The Call to Suffering (2:21)
“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” (1Peter2:21).
In what sense are we called to suffer? This is hardly the final purpose of the Christian life! The purpose of the Christian life lies in:
Relationship with Christ (Eph1:5)
Resemblance to Christ (Rom8:29)
In what sense can my ‘calling’ be seen as a calling to suffer? Surely not that suffering is the end of my election and calling, rather suffering patiently is our calling in so far as it conforms us to the character and person of Christ, our character becomes that of His character and the good of our calling is fulfilled, conformed to the image of Christ: “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.” (1Peter2:21-23), patience and dependence upon God are 2 Christ like features that come from sharing with Christ in His sufferings.
Patience - can only be learned within the context of imperfection, it is the perfect response of the soul to disappointment, failure and suffering.
Dependance – is only possible after the surrender of independence when self finally relinquishes sovereignty of the soul to God. The pride of human nature is such that this will only happen when finally the resources of personality and intellect are finally overwhelmed by the mounting up of uncopeable problems.
Patience and dependence upon God were exhibited by Christ in His sufferings (1Pet2:23), for as they are taught to us and given to us by the Holy Spirit during suffering.
The Consequence of Suffering (2:25)
Gods Purpose in Suffering:
Amongst Gods works in suffering we could recognise:
Christs unique expiatory sufferings (1Peter3:18): “for sin”
Christs unique substitutionary sufferings (1Peter4:1): “for us”
Judicial Sufferings – Gods condemnatory judgement brings in suffering in the form of punishment directly because of sin (Gen3:8; 18:20-23; 19; Acts5; Rom1:24, 26, 28). Such suffering is really punishment, it is the outpouring of Divine wrath.
Disciplinary Sufferings – chastening, designed to bring about a change, a transformation in the character by Gods disciplining Grace (Heb12:11).
This differs from Gods Judicial sufferings which are purely retributive and are not designed to bring about change in character.
These sufferings are in a sense permitted by God in His sovereign counsels as a ‘cure’ for sin; cf. Israel and their Babylonian captivity – cured of idolatry, 1Peter4:1; Heb 12:11.
They may show us the true nature and consequence of sin and act to stop us from further sin (1Peter4:1). To suffer in the flesh as a result of sin ‘cures’ us, ‘immunises’ us from the desire to participate in that sin.
Such disciplinary sufferings develop in us spiritual character, such as:
Righteousness (1Pet 2:20)
Faith (2Thess 1:3; 1Peter1:7)
Love (2Thess1:3; 1Pet1:8, 2:20)
Endurance (2Thess1:4) – endurance through tribulation is, “a manifest token of the righteous judgement of God.”
- Consider also: “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Rom5:3-5).
- They may reveal to us the true character and nature of sin and the world around us and so bring about and confirm separation and consecration from the world, cf. Abraham as he looks upon the desolation of Sodom (Gen19:28).
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Gods righteousness demands such sufferings! Take for example: a woman suffering with Tennis elbow, she is experiencing pain up and down the arm, keeping her awake at night, but there is a cure – a steroid injection into the elbow - the injection will be painful – ‘whatever it takes, I just want rid of this pain.’ It would have been unfair and unkind to withhold the treatment just because it was temporarily unpleasant!
God is compelled by His Righteousness and by His Love to act in this way because:
“no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Ps84:11)
“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” (Heb12:6,7)
Can God righteously withhold the treatment for our sin, for a fatal illness simply because that treatment is unpleasant? If this is the means by which sin might be removed from our character, then no matter how unpleasant Gods righteousness and Gods love must require that the treatment be administered.
Consecratory Sufferings - sufferings designed to separate us from the world and separate us to Christ.
Consier the example of a child who comes close to and touches a hot cooker / fire, he burns his finger, then he experiences pain and suffering, this is obviously a bad thing, yet within a day or so it becomes clear that the burn is only superficial, no permenant damage had been done. As soon as the pain came, the child withdrew from the fire and the damage stopped! It was the pain that saved his hand! Not only that but never again will he touch the hot fire deliberately:
The pain preserved his limb
The pain changed his behaviour.
In a world in which we so often draw close to that which would harm us, suffering ministers to us:
Preservation – we withdraw from the suffering and the sin.
Separation – we keep away from that which brings suffering.
Such a ministry of suffering is permitted by the grace of God as He permits us to taste of the bitterness of sin and the world lest we eat the poisoned fruits of it which would destroy us.
Consider the persecution of the believers at Thessalonica which resulted in their separation from the synagogue (Acts17).
