Page 31 - The Gate and the Way

Sharers in Christ’s Sufferings

The union of Christ and His body is a great mystery. Much has been written and
preached regarding the oneness of Christ and those saints who comprise His body. One
aspect of our identification with Christ that has been largely neglected, especially in this late
hour at the end of the age, is the church becoming one with Yahshua in His suffering.
The apostles were not averse to speaking openly about this aspect of our union with
Christ. They actually had much to say on the subject.

II Corinthians 1:5
For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is
abundant through Christ.

Now, if Paul had said “the riches of Christ are ours in abundance,” or “the pleasures
of Christ are ours in abundance,” we could be certain that this passage would be one of the
most quoted in this hour of sensuality. Yet, that is not what the apostle declares. He says,
“the SUFFERINGS of Christ are ours in abundance.”
Consider carefully what is being stated. Paul is not speaking of any and all suffering.
He is speaking specifically of the sufferings of Christ. These are afflictions and sorrows and
trials that are uniquely associated with the Son of God. Let us define these sufferings that
Paul is talking about.
The sufferings of Christ are those sufferings which arise as the will of man comes into
conflict with the revealed will of God. Christ ALWAYS chose to do the will of the Father. He
testified that He did not come to please Himself. The will of God will not lead us to the same
experiences we would choose for ourselves. Christ was not born in a mansion. Yahweh did
not give His Son a great reputation among the people. Quite the contrary. The Jewish
leaders accused Yahshua of being born illegitimately, of being a Samaritan (mixed race), of
having a demon.
The Father did not choose for His Son to walk in a position of worldly power and
prestige. Christ had no great ministry center. He had no wealth, or political influence. He
came to His own, and His own received Him not. Yahweh chose for His Son to perform His
ministry as a wanderer, a poor man who was homeless. The foxes had holes, and the birds
of the air had nests, but the Son of man had nowhere to lay His head.
Yahshua is a pattern for the body of Christ. Whenever any man or woman accepts the
invitation of Christ, when they begin to walk as His disciple, they will be brought to this
form of suffering that is unique to Christ. They must act as if they hate their own soul in
order to follow in Yahshua’s steps.

Luke 14:26
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate... even his own life (psuche - soul), he
cannot be My disciple.”

The apostle Paul most certainly has this form of suffering in mind when he declares
that “the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance.” You cannot be Christ’s disciple
without experiencing the suffering that arises as your own soul’s desires are denied that the
will of the Father might be accomplished. The disparity between man’s desires and the