Suffering Leads to Reigning

God has called us to reign in his kingdom, experiencing victory over death, Satan, sin, hell, curses, and other works of darkness. In order to experience these victories, we must suffer with Jesus. In order to reign in life, we must suffer (2 Timothy 2:12). The call to suffer with Christ is not a popular teaching today, but it is a clear principle of the New Testament. It is important to understand.

Suffering and reigning sound like opposite things, but both are true and essential parts of a healthy Christian life. If we focus too much on reigning but ignore the call to suffer, we will go into error. Similarly, if we focus too much on suffering but ignore the call to reign, we will also go into error.

There are two sides to many truths about God, and we need both sides.

Is God three (Trinity) or is he one? He is both.

Is Jesus God or man? He is both.

Is predestination or free will true? The Bible teaches both are true.

Are we called to reign or to suffer? We are called to do both.

Although these doctrines appear contradictory, both sides are true, and we must recognize this in order to have a more complete understanding of God. Being too extreme on one side or the other will lead to error. The more we mature in God, the more we will see how these apparently contradictory truths fit together.

The first apostles reigned for the kingdom of God. They experienced great spiritual victories. They saw thousands of people saved. They cast out demons, healed the sick, and wrote Scripture. They heard from God, saw visions, walked with angels, and saw many powerful miracles. These supernatural things are clear evidence of reigning in life through the divine power of Jesus Christ.

At the same time, the apostles also suffered. They were beaten, imprisoned, slandered, mistreated, and taken advantage of (1 Corinthians 4:8-13). Paul said that the apostles went through so much trouble that they were like the offscouring of the world. Their troubles were so bad that they became a spectacle.

Jesus said that his kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Reigning with Christ does not look like reigning as an earthly king, with worldly wealth, comfort, ease, and prosperity. The church in Laodicea was rich and had a comfortable existence, but they were not reigning in a spiritual sense for they were spiritually poor, wretched, miserable, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17). God calls us to reign spiritually, not materially.

Reigning with Christ in his kingdom is not the prosperity gospel. When we reign with Christ we will not be rich, drive luxury cars, live in luxurious mansions, or have comfortable lives. Some false teachers suppose that material gain is the equivalent of godliness, and they believe that the more faithful we are to God the more money we will have. This is a false doctrine. We are commanded to separate from those who promote this false doctrine (1 Timothy 6:5).

Christians will face painful challenges as we follow Christ, for we live in a world that is hostile to the gospel. It has been given to us by God to suffer for the kingdom of God (Philippians 1:29). Jesus commanded us to take up our cross (Matthew 10:38). When a person takes up his cross, he is going to die. The cross is an instrument of suffering. Jesus said if we don’t take up our cross, we can’t be his disciples. 

To take up the cross means to obey God and be willing to face hostility for our obedience. As we walk in the Spirit, we will be contrary to the forces of darkness, and therefore these evil forces will come against us and stir up trouble against us. Taking up the cross means going through trouble for the sake of Christ and his kingdom. 

Taking up the cross is a specific kind of suffering that we go through for the sake of Jesus. Taking up the cross does not refer to the problems that come to us as a result of our own bad choices or the general brokenness in the world. For example, if a person gets drunk and falls and breaks his arm, he will suffer, but he is not suffering for Christ. He is suffering because he made a dumb choice to get drunk. If a person gets mugged on the streets of Chicago, he is not suffering for Christ, he is just suffering because he lives in a broken world. If a person catches a cold from our neighbor and suffers for three days, he is not suffering for Christ, he is just suffering because he got sick. Although these things are not suffering for Christ, God can use these things for our good (Romans 8:28). 

Suffering for Christ is a specific subcategory within the larger category of “suffering”, and it refers to those challenges we face because we obey God. For example, if a person shares the gospel with a gang in an inner city and gets attacked, he is suffering for Christ. If we share truth with our neighbor and then they hate us, we are suffering for the gospel. If we stop going to parties and getting high, and then people don’t like us anymore and say mean things about us, we are suffering because we are obeying God.

The cross leads to the crucifixion of the flesh or of the old man, and we experience this as we obey God. To the extent that we obey God, to that extent we will take up our cross. The more radically we obey God, the more we will take up our cross and suffer for the sake of Jesus. 

The apostles obeyed God radically; therefore, they suffered a lot. They were living at the edge of conflict between the kingdom of God which was expanding in the earth through their efforts, and the kingdom of darkness which was resisting them. 

Jesus obeyed God fully, and therefore he suffered more than anyone. He was marred more than any man (Isaiah 52:14) when he went to the cross. However, this was the pathway to resurrection.

When we are crucified for the sake of Christ, then the resurrection power of God can operate in us. Resurrection happens after crucifixion. There can be no resurrection unless there is death first. The old man must be crucified with Christ. The flesh must be put off, and we must put on the new man of the Spirit. The apostles suffered a lot for Christ; therefore, they reigned powerfully. Jesus suffered more than anyone for the sake of God; therefore, he reigns more completely than anyone and will do so forever.

When we take up our cross and suffer for the sake of Christ, we become weak, but then we are actually strong. When we are spiritually strong, we can reign in life by Christ and experience victory. Our experience of suffering for Christ is directly related to our experience of reigning for God’s kingdom.

Suffering for Christ leads to reigning for several reasons.

When we suffer for Christ, we learn to lean on God. We know we can’t get through the problem ourselves, but we must trust in God to get through. Our faith increases as we experience his strength, and with increased faith we can reign more for his kingdom.

When we suffer for Christ, we will see miracles to help us overcome things that we cannot overcome in our own strength. This will give us a testimony. Our testimony will encourage others and help us overcome the devil. Testimonies will help us to reign.

When we suffer for Christ, we will see our need for other Christians. We know we can’t get through these troubles alone, but we need each other in the body of Christ. We are stronger together. When we are rightly related to the body of Christ, we are better equipped to reign.

True ministry will happen by the Spirit, not by our own abilities. When we suffer, our own abilities are shown to be weak; then, we rely on God’s gifts. This enables true ministry to happen, for we get out of the way and let God do his thing through us. When spiritual gifts operate, we reign.

Suffering purifies us (1 Peter 4:1-2). When we are purified, we get the victory over sin. This will enable us to reign for Christ in his kingdom, for Christ reigns through holy people.

For all these reasons (and more), suffering leads to the ability to reign by the Holy Spirit. To know the power of his resurrection (which is the power to reign), we must know the fellowship of his sufferings (Philippians 3:10-11). 

If we suffer with him, we will be glorified with him (Romans 8:17).

We are called to reign with Christ in life. Therefore, we are called to suffer for him. When we are willing to take up our cross and suffer, we will reign, both in this life and in the life to come.