Gods righteousness is again revealed in this, for would God be righteous to leave us still dabbling in sin and still compromised with the sinner, knowing that there was a cure.
We can see here too how God ‘respects’ the autonomy of the believer, he respects the will he gave man and the likeness to Himself in man. In demonstrating to us what the world is we are empowered to keep away from it (Heb13:12ff).
Suffering often prompts a battle in the life of the believer against external sin; against Satan, against persecution, against the flesh, “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” (Heb12:4). Such a war begun by suffering and persecution is really a war against the cause of suffering, which is sin, such a battle if it gets a grip in the life of the Christian will begin to judge and purge out that sin within which is causing suffering so clearly without. Suffering at the hands of the gentiles separates or immunises us from the way of the gentiles, “For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries.” (1Peter4:3). Consider also the way that Israel was purged of the sin of idolatry.
Reconciliatory Sufferings – ie. sufferings designed to win our hearts and draw us back to God
“Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses” (Ps107:6, 13, 19, 28).
Consider Peter walking on the water, he did well for so long but then when his faith wavered the Lord allowed him to sink that he might cry “Lord save me” (Matt14:30)
Restraining sufferings – Sufferings which God decrees for the limitation or curtailment of sin (Gen3:16, 17-19; 3:22) – toil and pain and death.
Preparatory sufferings – Sufferings which God allows into our lives as preparation for His Power to be seen:
John 9:3 “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
John11:4 “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”
Psalm113:7 “7He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; 8That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. 9He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.”
Such sufferings are ultimately for our blessing and for His Glory.
These are sufferings which have a purpose in mind, that of His Glory and of our good!
The Cause of Suffering (2:21-24)
The Presence of Good in an Evil World
Of this we can be sure:
Suffering came in with sin in Genesis Chp 3.
When sin is removed, suffering will be removed (Rev21:4).
The whole history of fallen humanity between Gen 3 and Rev 21 is marked by suffering
Little surprise then that in John 9, the disciples turned to the Lord, looking at the blind man asked: “Who did sin this man or his parents that he was born blind?” (Jo9:2).
The link between sin and suffering is not simple or straight forward however.
For most of our lives that link is broken by the intervention of Divine Grace and by Divine longsuffering:
“He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities,” (Ps103:10).
That becomes apparent when for example we consider:
The first commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3).
The Divine expectation which flows from this commandment is verbalised in Psalm 113:3: “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name is to be praised.”
Consider Gods righteous verdict on those who fall short of such standards: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezek18:20).
Suffering only breaks into our lives in a carefully controlled and deliberate fashion, controlled by the sovereign will of God.
In Gods time and for Gods reasons and in Gods plan our lives approach down towards that level of contact with the consequences of our fallen state which we call suffering.
For most of the time by grace and by mercy we live above that level: “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts17:28)
“Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?” (Job1:10)
Consider the restraining work of the Holy Spirit (2Thess2:6-8) in restraining evil and holding back the fullness of sin and iniquity.
“He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” (Ps103:10)
“That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. 29Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. 30Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. “ (Ps104:28)
“8Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 9For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.” (Ps107:8)
“23Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. 24Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” (Ps73:23).
Like Peter we are in reality walking on the water, an unnatural position maintained by the grace of God, by the ministry of Christ, at times when given over to ourselves we begin to sink.
The question asked by the disciples is very interesting, sometimes it is regarded as having come from naïve and unlearned men, but if we take it as coming form the mouths of sincere believers, from intelligent and not from ignorant men, not of carnal but of spiritual men, then perhaps we get the true sense of that question.
This question is not really a question coming from the lips of naïve believers at all but rather it is a genuine expression of their perplexity, it is a question that hits at the very heart of the problem of suffering, it hits at the heart of the greatest issue which faces the believer confronted with the issue of suffering:
‘How can God be righteous and yet permit suffering?’
For if we try and answer this question as it was asked in John9:2 (the Lord of course doesn’t), we reveal the state of confusion and perplexity in the minds of the disciples as they considered the problem of suffering:
If suffering is due to sin, and this man is suffering then it is because he sinned, yet his suffering has been since birth before he could do either good or evil, so if he is suffering is for his sin then does that make God unrighteous?
If his suffering is from birth and is due to sin could it then be due to the sin of his parents, since he had committed no acts of sin? If this is the case then the child is suffering for the sins of another. Does this make God unrighteous?
The problem then facing the believer dealing with this problem of sin is one of heads I win, tails you lose.
