Here's How Christians Suffer

Philippians 2:1-30

Get some background on Paul’s first visit to Philippi.

When Paul first met the believers at Philippi, some good things happened (Acts 16:11-15). They formed into a small but growing church! Then some bad things happened (Acts 16:16-24). He was arrested, beaten, and imprisoned unjustly.

Yet, how did he respond to this unfortunate, unforeseen turn of events? He prayed and sang to God (Acts 16:25). Then, in the aftermath of an earthquake, he reached out to the prison guard and his family, who placed their faith in Christ as a result (Acts 16:26-34).

After these events, Paul departed to another city (Acts 16:35-40). But guess who didn’t leave the city? Everyone else in the church and the unbelieving people in the community who opposed them, who had placed Paul in prison.

Get some perspective on Paul’s letter to Philippi.

About 10 years later, Paul wrote a letter to this church – this time from another prison in Rome (Phil 1:7, 16). Did he write this letter to get some sympathy for his suffering? Did he write to request their help in getting him out of jail? No.

Paul wrote this letter to encourage the church in their own suffering. Despite his ongoing suffering and theirs, he wanted them to rejoice even more (Phil 1:18, 26). He also wanted to encourage something else – a spirit of solidarity, of unified love for one another.

Suffering draws us into a self-focused mindset.

That’s why Paul warned the Philippian believers against a selfish response to their suffering. He said, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit” (Phil 2:3). Then he said, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests” (Phil 2:4). Then he said, “Do all things without complaining and disputing” (Phil 2:14).

These warnings put a finger on our pulse when we suffer, especially when we suffer in serious and prolonged ways and when our suffering hurts our financial wealth and physical health. When we suffer, we naturally adopt a me-first mentality.

• We do things to improve our private situation.
• We do things to get ahead while others are down.
• We turn our attention to ourselves and away from others.
• We complain about our situation.
• We argue and debate about what’s going on.

This may have been the Philippian way and it may be the American way today, but it isn’t the Christian way ever (Phil 1:27). Still, this tendency grows stronger the longer our suffering goes on.

Christ calls us to an unselfish mindset.

“If there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy” (Phil 2:1). These four ‘ifs’ are rhetorical questions and the answer to all of them is ‘yes.’ These questions remind us to think about what it’s like to be a Christian.

Our experience as Christians inspires us.

As Christians, we are members of a very special community that enjoys a close relationship both with the members of the Godhead and with one another. If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you know what it’s like to receive the encouragement, love, support, and affection of God through other Christians.

Based upon this prior, shared experience, Paul reminds us to step up to the plate and do the same for one another. He reminds us to rally together, not wander apart. We must pay attention to the needs of one another, not just the needs of our own selves (Phil 2:4).

Christ is our ultimate example.

Though he is God and deserves to be recognized and treated as such, he stooped to our level and stepped into our situation – not just a little bit, but all the way (Phil 2:5-8).

• Our king became our servant.
• Our God became a man.
• He didn’t just live for us, but he died for us, too.
• He didn’t die just any death, but a violent, bloody, gruesome death on a cross as only the most awful criminal should die.

That’s the kind of encouragement, love, fellowship, and compassion we’ve experienced from Christ, and it’s the kind of care and support we should experience from other Christians, too. That’s why we need to take the same mentality and humble ourselves to meet one another’s needs, even in suffering.

Other Christians reflect Christ’s example.

If Christ were our only example, we might view this call as something larger than life. Inspiring yet elusive. Ideal but not real. Yet three other men provided the Philippian believers with living, breathing examples of other Christian human beings like themselves.

Paul himself was an example (Phil 2:17-18).

As if his suffering for them years ago when their church began was not enough, he continued to exhibit a willingness to suffer if it brought about their spiritual growth. If his life went up in flames but sparked more vibrant and obedient faith in them as a result, he would’ve been glad. His suffering was the least of his concerns. His greatest concern was their spiritual development. In fact, if his imprisonment ever ended, he wanted to visit the Philippian church again if possible (Phil 2:24). Yet since he was presently hindered, he wrote them a letter instead, not for his sake but for theirs.

