“If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.”
This is part two of the four trustworthy sayings or I would call four difficult sayings. The first part of this verse is “if we endure.” Now at first glance that seems to be an English if then statement. It also appears that our salvation is conditional. It appears that God’s love and salvation are conditional. We know from Scripture that is not the case. So what does this tiny little two letter English word mean in this passage. It is important to figure this out. Many bad doctrines, cults, and heresies come from not correctly interpreting the Bible. Scripture interprets Scripture.
We know we did in fact die with Christ the moment we asked Him to save us. We know in fact that we live with Him currently and we will in the next life. So these four difficult sayings seem to be facts. So you could look at this verse like this: since we endure, we shall also reign with Him. Endurance is part of the Christian life. We all have to endure. Jesus said take up your cross and follow Me.
How are some of the ways Christians endure? Believe it or not we endure every day. We tolerate Satan’s onslaught against us. We tolerate our own sin nature pushing us to do wrong. Yes we still sin yes we fail. The difference now is there is an eternal struggle. We follow the difficult path. If you try to live for Christ you are going to be given a hard time. You will struggle. Satan and his forces will come after you.
The positive side of this verse it the “we shall reign with Him.” The first part of the verse describes what happens to us now while we are on earth. The second part describes what will happen when we get to heaven. One day all those who are in Christ will rule with Him. During the millennium we will be rulers with Christ. We will help in watching over His kingdom. What a great God we have. For our mortal struggle we get eternal rewards.
How are you enduring today? Are you living for Christ? Are you trying to do His will?
