The Two Categories of Christ’s Sufferings— For Accomplishing Redemption vs. For Producing and Building Up the Church

 

The Two Categories of Christ’s Sufferings— For Accomplishing Redemption vs. For Producing and Building Up the Church

The sufferings of Christ can be seen in two categories. The first category was for accomplishing redemption; this has already been fully accomplished by Christ Himself. The second category is for producing and building up the church; in this aspect, the sufferings of Christ still need to be experienced and “filled up” by His apostles and believers as members of His Body.

Spiritual Item	Sufferings for Accomplishing Redemption	Sufferings for Producing and Building Up the Church
1. Basic definition	The sufferings Christ endured on the cross to accomplish God’s work of redemption.	The sufferings Christ endured for producing and building up His Body, in which His apostles and believers participate and fill up what is lacking.
2. Main Scriptures	John 1:29; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 Cor. 15:3; Heb. 9:28; 10:12.	Col. 1:24; Phil. 3:10; 2 Tim. 2:10–11; 2 Cor. 1:5–6; 4:10–12; 6:8–11; John 12:24–26; Rev. 1:9.
3. Christ’s status	The Lamb of God—the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.	A grain of wheat—the grain that falls into the ground and dies in order to produce many grains.
4. Type / symbol	Lamb → offering → shedding of blood → redemption.	One grain of wheat → falls into the ground → dies → resurrection → produces many grains.
5. Purpose of the suffering	To accomplish redemption, dealing with sin, death, and the problem between God and man so that sinners may be redeemed.	To produce and build up the church, allowing Christ’s life to be multiplied and the believers to be built together as the Body of Christ.
6. Nature of the work	Substitutionary work: Christ bore our sins and died for us.	Multiplying and building work: Christ, as one grain of wheat, died and resurrected to produce many grains; we, as the many grains, experience death and resurrection in His life.
7. Who accomplishes it?	Christ alone accomplished it. Man cannot participate in or add to the efficacy of Christ’s redemptive suffering.	Christ accomplished it as the Head, and believers participate in and fill up the sufferings related to His Body.
8. Can we participate in it?	No. Christ’s redemptive suffering was unique, once for all, and sufficient.	Yes, we must participate. Philippians 3:10 speaks of “the fellowship of His sufferings,” that is, participating in Christ’s sufferings for the sake of His Body.
9. Direction of the suffering	Toward sin and God’s righteousness:  dealing with sin and satisfying the righteous requirement of God.	Toward Christ’s Body: for the multiplication of life, the producing of the church, and the building up of the Body of Christ.
10. Relationship to the cross	The cross was the place where Christ accomplished redemption; He died once for all for sins.	The cross becomes our daily way of following the Lord, losing the soul-life, and being conformed to His death.
11. Relationship to resurrection	Suffering and death → resurrection. Christ passed through death and then entered into resurrection.	First receive the power of resurrection → then participate in suffering → be conformed to His death. This is the believer’s experience of Christ.
12. Focus of Philippians 3:10	Knowing Christ does not mean repeating Christ’s redemptive death.	To know Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death—experiencing the cross in resurrection life.
13. Place of resurrection power	Christ Himself passed through death into resurrection, demonstrating the victory of resurrection life over death.	Resurrection power is our capacity for suffering. We do not suffer by our natural life but live by Christ’s resurrection life.
14. Content of the suffering	Dying to accomplish redemption and bearing the penalty of sin.	Losing the soul-life, denying the self, taking up the cross, suffering persecution, accepting limitations, enduring pressure, and serving the saints.
15. Picture in John 12	Christ as the Lamb suffers and dies for redemption.	Christ as one grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies for the multiplication of life.
16. Significance of “one grain of wheat”	It does not merely speak of Christ dying for us.	It speaks of Christ releasing the divine life through death, changing from one grain into many grains, which ultimately become one Body.
17. Who are the “many grains”?	We are the many grains. We originate from Christ as the one grain, receive His life, and must follow His way of death and resurrection.
18. Why do we suffer?	Not to make up for any deficiency in Christ’s redemption.	To fill up what is lacking of Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His Body.
19. “Fill up” in Colossians 1:24	It does not mean that  Christ’s redemption was incomplete.	It refers to the sufferings Christ endured for producing, multiplying, and building up His Body, which must continue to be experienced by His members throughout the course of church history.
20. The way the church is produced	Christ’s blood accomplishes redemption so that the redeemed ones can be brought forth.	Death of the cross → release of life → multiplication of life → many grains → the Body of Christ.
21. The way the church increases	The increase of the church does not depend upon human effort to accomplish redemption.	Not through human glory, but through the death of the cross. Life is released through death, and the church is thereby produced and multiplied.
22. Requirement concerning the soul-life	Christ died for us on the cross.	We must “hate” the soul-life in this age and lose the soul-life so that Christ’s life can operate in us and supply others.
23. John 12:25–26	“He who loves his soul-life loses it; and he who hates his soul-life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life.” Whoever serves the Lord must also follow Him.
24. The way of serving the Lord	Christ has completed redemption; we do not suffer in order to accomplish redemption.	Follow Christ → receive His resurrection life → lose the soul-life → experience the cross → supply life → build up the Body.
25. Relation to our daily life	Redemption is an accomplished fact that we receive when we believe into Christ.	Building is an ongoing process in which we daily experience Christ, deny the self, accept the cross, and serve the Body in life.
26. Source of the power to suffer	Christ Himself bore it alone.	The power of Christ’s resurrection becomes the power by which we experience suffering.
27. Response of the natural man	The natural man cannot accomplish Christ’s redemptive work.	The natural life also cannot walk the way of the cross for the building up of the Body; therefore, we need to experience the power of Christ’s resurrection.
28. Spiritual order of experience	Death of the cross → accomplishment of redemption → resurrection.	Receive resurrection power → participate in suffering → be conformed to His death → multiplication of life → building up of the Body.
29. Most important distinction	What Christ has accomplished for us.	What Christ continues to accomplish in us and through us.
30. Ultimate result	Redemption, forgiveness of sins, and reconciliation with God.	The producing and building up of the Body of Christ, ultimately consummating in the New Jerusalem.