The means by which Christ deals with this apparently unsolvable problem is to introduce a completely new perspective to suffering.
This is of course a very important lesson, in dealing with suffering and with many other deep and difficult questions of the Gods Word and Gods Providence, always bear in mind, when you can’t make any sense out of the facts that you may not be in possession of all of the facts!
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa55:8)
There is in much of Gods dealings with us through suffering an inscrutability in Divine purpose.
Concerning His own act of humility and service the Saviour could say: “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” (Jo13:7), a truth which we can perhaps apply during times when we ourselves have been humbled.
The greatest challenge we meet when we examine the subject of suffering is that challenge we encounter to the righteousness of God.
Paradoxically we shall see that the solution to many of the problems which we encounter when we examine the great subject of suffering will also be found by an appeal to the righteousness of God.
The righteousness of God demands that for a fallen humanity suffering continues to be part and parcel of the experience of Saint and Sinner alike.
Suffering is the means and not the end of Gods dealings with His creature in this present Day of Grace, in a future Day, in the Day of His Wrath, ushering in the final judgment of the Great White Throne, suffering will no longer be a means but it will become an end in itself!
In the present Day, suffering has many ends and causes but in the life of the believer it is always the backdrop against which God works, it is the setting for the outworking of Divine Purpose.
So often the words of the Lord in John 9 could be applied to our own experience of suffering: “That the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John9:2).
Gods Activity in Suffering:
Does God Cause Suffering?
When suffering is absent it is because God actively intervenes in a fallen world to prevent and stop suffering:
“Hast thou made a hedge about him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side?” (Job1:10)
Gods Spirit is active in the world in restraining grace:
“And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” (2Thess2:6,7).
Man went into league with Satan in Genesis 3, man put his trust in Satan rather than God, the consequences of this await their fulfilment in the future, currently they are restrained by Gods Spirit.
Gods restraining grace prevents sin and prevents suffering, when it is withdrawn the natural, inevitable consequences of sin ensue:
“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:” (Rom1:24)
“26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.” (Rom1:26)
“28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” (Rom1:28)
Note the suffering that ensues because of the sins of Romans chapter 1, these are sufferings which transpire not because God caused them but rather they come about because of sin, subsequent to the withdrawal of Divine restraint:
Illicit sexual activity (1:27)
Unrighteousness (1:29)
Fornication (1:29)– broken relationships and broken homes
Wickedness (1:29)
Covetousness (1:29)
Maliciousness (1:29)
Murder (1:29)
Deceit (1:29)
Consider also Ps104:29, “thou hidest thy face, they are troubled.”
Consider also Gen 6:3, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.” – God is under no obligation to continually strive with man.
Is Suffering Caused by Evil?
Ultimately suffering only exists because of sin: Suffering came in with sin in Genesis Chp 3.
When sin is removed, suffering will be removed (Rev21:4).
The whole history of fallen humanity between Gen 3 and Rev 21 is marked by suffering
But suffering paradoxically has as much to do with good as it does with evil!
If there was no grace, no righteousness and no good there would also be no suffering.
Gods grace and longsuffering prevents the immediate destruction of sinful man by Divine judgement and Gods restraining Spirit in the world prevents mans rapid destruction by his own sin, as will partially occur in the Day of Tribulation.
It is the fact that good also exists in the world that gives sin and thus suffering its opportunity to act. It is normally the soft target, the weak, the meek, the innocent and the defenceless that sin and sinners take opportunity to attack. Consider the attacks recently in schools against unarmed school children: the Colombian High School massacre, the 5 girls murdered in the Amish school at Nickel mines, the Dunblane murders, the murders by Chechen terrorists in Georgia Russia. These people don’t pick army bases to shot people, they pick school children. It is the presence of good that gives sin its target for attack.
Before he murdered 5 girls in the Amish school in Nickel Mines, there murderer Charles Roberts wrote this to his wife:
“I am filled with so much hate, hate towards myself, hate towards God and unimaginable emptiness…”
In response to that hate he vented it at that which was closest to good and to virtue.
It is the presence of life that makes death possible
It is the presence of happiness that makes sadness meaningful
It is the presence of joy that renders grief a possibility
It is only because there is still in the world and in the believer something of the goodness and grace of God that suffering has a substrate upon which to work.
Sin and Satan and Suffering attacks the character and nature of God in the world and in the believer, its goal is to overthrow and expel God and the believer form this world:
“Egypt was glad when they departed for the fear of them fell upon them.” (Ps105:38)
Suffering is so often the pain felt by good as it is expelled from a lost and hostile world.
