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Incarnation
God in the Flesh Willing
to Suffer
As we celebrate Christmas with family and friends, laughing and smiling and eating and drinking, we slip into a little secluded world, away from the suffering that we know is happening everywhere.
There are men and women dying in Iraq each week, there are children dying in droves in Africa each day. Closer to home, there are children facing their third Christmas without their parents that were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You have friends, neighbors, co-workers who have suffered all sorts of emotional turmoil—abuses as children, birth defects. We all know somebody, maybe it is even ourselves, that is suffering from a painful illness, a terrible job situation, financial troubles, the loss of a loved one. Maybe we are suffering from a difficult marriage, a broken love relationship, a loss of a spouse, involuntary singleness, depression, loneliness.
Suffering comes in many unwelcome forms, and we have all felt it at times, maybe even now. And we ask, “Why?” and “Why me?” I have read of many great Christian leaders who have had the “dark night of the soul,” in which they wonder, they begin to even doubt, that God is real because of a terrible thing that had happened to them.
Does God have anything to say about the subject of suffering?
So we turn to the Bible. But the Bible is not a primarily a philosophy book, it is more practical than philosophical. It is more
descriptive of reality than it is a thorough explanation of the great mysteries of God.
And, so, sometimes in our modern, philosophical mindset we get frustrated. “Why doesn’t the Bible read like a philosophy textbook, or a Systematic Theology textbook? That would make it so much easier to categorize things in my rationalistic modern head!” But
it is the Word of God, and God is very real and authentic, and therefore references to sin and suffering appear on virtually every page—not to explain the problem of evil and suffering away, but to tell us how to overcome suffering, how to properly deal with evil.
It should be telling for us that the incarnation itself ended in suffering and death. When God entered this world, a place very hostile to God and his love, the result was God’s suffering and death. The cross—that cute little trinket that we where around our necks—is a symbol of the ultimate suffering and death. The incarnation is God in the flesh, willing to suffer! And that, I believe, has got to be the starting point for us as we seek to understand why we, and our loved ones, and people all around the world suffer.
I have been studying the subject of suffering ever since I became a Christian. It is the one subject that, in my experience, many of us need to grapple with and come to grips with.
Here are a few points that I want to say concerning suffering—especially as it relates to the life of the follower of Jesus Christ, God in the Flesh. He came into the world as a human being on Christmas, but that (of course) is not the end of the story. Jesus would live a fully human life, facing all the temptations we face, suffering in light of evil as we do, and purposely accepting the ultimate act of evil ever perpetrated on anyone—the killing of the only one who was absolutely innocent.
1. Suffering is an alien intrusion into God’s good world.
The Bible makes this clear: In Genesis, when God made the world, it was “good.” But then the devil, that terrible Serpent, invaded and his involvement has caused great suffering ever since. The book of Job made it clear that suffering is the evil one’s intrusion into our world. The ministry of Jesus Christ was about the conquering Kingdom of God overtaking the kingdom of evil and suffering—as Jesus healed people, he rebuked diseases and cast out demons. Paul called his “thorn in the flesh” a “messenger of Satan.” Peter made it clear as to what Jesus was and is all about: Jesus was empowered to do good and heal all who were under the “power of the devil” (Acts 10:38).
In our modern mindset, we have been told that it’s rather silly to believe in a being called Satan. We almost automatically picture a caricature of a little guy in red tights carrying a little red pitchfork. As C. S. Lewis made clear in his classic The Screwtape Letters, this is exactly what our enemy wants! How much easier to perpetrate evil when they do not even believe you exist! Evil has invaded God’s good world, and we all are suffering because of that.
2. Suffering is often due to sin.
Of course, theologically speaking, disease and suffering entered the world through original sin. But as I read today’s headlines, it becomes very apparent that a lot of suffering is due to the sin of others. When children suffer from unloving or irresponsible parents, when they are dying from poverty and hunger from cruel economic injustice, when they die from a drunken driver, some will turn a fist up toward God and blame him, but the blame clearly lies in the evil that we humans do.
3. Suffering is due to our human sensitivity to pain.
Our misfortune is made worse because of the fact that we can hurt (both physically and emotionally). But the pain sensors in your central nervous system are a wonderful gift from God—providing invaluable warning-signals necessary for your survival. As Philip Yancey reveals from his interactions with the Dr. Paul Brand, we need our ability to feel pain. Dr. Brand was a ground-breaking physician in the treatment of Hanson’s Disease. Hanson’s Disease is better known to us as “leprosy.” Brand discovered that the problem with lepers is that their disease numbs the extremities of the body, so that the ulcers and infections which develop are really
secondary problems—the primary problem is the numbness, the loss of pain sensing feelings. Nerve reactions must hurt in order for them to protect us. Yancey wrote,
“Thank God for inventing pain! I don’t think he could have done a better job. It’s beautiful.” (Where is God When It Hurts? By P. Yancey, p. 23)
4. Suffering is due to the environment in which we have been placed.
I think that C. S. Lewis was right when he wrote that he thought that about 4/5 of all suffering is caused by human sin. But that there is another category that causes suffering—natural disasters (floods, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, drought). The Bible tells us that the world is a fallen place, awaiting its redemption as well. There will come a time when the world will be made new, but until that time, where we live is a very difficult place to survive! Sometimes bad things happen to people simply because we live in an environment that has not yet been redeemed.
