Fellowship of His Sufferings is the fourth of the fellowships with God. The first one we enter into is Fellowship in the Gospel, followed by Fellowship with Holy Spirit and Fellowship with His Son.
When we become a believer in Jesus, we know He forgives us. Child-like faith acknowledges the kingdom of God is within us.
God does not want us to stop at the fellowship in the gospel, so He encourages us to have Holy Spirit come upon us through baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit baptism allows connection with the Holy Spirit to grow and mature.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus.
But What is the Fellowship of His Suffering?
Jesus suffered at the hands of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Then He also suffered in the garden of Gethsemane in His struggle to do the will of God.
He suffered from His twelve apostles, leaving Him, denying Him, not understanding, or believing in Him.
And Jesus suffered at the hands of the mob who sent Him to die.
He also suffered at the hands of Pontius Pilate and the Roman soldiers.
As with Paul, a call into the ministry is a call into a fellowship of suffering:
PHILIPPIANS 3:10 THAT I MAY KNOW HIM AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION, AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS, BEING CONFORMED TO HIS DEATH, IF, BY ANY MEANS, I MAY ATTAIN TO THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD.
HOW CAN WE FELLOWSHIP IN HIS SUFFERINGS?
Fellowship in suffering can be some of the most precious things we can experience. Facing persecution, concern for the church(es) lack, sickness can bring us into a place of intimacy with God as we find how much He loves us. It is a place where we bring our needs to Him, because He cares for us:
1 PETER 5:7 CASTING ALL YOUR CARE UPON HIM, FOR HE CARES FOR YOU.
God understands that we live in a world that allows suffering due to the fall of Adam and Eve. He understands that there are good and evil people because they love the darkness more than the light. Therefore Jesus suffered these abuses too.
What is the Purpose of this Fellowship?
Becoming Like Jesus.
The New Covenant brings victory over sin, sickness and torment. However, it brings with it suffering and persecution. When someone abuses us or speaks against us it is easy to retaliate; however, that is not the way of the gospel.
We need to learn To Grow in Grace.
Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’ was not sickness, but rather a person who was tormenting him, keeping him humble:
2 CORINTHIANS 12:7 AND LEST I SHOULD BE EXALTED ABOVE MEASURE BY THE ABUNDANCE OF THE REVELATIONS, A THORN IN THE FLESH WAS GIVEN TO ME, A MESSENGER OF SATAN TO BUFFET ME, LEST I BE EXALTED ABOVE MEASURE.
When it uses the word messenger of Satan, it is the word aggelos where we get angel.
Aggelos, in this context, is defined as a demon or person of evil intent.
We know that humility brings grace:
JAMES 4:6 BUT HE GIVES MORE GRACE. THEREFORE HE SAYS: “GOD RESISTS THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
God wants us to grow from glory to glory. So, Jesus suffered to bring glory upon us:
HEBREWS 2:10 FOR IT WAS FITTING FOR HIM, FOR WHOM ARE ALL THINGS AND BY WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, IN BRINGING MANY SONS TO GLORY, TO MAKE THE CAPTAIN OF THEIR SALVATION PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERINGS.
The steppingstone from one level of glory to another level of glory is usually suffering:
ROMANS 8:16-18 THE SPIRIT HIMSELF BEARS WITNESS WITH OUR SPIRIT THAT WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD, AND IF CHILDREN, THEN HEIRS—HEIRS OF GOD AND JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST, IF INDEED WE SUFFER WITH HIM, THAT WE MAY ALSO BE GLORIFIED TOGETHER. FOR I CONSIDER THAT THE SUFFERINGS OF THIS PRESENT TIME ARE NOT WORTHY TO BE COMPARED WITH THE GLORY WHICH SHALL BE REVEALED IN US.
Just because we suffer, does not mean we automatically grow from glory to glory.
We need to make sure that we have the right attitude as well.
Paul teaches us that if we want resurrection life flowing through us into others (which releases healing, deliverance, and victory over death), then that comes through suffering.
PHILIPPIANS 3:10 THAT I MAY KNOW HIM AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION, AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS, BEING CONFORMED TO HIS DEATH, IF, BY ANY MEANS, I MAY ATTAIN TO THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD.
But there are Dangers of False Fellowship in His Sufferings.
If we dwell too much on our sufferings, we can move into a poverty mindset, self-pity, or persecution complex.
It can also become a place of begging that is not healthy. These attitudes can stop the growth of grace and glory in our lives. God will never turn away someone who comes with a contrite heart and a broken spirit:
ISAIAH 66:2 “BUT ON THIS ONE WILL I LOOK: ON HIM WHO IS POOR AND OF A CONTRITE SPIRIT, AND WHO TREMBLES AT MY WORD.
God does not want us to stay in self-pity, or poverty mindset, He wants us to grow in faith: It is a very real danger for a minister to camp in self-pity, losing closeness with God due to the ministry’s demand.
HEBREWS 12:12-13 THEREFORE STRENGTHEN THE HANDS WHICH HANG DOWN, AND THE FEEBLE KNEES, AND MAKE STRAIGHT PATHS FOR YOUR FEET, SO THAT WHAT IS LAME MAY NOT BE DISLOCATED, BUT RATHER BE HEALED.
We need to learn how to Escape the Snare
We do this by Speaking out the Word of God. When we HEAR the word of God, it produces faith:
ROMANS 10:17 SO THEN FAITH COMES BY HEARING, AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD.
We need to learn how to Praise and Worship.
When we praise God, we focus on the goodness and greatness of God, not our problems.
EPHESIANS 5:18-21 AND DO NOT BE DRUNK WITH WINE, IN WHICH IS DISSIPATION; BUT BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, SPEAKING TO ONE ANOTHER IN PSALMS AND HYMNS AND SPIRITUAL SONGS, SINGING AND MAKING MELODY IN YOUR HEART TO THE LORD, GIVING THANKS ALWAYS FOR ALL THINGS TO GOD THE FATHER IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, SUBMITTING TO ONE ANOTHER IN THE FEAR OF GOD.
After Fellowship in the Gospel, then Fellowship with Holy Spirit and Fellowship with His Son comes this fellowship which is equally precious.
Participating in the same sufferings as Jesus comes with great rewards of resurrection life, grace, and growth in glory.
But it comes with a snare of falling into discouragement, self-pity or poverty mindset.
The way out of this is through declaring the word of God and praising and worshipping.