The Consolation to the Christian in Sufferings (2:20-21)
Christ suffered for us (2:21,24) and we suffer for Christ (2:20-21)
Corporate Sufferings (Col1:24) – sufferings which are ours because of our link with Christ.
“Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church.” (Col1:24). As part of His Body, such sufferings are on behalf of Christ and in such sufferings Christ suffers with us.
Such sufferings are to some extent spiritually inevitable since we are “in the world and not of the world” and the world vents its hatred of Christ upon us; “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (Jo15:18-19),
“29But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 30Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 31So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” (Gal 4:29-31). Such sufferings are in essence persecutory in nature.
“But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1Peter4:13) – as a partaker of Christs sufferings, those sufferings directed at Him and thus suffered by His body, we have the privilege (Col1:24) of suffering for Him and the prospect of sharing with Him in Glory as we have shared with Him in His sufferings. Again Gods Righteousness demands no less.
It is these corporate sufferings which Peter envisages as being the main reason for suffering in the life of any spiritual believer (1Peter3:17).
The Fellowship of Suffering
In suffering for Christ there is fellowship with Christ.
This demonstrates Gods sincerity.
Surely the greatest evidence of Gods sincerity in our suffering is His presence with us in that suffering.
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Isa41:10)
“Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. 24Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” (Ps73:23)
“Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.” (Ps66:12).
Not only is Christ present with us in those sufferings but He participates with us in those sufferings, He Himself shares those sufferings with us.
Consider the present ministry of Christ: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb4:15).
Since Christ is ‘with us’ and ‘in us,’ since Christ is intimately connected with His Saints, then as we suffer, Christ suffers with us.
“Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church.” (Col1:24) – the sympathetic sufferings of Christ.
“Saul, Saul why persecutest thou me?” (Acts9:4)
“For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.” (Phil1:29)
“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” (2Co1:5)
“In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.” (Isa63:9)
It is surely this truth above all else that brings true eternal and abiding meaning to the sufferings of believers, that as I suffer for Christ, He also suffers with me.
It is surely this above all else that establishes Divine sincerity in suffering, that suffering impacts upon the Lord Himself.
Arthur G Patzia: NIBC p41: ‘The afflictions of the church are also Christs afflictions. Pauls suffering for the Church completes Christs personal suffering.’
Cutis Vaughan: Expositors Bible Commentary: ‘The union is so intimate, Christ the Head, His people the body, that He suffers when they suffer (cf. Isa63:9). His personal sufferings are over, but His sufferings in His people continue (2Co1:5; Phil3:10)…’
Tom Bentley on Col1:24 in ‘What the Bible Teaches’: ‘They are sufferings which Christ experiences because of our union with Him. He suffers in us. It was this that transformed the sufferings which Paul experienced when he viewed them in the light of His union with Christ.’
Consider the practical example of John11:35, “Jesus Wept.”
The Character of God in Suffering (2:23)
Gods Righteousness in Suffering:
God is Righteous because men are Unrighteous:
The greatest challenge that seems to come from considering the subject of human suffering is that which is made to the righteousness of God.
How can a righteous God permit sufferings?
It is wise to examine the reasoning which lie behind such an accusation:
Sufferings are bad
I’m basically good
Therefore I don’t deserve bad things.
Most of the problem which comes when we consider the problem of suffering comes because our reasoning is faulty.
Towards the end of his life Adolf Hitler suffered, mental stress, possibly a nervous breakdown, he required drugs to just keep going, he committed suicide and then his body was burned. I have never heard anyone say, how tragic it was that he suffered. Most of us would say he got off lightly!
Our first and perhaps greatest problem in coming to an understanding of suffering lies in this that suffering is unfair, because it is undeserved, based upon the premise of my own personal righteousness, or upon the premise of the righteousness of another.
You will recall that it was with an appeal to the righteousness of men that Abraham attempted to halt the wrath of God upon Sodom (Gen18:24).
An appeal to the righteousness of men as undeserving of suffering is however a non-starter!
Sodom and Gomorrah were examined for 10 righteous men, in the event 4 were rescued from Sodom, 1 changed there mind and looked back and the other 3, the chosen best out of the 2 great cities of Sodom and Gomorrah promptly committed fornication and incest!
Don’t try and convince God that men are undeserving of suffering, quite frankly He won’t believe you!
