his malicious acts. When we suffer, we should humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, knowing that all sufferings are allowed by God, so that we would not rebel in the slightest way but cheerfully submit. At the same time, we should resist the devil, knowing that God takes no pleasure in our suffering. We should resist anything that God does not allow and ask God to save us from the sufferings imposed by the devil. We must say to God, “I will accept what You allow, but I reject everything that comes from the devil that is not according to Your will.” This should be our firm attitude whenever we encounter sufferings.
