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"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we
suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together" (Rom. 8: 17).
Paul writing to the Philippians explains how he counted all things loss for Christ, and
he was willing to suffer the loss of all things in order that he might win Christ. He
continues:
"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His
sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Phil. 3: 10).
Our Lord has shared in our experiences, and now He asks us to share with Him for we
are united with Him. We need strength if we are to suffer with Christ, but first Paul
points out that we have the power of His resurrection which is the enabling power, so that
we can share with our Lord.
We have seen how the Lord has compassion on the people and on us. Paul received
sympathy from those who suffered as he did. We have read how we should have
sympathy with one another and how the members of a body share. We have gone further
and seen that we may share in the Lord's sufferings.
Let us conclude by the words written by Paul in II Cor. 1: 3-7 concerning the God of
all comfort:
(1) Who comforts us
(2) and enables us to comfort others.
"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and
the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to
comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are
comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also
aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and
salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer:
or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of
you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of
the consolation."