To appreciate this truth we must grasp the anger of a righteous God against sin, that Gods revulsion against sins we regard as light or trivial is as great, if not greater than our revulsion against the sins of the flesh:
The retribution we feel is justified for murder (Matt5:21) Gods holiness demands for slander (Matt5:22).
The sin we see in the act of adultery (Matt5:27) God sees in the thoughts of adultery (Matt5:28).
A lustful look justifies the plucking out of the eye (Matt5:29)
A Sinful act justifies the amputation of the hand (Matt5:30)
“And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this.” (Ezra 9:13).
The final and ultimate presentation of Gods wrath and attitude to sin is revealed in hell and the lake of fire, here is the seriousness of sin.
An interesting question arises here, bearing in mind what subsequently happened with those 3 who were rescued, which gave rise to the emergence of 2 nations: the Ammonites and the Moabites, noted for their cruelty, fornication, idolatry and opposition and persecution to the people of God, would God have been righteous in blotting them out, back there in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? Is God obliged to prove His reasons for judgement? Is God obliged to allow men to work out the fullness of their sin in time to demonstrate that He is justified in His dealings?
Were 2 ungodly nations formed because Abraham went soft on sin?:
“And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.” (Gen19:29)
Perhaps there is a lesson here, let us not question Gods righteous dealings with sinful men.
If God intervenes in human history to blot out sin before it happens, God is righteous in so doing.
“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. 10He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” (Ps103:8-10)
God is Righteous because Suffering must Accompany Sin:
If we agree that man is a sinner then this effectively answers the question as to why there is suffering.
Sin brings suffering and corruption, “the bondage of corruption” (Rom8:21).
But surely God could put a stop to all suffering in the world.
God can put a stop to all suffering and God will put a stop to all suffering but God cannot put a stop to all suffering in a sinful world! Why? Because there are certain things God cannot do!
We are used with the idea that God can do everything and that there is nothing He cannot do:
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke1:37)
Integral to such a statement however is the admission that there is one thing which God cannot do, for if nothing is impossible with God then that means He cannot fail, He can be relied upon under any circumstance and He is dependable in any extreme of life! He cannot fail.
What we have deduced from Luke 1:37 the scriptures state in black and white:
“And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” (Deut 31:8)
There are certain things He cannot do, in essence He cannot fail, as a consequence He cannot:
Lie – That would be moral failure and would render Him unreliable and undependable, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;” (Titus1:2).
Die – the ultimate in failure, “but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail” (Heb1:12)
Deny – “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” (2Tim 2:13) – ie. He cannot move against or contra to His own essence.
This is very helpful when it comes to understand the present problem at hand.
Let us suppose God was to remove all suffering in a sinful world. The first and the greatest source of physical suffering that He would have to remove would be death, for that was the first and greatest source of suffering to come in when Adam sinned:
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen2:17) Having removed death God would require to remove the curse which was placed upon man and the earth subsequent to sin, another great source of suffering:
“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” (Gen3:16).
“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Gen3:19)
Now let’s just look at what we would have if God removed suffering from a sinful world: God would just have produced a perfect breeding ground for a world of immortal sinners living in Edenic conditions, in a world where sustenance and food came with no effort and no difficulties.
That would not be heaven, that would be hell. It would be a world of Satans! Where all sins could be practised with impunity!
That may satisfy the conscience of corrupt and fallen man:
He could have as much lust as he wanted but never the unwanted children, the broken relationships, the diseased bodies.
He could have as much hatred as he wanted but never the ravages of war
He could have as much materialism as he wanted but never the poverty that goes with it.
But it would never satisfy the mind of a righteous God.
One of the first acts of God after the fall of man into sin was to bar access to the tree of life: “lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever” (Gen3:22).
God cannot do such a thing for such an action would be to unrighteous, it would support and perpetuate sin for eternity.
Sin causes suffering and this suffering because it is ultimately failure, limits sin.
If sin were to be restricted infinitely in its effects, it could continue infinitely in its conception and activity.
To remove the effects of sin without removing sin itself is to create an infinite evil, but rather God has set bounds upon evil, beyond which “we cannot pass”.
What about that great area of suffering, that spiritual area of anguish and loneliness that came immediately upon Adams sin – separation from God
“And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Gen3:9,10)
Is God to overcome that area of suffering too by renewing fellowship with sinful and unregenerate man? Impossible!
There are only 2 ways consistent with Divine Righteousness by which God can put away suffering, that is:
To completely and utterly put a away man and his world in judgement
To redeem man from sin and to remove sin and wit it suffering
In grace God has chosen to do the second.