Now, what does it mean that Jesus Christ came into this world as God in the Flesh and suffered? What does that have to say to our situation? The New Testament goes so far as to say that Jesus Christ was glorified in his suffering, and that our suffering is a pathway for God to be glorified! (That is what we saw last week in the story of the death of Lazarus). And, what is the relationship between Christ’s suffering and ours?
The relationship between Christ’s suffering and believers’ suffering:
1. Jesus purposely suffered for the sake of humankind.
We often think that suffering can lead to glory, or that suffering is one route to glory, but for Jesus, it
was His glory. He knew that the most glorious thing He could do was to suffer for the sake of others. He knew that death is the way to multiply God’s purposes. He knew that death was the path to glory! Listen to His words as He reflected on His coming death on the cross:
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
The person who loves his life will lose it, while the person who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves
me…But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to myself.”
He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:23-26, 32-33)
I was not raised on a farm, as my father-in-law was. My son loves tractors, much because of his grandpa Richard. Me—I’m more influenced by
my Dad—I love books and football and computers so agricultural metaphors easily escape me. But let us stop for a moment and contemplate what Jesus is saying here:
Death is not only the way to life; death is the secret of fruitfulness—of multiplication!
Unless the kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a single seed.
If it stays alive, it stays alone; but if it dies, it multiplies.
First and foremost, Jesus was referring to Himself—through His death, the God of the Israelites, the only true God, can now be the God of all nations, tribes, and tongues—Jews and Gentiles alike. Through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, the multiplying of many “little Christs” (Christians) can occur. Through the death of God-in-the-flesh, Jesus can create a new “Body of Christ,” his followers, who can live for God’s glory!
2. We who follow Jesus purposely suffer for the sake of humankind.
But in this passage Jesus also refers to you and me—He makes a point that we need to know in order to live the lives He has called us to live as His body in this world.
"The person who loves his life will lose it, while the person who hates
his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must
follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one
who serves me." (vv. 25-26)
He is telling me and you that if we are to truly follow Him, we must be like Him and lose our lives as well—not necessarily in martyrdom but in self-giving, sacrificial
service. The seed must die in order to multiply.
The followers of Jesus are called to give up their lives—their comfort, their selfish desires, their agendas, their lusts, their control, and yes, maybe even their physical lives—for the sake of
multiplication. Christians talk a lot about “spiritual growth,” but not enough about “spiritual multiplication.” A stalk of wheat can grow big, tall, and strong. It may even grow in wisdom and theological understanding. We desire to become better Bible studiers and better prayer warriors. So, we go to seminars and conferences, we read Christian books and participate in Discipleship classes and study groups. We set up rigid regimens of daily quiet times. All this is well and good, and helps the wheat stalk to grow and mature. We must be strong in our own individual faith in order to be the most useful to God. But…
But that is not what Jesus is saying is the primary purpose of His followers: They must
die for the sake of others. They must give up their lives for the purpose of
multiplication. The seed must fall to the ground and die. True maturity is not found until you are willing to sacrifice your life for the sake of others.
Over the years, I’ve met people in churches who are seen as spiritually mature, they see
themselves as spiritually mature. They are looked up to for their Bible knowledge and the grand way that they pray. But when asked when the last time they invited somebody to church was, they get flustered. I have a friend who started a church in Kent, and he made it a requirement in the selection of Elders to ask the candidates whether they shared the gospel with anybody within the last year! He reasoned,
if the leaders of the church have not shown the spiritual maturity of actually taking the risks of sharing their faith, then what does that do to the whole church?
The kernel of wheat must be willing to give up its life for the sake of multiplicity. That is the primary call of the follower of Christ.
Paul grasped this:
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you
Gentiles... I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
(Ephesians 3:1, 13)
Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
(Colossians 1:24)
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,
for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. (2 Timothy 2:8-10)
Why did Paul suffer? He tells the Ephesians why he suffers: “my sufferings [are] for you, which are your glory;” he tells the Colossians that his afflictions are “for the sake of his [Christ’s] body, which is the church;” he tells Timothy, “I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.”
Paul is convinced that his sufferings are for the benefit of others. And he is absolutely convinced that suffering
is the path to glory—both for himself and for the ones for which he suffers. He knows that he must be uncomfortable so that people will be saved!
This is not a “martyr-complex,” where people revel in suffering. We’ve all met
someone who wants to be in the spotlight because he or she “suffers so much.” No, this is
a life of quietly willing to do anything and everything for the sake of others,
in order to place the spotlight squarely on Christ. It is for His glory, not ours.
