6.20 Perseverance, Suffering, Resurrection Hope, and Final Victory

²⁰ Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,

²¹ saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

²² In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.

⁹ Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”

¹⁰ “You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

¹ For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.

² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas,

³ though their waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in the surge. Selah

⁴ There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

⁵ God is within her; she will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns.

⁶ Nations rage, kingdoms crumble; the earth melts when He lifts His voice.

⁷ The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

⁸ Come, see the works of the LORD, who brings devastation upon the earth.

⁹ He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.

¹⁰ “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.”

¹¹ The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls,

¹⁸ yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

¹⁹ GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.

⁹ Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

¹⁰ At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another,

¹¹ and many false prophets will arise and deceive many.

¹² Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.

¹³ But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

³³ I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

³ Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope.

⁵ And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

⁷ Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.

⁸ We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;

⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

¹¹ For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.

¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

¹³ And in keeping with what is written, “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,

¹⁴ knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence.

¹⁵ All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow, to the glory of God.

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.

¹⁷ For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.

¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

⁷ or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

⁹ But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.

¹⁰ That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

²⁷ Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending together as one for the faith of the gospel,

²⁸ without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and it is from God.

²⁹ For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him,

³⁰ since you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

⁸ From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.

³² Remember the early days that you were in the light. In those days, you endured a great conflict in the face of suffering.

³³ Sometimes you were publicly exposed to ridicule and persecution; at other times you were partners with those who were so treated.

³⁴ You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession.

³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.

³⁶ You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.

³⁷ For, “In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay.

³⁸ But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”

³⁹ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.

² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³ Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,

³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

⁴ Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

¹² Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

¹² Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.

¹³ But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.

¹⁴ If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

¹⁵ Indeed, none of you should suffer as a murderer or thief or wrongdoer, or even as a meddler.

¹⁶ But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name.

¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

¹⁸ And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

¹⁹ So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their souls to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.

¹⁰ Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.

¹⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.

²⁶ And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations.

²⁷ He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery—just as I have received authority from My Father.

²⁸ And I will give him the morning star.

⁵ Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.

¹² The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.

²¹ To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

¹⁰ And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

² I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.

⁴ ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵ And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”