Acts 18:8-11 “Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. (9) Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; (10) for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city." (11) And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”
The apostle Paul endured much suffering for the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, right from the outset of his ministry our Lord Jesus revealed to him just how much suffering he would be exposed to during his time here on earth (Acts 9:16). But even in the life of the apostle Paul, who experienced so much suffering for the kingdom, there were seasons when he had rest from his sufferings. The above-quoted passage of scripture reveals one of those seasons to us. For our Lord appeared to Paul and told him not to worry about persecution in the city of Corinth because the Lord had many saints in that city. And so we see that Paul was able to remain in Corinth for a year and a half teaching the word of God to the saints in that city, and not incurring any persecution during that time. If you read the account in the book of Acts however, you will see that at the end of that period, persecution once again broke out against Paul, for his season of rest had come to an end.
1 Peter 1:6-7 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
In the above-quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit clearly states that our suffering in this life is but for a little while. In other words every trial that we go through does have an end point. And notice what is being tested in the various trials that we go through, i.e. our faith in Christ.
1 Peter 5:8-10 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (9) Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. (10) But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”
In the context of the above-quoted passage of scripture, the apostle Peter is speaking about the suffering that believers are called to experience in this life. There are three truths about Christian suffering that are revealed to us in this passage. Firstly, we see that all persecution that believers endure in this life is initiated by our adversary the devil. And so believers can be sure that that the driving force behind any form of persecution that they incur for being Christians, originates from Satan. The revelation of this truth gives us insight as to how we are to deal with such persecution, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against Satan and his realm. And so when we are persecuted we do not return evil for evil but rather we render good for evil, all the while praying with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. The second truth that is revealed to us in this passage is that the suffering that we are going through is exactly the same suffering that all our brothers and sisters in Christ are going through, i.e. none of it is unique. And so we are to follow examples of fellow believers that have gone through the same suffering that we are going through and have overcome, so that we too can overcome in our trials and afflictions. Nevertheless it is the third truth revealed in this passage that I want to highlight in this section, which is that we are called to suffer only for a while, for the scripture says “after you have suffered a while”. In other words we are not called to suffer permanently in this life, but rather we are called to go through seasons of suffering. Many who speak of suffering for Christ, put Job forward as an example and there is nothing wrong with that, for even James refers to Job’s sufferings as an example for us (James 5:11). Nevertheless if you look at Job’s sufferings you will find that his trials, though severe, only lasted a few months, after which, God completely restored him. You will recall that when our Lord Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, that at the end of those temptations the devil departed from him until an opportune time (Luke 4:13). And so, even our Lord Jesus went through seasons of temptation and persecution.
Michael E.B. Maher
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