The apostle Paul made it clear that no amount of suffering, not even death could sway him from following after Christ. "To live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phillipians 1:21). Piper says that ,"Paul wanted what would bring the deepest and most lasting satisfaction to his life, namely, being with Christ in glory. But not alone with Christ...The pleasures at Christ's right hand are public pleasures, shared pleasures, communal pleasures." We need to recognize that Paul's choice to suffer was not just about his personal gain of Christ, but it was that he might gain the faith of the nations because "...in their joy in Christ, his joy in Christ was greater..." No wonder Paul was so driven to bring the gospel everywhere that he did. He knew that "his own personal enjoyment of fellowship with Christ would be eternally greater because of the great assembly of the redeemed enjoying Christ with him."
Along the evangelism line, Piper makes an interesting point about how our suffering (fueled by the hope of shared pleasure mentioned above) can actually be what brings unbelievers to faith. In Colossians 1:24, Paul talks about filling up what was lacking in Christ's afflictions with his own experiences of suffering. Piper is quick to assure us that this passage is not denying the completed work of atonement that Christ accomplished through his incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection. Rather, Piper suggests that Paul meant that he saw his own sufferings as exhibiting the sufferings of Christ to those he was trying to bring to faith in Christ. We make the "afflictions of Christ real for people by the afflictions we experience in bringing them the message of salvation." That's a new concept for me, but I definitely agree with this conclusion. "The startling implication of this" Piper says, is that "the saving purposes of Christ among the nations and in our neighborhoods will not be accomplished unless Christians choose to suffer."
Piper supports this idea by sharing a passage from a book written by a former Russian secret police officer. This man would raid prayer gatherings and inflict extreme brutality on believers. There was a woman named Natasha who was present at many of the meetings that he would raid. No matter how bad she was beaten, she would not renounce her faith or stop attending worship gatherings. This man later became a Christian and credits his memory of Natasha's willingness to suffer as part of what made him recognize the preciousness of Christ, that she counted her own life worth losing for Christ's sake. What a testimony!
So, Piper says that "No one who knows and loves Christ can be content to come to Him alone." Based on the ideas I just shared, I take him to mean, at least in part, that someone who knows and loves Christ "loves the brotherhood of believers" (1 Peter 2:17), finding greater joy in being an active part of His church rather than neglecting thing like fellowship, corporate worship, service, etc. It is also their desire to be a part of adding to the number of the redeemed by sharing the gospel with unbelievers. Those believers out there who have been hurt by "the church," or have experienced rejection and persecution for sharing their faith might have a hard time with these points. All I can do is remind them that Jesus never abandoned His disciples (the beginnings of the church), even though he knew they would fail him multiple times and would abandon Him and even deny they knew Him. He preached the good news of the kingdom of God even though He knew he'd be rejected by many, even His home town, and would eventually be crucified for the truth He proclaimed. He did this "for the joy set before Him" (Heb. 12:2). May we be motivated by that same joy to love the church and add to it's number, even when, no, especially when it hurts.
