“…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Phil. 3:10)
I don’t know about you, but my first instinct upon facing suffering is to find a way to extricate myself from it. When I encounter loss, hardship, trials, or difficulties, I just want them to go away. I don’t care to stop and consider what lessons I might learn from them. I just want to move on to better and brighter days.
In Philippians 3:10, Paul talks about wanting to share in the sufferings of Christ. What? Why would he want to experience that? Earlier in this chapter, he talks about his sevenfold pedigree. He talks about all the things he once looked to and found confidence in: circumcised on the eighth day, a Pharisee, persecuting the church. Then he met Christ on the road to Damascus and everything changed. He came to faith and was united to his Savior. His confidence changed. Instead of placing his confidence in his works, in his heritage, or in his obedience to the law, he now places his confidence in Christ and his work on his behalf, “be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (v.9). In fact, all those things from his past, he now considers rubbish (v.8), refuse, something only worthy of tossing to the dogs.
Paul no longer depends upon himself for salvation, but upon Christ alone. He now wants to know more of Christ. He wants to experience fellowship with Christ, including fellowship in Christ’s sufferings. In the Greek, fellowship is koinonia. It means to share, participate in, commune with. Through faith in Christ, we are united to him. Everything that is his becomes ours. His perfect life, sacrificial death, triumphant resurrection, and ascension is now ours. We are clothed in his righteousness. God accepts Christ’s death as payment for our sins. In Colossians, Paul tells us we’ve risen with Christ (3:1). The Westminster Confession puts it this way: “All saints, that are united to Jesus Christ their head by his Spirit, and by faith, have fellowship with him in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory” (Ch.XXVI). As Rankin Wilbourne wrote is his book, United With Christ, “When we are in Christ, every part of Christ’s life, not only his death, has significance for us. We share in his life and obedience, his death and his resurrection, even his ascension! We participate in another’s victory…How can such things be? God in Christ assumed our full humanity to heal our full humanity. He came all the way down to blaze a trail all the way back—for us to live in the presence of God.”
When we come to faith in Christ, we too cast aside all those things in which we once placed our confidence. Our own pedigrees become rubbish. United to Christ, we now get to share in all that Christ is for us, including his sufferings. When we experience our own sufferings, we learn more of the great love of Christ who endured immeasurable suffering on our behalf. And more, when we participate in the sufferings of Christ, the power of the resurrection is evident in our life.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-11)
This Holy Week, as we remember and dwell on the sufferings of Christ for us at the cross, may we look at our own sufferings in this life as an opportunity to fellowship (koinonia) with our Savior. May we learn more of Christ’s great love for us as we face the hardships and sorrows of this life. And may this fellowship further encourage us with the hope of the resurrection to come. Because he lives, we too will live forever with him in glory.
