Philippians 1:29-30 ESV
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
The Greek word for suffer (πάσχω paschō) can be positive or negative depending on the context. It is how one thing affects another. It can be said that both apply when considering anything done for the sake of Christ. While the blessings of the heavenly places are beyond imagination, the suffering that can come at the hands of the world is a possible and likely outcome in this wilderness journey.
Christ is in conflict with the world and we who are in Christ are part of that conflict. We are called out of this world and thus we are different, holy and set apart. The gospel is incompatible with the world and the world is opposed to this unnatural thing because it is supernatural. Natural cannot comprehend the supernatural.
We are now Christ in the world and the world has not changed.
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