 

One Very Important Spiritual Line

The two categories of Christ’s sufferings must not be confused:

The Lamb → suffering and death → accomplishment of redemption
The grain of wheat → falls into the ground and dies → releases life → many grains → the Body of Christ

 

Therefore:

The sufferings for redemption: Christ accomplished them alone; we cannot add anything to them.

The sufferings for building: Christ, as the Head, has gone through this way, and we, as His members, must participate in and fill up these sufferings.

The Order of Suffering and Resurrection: Christ vs. the Believers

Order	Christ	We, the Believers
Starting point	The Lamb of God / one grain of wheat	Receive Christ as life
First	Suffer	Receive the power of His resurrection
Second	Die	Participate in His sufferings
Third	Resurrect	Be conformed to His death
Fourth	Become the life-giving Spirit and multiply life	Supply Christ in life
Result	Produce many grains	Build up the Body of Christ

This explains the profound sequence in Philippians 3:10:

“To know Him” → “the power of His resurrection” → “the fellowship of His sufferings” → “being conformed to His death.”

This does not mean that we should suffer by ourselves. Rather, it means that we first experience the power of Christ’s resurrection and then, by this resurrection power, enter into the experience of the cross.

The Spiritual Formulas of the Two Categories of Suffering

1. For Accomplishing Redemption

Christ → Lamb → suffering → shedding of blood → death → resurrection → redemption accomplished

This is Christ’s unique work.

2. For Producing and Building Up the Church

Christ → one grain of wheat → falls into the ground and dies → releases life → many grains → experience of the cross → multiplication of life → building up of the Body

This is a work in which Christ as the Head and we as His members participate together.

The Four Most Crucial Transitions

1. From “the Lamb” to “one grain of wheat”

From redeeming sinners to multiplying life.

2. From “Christ died for us” to “we suffer with Christ”

We are not repeating or participating in His redemptive suffering; rather, we are participating in His sufferings for the sake of the Body.

3. From “the cross” to “the power of resurrection”

We do not bear the cross by our natural strength. Rather, we first enjoy the power of resurrection and then experience the cross by resurrection life.

4. From “one grain” to “many grains” and then to “one Body”

One grain → many grains → one loaf → the Body of Christ (cf. John 12:24; 1 Cor. 10:17).

Practical Application to the Believer Today

Our Experience	Spiritual Reality
Encountering limitations in our circumstances	Instead of resisting with the natural life, turn to the Lord and enjoy resurrection life.
Being misunderstood or dealt with by others	Do not fight for our own glory; learn to lose the soul-life.
Feeling exhausted in serving the saints	Do not depend on natural zeal; return to Christ as resurrection life.
Coordinating with brothers and sisters	Lay aside our own opinions, disposition, and soul-life.
Bearing a burden for the church	Accept the work of the cross so that the life of Christ can supply others.
Experiencing persecution or difficulty	Do not regard suffering itself as the goal; experience the power of Christ’s resurrection in the midst of suffering.
Shepherding, preaching the gospel, and caring for new ones	Allow the principle of the “one grain of wheat” to be repeated in us, so that life may be multiplied.
Building up the church	Do not depend on human glory, ability, or organization, but on the multiplication of life and coordination brought forth through the cross.

 

A Balance We Must Maintain

We must never confuse the two categories of suffering.

We cannot suffer for sins in order to accomplish redemption—Christ has already accomplished redemption once for all.

Yet we must suffer for the sake of the Body—this is part of following the Lord, experiencing resurrection, being conformed to Christ’s death, and building up the Body.

Therefore:

Christ’s redemptive suffering is “completed”; Christ’s suffering for the Body is “to be filled up” in His members.

One-Sentence Prophecy

Christ as the Lamb of God suffered and died once for all to accomplish redemption; Christ as one grain of wheat also fell into the ground and died to release life and produce many grains. We, as these many grains, participate in His sufferings and are conformed to His death in the power of His resurrection, losing the soul-life so that His life may be multiplied and ultimately build up the Body of Christ.

 

*Please refer to the April 2026 Summer Training, General Topic: Believers, Chapter Ten: The Conformation into Christ's Death and the Attainment of His Magnificent Resurrection.