Victory in Christ’s Sufferings

When I was a young minister in Pennsylvania, I read many books about the lives of godly men who had led very simple lifestyles. That sounded like the answer to my desire to be used by God. At that time, I knew a minister who spoke with great authority, and he was a real hero to me. He led a life of total simplicity, living in a small room and owning only one pair of clothes. 

I thought denying oneself meant living a spartan lifestyle. I prayed, “Lord, that’s what I want. I could be a powerhouse for you if I empty out my closets and keep only a few pairs of clothes. I will sell my car and buy a cheaper one. I will buy an old, unattractive house. I’ll give up steak and eat hamburger meat. I could set a great example by having no desire for any material things on earth.” Actually, I was saying, “If I could just suffer enough, get hold of my flesh, and become an ascetic, I could serve the Lord with true power.” 

Soon afterward, my hero began teaching false doctrine, and many lives were destroyed because of it. That’s when the Lord told me, “That’s not what victory is all about, David. The victory isn’t yours, it’s mine.”  

Beloved, at this very point, Jesus comes to us and says, “Take my hand and follow me into my death, my burial and my resurrection. Look at the cross, embrace it, and cling to my victory. That is where the crucifixion of the flesh takes place.” 

Yes, dying in Christ is an act of faith. We have to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said, “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death” (Philippians 3:10, NKJV).

When Paul says he wants to know Christ in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, he is talking about Christ’s resurrection and sufferings, not his own or anyone else’s. Dying to self is about Christ’s suffering. Look to the cross!