The Application Of The Plan Of God
by Samson Hutagalung
The Suffering That God Plans for His People
The
basic principle in God’s revealed Word concerning the suffering is
all who will live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. If
we survey the biblical teaching on the suffering that God plans for
His people we will be amazed to see that every single child of God
is programmed in suffering in some extent and other in God’s
purpose. This is to say that suffering is part of the life of those
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and it will never depart from
them till they see Jesus Christ face to face. On this study we will
consider the purpose which Satan has in our affliction and our
suffering as the people of God.
The Example of the life of Job
The
book of Job might occur before Abraham about more than 4,000 years
ago. In the beginning of this book Satan and other sons of God
(angel which is fallen angel) were approaching God in order to
receive instruction from Him. Satan accused Job before God as being
special object of God’s temperance and protection. Satan said if all
the protection would be removed, then all the praise and worship
that Job was giving to God would be also corrupted. However with the
high plan of God, He allowed Satan to tempt Job’s faithfulness to
the Lord by taking what he had. This is the thing that God never
told to Job namely that God removed the protection and gave
Satan the power over the property, family and Job’s health and
finally even his wife told him to curse God. (Job 1-27).
In Job 1:1 we are told that Job was a man who was perfect
before the Lord. This is to say that Job was justified, saved and
redeemed. We must understand that this verse does not mean he was
perfect in the sense as Jesus was. Jesus was the only perfect and
sinless man who ever lived in this world because He is God. In the
case of Job, being a righteous man before God he was allowed by God
to be tempted by Satan. In this regard Satan appeared as if he was
the one who afflicted Job because God never told Job about the
purpose of God in the suffering in the life of Job. Thus in the Old
and New Testament scriptures
we see this
mysterious relationship between God and Satan and us as His people.
However some may say, why did God not destroy Satan and get out from
the problems? This is the deep mystery, but the answer turns out to
be God in Jesus Christ is the
One who
does
not only solve the problems
but also initiated it and the whole fitting experience that Satan
planed for him was part of the greater plan of our God.
The example of the life of Paul
The apostle Paul was the great apostle who was
used by God mightily, during his ministry in this earth. He told us
in his epistle to the
church of Corinth that he has a thorn in his flesh.
As he said in 2 Corinthians 12:7, “And lest I should be exalted above
measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to
me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I
should be exalted above measure.” Paul understood that the thorn in
his flesh was the messenger from Satan that sent by God in order to
humble him because the vast and marvellous revelation that God has
given to him on behalf of the Church. What part has Satan done here?
It is as if to turn up something spiritually to help Paul to be
humble. So if that is the case, why has Satan voluntarily joined the
program to help the apostle Paul becomes more faithless? The answer
though God involved in the program of God for the life of Paul, and
yet Satan did not have the ultimate power. God was the One who
determined everything that happened in the life of Paul. Thus if
someone gets sick among our members we should not say that Satan did
it to him. It is absolutely unbiblical. But the
only comfort to the one who is in affliction is to point to God as
the planer, the source and the
One who can solve the problems and
the need of the sufferer. God does not need to bargain to Satan what
will happen to human beings. He
is absolutely determining what will
happen to every human being especially
His people on this earth in
terms of affliction. Our God is the ultimate source of all
afflictions that we experience on this earth. We need to listen to
Him and how He will accomplish through the affliction for
His glory.
In the
same way we see in the life of Joseph which is found in the first
book of the Bible. It is an amazing foundation of the book of the
Bible. It begins with the creation of the universe, and then with
Joseph and his coffin in Egypt. However
shortly before Joseph went into his coffin he had some words to say
to his brothers that are worthy to ponder. He said to his wicked
brothers, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant
it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much
people alive” (Genesis 50:20). Joseph was saying that his brothers
were guilty and responsible to what they did but God overruled it
and did what He wanted to do. Joseph went into many afflictions and
persecutions and yet he could say before his wicked brothers “God
made it for good.”
The Outcome of the Suffering that God plans for the His
People
King
David who has
experienced many afflictions says that there is the outcome of the
suffering that God plans for him. David understood that
there was
a
program of God for His life as he said in Psalms 119:71, “It is good
for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”
(Because) “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I
kept thy word” (Psalms 119:67). Furthermore David continued to say, “I
know, O Lord, that thy judgement are right, and that thou in
faithfulness hast afflicted me” (Psalms 119:75). In other word what
David was saying is that after he experienced so many sufferings and
afflictions under the king Saul who wanted to take his life before the Lord, David knew that God had allowed
them
to
happen in his life as part of the programs of God. In the same
way, we see in the book of Lamentations as the summary of God’s
warning to the people of Israel through
His prophets of how the Lord showed His mercy to His people. “But
though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the
multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor
grieve the children of men. To crush under his feet all the
prisoners of the earth, To turn aside the right of a man before the
face of the most High, To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not” (Lamentation 3:32-36).
