Deeper Reflection
God has promised His people who suffer for their unwavering faithfulness to Him in the unprecedented “time of distress” that they “will be rescued” (v.1). Among these are the martyrs of God, who “sleep in the dust of the ground” and the divine rescue for them is, they “will awake to everlasting life” (v.2a). The wicked people who kill God’s faithful people may live on with triumph and prosperity, but they will eventually die. When they “sleep”, they will also “awake”, except that it will be “to disgrace and everlasting contempt” (v.2b). Here is a double comfort for the martyrs of God: They will “awake to everlasting life” and their enemies to “everlasting contempt”. With this knowledge and assurance, they know that their suffering and death for their God is not in vain. They have the last laugh on their enemies. But this is possible only because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.Christ’s death and resurrection formed Paul’s discipleship, and therefore were consciously central in his life. For Paul, knowing Christ surpasses everything (Phil 3:7-8). And knowing Christ includes knowing “the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” and “attain the resurrection from the dead” (Phil 3:10-11). This is Paul’s discipleship package. Thus, “carrying the dying of Jesus…the life of Jesus manifested” in Paul’s body was an “always” reality (2 Cor 4:10). Is what Paul says about Christ’s sufferings, death and resurrection in his life just an abstract concept to you, or is it a spiritual reality in your daily life?