Displaying Christ in Suffering
In 2 Corinthians Paul gives at least ten reasons as to why we suffer. God has purposes in our pain. He starts by telling us that one of the purposes is so that we might be able to strengthen other believers amidst their suffering. He then explains that God brings suffering into our lives so that we might trust in Christ’s power and greatness. He can raise the dead, just like God the Father raised him.
Paul then moves into chapter four, where he will talk about how our goal in suffering is to display Christ, not ourselves, and as we suffer, the goal is to truly let Jesus Christ be seen in these jars of clay.
And then we see later in chapter four the need to ultimately glorify Christ in the midst of our suffering. And then Paul goes on to say our suffering provides an eternal perspective. So while we may have one eye on our suffering, we have one eye on eternity. This dilapidated body that Paul calls our “tent” is going the way of death, slowly but surely. But one day we will have a glorified body, just like Christ. And so in our suffering, that draws us closer and closer to the reality of our heavenly home, and we get homesick for heaven.
Written for Christians who are struggling to understand why they experience grief, this book explores 10 powerful statements from 2 Corinthians about God’s good purposes for suffering.
Paul then talks in chapter seven about the fact that, ultimately, suffering can bring us to repentance. It will soften our hearts, it will break us, and when we realize we may have sin in our lives, it will help us respond accordingly to the Lord.
Chapter eight then helps us to realize another purpose in our suffering, and that is that our suffering—even if it’s financial—is a means for us to be able to share with the body of Christ and for the body of Christ to be able to share with us.
Paul then talks in chapter nine about the grace of God that meets us in our suffering. He helps us—not just financially—but he helps us in every area of our lives.
We then look to chapter 12, where Paul tells us that our suffering can ultimately counteract conceit. It can humble us. And then he reminds us in chapter 12 of a tenth and final purpose of our suffering, and that is that we might see God’s power manifested in our weakness amidst our suffering.
There are at least ten purposes in our suffering in 2 Corinthians, but there are myriads of myriads that Scripture lays out and only God knows in his eternal wisdom.
Keith R. Krell is coauthor with Kenneth Berding of God’s Purposes in Our Pain: 10 Ways God Uses Suffering for Our Good.
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