Constructive Sufferings

"The Lord desires to form Himself in us. We now change the figure from paths with thorns and walls to that of the sculptor's marble block. Between the rough hewn block of marble and the finished statue were all the love and care of the artist, and the infinite patience of releasing from stone the vision of beauty which he saw before he began to work. Thus  the Heavenly Father is at work in the life of everyone whom He has foreknown as believing in the Savior. There is a difference between ourselves and a block of marble, however, in that we have feelings and can shrink back from the strokes with which the divine Sculptor would cut away the marble so that the likeness of Christ may emerge in our lives."

  

"David tells us that before he was afflicted he went astray but after affliction he observed the Word of God (Psalms 119:67). Affliction was a factor in his growth, and so it is in the lives of many of God's children. We may face tribulations with joy, therefore, since we know that when we have gone through the trouble we shall be more like our Savior."

 

"Similar to the image of the sculptor, Isaiah says, "The Lord called me from the womb...He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me, he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away" (Isaiah 49:1,2). In the British Museum I saw a finely polished arrow-shaft, displayed beneath a magnifying glass. When observed from the side, its surface appeared as smooth as a billiard ball; but when seen through the glass, it revealed a thousand facets, cut so finely that the shaft appeared to be burnished."

 

 

"When Isaiah tells us that God turned him into such a shaft, he is saying that he underwent the cutting of the chisel. It was a process filled with pain, but when it was completed, Isaiah tells us, he was a polished shaft. What is more, the Lord made him a useful instrument, hidden under His hand, and, when such an instrument was needed, he was available. Here is the Christian's highest joy in this world, for the Lord never uses one of His children without communicating Himself to him both in suffering that makes him usable, and in the ordering of the service."

 

 

"This constructive suffering the Lord will continue to send into our hearts and lives until He has us ready to take home to Himself. Through Malachi he spoke of Himself as a refiner of silver, sitting through the process of cleansing His people (Malachi 3:3). In oriental bazaars the silversmiths sit with molten metal before them while the flame does its purifying work. From time to time the workman removes dross which rises to the surface and continues this process until he can see his own image, as in a mirror, reflected in the cleansed metal. Thus our Lord works upon those whom He has redeemed. We are worth far more than gold to His heart, and He is eager to see Himself in us. Thus, He who has begun a good work in us will keep on perfecting it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6)."

 

 

"In Peter's first epistle we find the summary of the teaching on constructive suffering. He speaks of the glory of our future salvation when all the work of the Lord in our behalf will be terminated, and we shall be forever in the land of joy with our Savior and our God.  He speaks of our rejoicing in that hope, and continues, "Though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to the praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6,7). It is not pleasant to be put into the fire, but the result is the burning away of dross and the refining of the metal."

 

 

"It is certainly possible for the Christian to glory in tribulation that turns from wandering into by-paths and brings back into the way of God. It is also possible for the believer to glory in the tribulation that chips away the unimportant things in life, the secondary things, the dirty things, the alien things, and reveals the life of the Lord Jesus Christ within."

 

 

Barnhouse, Donald Grey. God's River Romans 5:1-11 Expositions of Bible Doctrines Epistles to the Romans.Philadelphia: The Evangelical Foundation, inc., 1959. 82-84

Corrective Sufferings

“The outstanding paragraph on corrective suffering is in the twelfth chapter of Hebrews. Speaking of the difficulties that come to believers the Holy Spirit says, “You have forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto you as children” (Hebrews 12:5). Phillips has paraphrased it as follows: “You have perhaps lost sight of that piece of advice which reminds you of your sonship in God: ‘My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art reproved by Him; for who the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth: Bear what you have to bear as ‘chastening’ – as God’s dealings with you as with sons. No true son ever grows up uncorrected by his father. For if you had no experience of the correction which all sons have to bear you might well doubt the legitimacy of your sonship. After all, when we were children we had fathers who corrected us, and we respected them for it. Can we not much more readily submit to a Heavenly Father’s discipline, and learn how to live? For our fathers used to correct us according their own ideas during the brief days of childhood. But God corrects us all our days for our own benefit, to teach us His holiness. Now obviously no ‘chastening’ seems pleasant at the time: it is in fact most unpleasant. Yet when it is all over we can see that it has quietly produced the fruit of real goodness in the character of those who have accepted it in the right spirit. So take a fresh grip on life and brace your trembling limbs. Don’t wander away from the path but forge steadily onward: on the right path the limping foot recovers strength and does not collapse.”

