¹¹It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; ¹²If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; ¹³If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

Suffering for the truth rests on inviolable realities, and Paul lays these out in “rhythmic flow.” Scholars suggest that following typical Hebrew parallelism (consisting of a series of statements, each in two parts), this passage may have been part of an early Christian hymn. One commentator calls this Pauls stamp of approval affirming that this is a core truth worth suffering for. In the apostle’s words, this is a trustworthy statement. The proclamation employs four “if” statements to present general truisms.

The first truth (“For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him”) is a common theme of Paul’s, and most likely refers to what takes place at salvation. He spells it out in Romans 6:3–6, 8, 11: we die and are raised with Christ, as symbolized in baptism. Believers need to have this reality firmly fixed in our minds, for otherwise, we will not be able to endure suffering for Christ. Some suggest this statement could refer to the death of martyrdom, but throughout Paul’s writings, he stresses that we must begin to live with Christ now! (For further examples, see Romans 6:11 and Colossians 2:20–3:4).

The second truth (“If we endure, we will also reign with Him”) may refer to the endurance of our faith to the end. As William MacDonald writes, “True faith always has the quality of permanence, and in this sense, all believers do endure.” We will all reign in glory, but not necessarily to the same degree. However, Paul just spoke (vs. 10) of enduring the hardships of persecution now. It is possible for Christians not only to endure suffering but to reign in the midst of suffering. That overlays all of Paul’s teaching about suffering.

The third and fourth statements may refer to unbelievers. Yet Peter unfaithfully denied Jesus, and the Lord did not deny him. Scholars are divided on whether these statements refer to those who permanently disavow Christ, or believers who hold back in their identification with Christ. Either way, our actions result in God’s reaction. A person gets what he deserves.

We can count on these statements as true and live by them. While a true Christian will never completely disavow Christ, we all can sometimes disobey Him and live unfaithfully. However, we can be assured that even “[i]f we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”

Lord, I praise You for being faithful to all You say. If You were not, all hope would be lost.