THINGS THAT ACCOMPANY SUFFERING

G. C. McKay

2 Corinthians 1: 3–10; 1 Peter 4: 12–14 (to ‘upon you’); Colossians 1: 11; 2 Timothy 1: 8; Daniel 3: 13–25

We have been speaking of the Christian’s path as involving suffering and I wanted to speak with the Lord’s help about certain things that accompany suffering. If God allows us to come into tribulation and suffering there are certain accompaniments to suffering that He adds, something in the suffering that might help us and be a comfort to us in these circumstances.

God balances and blends things—He balances the clouds and He brings in matters in a considered way. I wanted to speak in an encouraging way as to things that go along with suffering, if we are prepared for the path of suffering. We were speaking in this connection as to persons who are willing to take their share in suffering as good

soldiers of Jesus Christ, persons who are prepared to take up the path in dedication, not casually, not as avoiding the reproach of the Christ. If we are fully committed to the Christian path, God will come in for us, there is no doubt about it. It may take something on our part to strike out in the Christian path and make the committal and hold to it, but as we do that, God comes in. It will involve suffering and as we face the suffering He adds something.

In the first scripture, 2 Corinthians 1, what He adds is encouragement. It is a very remarkable section referring to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Father of compassions and the God of all encouragement. I am conscious as I speak about suffering that there are those in this room who have been and still are suffering. What suffering the testimony and the Christian path involves!—certain deprivations, individual sorrows, household sorrows, assembly sorrows. Various things come in that would be a discouragement but thank God that He is the Father of compassions and the God of all encouragement. That is His character, that is the God that we have to do with, such a God. Now the interesting thing about this section is that it is so practical. Paul the apostle had wonderful light from God and authority from Christ too as an apostle, but although he is speaking with that light and with that authority he is speaking from experience.

He had written in a very solemn way to the Corinthians in the first epistle because of conditions amongst them that were grievous, he had had to speak comparatively sternly to them. With tears he wrote, concerned as to the condition of things among them and the sin that existed unjudged and undealt with, and other matters. Now he had got news that his first letter had been effective and that they were full of concern and zeal, and had acted in connection with what had taken place amongst them in the way of sin. They had acted in deep exercise and consternation, the conscience of

the assembly had been aroused, and now Paul took in hand to write a second letter. This time it was a letter full of encouragement because they had gone through deep exercise in dealing with the matter.

The second epistle to the Corinthians is full of the thought of encouragement, even as to the man who had been put out of the assembly. Paul points out that God had worked with him, he had repented, and he ought to be encouraged. He finishes the epistle with a series of exhortations and one of them is “be encouraged”; “For the rest, brethren, rejoice; be perfected; be encouraged”, 2 Corinthians 13: 11. Now, you might think that Paul as an apostle was already well equipped to write such a letter immediately, but God passed Paul through very severe exercise to help him to write this letter. Do you understand the God that we have to do with? He is the living God and He deals with the saints and with His servants, preparing vessels to serve, even for one particular service. In His concern for the assembly in Corinth, God allowed Paul to pass through the severest of exercises so that he might be able to write this letter with a power and a grace that otherwise might have been lacking.

Paul tells the Corinthians here that he is going to pass on the encouragement with which he himself had been encouraged of God. What actually happened, I am not sure, but he says as to their tribulation in Asia, “we were excessively pressed beyond our power, so as to despair even of living”. God passed him through that experience of despair, to despair even of living,

“But we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves”. It appeared that it was all up. Paul could see no way out, and what did he prove? He proved that God came in for him, and his trust through that experience was not in himself but in the God who raises the dead. Thus Paul developed and grew in his knowledge of God through this exercise. The great apostle himself, with such knowledge and such light, grew in his knowledge of God. He found

fresh faith in the God who raises the dead and who delivered him. And through that encouragement he was able to encourage others, as he says here, “who encourages us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to encourage those who are in any tribulation whatever”.

He says, I know this God, He is the God who will even raise the dead. What a God to trust in!

He is the Father of compassions and the God of all encouragement. He tells the Corinthians in this chapter that he had received this encouragement so that he could pass it on to them and to others who need encouragement.