“This comparison between the right path and the meandering way of the one who steps off into uncharted territory reminds us of a beautiful story in the Minor Prophets. Hosea likens Israel to a wayward wife who has left her husband for other men. When we wander from God, we commit spiritual adultery. God must correct us to bring us back into the way in which we should go. God says, “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns and I will build a wall against you, so that you cannot find your paths” (Hosea 2:6). Notice that the thorns are not in the path of God but in the willful path of departure; there is no wall across the path of God, but one is placed across the path of self-will.”

“When a Christian finds himself in a thorn patch, he should at once recognize that he has stepped out of the will of God. Instead of thrashing about to get past the thorns, he should try to be still. One of the important verses for the conduct of the Christian life is, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10). If you thrash around in a thorn patch you will only get more scratches. If you stand quiet and allow the Lord to speak to you, you will find Him only too glad to extricate you. The Lord is slow to anger and of great compassion, plenteous in mercy. He takes no delight in chastening His own, but He does delight in the upright walk of the corrected one. It may not be pleasant to go back, but the route to the main highway from the thorn patch is usually back to where you left the road. In God’s dealings with His children, this is the purpose of the thorns.”

“The other part of the illustration is that of the wall across the path. The Lord has no pleasure in blocking our road, and He never does so if we are in the path that He knows is best for us. But sometimes He must block our path because He has become our Father and because He sees ahead and knows the end from the beginning. At almost every point in life there are two ways before us. There are no walls across the path of His will, but we may thank God that he places walls across our own paths. When we find ourselves confronted by a wall, it is best to sit down and survey the situation. In front of a wall is a great place to pray. If we seek the Lord with our whole heart, if we come to Him in our difficulties, He will be found by us. All that He requires is a heart that says in advance that it is willing to go right or left, to turn around and go back, or to confront the wall.”

“When I find a wall in my path, from long experience I have learned to move rapidly. I first say, “Lord, I would be absolutely surrendered to your will. I have no knowledge that could help me, and I dare not trust in human sense. I trust you with all my heart and lean away from my own understanding. I acknowledge you and ask for direction of my paths” (Proverbs 3:5,6). At times this is sufficient; the Lord leads me to the main highway, and with little ado I am back on the road I should have travelled. Then there are other times when, after I have said all this sincerely, as the Lord sees and knows the heart, there is no denying that the wall is still there. Then I confront the wall, because the Devil, who is an imitator, frequently builds imitation walls, like the paper mache’ prop of a stage set. I then say, “Lord, you do love me. You don’t want me to be hurt. But I see no other path than that which lies beyond this wall. Perhaps I have missed a turn. I want to be on the right road and am willing to go in any direction. But, Lord, perhaps the Devil built that wall. I am going to take a run and heave myself against it. If it is truly your wall, keep me from getting too much bruised, for I want to be in your full will. But if it is Satan’s imitation wall, then open the way before me, and give the enemy a mouthful of dust for attempting to block the way of your child.” Then I take a run and jump at the wall. If it is Satan’s imitation, there is a rip and a tear, and I am on the other side, well on the Lord’s path. I know that I have served Him well in the invisible war, and that the enemy has been discomfited by one who was willing to draw all strength from Him who is mighty. But if the rock is unyielding and I fall at its base, and if I find that the wall grows higher as I try to climb it, and if it widens as I attempt to go around it, then I must wait for God to reveal His path to me. At times He does not want movement, but He wants me to sit still; perhaps for a considerable period, and there learn, in silence, lessons that can never be grasped in the heated course of the pilgrimage. Then the wall disappears, and His path is opened once more. Happy the believer who is sensitive to the slightest indication of thorns or wall and seeks to be on the path traced for him by the Lord God, Savior, Redeemer, and Lord of all paths. Thus the believer can glory in tribulations that are for his correction.”

Barnhouse, Donald Grey. God's River Romans 5:1-11 Expositions of Bible Doctrines Epistles to the Romans.Philadelphia: The Evangelical Foundation, inc., 1959. 79-82

God’s Purpose in Suffering

“Every human being, at some time, must experience suffering, sickness, and finally death.”