After 9/11, we all see firefighters in a clearer light—we realize now better than ever that they are heroes
because they put their lives on the line for others. We lift up as an incredible virtuous act what those on that plane that crashed in Pennsylvania did—they gave up their lives for the sake of others.
It should not surprise us, then, that Paul said to the Colossians, “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church”
(1:24). He is saying, I have found a deeper joy and satisfaction in life than even my own comfort, my own ease-of-living, my own yearning for survival. My purpose to live for Christ
by multiplying the people in the Church is worth all the afflictions I have ever had to experience! Yes, I rejoice in my suffering, because it is for the greatest good for people!
Paul knows what we do not know but that we must know today—the salvation of others is linked to the suffering of Christ’s followers for their sake and for His glory!
Not directly linked, for it is the suffering of Christ on the cross that is directly responsible for people’s salvation. But there is a clear link here: Paul was willing to withstand any afflictions for the sake of people so that they might hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Every church in our day must see themselves as missionary agencies—seeking to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Missionaries often suffer. We nod and affirm this grim fact for missionaries in far-off hostile countries, but I want us to wake up to the fact that it is very true for us here in the United States too. American Christians very often believe that we are entitled to have it easy, that we must never suffer persecution, we must never have it hard financially, and we must live in a land that embraces what we believe.
But American Christianity is an aberration of sorts: Most Christians throughout the entire history of the world have had to suffer in order to proclaim the gospel. This is the case in much of the world today—there have been more Christian martyrs in the last century than all the other centuries combined. And the Christians in other countries look at America and now see us as the mission field, for they are convinced that the Christians in America are lazy, complacent, more interested in their comfort and American ideals of materialism, commercialism, and hedonism than in giving up their lives for the sake of multiplying believers. They are convinced that we are very immature in our Christianity, mainly because we have not have had to suffer for the sake of others.
When we started Vanguard Church, we did it because we felt there was a need for a church to be different, to be in “the vanguard,” the leading edge of the movement of God to multiply believers for His Kingdom. We intentionally said,
“People need Jesus Christ, they need to meet God through Him, they need to be saved, brought into the Kingdom of God so that their lives can be changed for the better: So that they can live for the purposes of God rather than for their own purposes.”
We intentionally said “We are going to be a missionary church, willing to do anything and everything to reach THIS culture in which we now live with the loving gospel of Jesus Christ.”
We must never lose sight of the reason for our existence! While we will each individually grow in our spiritual walk in this church through sound biblical teaching and enriching Christian fellowship, true Christian maturity only occurs when we remember to live outside ourselves for the sake of others. True Christian maturity takes following Jesus as Jesus told us to follow Him:
We must die for the sake of multiplication.
The reason Vanguard Church exists is for many reasons—they are spelled out in our Core Values:
Compassion for People
Genuine Worship
Centrality of God’s Word
Passionate Discipleship
Equipped Families and Singles
Empowered Member-Ministers
Caring Community
But at the top of the list is “Compassion for People.” Our primary value is to live as Jesus lived, who looked at the crowds of people without God and was willing to suffer and die for their sakes.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:36-37)
You are the workers called to be in the Harvest Field of people who do not yet have what you have!
This is the place where people’s lives can and will be changed!
You are the people that God has put together to live in loving fellowship in order to draw people into relationship with Himself!
This is the pastor who is called to preach the Word of God and lead this small band of on-fire believers as we are sent into the harvest.
This is the worship team that is called to develop a music ministry that so glorifies God that people are drawn into relationship with him!
We are the member-ministers of Vanguard Church that are called to see ourselves as kernels of wheat, willing to give up our lives for the sake of others.
We are the missionaries called to take great risks as we boldly show love and go out of our way to try to get people into this particular church—for we are convinced in the very depth of our hearts that every member of our “FRANK” (F-friends, R-relatives, A-acquaintances, N-neighbors, K-kids) needs to be in Vanguard Church for their own good.
In 2004, we are the people that will die for the sake of multiplication—willing to give up our lives, our desires, our comforts, for the sake of Vangaurd Church’s mission. We do this because we are convinced of this mission. We believe that God can and will change lives right here in this building, right here in these relationships, right here in our church!
In 2004, I pray that we, each and every one of us as individuals but also all of us as a body, will take our next step to true spiritual maturity—the willingness to give up our lives for the sake of others.
Every day we each must pray for our "FRANKs." And, just as
importantly, we must pray for ourselves as we re-commit to dying to
ourselves for the sake of our FRANKs!
Take a moment right now to pray for each one of these categories, name the names of people in your life that you would like to see come to know God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that God will show clear and powerful ways that you can die to yourself this coming year for the sake of these individual’s spiritual lives.
F-friends
R-relatives
A-acquaintances
N-neighbors
K-kids
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