Timothy – Paul’s helper – was also an example (Phil 2:19-23).

As a younger man, Timothy could have been making a name for himself, yet he was caring for Paul in prison in Rome. Here Paul makes a shocking admission – that of all the wonderful people he knew, none were as genuine as Timothy. He was the real deal and served Paul as a son cares for his elderly father, running errands for him, giving him company, doing research for him, and writing for him, and so on. What’s remarkable is that though Paul relied heavily on Timothy’s services, he cared for the Philippians so greatly that he was prepared to let Timothy go to serve them instead.

Epaphroditus was another example (Phil 2:25-30).

This man was a member of the church at Philippi who had taken a dangerous journey. The purpose of his journey was to deliver a financial gift to Paul on behalf of the church at Philippi. However, once in Rome, he became ill and nearly died. To make matters worse, he had become emotionally distressed, but why? Because he found out that the church had found out that he was sick. In this way, Epaphroditus serves as the “punch line” for Paul’s message to the church. He wanted them to be more concerned about meeting the needs of one another and not concerned about themselves – even if their suffering pushed them to the brink of death.

Our suffering is a chance to achieve something greater (Phil 2:12-13).

We view our suffering as a setback, don’t we? But Paul viewed suffering as a precious moment, the opportunity of a lifetime. What was this opportunity for? To “work out our own salvation.” By this, he is not referring to “becoming a Christian.” He is referring instead to behaving more like the Christians we’ve been saved to be. You see, our sufferings give the salvation that’s inside of us a chance to shine outside of us. And God is working in our lives to help us do this each step of the way.

Our suffering is a chance to shine brightly for the gospel (Phil 2:14-16).

When we complain and publicly argue about our suffering, we give nonbelievers an opportunity of their own. We give them a reason to point the finger and say, “See, you’re no different than us. So why should we trust in Jesus?” But when we rally together to mee the needs of one another, following the example that our Savior has set for us, we expand our credibility and our opportunity to reach out with the hope of the gospel.

Our suffering is an opportunity to help one another experience the love of God (Phil 2:1-2).

How do we experience the encouragement of Christ, the love of God, the support and fellowship of the Spirit, and the strong affections of mercy and compassion? By getting our focus off of ourselves and onto one another. Let’s not be content to teach the love of God as an abstract concept. Let’s put it into action so that we can experience it together throughout the way we treat each other in our suffering.

Suffering today is okay because our reward is in the future (Phil 2:9-11).

When we rally together to meet one another’s needs, not only do we become more like Christ and become more effective witnesses for the gospel, but we prepare for a bright and glorious future. Christ – our God, our Savior, and our example – suffered to the greatest degree on our behalf. Did he lose out in the end? No. Though he suffered greatly, he was rewarded greatly. Though he suffered temporarily, he was rewarded eternally. So, we will be rewarded – not as greatly as Christ, but like Christ. What’s more, we’ll be with Christ forever and our rewards will last for eternity.

So how are we handling our suffering today?

As the COVID19 pandemic and citywide shutdown drag on:

• Are we embracing our suffering (or discomfort) as a precious, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become more like Christ?
• Are we viewing this as a means that God is using to better prepare us for eternity?
• Are we unified in our mission and passion?
• Are we focusing on our personal, private needs or caring for the needs of one another?
• Are we complaining and arguing about our setbacks, sorrows, and discomfort or are we glad and rejoicing in Christ?

The longer this shutdown continues, the more easily we’ll be drawn into a self-focused mindset. So, since I’m in Paul’s situation (on house arrest – sort of) and can’t visit you at home or meet with us all in person at a church gathering, let me encourage you from a distance. Keep a Christ-like, others-focused perspective during this time.

• Name someone in the church whom you’ve neglected to pay attention to during this pandemic.
• Identify at least one way that you can give them priority over yourself this week.

Let’s band together with a Christlike perspective and be more concerned for one another than for ourselves. To the degree that we do this, we’ll help each other experience the love of God firsthand – and that’s what it means to be a church. We’ll also make the gospel more appealing to a watching world. Then you never know – maybe another Philippian jailor and his family will turn to Christ.