What does it mean to rejoice in our sufferings?

Explanation:

Paul writes, We rejoice in our sufferings. What he means is that the object of our boasting is suffering. For he uses the preposition ἐν (in) to denote the object of boasting in several other passages (Romans 5:11; Philippians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 3:21; 2 Corinthians 10:17; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Galatians 6:13; Philippians 3:3). Given that Paul often uses ἐν to denote the object of boasting, he likely does the same in Romans 5:3 Thus, Paul is saying the object that moves us to boast is the suffering we endure.

Counterargument:

That Paul normally uses the formula we rejoice to denote the object of boasting is not enough to determine his meaning. Rather, we need to determine his meaning from the context. For, contrary to this view, imagine Paul meant to say not that the object of our boasting is suffering, but that we boast in the midst of our suffering. Now, if Paul intends to say that we boast in the midst of our suffering, the construction he could use is we rejoice in. For ἐν could be used in a locative sense, as in, in the midst of. Thus, the grammar could just as likely be taken to mean boast in the midst of suffering, as boast in the fact that we suffer.

Response to counterargument:

Not only does Paul commonly use the phrase we rejoice in to denote boasting in some object, but such a use fits with the immediate context of Romans 5:3. Paul explains that because we are justified through Christ, we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Now, he says, not only that, but we also boast in our suffering. Paul goes on to explain why we boast in our suffering: suffering leads to endurance, character, and hope. Now, if we take it that when Paul refers to boasting in suffering, he has in mind that suffering is the object of boasting, this makes sense of why Paul explains the benefits of suffering (endurance, character, and hope). He explains the benefits of suffering in order to show why suffering should be the object of our boasting.⁵

Explanation:

Paul writes that we boast in our sufferings. He follows this up with the term knowing, which he uses in a causal sense. That is, he uses the term in the sense that he is about to explain the reason why we can rejoice in our sufferings.⁶ For Paul will go on to say that the reason we can boast in our sufferings is because we know that our suffering produces endurance, character, and hope. Paul here offers a logical chain to explain the somewhat unintuitive notion as to why we can boast in the fact that we suffer. We can boast in the fact that we suffer because suffering leads to endurance, character, and hope.

Counterargument:

While Paul does use knowing to explain the reason why we can boast in our suffering, this does not mean he has in mind that we ought to boast in the fact that we suffer. Rather, he may have in mind that we can boast in the midst of our suffering, knowing that our suffering ultimately produces endurance, character, and hope. In other words, suffering can provide the occasion to boast, but not because we boast in the fact that we suffer.⁷ Suffering provides the occasion to boast because we know that in the midst of it, there is a spiritual benefit.

The weakness of this view is that it is not clear that suffering in and of itself is something to rejoice over. We may rejoice over the consequence of suffering, which is that it produces endurance, character and hope, but it is hard to accept that one would ever rejoice in suffering as suffering.

Explanation:

Paul says that we can rejoice in our sufferings. To understand what he means by this, it is important to first note what he writes in Romans 5:1. There he writes that we are justified by faith, and we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. That we are justified by faith and have peace with God colours our attitude toward suffering. In particular, Paul’s pagan contemporaries would have understood suffering as meaningless and random. While Paul is teaching that because we are justified by faith and have peace with God, instead of seeing suffering as meaningless, we can rejoice in the midst of our suffering. That is, we can rejoice in the fact that since we have peace with God, we know that we suffer under the care of God’s providential hand, so we can rejoice, even while we suffer.¹¹

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that it does not consider the nature of God’s providence. For God’s providence is such that he guides the course of the universe, including the lives of each human, regardless of whether or not they have peace with God. Having peace with God is not a prerequisite for being under the providential care of God.

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument fails to capture the nuance of the above argument. The view here is not that the only one who are under the providential hand of God are those who have peace with God. Rather, the view here is that those who have peace with God can rejoice in their suffering, knowing that it is for their good. On the other hand, those who do not have peace with God, while they are under the providential hand of God, may not have reason to rejoice in their suffering. For their suffering could be their punishment for sin, or simply the consequence of their sin. Thus, having peace with God does give us reason to rejoice in the midst of suffering.

Explanation:

We understand what Paul means when he writes that we can boast in our suffering, because he explains in 2 Corinthians 11:23–31 his own experience with suffering. ¹² There he says that he endured great suffering for the gospel, including being beaten, lashed, imprisoned, and near death countless times. He also endured sleepless nights, shipwrecks, and the anxiety of caring for the churches. Still, even though Paul endured all of these hardships, he could boast because he understood that because he had peace with God through Jesus Christ, he was under God’s providential care.

Counterargument:

According to this argument, we can conclude from Paul’s reflection on his own suffering as recorded in 2 Corinthians 11:23–31 that rejoicing in suffering is rejoicing in the midst of suffering. The problem with this argument is that when we read 2 Corinthians 11:30 carefully, we note that Paul says if he must boast, he will boast in the things that show his weaknesses. In other words, Paul was boasting not in the midst of his trials, but in the trials themselves. That is, the trials he endured that exposed his weakness are what he boasts in. Now, if we use Paul’s reflection on his sufferings as recorded in 2 Corinthians 11:23–31 to understand what he means in Romans 5:3, we should take him to mean that we can boast in the fact that we suffer, not that we boast in the midst of our suffering.

The weakness of this view is that it goes against Paul’s common way of using the phrase rejoice in. Normally when Paul uses the phrase, the preposition in is used to denote the object of suffering.