Warrington on Suffering and the Spirit

It is to be expected that the Gospel will be opposed and that its witnesses will be rejected as reflected in the writings of Luke and the experiences of the early Church leaders. The persecued Church is the norm; the church that is not suffering is therefore a cause of wonder or concern. Asking the Spirit to empower believers while removing them from suffering is thus often inappropriate. However, asking for the power of the Spirit while engaging in suffering for the Gospel is to emulate the life of Jesus and the greatest leaders of the early Church.

Keith Warrington, Pentecostal Theology (London: T&T Clark, 2008), 308