In a day yet future God will also do the first.
The link between sin and suffering is a link which God cannot break and maintain His rightesousness, He could not even break the link when it came to His Son:
“If it be possible let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not my will but thine be done.”
It was not possible for sin to be dealt without the suffering of Christ
If Christ was going to deal with sin He would have to suffer!
To purge sin without suffering and without Calvary would be to say that sin doesn’t really matter!
God is Righteous because Sin without Suffering would lead men to believe a lie:
For God to perpetuate a world where the connection between sin and suffering were completely removed would be to lead men to believe a lie, namely that they can sin with impunity, that sin isn’t really such a bad thing after all!
Such a teaching is a Satanic delusion.
Furthermore such a belief would ultimately lead men on a path of false security until ultimately entering into a lost eternity they find themselves in hell and finally faced with the terrible consequences of their sin which had been hitherto unrecognised!
To permit a world of sin but without the consequences of sin would be a sin for it would result in:
Infinite evil
Delusion leading to eternal destruction
Sin must bring suffering, it is an unbreakable law (1Peter3:18), which even Christ Himself must obey.
God is Righteous because all men are Condemned in Adam:
What about the suffering of the innocent?
“They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.” (Ps94:21)
We need to be careful though, for whilst we may be innocent of any particular sin yet within us all is a fallen human nature and a propensity to sin even sins which go to the extent of:
“And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.” (Ps106:38)
Even the offspring of sinners is contaminated with the principle of sin: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Rom5:12). If such corruption is present then death and suffering is a moral consequence.
Such ‘sin that we are’ is sufficient to condemn the whole offspring and the whole of the human race, “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” (Rom5:18).
All of Adams offspring stand condemned, they have within them the propensity to evil.
For a sinner to live requires the active exercise of Divine longsuffering:
“What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.” (Rom9:22)
“Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.” (Ps119:17)
“And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!” (Gen17:18)
God is Righteous because Death is not the End:
Consider or example the special circumstance of the death of the ‘innocent’
This is not ignored in scripture: Matt2:16ff, not only a massacre recorded but a massacre prophesied (Jer31:15), children 2 years old and under, note they are linked to Bethlehem, linked to Christ, linked to Rachael.
It is of interest to note that amongst the resurrections of scripture half of them are of children, we have:
Jarius’ daughter (Luke8:41ff), aged 12, raised up by Christ
Widow of Nains son (Luke7:11ff) raised up by Christ, a “young man.”
Widow of Zarephaths son raised up by Elijah (1Kings17:19), he was small enough for the widow woman to hand him over to Elijah.
The Shunammite womans son raised up by Elisha (2Kings4) – small enough to sit on her knees (2Kings4:2).
Following the death of the son of David and Bathsheba, “But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” (2Sam12:23).
Is there in all of this the anticipation of the resurrection to life of those whose life has innocently been brought to an end?
Notice that of the remaining resurrections in the scripture we have:
Dorcas in Acts 9, she was a disciple, “full of good works and alms deeds” – she was a believer
Eutychus (Acts20:9), he appears to have been a “disciple” (Acts20:7)
Lazarus (John11), he was a believer, “He whom thou lovest is sick” (Jo11:3)
In addition to this there are the unspecified resurrections linked to the death and resurrection of Christ (Matt27:52-53), these were the bodies of , “the saints.”
There is only one other man who was raised from the dead and whose spiritual status is unknown, the man of 2Kings13:21.
It would appear that either only or mainly saved individuals were raised up again from the dead other than the children. Is there a lesson here? Is the resurrection of the innocent dead to be amongst those of the saints?
That is not to say of course that there is a means to heaven other than by Christ, but that Christ is able to save those who have never committed a knowing sin and have had no opportunity in time either believe or to repent of sin not worked out.
Note how these children were committed to the hands of Elijah, Elisha and Christ.
Coping with Suffering: Future:
The key lies in losing site of the suffering and fixing our eyes on the Glory of Christ:
“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.” (Heb12:2)
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom8:18)
“But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” (1Peter4:13)
“If we suffer, we shall also reign with him:” (2Tim2:12)
“The sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” (1Peter1:11)
It is reckoned even in the wisdom of men that sometimes suffering is worth the end that it brings. If suffering is the cost then what it buys is sometimes worth the cost.
A man with a cancer told the news that his tumour will kill if left alone, but an operation will most likely cure him, but he will have a wound, stitches, 6 months recovery. There would be very few who would turn down the operation!
‘It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.’
