The Greater Anointing, Pt 4.

2 Chronicles 5:13-14. [I]ndeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, for His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud,  so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

In this instance, the musicians and singers entered into such a spirit of worship that they became as one. The glory of the Lord actually appeared unto them as a cloud and filled the house of the Lord with His presence.

What a vivid demonstration of the truth recorded in Psalm 22:3 that God is enthroned upon and inhabits the praises of His people!

In John 4:24, Jesus said that those who worship God, must worship Him in spirit and truth. That’s the only kind of worship that brings the glory of God into manifestation!

The Greater Anointing, Pt 3

Acts 4:24,31. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them…” And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Another thing that causes the corporate anointing to increase is prayer.

The more that people spend time in the presence of the Lord in prayer, both individually and corporately, the more they carry a sense of the presence of God around them and with them.

The more people enter into His presence, the more His manifested presence will enter in among them.

In Acts 13:1,2 we read how, as certain prophets and teachers ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit spoke and sent Barnabas and Saul (later Paul) on their first missionary journey into Europe.

Prayer releases faith and creates an atmosphere in which the Holy Spirit will speak; it creates an environment in which the Holy Spirit can freely move.

The Greater Anointing, Pt 2

Acts 2:1,4. When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place… And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…

The corporate anointing is enhanced when people walk in love and stay out of strife.

Where there is envy and strife, there is confusion and every evil work. It’s demonic and allows evil spirits to operate. (James 3:14-16).

But unity is more than just avoiding strife and “getting along.” True spiritual unity is born of the Spirit.

When God brings people together with one heart and a common purpose, there’s a oneness of spirit that only the Holy Spirit can produce.

The Greater Anointing, Pt 1

2 Chronicles 5:13-14. It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

The Body of Christ is the temple of God, and God wants to fill His house with His glory  just as He did under the Old Covenant, and even more so now under the New Covenant, which is a better covenant, established upon better promises. (Heb 8:6).

The corporate anointing that is upon the Church can be in manifestation to a greater or lesser degree. One thing that hinders the Holy Spirit from manifesting the glory of the Lord among us in a greater measure is ignorance of His ways. (Ps 25:4; Ps 103:7).

Many Christians understand very little about the “flow” of the Holy Spirit and how He moves. (John 7:38-39). For lack of knowledge, people perish and go into captivity. (Is 5:13; Hosea 4:6).

But where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty!

 

The Spirit Without Measure

1 Cor 12:27. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

According to this Scripture, the Church is the Body of Christ, the Anointed One. 1 Cor 3:16 further states, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

We are the body of Christ, the Anointed One. We are the temple of God, “being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:21-22). In the Old Testament, the glory of the Lord often filled the house of God as a cloud. Now we are the House of God!

Kenneth E. Hagin taught that the anointing upon the Body of Christ as a whole is in the same measure that Jesus Himself had when He ministered on the earth. It stands to reason, since we are His body and He is the Head, that corporately we would have the potential to operate in the same measure of the anointing that Jesus did!

The anointing which is upon the Body of Christ as a whole is greater than the anointing which is upon any one individual, and there are things that we can do that will either increase or decrease the manifestation of that greater corporate anointing which is upon us.

The Anointed One, Pt 2

John 1:41. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ).

Luke 9:20. He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

Jesus is the “Anointed One.” He is also called the “Messiah” from the Hebrew and “Christ” from the Greek, but both words mean exactly the same thing—He is the Anointed One!

Over the centuries leading up to His birth, there was tremendous yearning and anticipation in the people of God for His coming! The Messiah would bring redemption, healing, deliverance and a kingdom to Israel!

You can get some idea of how much His appearing meant to those who received Him when He came, when you consider that the word “Christ” is used over 500 times in the New Testament!  The Apostle Paul referred to “Christ” fifteen times in the first chapter of first Corinthians alone! It is evident that as he wrote down his revelation in the “knowledge of the mystery of Christ,” that Jesus is the Christ was uppermost in his thoughts. (Ephesians 3:3-4).

Jesus Himself declared in the synagogue after being baptised in the River Jordan, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He has anointed Me to preach the gospel.” And Luke wrote concerning Jesus that He was “anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power” and “went about doing good, healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” John the Apostle wrote that the purpose the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38; 1 John 3:8).

