Arming ourselves with a mind to suffer is helpful because much of life consists of various kinds of suffering. If we are always looking for a happy time we will be disappointed—we may even be led into error. To try to always evade suffering requires that we sacrifice our integrity. When a situation becomes unpleasant we flee, betraying those who trust in us and also breaking the laws of God.

Suffering, if responded to correctly (as outlined above), purifies us from sin. We then live our life in obedience to God's will. Being able to obey God in every circumstance is salvation. God will accept nothing less than stern obedience from His sons.

Teaching Us Obedience to God

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. (Hebrews 2:10—NIV)

Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered (Hebrews 5:8—NIV)

The above two verses are difficult to comprehend because we view the eternal Christ as always being perfect. If we are to believe the Scripture, Christ returned to the Father a better Person than when He left.

For one thing, the Lord was better acquainted with the sufferings we experience while living on the earth. He did not fully understand our infirmities until He Himself became a man and found out what it is like to live in this demon-filled charnel house we call life.

Now He knows, and so He can understand our problems and pains.

Christ was made perfect through suffering.

Christ learned obedience to the Father from what He suffered.

Was Christ obedient to God before He came to earth? Doubtless He was. But there is obedience, and then there is tested obedience.

God the Father was about to entrust His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, with all authority in the heavens and upon the earth. This means Christ was to receive God's own authority.

In order for God to so entrust Jesus Christ with His own authority He first had to make certain beyond question that Christ would remain totally obedient and never take matters into His own hands.

And so the Lord did not count His sonship a thing to be grasped but took a lowly position on earth. His life here was miserable, by our standards.

The struggle in Gethsemane passes human comprehension. What was at issue was Christ's eternal relationship to the Father. Christ had only the Father's Word that after He had borne the sins of the world He would be restored to His position in the heart of God.

Even with this at stake the famous cry was uttered: "Not My will but Yours be done."

God knew if Christ would lay down even His relationship to God in order to be totally obedient, He could be entrusted with God's own authority.

Why couldn't Christ have learned obedience in the spirit realm? Maybe it is not possible to learn obedience in the spirit realm. Maybe our life on earth is the only opportunity we ever will have to demonstrate stern obedience to the Father.

We, as did Jesus Christ, learn obedience through our problems and pains.

Because of this, all of God's future rulers must suffer while on the earth.

To be continued.