Philippians 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.”
There is one further work we need to discuss that will be greatly rewarded on that day. The work that I am referring to is the work of suffering for the Lord Jesus and for His gospel. The suffering that I am referring to in this section is not suffering the trials of life that everyone experiences from time to time. I am specifically referring to the suffering incurred by the believer because of persecution for their belief in Jesus Christ and their witness for Him. Because heaven places tremendous value on this particular work God the Father decides who is counted worthy to suffer in this manner. And so we see that some in the church will suffer more than others purely because God has deemed them worthy of it. In the passage of scripture quoted above we learn that the church at Philippi had received this blessing, because the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul tells them that it had been granted to them to suffer for the sake of Christ. And so the believers in Philippi were experiencing the same persecutions that Paul and Silas had endured when they first preached the gospel in that city. For you will recall that Paul and Silas were beaten with rods in that city and then they had been thrown into prison until God miraculously intervened to deliver His two ministers on that occasion (Acts 16:22-26). Nevertheless after Paul and Silas had left the city persecution had broken out against the believers there and many of them had been imprisoned for their faith in Christ.
1 Peter 4:14-16 “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. (15) But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. (16) Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.”
In the passage of scripture quoted above the apostle Peter encourages those who incur suffering because of their walk as believers in this life. In his encouragement Peter tells us that those particular believers are blessed because the Spirit of glory rests upon them and that they are not to be ashamed for suffering as Christians, but rather that they should glorify God in this. And so the reason that believers are blessed when they suffer as Christians is because there is great reward that is stored up for them in heaven.
Acts 5:40-41 “And they agreed with him, 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. (41) So, they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”
The apostles of the Lamb had received their teaching directly from the Lord Jesus about the fact that those who suffer for the gospel can expect to receive great reward in heaven. And so it is precisely for this reason that not all believers will be counted worthy of such suffering. In the passage of scripture quoted above we see the account of the apostles receiving their first physical beating for preaching the gospel. I want you to notice their absolute joy at having been counted worthy by God the Father to suffer in this manner for the gospel of His Son. The reason they reacted in this manner was because they recognised that they would therefore receive great reward from the Lord Jesus on that day.
Michael E.B. Maher
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