Suffering for Jesus Now Will Bring Glory Later

Sometimes we will suffer for doing what is right. When we do, we imitate Christ, who suffered because He obeyed His Father’s will. His suffering ultimately led to victory and glory. So will ours.

Although He was innocent, Jesus died once to pay the penalty for the guilty. His suffering made unrighteous people like us acceptable to a righteous God who judged our sins on that cross.

The best way to thank Him is to obey Him even if it brings suffering. Death did not have the last word with Jesus. He submitted to the sting of death for everyone. When death stung Him, like a honeybee, it stung itself to death. People killed Him, but God raised Him to life.

In the Spirit, Jesus preached to the fallen angels of Genesis 6:1-4, 2 Peter 2:4-5, and Jude 6-7. He proclaimed His victory to them. He announced their power had been broken. Through faith in Him, we share His victory.

1 Peter 3:20 describes the disobedience of these fallen angels. Jewish literature blamed the flood on them. By contrast, Noah was a righteous man.

The flood demonstrated God’s judgment and mercy. 1 Peter 3:20-21 emphasizes His mercy. God’s patient waiting is based on Genesis 6:3. In that verse and 2 Peter 3:5-9, God’s patience presupposes His judgment will eventually fall.

We enter Jesus’ victory through repentance, faith, and baptism. The resurrection following Jesus’ death is the basis of our forgiveness. It proved God was satisfied with Jesus’ payment for our sins.

The resurrection makes repentance, faith, and regeneration possible. Our baptism is the seal that our faith is authentic.

Noah experienced victory through the “baptism” of the flood. It delivered him and a few others into a new world. Baptism is part of the repentance, faith, and baptism response to the gospel that the Lord seeks.

The suffering Christ of 1 Peter 3:18 is the exalted Christ of 1 Peter 3:22. He rose to supreme privilege and sovereignty in the universe.

By faith, we are united to Him. We share in His victory (Romans 8:16-17). Experiencing unjust suffering for the cause of Christ demonstrates that we are on the road to glory.

Those who persecute us for Christ’s sake will not ultimately prevail. In the end, they will be crushed. When they persecute us, they give us reason to rejoice.

Suffering for Jesus now means glory later. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV). What is your takeaway?

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God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,671 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 15,636 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting. 

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