Are You Suffering? Jesus Reigns Forever

Excerpt from John Piper:  He Cannot Deny Himself

(Based on 2 Timothy 2:8-19)

Five Foundations for Your Life

And now in verses 8-19 Paul gives five foundations for this kind of confidence and courage in ministry — and in your life! So the way I think you should listen to this message is by asking: are there foundation stones of truth that I should build into the bottom of my life to help me stand in the face of suffering? And to keep me going in what God has called me to do, even if it is embattled? And you will see in the last part of this text how painfully embattled Timothy’s ministry was.

Foundation Stone #1

Verse 8: “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel.”

Timothy, never let Jesus Christ be far from your mind. And he mentions two specific ways to remember Jesus. Remember him as risen from the dead. And remember him as the offspring of David. Why these two things about Jesus?

Because if he is risen from the dead he is alive and triumphant over death. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). Which means, Timothy, that no matter how serious the suffering becomes, the worst that it can do on this earth is kill you. And Jesus has taken the sting out of that enemy. He is alive. And you will be alive. “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28).

The resurrection of Jesus was not a random resurrection. It was the resurrection of the son of David. “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David.” Why does Paul say that? Because every Jewish person knew what that meant. That meant that Jesus is the Messiah (John 7:42). And that meant that this resurrection was not a random resurrection, but the resurrection of an everlasting king. Listen to the words of the angel to Mary, Jesus’s mother:

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31–33)

So, Timothy, remember Jesus, the one you serve, and the one for whom you suffer. He is alive and he will reign forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. No matter what they do to you, you do not need to be afraid.

So foundation stone #1 is that Jesus Christ, the son of David, is risen from the dead and reigns over the world forever. If Christ has conquered the last enemy, what can man do to you?