The anointing and being the Anointed One had everything to do with Jesus’ mission in coming to this earth! It was not a side issue; it was not incidental; and the operation of the anointing was not meant to be an occasional occurrence reserved for “special events.”

The anointing was absolutely central to Jesus’ purpose for being on the earth, and as the Body of Christ—the Anointed One, it is absolutely central to our purpose for being on the earth as well!

 

The Anointed One, Pt 1

Acts 10:38…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

Earnest Christians everywhere hunger to have the anointing of God in greater and greater manifestation, not only in their individual lives, but also in the Body of Christ at large.

You cannot talk about the anointing without also talking about the Anointed One, Jesus Christ the Messiah.

His coming was foretold. The people of Israel awaited Him. He would be a Mighty King, a Suffering Servant, a Prophet like Moses. He would be anointed to bring good news to the poor, healing to the sick and liberty to the captives. Though Satan would “bruise His heel, He would crush Satan’s head.” The Anointed One, the Messiah, would bring great deliverance and redemption to God’s people.

The anointing has everything to do with the purpose for which the Lord Jesus Christ   came into this earth.

Stand Fast in the Liberty Wherewith Christ Has Made Us Free

Gal 5:1. It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

The success of Satan’s strategies against people is wholly dependent upon them being ignorant of the truth. It is for lack of revelation knowledge of the truth that God’s people go into bondage and perish. It is the lack of revelation knowledge of our redemptive rights in Christ that causes us to continue to experience the effects of the curse, even though legally we are redeemed from the curse of the law.

The truth is like a giant search light that illuminates and exposes Satan’s schemes against you. Shine the light of the truth of God’s word upon the thoughts and strategies that the enemy brings against you, and like a bug, he’ll go scurrying back under the rock from whence he came!

Of all the many things that the Apostle Paul could have prayed concerning the Early Church, what he prayed for them most of all was that they would have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ! (Ephesians 1:16-23).

Jesus is the Word made flesh. Revelation knowledge of the Word is revelation knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. This knowledge is the remedy for every ill that ails the human race!

This revelation knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ that comes to your spirit as you meditate upon His Word reveals to you the exalted position that you have in Christ—far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. It causes you to understand that all the devices and works of the enemy against you have been put under your feet.

Armed with this knowledge of God, you can rise up above the works of the enemy and put your foot down and say “no more will the effects of the curse operate in my life!”

Revelation Knowledge of God’s Word Brings Deliverance

Gal 3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.

John 8:31-32. If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

When we experience some aspect of the curse of the law in our life, the remedy is  revelation knowledge of the truth. God’s word is truth. (John 17:17).

Revelation knowledge of the truth comes as we continue in the Word of God by making it our meditation day and night. (Joshua 1:8; Ps 1:1-3).

Knowledge of the truth is a precious thing. In the Scriptures, you can hear the yearning of the Holy Spirit for the earth to be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. (Is 11:9; Hab 2:14).

Why? Because when people have revelation knowledge of the truth, it sets them free from the works of the enemy!

Enforcing Your Legal Rights, Pt 4

Gal 3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)…

Many times in the natural world, people are forced to seek redress from a court of law in order to enforce their legal rights against those who would try to take advantage of them.

This is true in the spiritual realm as well. Satan tries to steal, kill and destroy your inheritance through your ignorance of what belongs to you in Christ. The scripture says that God’s people are destroyed and brought into captivity through the lack of knowledge. (Isaiah 5:13; Hosea 4:6).

It takes more than an intellectual knowledge of who you are and what you have in Christ to walk in freedom—it takes revelation knowledge!

How do we walk free from the operation of the enemy? Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32).

Enforcing Your Legal Rights, Pt 3

Gal 3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)…

As a born again child of God, you may be experiencing some aspect of the curse of the law in your life, but you are not under a curse.

I cannot over emphasize this distinction. Your “starting point” in this discussion makes all the difference in the outcome!

If you were still under the curse, then that would mean that the devil has the right to attack you. It would mean that you deserve to be sick. It would mean that the devil is entitled to afflict you with sickness and disease.

But if you are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, then you have been delivered from the authority of darkness (Colossians 1:13); and the devil does not have the right to afflict you, though he does have the power.

We need to find out what our rights are under the New Covenant! We need to enforce against Satan and his cohorts the legal rights that have been purchased for us through the blood of Jesus Christ!