Perhaps we should think about that too, dear brethren, that what we receive is not only for our own blessing and help, but it is also so that we might be equipped to help others as they pass through trials. I am sure that actually works out among the saints of God, that persons who go through things with God and prove God are capable of sympathising and bringing in comfort and help to those who are going through similar exercises. How wonderful it is then, that if we are prepared for the suffering, as we go through the suffering and the tribulation we can be assured that along with that the Father of compassions will feel for us and the God of all encouragement will bring in encouragement. It may be through the brethren, but there will be that there. The suffering will not be just suffering on its own, but along with it there will be encouragement and comfort from such a God as Paul spoke about.

Now in the scripture we read in Peter, there is something else which goes along with suffering. Paul says that the fire of persecution was not a strange thing, but something that they had their share in. We spoke of Timothy being exhorted to take his share in suffering and Peter says here, “as ye have share in the sufferings of Christ”. We have been speaking about the sufferings that belong to the Christ and the glories after these; the prophets spoke of these things. The Lord Jesus said, “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and

to enter into his glory?”, Luke 24: 26. And so the suffering goes along with the position, dear brethren. One of the privileges we are given is to share in the suffering, the testimonial suffering. What this scripture brings out is that the other thing that goes with suffering is glory—“as ye have share in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice, that in the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exultation”. Those that suffer now, will share in the glory. If we suffer with Him, we will be glorified with Him. It goes together, inevitably. It would be a poor thing to look to share in the glory and not be prepared to take your share in the sufferings.

We have been speaking of the line on which God works, the line of persons who come into evidence through scripture in whom God is working. We have spoken of various features about them, their faith and their righteousness and their love and their preparedness to suffer in the spirit of Christ. There is something else about them that we have not mentioned yet, and that is that there is a royalty about them. They are a royal line, a line of persons who are going to reign, and what goes with royalty is suffering. That is, at the present time royalty suffers, that is the position. Let us take our share in that, understanding that there is going to be the time of glory, the time of reigning, when everything in this world that is upside down, everything that is deranged will be put right, and the saints will have their place reigning with Christ in glory. But then it is remarkable that this scripture does not altogether defer glory, but brings it in as present, “If ye are reproached in the name of Christ, blessed are ye; for the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rests upon you”. Even at that moment of reproach, there is something of the Spirit of God and the Spirit of glory coming into evidence. I suppose they were seen in Stephen, surrounded by his enemies as he was set there before the council. They looked on him and saw his face as the face of an angel. Heavenly light was shining there, there was a glory about it. There might be reproach, there might be shame, but

there will be a touch of glory. How beautiful, “the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rests upon you”, so with the suffering there will be future glory, and with the suffering presently too there is a touch of that as if God will already bring in some touch of vindication, “the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God” resting upon a person.

We have spoken of comfort and glory coming in with suffering and glory. In the next two scriptures read, what comes in is power. You would not normally associate suffering and reproach with power but the scriptures we read do. In Colossians chapter 1, it says that the saints of God are “strengthened with all power according to the might of his glory”. And what is the result of it?—“unto all endurance and longsuffering with joy”. Think of the might of God’s glory being involved in this, so that as the saints suffer they are strengthened that there might be endurance and longsuffering and joy. It is wonderful to think that a saint can go through tribulation not only with endurance but with joy. Somebody referred earlier today to Paul and Silas in prison. They were under reproach, suffering there, but they were strengthened with all power. Think of their conditions, with their backs bleeding from the stripes and their feet in the stocks, and the darkness of the inner prison in the middle of the night. Think of the power that was in the souls of these persons, divine power, so that they were praying to God and in praying they were praising. What power came into that prison!

Two men, thus bleeding and under reproach and suffering, were praising God. What a terrible place the prison must have been. I suppose at the best a prison is a pretty grim place, but what a place prison would be in those days, yet it was turned into a sanctuary, it was turned into a place where God was being praised. And this power commanded the prison for the prisoners were listening. What these men were doing dominated the prison. The men who were in it would no doubt include persons who would be foul in their language and no doubt awful persons, but things were

being dominated by the power of God in the souls of these men, that in the midst of all this suffering they were praising God with singing. In due course the power of God came in in the earthquake and in salvation for the jailor. So you can understand what this means,

“strengthened with all power according to the might of his glory unto all endurance and longsuffering with joy”. It is an amazing thing that Christianity can put these two things together, suffering and joy. The suffering is real and deeply felt, and yet joy is brought into the soul as there is power that overcomes. In all these things, as we quoted earlier, we more than conquer through Him that has loved us.

