Audio commentary on this verse

Note 7 at Ro 5:3: Paul had just expressed the joy that he had concerning the Second Coming of Jesus and the glory that would be revealed in us (Ro 8:18, see note 6 at Ro 5:2). Anybody can rejoice about heaven, but here Paul began to say that he had that same rejoicing in the midst of tribulation. This is something that very few people can say, and Paul was presenting this as a direct result of justification by faith.

When we believe that God loves us because of our faith in Him, and not because of our performance for Him, then we rejoice--not only in the good times and pleasant things, like thoughts of heaven, but also in the hard times. Our faith remains steadfast. However, those who trust in their own efforts will be devastated in times of trouble because they will know they are getting what they deserve, and they will feel that they have to clean up their act before they can expect any help. Their attention will be on self instead of Jesus, the Author and Finisher of their faith (Heb 12:2).

Paul continued this same thought on through Ro 5:10. In 5:6-8, he illustrated how great the love of God was for us in that He died for us when we were ungodly. Then he drew a conclusion by way of comparison: if God loved us when we were His enemies, then how much more does He love us now that we are His children? That's the reason Paul could rejoice even in tribulation. If God could work in his life to bring him to justification while he was a sinner, then how much more, now that he was reconciled to God, will God work whatever comes against him for his good!

Note 8 at Ro 5:3: People have taken these scriptures to say that God is the one who brings tribulations to accomplish these positive results in our lives. That is not what these scriptures say.

Tribulations exist, not because God creates them, but because there is a battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil. And when we operate in faith, God can grant us such victory that we are actually better off because of the battle (see note 9 at this verse).

It's just like when an army goes to war. If they win, there are spoils to be gained. But if those soldiers embraced their enemy because of the spoil they were expecting to receive, they would be killed instead of blessed. First, they have to fight and win the war. Then, and only then, will the spoils be available. The enemy doesn't come to be a blessing, but a blessing can be obtained from the enemy if their opponents are victorious.

Likewise, tribulations and adversities are not blessings from God (see note 2 at Joh 9:2); they are attacks from the enemy intended to steal away the Word of God from our lives (see note 5 at Mr 4:16). No one should say that the temptation came from God, for God is not the one who tempts anyone (Jas 1:13). However, there are spoils to be gained when we fight and win over our problems.

If problems were what perfected us, then most Christians would have been perfected long ago and those who experience the greatest problems would be the greatest Christians, but that's not the way it is. God's Word is given to make us perfect and thoroughly furnished unto every good work (2Ti 3:17). God's Word does not need to be supplemented with problems to accomplish its work.

This is a pivotal point. Those who believe God has ordained the problems in their lives to work some redemptive virtue will submit to those problems and therefore to Satan, the author of those problems (see note 3 at Lu 13:16). They have to or else, in their way of thinking, they would be rebelling against God. Yet Jas 4:7 tells us to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil. If Satan can reverse our thinking on this issue and get us to submit to the problems he brings into our lives, he's got us (Ro 6:16).

Paul was simply rejoicing that even in tribulation, he had the opportunity to use, and therefore strengthen, his patience that had already been given him as a fruit of the Spirit (Ga 5:22-23) and through the Word of God (Ro 15:4). And as he believed that, as he stood in patience, he would gain experience that would cause him to hope even more the next time the devil attacked.

Likewise, we can rejoice in tribulation, knowing that regardless of what the devil does, we will win and reap the spoils of victory.

Note 9 at Ro 5:3: The word "worketh" was translated from the Greek word "KATERGAZOMAI," and that Greek word means "to work fully, i.e. accomplish; by implication, to finish, fashion" (Strong's Concordance). Paul was not saying that tribulations produced patience. Patience comes from the Scriptures (Ro 15:4). But tribulations cause us to use what God has already given us through His Word, and we therefore become stronger as a result (see note 8 at this verse).

Note 10 at Ro 5:3: According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "patience" means "the capacity, quality, or fact of being patient." One definition of "patient" is "persevering; constant" (AHD). The Greek word used for "patience" here is "HUPOMONE," and it means "cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy" (Strong's Concordance). Patience is not a passive word, as many people use it, but it is an active word.

Patience is actually faith--faith that is sustained over a long period of time. Patience comes from the Scriptures (Ro 15:4), just as faith does (Ro 10:17). Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, just like faith (Ga 5:22-23). It was by faith that Moses endured (the definition of patience, Heb 11:27). It was through faith and patience that Abraham received the promises (Heb 6:12-15), and not just faith, but a faith that was constant over a twenty-five-year period of time.

Therefore, patience is not just passively waiting on God to do something, but it is actively believing for the manifestation of God's promise against all odds, regardless of how long it takes. That kind of faith will make you perfect and complete, not wanting for any good thing (Jas 1:4).

Patience is a byproduct of hope. Ro 8:25 says, "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." When people have hope firmly established in them, then no obstacle or length of time can keep them from enduring. That's why the Scriptures produce patience, because they give people hope (Ro 15:4).

Therefore, patience, hope, and faith are all intertwined. People can't have one without the others. Those who say they are patiently waiting on God yet have lost their hope are deceived. Likewise, those who don't believe God are not operating in patience. First comes hope from a promise of God's Word. Then faith begins to give substance and evidence to those things that were hoped for (Heb 11:1). And if time is involved before the manifestation comes, then patience does its work (Jas 1:4).