We use the authority that we have in the name of Jesus Christ to counteract and to negate the illicit operation of Satan’s power against us!

Enforcing Your Legal Rights, Pt 2

Gal 3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)…

We don’t have to break generational curses. They have already been broken for us. The entire curse that comes through disobedience to the law of God has been born by Jesus Christ. He absorbed it totally into His being. He became a curse for us so that He would redeem us from the curse.

We don’t have to break generational curses; we need to take a position on the Word of God and declare our freedom from them in the name of Jesus Christ. At the same time we don’t deny their reality!

Sickness and disease are real. Poverty, fear and mental torment are real. All the curses listed in Deuteronomy 28 are real. But Gal 3:13 says that we are redeemed from them! Gal 3:13 is “more real” than the curse!

We understand that negative things can enter into a person’s ancestry through the sins and mistakes of his forbearers. We understand that people can “leave a door open” that gives the enemy access into their lives. We realize that even as born again, blood-bought and blood-washed believers, we sometimes experience the effects of the curse in our lives.

But just because you are under attack, that doesn’t mean that the devil has the right to attack you. Just because you experience the curse does not mean that you are under the curse!

The Father has washed away our sins and our past through the blood of Jesus, and has blotted out our condemnation under the law by nailing it to the cross. When He did this, He disarmed Satan and stripped him of his ability to use the sins and mistakes of the past against us. (Colossians 2:14-15).

Enforcing Your Legal Rights, Pt 1

Gal 3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)…

When it comes to the subject of “generational curses,” you have to understand that every curse that could possibly come upon the human race is part of the curse of law as described in Deuteronomy 28, and that Christ has utterly redeemed us from the curse of the law.

We’re not denying the reality of the curse. We’re denying its right to rule over us. We’re not saying that generational curses do not exist; we’re denying their right to exist in our lives.

Here’s an analogy from the law that’s helpful. When people occupy land that doesn’t belong to them, we call them “squatters.” To evict them from your land, you go to court to enforce your legal rights.

You’re not denying that the squatters are there; you’re denying their right to be there. And in such a case, when you go to court, you’re not trying to “get” something that you do not have; you’re enforcing what already belongs to you!

Spiritually speaking, our Judge is God the Father; our Advocate is Jesus Christ the Son; and we enforce our legal rights under the New Covenant in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.

You’re Not Under the Curse

Gal 3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)…

If believers are not under the curse of the law, why then do they sometimes experience “the curse of the law” operating in their lives and how can they walk free?

The answer is that you must know what belongs to you. Your starting point is to know first and foremost that you’ve been redeemed from the curse of the law, no matter what it looks like or what may be going on in your life.

If you compromise on that point, Satan will take you down and keep you down. Just because you’re experiencing certain aspects of the curse as described in Deuteronomy 28, that doesn’t mean that you are cursed or that you are “under the curse.” It doesn’t mean that you’ve lost your legal standing as one who’s been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. (1 Peter 1:19).

It does mean, however, that you’ll need to take a stand on the Word of God against the enemy and his works in your life.

But if God says that you’re redeemed from the curse of the law, then you are redeemed!

Generational Curses, Pt 2

Galatians 3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)…

Are Christians under the “curse of the law”? Are they required to “break” generational curses in order to be completely free?

No, according to Galatians 3:13, they are not under the curse of the law and they do not need to break generational curses.

According to Galatians 3:13, Jesus has already broken the curse of the law for the believer.

The sufferings that Jesus bore for us on Calvary were actually “our sufferings” because we deserved them. He did not! He bore the curse of the law for us in our stead, because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. When He was crucified, He was cursed on our behalf for our transgression of the law.

But let’s be honest. In their everyday lives, many Christians experience the things listed in Deuteronomy 28, such as doubt, defeat, discouragement, depression, confusion, sickness, disease, poverty, failed investments, broken homes, love loss in marriage, children lost to the world, fear, terror, hunger, lack, hopelessness, and so on.

If as a believer, you experience some of these things, does that mean then that you are “under a curse”? Absolutely not, and it is vital that you understand this.

Well then, if believers are not under the curse of the law, why do they sometimes experience “the curse of the law” operating in their lives and how can they break free?