The need of chastisement for God's children
With
regard to the affliction that God’s people experience during their
lifetime in this world, the Bible tells us that God often got angry
to those who disobeyed Him.
As a result God allowed the affliction came to their lives
as a chastisement from a good Father to His children. Thus in the
book of Hebrews 12 it tells us of how sometimes the parents
mistreat their children to discipline them for ultimate good and
well being but God chastises His children with the pure purpose and
motive. Hebrews 12:3-10, “For consider him that endured such
contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and
faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving
against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh
unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening
of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: (Why?) For whom
the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he
receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with
sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye
be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye
bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh
which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much
rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For
they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure;
but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.”
In other word, every Christian who has been born again will be
chastised by God if he disobeys Him. However the writer of Hebrews
also said that this chastisement is given that we might be partakers
of His holiness. Thus the human parents should not only have the
ultimate good of the child in mind but they should follow the
guideline that the Lord has given in His word. “Chasten thy son
while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying”
(Proverb 19:18).
However
many parents chasten their children because their selfish
reasons. They often say, “my children bother, disappoint and damage
our reputation in our neighbourhood” therefore they have to chastise
their children. On the other hand God chastens us for our good. He
knows that we need that, that we might be partakers of His holiness.
This is the main key in His chastisement to His people. As Hebrews
12:11-14, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous,
but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit
of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore
lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make
straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out
of the way; but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men,
and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” In this
passage the Lord shows to us His marvellous perspective on the
meaning of afflictions, sufferings and persecutions to His people.
In every moment of sufferings that God plans for His people has a
marvellous and divine purpose in the mind of God. God’s chastisement
is totally different way of parents chasten their children.
Thus when we are afflict we should rejoice and count it joy,
because we know who is managing and controlling our lives. The Lord
is the only One who loves and cares for us. He is our God not only
in happiness but also in sufferings. We should not make God as God
during our afflictions and sufferings. We should not only pray so
hard and earnestly while we are suffering under the hand of God’s
chastening.
The Basic Foundation about Affliction and Persecution for
God's People
We need to understand that the Bible laid down the very
foundation of the basic principle to all Christians in the world
about affliction, suffering and persecution for God’s people. In the
book of Acts 12:22 tells us the most important fact about this
subject. Acts 14:22 says, “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and
exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through
much tribulation enter into the
kingdom
of God.”
What does it mean
“that we must
through much tribulation enter into the
kingdom
of God?” It is
clear that this is not referring into the Great Tribulation in the
seventieth week of Daniel. But the meaning is that there is no born
again Christian who will ever enter the immediate present of God in
glorification through resurrection or rapture without having
suffered for his faith. It is hard to believe but it is the fact in
the Christian living in this world. Every true believer in the Lord
Jesus Christ will be suffered for his faith in one extent or other.
Having
seen the marvellous truth that the Holy Spirit gives to the apostle
Paul concerning the suffering in the Lord, we need to consider also
another statement that Paul says to the church in Philippi as the application of this truth. Paul says in
Philippians 1:28, “And in nothing terrified by your adversaries:
which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of
salvation, and that of God.” The very fact was that the Christians
in the church of Philippi
were persecuted based on two things namely the persecutors are going
to hell and the Christians are going to heaven. The persecutors are
living in darkness just as the apostle John said in John 3:19-20,
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh
to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” In another passage
John said, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and
declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at
all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in
darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light,
as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John
1:5-7). Thus Paul said to the Christians in Philippi, “For unto you
it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but
also to suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29). Every true believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ must understand this truth that they may be
able to endure all things during this short life
0n this earth.
However
there is another dimension that we need to know when we truly
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This dimension is the turning
point of life of every true believer. A believer is not only turning
to God but automatically he is also turning against Satan, the world
and the flesh. This is to say that there will be an antagonism
that
instantly goes on into the action. This antagonism such as darkness
and light automatically produce a suffering experience on the part
of the saints. By contrast if there is no suffering the minute we
are saved then we will be in heaven. However, this is not planed by God
that when the minute we are saved, He does not bring us to heaven
but He leaves us on this earth, in Satan's territory when sin nature
still exists and lives among the sinful men.
