There is a hiddenness of God, therefore, there is a hiddeness of the Christian. What constitutes the hiddenness of God? What constitues the hiddenness of the Christian?

1.The nature of this hiddenness is defined by Christ on his cross.

2. Because we are proud in our sin, God must hide his glory in suffering. The humiliation of being hidden is his, and therefore must be ours.

3. All that belongs to God is ours in Christ; therefore we suffer in this world, for this was God’s life in Christ.

4. We suffer humiliation precisely because we are called to the hidden life where self is crucified.

5. There is no greater hiddenness than death. It is this we abide in when we abide in Christ. Self is slain with him on the cross. Self is therefore hidden; Christ alone is revealed.

6. The theology of the cross is a theology of death and life; death first, then life. The first shall be last and the last first.

7. The theologian of the cross lives such a life, therefore, he also proclaims the Lord’s death till he comes.

8. “The image of God is the image of Christ crucified" (Bonhoeffer). This is the image we are to bear to the world. God bears it through us. We are the temple of God, a place of sacrifice, of sin bearing, of reconciliation. This is the work of the indwelling Spirit, to plant the cross firmly in our hearts.

“…always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." 2 Corinthians 4.10-11

9. If we are boasting or complaining of our suffering, we are not truly suffering. True suffering speaks with the humility of silence; therefore it is heard by God and those of faith in unheard of things.

10. Since suffering is to be shared in Christ it must be communicated. It is not a sin to speak even of our own suffering. But it is a sin to boast of it that others may praise us for our great endurance. It is also a sin to complain of it for the same reason. There is a complaint that reaches the ear of God, as did Job’s, but it is not the complaint of pride wrestling against its veil, longing to be revealed. It is the complaint of the ‘poor in spirit’ who mourn their failure in suffering, their failure to bear the cross. They see the weakness of their flesh. This is what they complain of, that they feel unworthy to share in the suffering of Christ.

11. Christ suffered in bearing the sins of others. His suffering was for the sake of others, not for his own.