I want to share the answer to these questions with you, but the absolute, fundamental starting point is and must be to accept the word of God at face value when it states that “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us…”

 

Generational Curses, Pt 1

Galatians 3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)…

Some Christians talk a lot about “generational curses.” These refer to physical or mental afflictions and negative personality characteristics handed down from generation to generation due to someone’s disobedience to God.

They teach that all Christians have to “break” the generational curses that they have inherited from their ancestors. Is this true?

Not according to Galatians 3:13.

Every conceivable curse that could come upon the human race for its disobedience to the law of God is spelled out in Deuteronomy 28. The curses described in Deuteronomy 28 are known as the “curse of the law.”

According to Galatians 3:13, if you are in Christ, He has redeemed you from the curse of the law.

Be Strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might!

1 Peter 4:14. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

There is only one way to suffer the afflictions of the gospel: in, with and by the power of God! This is a common theme in the New Testament.

Paul told Timothy not to be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of Paul himself who was a prisoner for the sake of Jesus Christ, but rather to join with him in suffering for the gospel “according to the power of God.”

The sense of the language there is that when you suffer for the sake of the gospel, the way to do it is to suffer in, with and surrounded by the power of God.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul said that he would rather glory in his infirmities so that the power of Christ might rest upon him, and that he was content with hardship and persecutions for the sake of Christ, because he had discovered that when he was weak in himself, then he was strong in the Lord.

In 2 Corinthians 1:5, Paul said that just as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

And lastly, in our text, Peter points out that when you are reproached for the name of Christ, the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

There is both great power and great rewards reserved for those who suffer for the sake of the gospel!

God is a Rewarder!

Here are some additional scriptures about the rewards of suffering for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ:

Luke 6:22-23. Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

Romans 8:16-18. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

1 Peter 4:12-13. Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

Rejoice and Be Exceedingly Glad

Matthew 5:11-12. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

There are rewards for suffering for the sake of Christ. Perhaps his knowledge of this together with his great love for the Colossian Christians is why the Apostle Paul could tell them, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you…” (Col 1:24).

You suffer for the sake of Christ when you share the gospel with family, friends or acquaintances, and they mock you and reject you. In some places in the world, they might even hurt you physically, as one of our Eskimo missionaries experienced in Arctic Russia. Her uncle beat her more than once because she preached the gospel in her village. She counted it a joy and a privilege to suffer for the Name of Jesus!

You suffer the afflictions of the gospel when you preach the truth of God’s word and other Christians speak evil of you; or when you sacrifice your time and money to advance the Kingdom of God; or labor fervently in prayer for your children, for the lost, or for weaker Christians; or stand for the truth of God’s word in a secular society that calls evil good and good evil and casts you out as intolerant and narrow minded.

Up until now, Christians in the West have known very little about this kind of persecution. But it is obvious that all over the world a change is occurring in which Christians and Jews both are increasingly considered the most unpopular and politically incorrect people on earth.

When you realize what a great reward there is for suffering on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ, it gives you a desire to do whatever He asks of you for the sake of the gospel!

Great is Your Reward!

Luke 6:22-23. Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

There are people in this world who live in places that, for reasons geographical, cultural or political, are hard to reach. Someone is going to get a little cold, a little wet, or suffer some hunger or hardship as Paul did in order to reach them.

When you hold forth the truth of God’s Word, the world will not like it. Some Christians will not like it! The ancient Romans fed Christians to the lions because they considered them to be intolerant and narrow-minded toward Rome’s ungodly lifestyle. They were indignant that Christians claimed Jesus Christ to be the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that no man could come unto the Father but by Him. This same attitude is increasingly prevalent in the world today, and particularly in Europe and the United States.

Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you.” (John 15:18 ESV). Paul said that his heartfelt desire was “that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings…” (Phil 3:10).
 
There is a reward for suffering the afflictions of the gospel!

It’s Not a Blessing Issue

Some years ago in the middle of winter a jetliner crashed into the Potomac River shortly after taking off from Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C.

The river was frozen and many passengers survived the impact only to find themselves in danger of succumbing to hypothermia in the frigid waters of the Potomac.

There was a man who witnessed the scene and saw a young woman struggling in the water who was about to go under for the last time. Disregarding his own safety and comfort, he dove into the icy river and pulled her to safety and to life. He rescued her from certain death.

Think about it. That man could have been the wealthiest man on earth, blessed above all others financially, and yet, for all his money, it would have done that woman no good, had he not been willing to risk his own well-being for her sake.

