Participating in the Sufferings of Christ

 

Participating in the Sufferings of Christ

 

1 Peter 4:13 "But rejoice insofar as you participate in the sufferings (pademasin) of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also be glad and rejoice." Pademasin (παθήμασιν) does not mean the suffering of the cross, but the passion in Christ. Therefore, it means union with the cross. The saint does not bear the cross himself, but dies united with Jesus on the cross. Therefore, by being united with the resurrected Christ, the saint also believes in the resurrection.

Believers misunderstand that participating in Christ's suffering is sacrificial service and devotion, but participating in Christ's suffering is fruitful. Preaching the true gospel is participating in suffering. We must become those who preach the death that is united with Jesus' death on the cross, and the present resurrection that is united with Christ's resurrection, and at this time, many persecutions and difficulties come. This is participating in Christ's suffering.

When a saint says, “To seek forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus every day is to kill Jesus twice,” people immediately look at him with strange eyes. When he proclaims the resurrection of the present, they look at him as a heretic. This is because they learned it as doctrine. Therefore, when the true gospel is preached, the saints will suffer. Do not be surprised by this.

Among the things that distort the gospel today, humanism, legalism, and gnosticism are representative heresies. Humanism refers to an ideology that does not seek the glory of the Creator God, the purpose of human existence, but only concerns human interests. In other words, it refers to Christianity that is not centered on God but centered on humans. It is an ideology that centers on oneself. There are many issues such as faith, salvation, and sin. Representative faiths include faith that one believes in and faith that comes from heaven. Faith that one believes in is believing in the object of faith after judging whether it is trustworthy, but faith that comes from heaven is believing that one denies oneself and is given faith through the work of the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 3:23, faith that one believes in is called elementary knowledge.

In terms of salvation, believers also think of it as salvation to escape from the problems of the world. Solving the problems that occur around them is important to them. And they have a faith of ups and downs that hopes to live well in the world. They imagine the story of the kingdom of God as just a myth or a fairy tale.

Believers think of the problem of sin as a sin committed in the world, a sin of breaking the law based on the law. They try not to break it. However, they should realize that the problem of sin comes from the desire to become like God, but they are not interested. Most of them distort Christianity into humanism according to their own thoughts in the categories they think of.

It is about legalism. The law makes us aware of our sins. When we try to keep the law, we realize our sins, and we acknowledge that we are not beings who can completely keep the law, and we must come to Christ. Through the law, we discover God’s mercy and love. However, legalism is a heresy that thinks that we can judge and achieve righteousness by being the center. Even though the gospel has been preached today, some believers say that we must keep the law and achieve righteousness. They say that we must believe in the gospel and keep the law. They say that we must tithe, repent of our sins every day, and go out through the blood of Jesus to receive forgiveness for our sins. Legalism is the same as rejecting God’s grace.

Gnosticism is the belief that there is a divinity in the human soul, which was lost through the first man Adam, and that we must work hard to recover it. False teachers confuse believers by saying things like living like Christ, striving to become holy, and living a holy life.

The core of Christianity is the death and resurrection of the cross. These two are always like two sides of a coin. It is wrong to highlight only one side. Today, the resurrection is ignored. Only the cross is emphasized. However, this is a false gospel. However, there are also those who emphasize the resurrection. If we ignore the death of the cross or do not talk about the believer’s union with the death of the cross, this is also conveying a distorted word of the Bible. The death of the cross is the annihilation of sin, and the resurrection is the beginning of heavenly life. Although it is difficult to convey this and there will be suffering, the saints must convey it. This is because this is the way to participate in the suffering of Christ.