“The Bible teaches that in the life of an unbeliever the causes and results of suffering are quite different from those in the life of the believer, although they may not appear different. If a lion, for example, could think, and in his lion mind could see two men suffering from blindness, he might conclude that the causes and results were the same. But an angel, seeing the suffering of these two men, would comprehend the spiritual factors; he would understand that in one case the Devil was doing as he pleased with a member of his kingdom; in the other, an all-wise Heavenly Father was permitting one of His children to suffer, for a purpose. The Bible tells us what should be our attitude toward the world of unbelievers: “In meekness instructing those who oppose themselves; God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:25,26).”

“We know from Job’s experience that Satan cannot lift a finger against a child of God, without the direct and definite permission of God, and can do no more than God permits.”

“When suffering overtakes the regenerate man, he may immediately perceive some divine purpose. This prevents him from becoming a fatalist. The follower of Islam may shrug his shoulders and say that kismet, fate has overtaken him; and in that belief he will settle down in the darkness of credulity. But when it comes upon a Christian, he can look up with confidence into the face of his Heavenly Father who has never made a mistake and who does all things well, and expect the event to work out for his good, no matter how terrible the grief or anguish of the moment. Thus the Christian can say, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Such a truth brings a calm in the midst of suffering which far surpasses the grim resignation of the stoic. Thus God Himself said to His chosen people in the midst of their suffering, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a planned future and hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). God has a planned future for us.”

“God has arranged the varied sufferings of man so that no outsider can know His purposes, but the suffering soul can know. The sufferings that come to a believer may be classified as corrective, constructive and exemplary, but we can glory in our tribulations, no matter what their purpose be.”

“Did not our Father plan it all? Is He not working out a determined purpose? Then shall we not receive whatever He measures out to us, knowing that it will have its effect upon us, even in eternity?”

Barnhouse, Donald Grey. God's River Romans 5:1-11 Expositions of Bible Doctrines Epistles to the Romans.Philadelphia: The Evangelical Foundation, inc., 1959. 77-78

Olives and Grapes, Oil and Wine: Rejoicing in Tribulation

"I would suggest to you, then, three steps to joy. First, to have oil and wine you must have olives and grapes. The unsaved man can have no true joy because he has no fruit from which joy can be produced. Be sure, therefore, that you are rooted and grounded in Christ so that the Holy Spirit may bring forth His fruit. If you are unsaved, you can have no joy because you have nothing but thorns and thistles. Crush them and you get thorn juice and thistle milk which never make the face shine or the heart rejoice. The unsaved can have the wildness of revelry and the froth of mirth, but never the shining of gladness and the depths of joy. These come only from God's oil and wine; and these, in turn, are pressed only from God's olives and grapes."

"You answer me that you are certain on this score. You know that you are saved and even take some pride in the olives and grapes in the garden of your life. You have digged in the earth and pruned the trees and vines; you have watered them with care and have even gathered fruit. I recognize the truth of what you say. You are, in comparison with the wild trees and weedy fields of your unsaved neighbors, a fruitful bough and a fertile garden."

"You are correct in believing that neither oil nor wine can be produced without the fruit which you have grown; but you seem unaware that no small skill is demanded to make oil and wine, and that such skill must be accompanied by patient labor and wise attention to details. Stop pointing to your work for the Lord, as though the presence of fruit could give you the oil of the shining face or the wine of the gladdened heart. The second step to possession of the oil and wine is to become dissatisfied with mere production of olives and grapes. If you are satisfied with grapes, you will never know the wine of joy."

"The third and final step to fullness of joy is for olives and grapes to be crushed. For this the Lord has many different processes. In all vintage countries proprietors of great vineyards have their own secrets for making wines. Connoisseurs tell the difference between the products of one vineyard and another by their tastes. Soil, sun, method of preparation, all enter into the final product."

"So the Lord works in all of us to bring forth a particular brand of joy that He and we may share. Each of us will have a new name, which no man knows saving him that receives it (Revelation2:17); to that end our Lord now works, first growing choice olives and grapes within us, and then pressing them out so that there may be oil and wine and our lives may be shining and glad for Him."

"In the measure that we welcome infirmities and tribulations, we shall glory in them and realize afresh the power of Christ to transmute the suffering into glory and distill joy from pain. Shall we not be willing to glory in tribulation if it produces joy, and opens a fountain of blessing to others?"