He could have yelled out to her, “Hold on. I’m very wealthy and I’m going to charter a helicopter to come and rescue you.” He could have chartered a whole fleet of helicopters, but by the time they reached her, it would have been too late.
 
My friend, suffering for the sake of the gospel is not a prosperity issue. It’s not a blessing issue. It’s a search and rescue issue!

 

Blessed To Be A Blessing!

Paul was compelled by the love of Christ to share the gospel with people, no matter what it cost him personally, so much so that he felt himself indebted to share the gospel! (2 Cor 5:14; Rom 1:14-15).

Some Christians think that you cannot reconcile being “blessed with all spiritual blessings” as a believer (Ephesians 1:3) with suffering for the sake of the gospel. But the Lord told Abraham that He blessed him in order to make him a blessing to the nations. (Gen 12:1-3). We are blessed to be a blessing!

As the “seed of Abraham,” we bring blessing to the nations as we proclaim the gospel message that Christ Jesus died for all men, in order to save them from the penalty and punishment of sin and so that they may share in all the spiritual blessings in heavenly places that we’ve been blessed with in Christ!

Sharing the gospel with people at times can involve some suffering, but that kind of suffering brings with it a great reward!

Reaching the Lost at Any Cost

2 Tim 2:10. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.

People get confused over the issue of suffering. They confuse the kind of suffering that arises out of man’s fallen state, from which we have been redeemed, with suffering for the sake of the Body of Christ, from which we have not!

Jesus bore for our sake the suffering that came upon us as a result of Adam’s fall and our own Adamic nature. We bear for the Lord’s sake the suffering involved in taking the good news of redemption to those who have not heard it.

Some Christians believe that the Lord loves them too much to allow them to suffer at all. But in Philippians 1:29, Paul essentially said that the Lord loves you so much that He has given you the privilege to suffer for Him!

Paul loved people to the point that he gladly suffered for their sake, if that’s what it took to bring the gospel of redemption to them!

The Heart of Paul

What a picture Paul presents of a man sold out for God; who was “all out” to do the will of God; who wanted to do all that he could for the people of God; who was determined to reach the lost at any cost! He would willingly expend himself that others might be saved, helped and strengthened!

What a heart for God he had! This was a man who could declare without reservation to his friends in Caesarea who would have spared him, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:13).

Think about that! He said, “I am ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus!” As Christians, we all ought to be able to say that! You might want to ask yourself, “Can I say that?”

Today, many Western believers are looking for the catching away of the Church to save them out of all persecution, while multitudes of our brothers and sisters in Christ in other nations are rejoicing to suffer prison, torture and even death for the name of Jesus. They have already experienced persecution every bit as intense as anything that will occur during the “Great Tribulation.”

The picture painted in the New Testament is clear: when Christians suffer for the sake of Christ, it is cause to rejoice and be glad and to leap for joy, for great is their reward in heaven!

Counted Worthy to Suffer Shame for His Name

Acts 5:40-42. …And when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

The Early Church knew something about suffering for the sake of Christ that the Western Church knows little or nothing about.

However, there are hundreds of thousands of believers around the world in nations like China, North Korea, Sudan, India and Indonesia—to name only a few—who know firsthand what it means to endure persecution for the cause of Christ and who consider it a great honor to do so.

We could learn something from them.

Like the apostles in this account from the book of Acts, they rejoice that they are “counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”

There is a reward in heaven for this kind of suffering that far exceeds anything that you could think or imagine.

Suffering for the Sake of His Body

Col 1:24. I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church…  

2 Tim 2:10. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.

Often as Christians we suffer for the sake of Christ unknowingly and without realizing what a great reward is ours!

Whenever you endure labor, suffering, hardship or inconvenience on behalf of the truth of the gospel or the Body of Christ (which includes both those who are saved and those who will be saved as a result of your labor and efforts), you are enduring “suffering for the sake of Christ” for which there is a great reward!!

Paul brings this truth out in 2 Cor 11:23-28 where he tells us that “for the sake of those who are chosen,” he was beaten, shipwrecked, flogged, and imprisoned; labored abundantly; and endured hardship, frequent journeys, sleepless nights, cold, hunger, thirst, exposure, dangers on land and sea, dangers from unbelievers, dangers from false believers, and intense concern for the welfare of his spiritual children.

