Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
Suffering confronts us with our total dependence upon the grace of God. Pastor John Farley.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Article ton + descriptive genitive plural noun pathematon – this is the mantle, undeserved suffering
Plural = a continuation of the suffering, plus personal pronoun autou.
The mature or supergrace believer wears the mantle of continual satanic opposition, 2TI 3:12.
The twelfth unique factor of Church-age mystery doctrine – the availability of omnipotence of the divine power to execute the PPOG.
We have seen this vital relationship between the power used in the resurrection of Christ and the power available to the Church-age believer today.
We experience this divine power or the application of the omnipotence of God in our life when we go through the adversities and afflictions associated with our life and service. Therefore, when we are suffering for the cause of Christ, we have a unique privilege.
When you live your life in the light of eternity, including participation in His sufferings, you realize any affliction you endure cannot compare with the eternal weight of glory which is far beyond all comparison, 2CO 4:17.
You will also realize that any losses associated with participation in His sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us, ROM 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
HEB 11:25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin;
The whole point is to advance to spiritual adulthood, so that the problems, the adversities, the tragedies, the difficulties of life become a blessing because of participation in His sufferings.
All problems before then are a source of great difficulty and there are only two real problem-solving devices functioning on the FLOT line of the soul, rebound and the faith-rest drill.
Once you reach the first stage of spiritual growth, spiritual self-esteem, you now have the beginning of the four great problem-solving devices of spiritual adulthood: Grace orientation, doctrinal orientation, a personal sense of destiny, and personal love for God the Father.
If the believer advances and uses the divine assets made available then in the eternal state he will be rewarded for taking advantage of his equal privilege and equal opportunity.
The sufferings here being such a high honor and high decoration have a lot of distractions and obstacles to overcome.
In this subject of participation in His sufferings, we will just examine the divine solutions connected with providential preventive suffering, momentum testing, and evidence testing.
Suffering depletes our human resources and confronts us with our total dependence upon the grace of God,
2CO 12:9-10.