"For this the Lord works in our lives, and we are confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in us will keep on perfecting it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). He will grow His fruit - olives and grapes - and He will press out His oil and His wine. He will give us the shining face and a heart so filled with His joy that nothing else in the world - no, not even the work of the Lord - can charm us like the knowledge that we are the sons of His oil, sons of His joy, and that we shall be occupied with Him and His joy forever."

"It is evident that this type of living is miraculous, for it is not natural for us to undergo suffering and endure it patiently. It is natural to whine and sigh and cry in adversity. The worldling often lives such a life of failure, and, alas, too many Christians settle down to the same level. Nevertheless, provision has been made for us to glory in tribulation, if we will appropriate the resources that are ours for moment-by-moment living in Christ."

"The Christian does not go out of his way to seek trouble. But when the crushing load of life comes down on him, the true believer faces it with calmness and equanimity, knowing that God means it for good and that out of it will come rejoicing and the possibility of glorying afresh in God."

Barnhouse, Donald Grey. God's River Romans 5:1-11 Expositions of Bible Doctrines Epistles to the Romans.Philadelphia: The Evangelical Foundation, inc., 1959. 75-76

Born to Trouble: Pressed for Joy

"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;" ~ Romans 5:3

"Tribulations are the common lot of humanity, and only the Christian, as captive to the will of God, can triumph over them in utter glory. One of Job's comforters expressed a truth that has become proverbial: 'Affliction comes not forth of the dust, neither does trouble spring out of the ground; yet man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward" (Job 5:6,7). Trial and suffering are the common lot of man, and no one will escape this heritage. The Hebrew of this passage in Job is very beautiful, for the comparison between the trouble of mankind and the flying sparks is couched in most poetic language. The two Hebrew words translated by our one word "sparks" are literally "the sons of flame." The fire on the hearth produces an offspring of sparks. Life is a similar fire, and each generation is placed upon the burning embers of the past. Coming from fallen Adam as we all do, there is nothing for us but the trials and sorrows, adversities and afflictions common to all men."

"The believer who has entered into the redemption that is in Christ has been introduced to the endless supply of grace provided among the spiritual blessings which are ours in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3) rejoices in the hope of the glory of God and glories in tribulations. That this is a supernatural experience is evident from the meaning of the words that describe the suffering which purchases for us rejoicing and glory. "Tribulation" has been taken over from the Latin. The verb tribulare, which means, "to press, to oppress, to afflict."

The Greek word brings us the same thought, couched under a slightly different imagery. The word is thlipsis, and originally conveyed the idea of "pressing together, pressure." It is interesting to note from the lexicons and dictionaries of the ancient language that the application of this word to human suffering was first employed in the New Testament. The Christians were the first to think of themselves as being in the vat like grapes or olives, and being pressed to the point where their joy ran out like wine or oil. How can we press joy from sorrow as one presses wine from grapes or oil from olives?"

"Oil and wine are biblical symbols of joy. (Psalms 104:15; Numbers 6:24,25; Psalms 45:7; Psalms 104:15). The Lord has told us that He wants our joy to be full. In spite of this, many of His children come short of the great grace that He has for us in this life. They are fundamental and know the doctrines; they are instructed and know the vocabulary; they are saved and have the potentialities, but do they have fullness of joy? They have olives but no oil, grapes but no wine."

"Olives and grapes are fruits which produce oil and wine but they are not oil and wine themselves. In Palestine we find olives and grapes that have never fulfilled their true destiny. The olive shrinks and is wrinkled. A hungry man will eat such olives, and the poor people put them in their food; but the richness has evaporated. Grapes that remain on the vine harden, and after a time are pulpy and dry. They will keep for months, dry all the time, and will still be nourishing, but the wine is gone, and the raisins excite a thirst for the juice that is not there. Such olives and grapes are better than nothing, but they are not substitutes for oil and wine."

"Are you satisfied with olives and grapes? Be sure they will dry up in your storehouse and will never furnish the shining face or the merry heart. Oil and wine bring joy, not olives and grapes. And surely you can see that it is not possible to have oil and wine unless olives are pressed and grapes are crushed. Even the finest fruit will not yield its essence without this process. Indeed, the finer the fruit the firmer the skin, and the heavier pressure that must be put upon it to burst its surface that the juices may spurt. If you are to be splashed with joy, you must be crushed."