There is a similar thought in 2 Timothy 1 where we read. Paul is again in jail, and he exhorts Timothy, “Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner”. If we are ashamed it makes us turn aside from the suffering. But here it is, “Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but suffer evil along with the glad tidings”. There is reproach attached to the preaching of the glad tidings, the proclamation of the name of Jesus and it is something that we can have fellowship with. The Philippians had fellowship with the gospel from the first day, Paul says. It is one of the privileges, fellowship with the gospel. But fellowship with the gospel in those days involved suffering, and to an extent does now. So it says, “suffer evil along with the glad tidings, according to the power of God”. Think of suffering according to the power of God. There is what exists in the souls of the saints, the Holy Spirit indwelling them, and Christ available to them too, so that there should be such a thing as suffering “according to the power of God”.

In Daniel it is not power exactly, but something else that comes in to support suffering saints.

It is an Old Testament scripture but it speaks powerfully to us of divine consideration in regard to even the most severe

experience of suffering. These three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego are brought before Nebuchadnezzar. The king had erected the great golden image and everyone was to bow down in idolatry to it, but these three men refused to bow. You know, if you bow to the god of this world you will avoid the suffering. Questions sometimes arise, and am I going to give in? Am I going to bow? If you bow, you will avoid the suffering, but you will lose the glory and power and the comfort; if you take your stand you will prove that God will come in for you. So these men would not bow. It was not simply that there was a command from this great potentate to do it, but there was an evil influence to make them do it. Satan will work that way, he will not only seek to terrify you into bowing to something that is idolatrous and not right, but he also will try to encourage you to do it. You see how he does it—“Now if ye be ready at the time that ye hear the sound of the cornet, pipe, lute, sambuca, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image”. He would use all kinds of music to influence your emotions. He would create an influence that would reach into your soul and help you to bow, to constrain you to give in. Satan would use all the blandishments that are at his disposal.

Well, these three men reply that they have no need to answer the king. What a beautiful answer it is, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king”. What confidence, what boldness is in these three men as they speak thus united! Daniel does not seem to have been with them. He appears prominently in this book but for some reason in this chapter he is not there. I am sure of course, if he had been present, his answer would have been the same. So it might be that somebody you normally rely on and look to, to give a kind of lead, is not there. Well, without Daniel, these three men were what they were and they would not bow, they remained what they were. And then there is this noble touch, what we have been speaking

about, the preparedness to suffer—“But if not”, (that is, if God did not deliver them in regard to the fiery furnace) “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set up”. Now Satan is out to make believers bow. It might not be altogether apparent that it is Satan, but he would like to involve you in the world’s system. He would like to make you go along with the world and its idolatry, and he will use all these blandishments to make you fall in with the line of what everyone else is doing. Everybody was bowing and these three men were not. Satan will use these influences, but persons who know God will say, ‘I will not bow’. They say, ‘God will deliver us from the furnace and if He does not deliver us we will still not bow’.

Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, his visage was changed, and he commanded to heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated, as if Satan would bring the most intense suffering to bear on these men. And so they go that way, they go the way of suffering that we have been speaking about, the way of martyrdom. They would rather die than give up the truth. These three men, bound, were cast into the furnace, and then it emerges that God has come into the matter. Nebuchadnezzar looks in and he says, “Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” Then he said, “Lo, I see four men loose”. Four men, what does it mean? There are four men now, “the appearance of the fourth is like a son of God”.

Christ will be with you, the Son of God will be with you in the suffering. What a thought that is, that He Himself will be with you! If you make the stand, He will stand by you. It recalls Paul before Nero, “At my first defence no man stood with me”. They could not face the terrible position of standing before the Roman emperor, that cruel and all-powerful man. Paul stood there, but he says, “the Lord stood with me”, 2 Timothy 4: 17. Paul was conscious, as he stood there in that fearsome spot making his defence and preaching the gospel to the emperor, that Someone was

standing by him, “the Lord stood with me”. The Lord will be with you in sympathy, but He will give you a sense of His presence and of His support. Is it not worth it? So these things come when you make the stand. When you are prepared for the suffering you will get all these things, the comfort and the glory and the power, and above all the sympathy of the Lord Jesus and His support and even His companionship in what you go through. How wonderful it is, that with the suffering these things come. May we be encouraged in these things for His name’s sake.

Address at Adelaide
14 April 2001