All of this qualifies as “suffering for the sake of Christ,” and it is given to us as a gift of God’s grace on His behalf to do so!

Suffering for His Sake

Phil 1:29. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake…

Although He is ever present with us and in us by His Spirit, physically speaking, the Lord Jesus Christ has been in heaven ever since He ascended back unto the Father. (Acts 1:9; Colossians 3:1; Heb 1:3).

What does the scripture mean then when it says that it has been granted to you on the behalf of Christ to suffer for His sake?

Jesus said that whatever you do to one of the least of His brothers, you do it unto Him. (Matt 25:40). He so closely identifies with those who put their faith in Him that He calls them “His Body.” (1 Cor 12:27).

When He appeared to Saul (who later became Paul) on the Damascus Road, referring to the fact that Saul had been persecuting the Jewish followers of Jesus, chasing them as far as foreign cities, shutting them up in prison, punishing them, and putting them to death,  Jesus poignantly asked him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 26:14).

That is why the Apostle Paul later wrote to the Colossians, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church…” (Col 1:24). 

And to Timothy, his son in the faith, he said, “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.” (2 Tim 2:10).

Suffering on the behalf of Christ is suffering endured on the behalf of His Body on earth—both for the sake of those who are saved as well as though who will be saved through the faithful witness of the servants of Christ.

Suffering for His Name

Phil 1:29. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake…

The kind of suffering that has been “given” to us to endure for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ is persecution and hardship on behalf of the gospel.

From the time that Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul, was saved, the Lord began to speak of how much Paul “must suffer for [His] name’s sake.” Acts 9:16.

We get some insight into the kinds of things that we might suffer for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ from Phil 1:30. There Paul tells the Philippians that they were enduring the same kind of conflict which he did. What kind of conflict was that?

2 Corinthians 11:23-28 tells us:

Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.

The Word of God tells us that it is an honor and a joy to suffer such things for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Sufferings of Christ

Phil 1:29. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake…

Paul here is talking about a type of suffering from which we are not redeemed. While Jesus bore our sufferings, we are given the privilege of bearing His.

We’re not talking about the kind of suffering that comes through the curse of the law as listed in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. Those are “our sufferings” from which we have been redeemed and include such things as defeat, discouragement, sickness, disease, poverty, fear, terror, and lack of vision and direction for your life, to mention only a few! When the Lord Jesus Christ became a curse for us according to Gal 3:13, He suffered these things for our sakes.

But here, Paul told the Philippians that it had been given to them to suffer for the sake of Christ! In the original language, the word “given” in this verse conveys the idea of the free, unmerited favor of God. In other words, Paul is saying that as a matter of God’s grace it had been given to the Philippians to suffer for the sake of Christ!

Phil 1:29 in the New Revised Standard Version reads this way: “For He has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for Him as well.”

The Early Church understood this. When Peter and the other apostles were flogged and ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus, “they went on their way from the presence of the Jewish Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.” Acts 5:40-41.

He Bore Your Suffering, Pt 2

Gal 3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)…

The curses listed in Deuteronomy 28 are “our sufferings.” Those are the sufferings that the Lord Jesus bore on our behalf at Calvary.

That’s why Isaiah 53:4-5 reads:

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Those were our griefs and sorrows that Jesus bore. And what He bore, we need not bear.

And yet, Paul could speak of another kind of suffering from which we have not been redeemed—the sufferings of Christ! (Philippians 1:29).

He bore our sufferings that we might bear His!

 

He Bore Your Suffering, Pt 1

Gal 3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)…

The curses listed in Deuteronomy 28 are what Christ redeemed us from when He suffered and died in our place.

God the Father performed a supernatural exchange when Jesus bore our sins on the cross. (1 Peter 2:24). Although Jesus had never sinned, He was made to be sin for us, so that we could be made the righteousness of God in Christ.

Jesus actually came under the curse that we were under so that the Father could remove it off of us and in its place, bless us with every possible blessing that He has in heavenly places in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 1:3).

And all we need to do to receive this wonderful salvation is to ask Jesus to be the Lord of our life! (Romans 10:9-10).

When Jesus suffered the curse of the law on our behalf, those were our sufferings that He bore, not His. We were the ones who sinned, not He. We were the ones who transgressed the law, not He. And we were the ones who deserved to inherit the curse of the law, not He.

Thank God, Jesus died for us!