Barnhouse, Donald Grey. God's River Romans 5:1-11 Expositions of Bible Doctrines Epistles to the Romans.Philadelphia: The Evangelical Foundation, inc., 1959. 72-74

John Owen on Justification Controversies

“The truth is, so far as I can discern, the real difference that is at this day amongst us, about the doctrine of our justification before God, is the same that was between the apostle and the Jews, and no other.  But controversies in religion make a great appearance of being new, when they are only varied and made different by the new terms and expressions that are introduced into the handling of them.  So hath it fallen out in the controversy about nature and grace; for as unto the true nature of it  it is the same in these days as it was between the apostle Paul and the Pharisees; between Austin and Pelagius afterward.  But it hath now passed through so many forms and dresses of words, as that it can scarce be known to be what it was. Many at this day will condemn both Pelagius and the doctrine he taught, in the words wherein he taught it, and yet embrace and approve of the things themselves which he intended.  The introduction of every change in philosophical learning gives an appearance of change in the controversies which are managed thereby; but take off the covering of philosophical expressions, distinctions, metaphysical notions, and futilous terms of art, which some of the ancient schoolmen and later disputants have cast upon it, and the difference about grace and nature is amongst us the same that it was of old.”

Christ Our Surety

“In the first covenant made with Adam there was no surety, but God and men were the immediate covenanters; and although we were in a state and condition able to perform and answer all the terms of the covenant, yet was it broken and disannulled. It was man alone who failed and broke that covenant: wherefore it was necessary, that upon the making of the new covenant, and that with a design and purpose that it should never be disannulled, as the former was, we should have a surety and undertaker for us; for if that first covenant was not firm and stable, because there was no surety to undertake for us, notwithstanding all that ability which we had to answer the terms of it, how much less can any other be so, now [that] our natures are become depraved and sinful! Wherefore we alone were capable of a surety, properly so called, for us; we alone stood in need of him; and without him the covenant could not be firm and inviolate on our part. The surety, therefore of this covenant, is so with God for us.”

“A surety, for us, the Lord Jesus Christ was, by his voluntary undertaking, out of his rich grace and love, to do, answer, and perform all that is required on our part, that we may enjoy the benefits of the covenant, the grace and glory prepared, proposed, and promised in it, in the way and manner determined on by divine wisdom.”

“(1) He undertook, as the surety of the covenant, to answer for all the sins of those who are to be, and are, made partakers of the benefits of it; that is, to undergo the punishment due unto their sins; to make atonement for them by offering himself as a propitiatory sacrifice for the expiation of their sins, redeeming them, by the price of his blood, from their state of misery and bondage under the law, and the curse of it, Isaiah 53:4-6,10; Matthew 20:28; 1 Timothy 2:6; 1 Corinthians 6:20; Romans 3:25-26; Hebrews 10:5-8; Romans 8:2-3; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 3:13: and this was absolutely necessary, that the grace and glory prepared in the covenant might be communicated unto us. Without this undertaking of his, and performance of it, the righteousness and faithfulness of God would not permit that sinners, - such as had apostatized from him, despised his authority and rebelled against him, falling thereby under the sentence and curse of the law, - should again be received unto his favor, and made partakers of grace and glory; this, therefore, the Lord Christ took upon himself, as the surety of the covenant.”

“(2) That those who were to be taken into this covenant should receive grace enabling them to comply with the terms of it, fulfill its conditions, and yield the obedience which God required therein; for, by ordination of God, he was to procure, and did merit and procure for them, the Holy Spirit, and all needful supplies of grace, to make the new creatures, and enable them to yield obedience unto God from a new principle of spiritual life, and that faithfully unto the end: so was he the surety of this better testament.”

“For the declaration of the righteousness of God in this setting forth of Christ to be a propitiation, and to bear our iniquities, the guilt of our sins was transferred unto him in an act of the righteous judgment of God accepting and esteeming of him as the guilty person.”

“The righteousness of Christ (in his obedience and suffering for us) imputed unto believers, as they are united unto him by his Spirit, is that righteousness whereon they are justified before God, on the account whereof their sins are pardoned, and a right is granted them unto the heavenly inheritance.”

“These things, therefore, are consistent, - namely, that the satisfaction of Christ should be imputed unto us for the pardon of sin, and the obedience of Christ be imputed unto us to render us righteous before God; and they are not only consistent, but neither of them singly were sufficient unto our justification.”


Owen, John. The Doctrine of Justification by Faith. sixth. V. East Peoria: Versa Press, Inc., 2007. 186-212. Print.