The Joy in the Suffering that God Plans
The
apostle Paul who has faced many afflictions as he followed
and
served
the Lord Jesus Christ, gave
us the exemplary living in
Christ Jesus. Paul in Philippians 3:10 we are told about his purpose
of living as a model for us. He says,
“That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and
the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death.” This is to say that if we know the Lord Jesus Christ, the
rest such suffering and persecution will follow. It cannot be
separated but all fix together. Thus we do not have any choice for
all the things that will follow.
However
although Paul realised that he was suffering in following and
serving the Lord Jesus and yet he found joy in those sufferings that
he encountered. This is
a very surprising statement that many
Christians do not think before. As Paul says in Colossians 1: 23-24,
“I Paul am made a minister: Who now rejoice in my sufferings for
you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ
in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church.” To many
people it is very strange and hard but not to Paul,
because Paul knew that God sees what is happening in his life and God allows it
happen to him.
In
this junction we may consider what the Lord Jesus Christ said to
Paul before his conversion when Paul persecuted the Christians.
Jesus Christ said to Paul, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is
hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:5). It is clear
that Paul never persecuted the Lord Jesus Christ directly but what
Jesus said here is that by persecution the church is the same
as
persecuting the Lord Jesus Christ because the church is His body
on
this earth. He continues to be suffered till now because of our
suffering for His sake. Thus every affliction and suffering in the
name of Jesus will bring suffering to Jesus Himself. That is the
whole point of 1 Corinthians 12 when Paul said if one member
suffered we all suffered. Thus this is the joy for all Christians
who are suffering for the Lord’s sake that we are not the
ones who
only suffer but also the Lord Jesus Christ.
The apostle Paul continues to explain the joy that he has
in the midst of suffering in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7. Paul says that he
has a comfort to endure the affliction and suffering. In this
passage we learn the great lesson of what the affliction will
accomplish within the body of Christ. “Blessed be God, even the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God
of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we
may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort
wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings
of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and
salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings
which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your
consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is steadfast,
knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be
also of the consolation.” In other word Paul
was saying that the more he was suffering in his ministry, the more
he was qualified to accomplish what the Lord had allowed to happen
in his life and ministry. Thus when we are suffering in our
ministry, the Lord will give us a suffering experience in order to
accomplish whatever suffering we will face in our ministry. Paul
reminds us that when we are suffering we need to remember what the
Lord Jesus Christ has done on the cross. As he said in
2 Timothy 2:8-10,
“Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the
dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil
doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that
they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory.” Thus when we are suffering we must suffer for the
Lord’s sake and not for our evil doers. As the apostle Peter devoted
his first epistle as the epistle of suffering and taught us what to
do in the midst of suffering and how to react about suffering.
The Suffering Helps Us to See God's Perspective
In
Romans 8:18, we see the conclusion of all suffering to all
Christians. Again the apostle Paul as our model in suffering tells
us that suffering helps us to see all these things from God’s
perspective. Paul says, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which
shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). This is to say that our
affliction is nothing in comparison with being glorified with Jesus
Christ in the position of privilege and responsibility as a king and
a priest forever and ever. Therefore we can see clearer the meaning
of the word of God that says, “that which much tribulation to enter
the kingdom of
God.”
That is why, it is appointed unto us not only to believe but to
suffer for His name’s sake because all these are parts of the
program of God from eternity with Jesus Christ Himself sets the
example before us. As Jesus Christ suffered, He is our model and He
is our guide in the valley and shadow of death in Satan’s world.
Finally,
Romans 8:28 said, “And we know that all things work together for good do
them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.” This is
a very good verse to remember as we journey in
this life. However this verse apparently is not a comforting verse
to those who are deeply afflicted and while they are really struggle
in the suffering. Thus there is a suggestion that it will be better
to take the word of God through the Holy Spirit
as given to the apostle
Paul from 2 Corinthians 1:3-7.
As we
have understood the plan of God on the suffering that Christians
are facing then we will rejoice for knowing all the truths that we
have studied. And finally we will be able to say, “Dear Lord, during
my suffering, I can see that you are suffering but because of the
faith you have given me, I now say thank you, dear Lord for those
sufferings.”
