Not only [do we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory],¹ but we also rejoice in sufferings (θλίψεσιν, a form of θλίψις),² Paul continued.  I’ve already written about the feedback loop that fosters this apparent masochism in believers and won’t do so again.  The word translated sufferings in Romans 5:3 (NET) above was translated affliction in 2 Corinthians 1:8 (NET): For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, regarding the affliction (θλίψεως, another form of θλίψις) that happened to us in the province of Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of living [Table].

I don’t know when Paul’s θλίψεως (θλίψις) began, perhaps as early as his first visit to Ephesus.  After he left Corinth he made his way there and went into the synagogue and addressed³ the Jews.  When they asked him to stay longer,⁴ he would not consent, but⁵ said farewell⁶ to them⁷ and⁸ added⁹, “I¹⁰ will come back to you again if God wills.”  Then¹¹ he set sail from Ephesus…¹²  Paul greeted the church in Jerusalem briefly and went home to Antioch.  Perhaps he was simply tired and needed a rest.  But for Paul who wrote—I could wish that I myself were accursed – cut off from Christ – for the sake of my people, my fellow countrymen¹³—to turn his back on his fellow countrymen when they were eager to hear him again seems like something more troubling than exhaustion.

Admittedly, I have little to go on, but the message of Paul’s letter to the Romans steers me toward the dilemma of the πόρνοι (a form of πόρνος) and the Pharisees.  The πόρνοι were men who served a pagan god, a demon, sexually, the vilest of the vile from a Pharisee’s point of view.  Yet the πόρνοι were granted faith and repentance in Corinth¹⁴ while so many Pharisees were not.  Jesus said it (Matthew 21:28-32 NET).

“What do you think?  A man had two sons.  He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today [Table].’  The boy answered, ‘I will not.’  But later he had a change of heart (μεταμεληθεὶς, a form of μεταμέλομαι) and went.  The father went to the other son and said the same thing.  This boy answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go.  Which of the two did his father’s will?”  They said,¹⁵ “The first.”  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, tax collectors and prostitutes (πόρναι, a form of πόρνη) will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! [Table]  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe (ἐπιστεύσατε, a form of πιστεύω) him.  But the tax collectors and prostitutes (πόρναι, a form of πόρνη) did believe (ἐπίστευσαν, another form of πιστεύω).   Although you saw (ἰδόντες, a form of εἴδω) this, you did not later change your minds (μετεμελήθητε, another form of μεταμέλομαι) and believe (πιστεῦσαι, another form of πιστεύω) him” [Table].

But I think experiencing it was difficult for Paul.  Rather than being flippant with the Jews at Ephesus, or using “God’s will” as an excuse, I suspect that Paul was sincerely concerned that God may not will that he return to Ephesus or anywhere else, that Paul despaired even of living the only life he had known since his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.  Of course, I can be wrong about this.  The affliction happened to us (plural) in the province of Asia, we were burdened excessively, and we despaired even of living.  Paul seemed to be alone that first Sabbath day in Ephesus.  If his affliction came later, then it is more difficult to pin down.  Luke didn’t mention it in Acts.

Paul’s affliction may have continued for a long time.  He may have referred to it (and its relation to his previous letter to the Corinthians) in Macedonia after returning home for an unspecified amount of time, strengthening the disciples in Galatia and Phyrgia, and then spending two years at Ephesus (2 Corinthians 7:5, 6 NET).

For even when we came into Macedonia, our body had no rest at all, but we were troubled (θλιβόμενοι, a form of θλίβω) in every way – struggles from the outside, fears from within.  But God, who encourages the downhearted, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

Far from being debilitating this affliction in the province of Asia was a very productive period for Paul (Acts 19:11, 12 NET):

God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body were brought to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.¹⁶

Though this seems counterintuitive, the sense of it becomes more apparent when I heed Paul’s own assessment of his affliction (2 Corinthians 1:9 NET):

Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

Jesus said to Paul, My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  And Paul concluded, So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me.  Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.¹⁷

Paul probably wrote his letter to the Romans during his two year stay at Ephesus in the province of Asia.  And I assume that weaknesses, insults, troubles, persecutions and difficulties along with struggles from the outside, and fears from within is what he meant by θλίψις: we also rejoice in sufferings (θλίψεσιν, a form of θλίψις), knowing that suffering (θλῖψις) produces endurance, and endurance, character, and character, hope.¹⁸

The word translated knowing above is εἰδότες (a form of εἴδω), to see.  Paul was an eyewitness to this transformation of suffering into endurance into character into hope.  But again, there is nothing intrinsic to suffering that in and of itself produces endurance.  Jesus spoke about the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.  But he has no root (ρίζαν, a form of ῥίζα) in himself and does not endure; when trouble (θλίψεως, another form of θλίψις) or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.¹⁹

Though the phrase he has no root in himself might lead one to the conclusion that the solution is to have deep roots in oneself, the actual solution is to be strengthened with power through [the Father’s] Spirit in the inner person [Table], that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted (ἐρριζωμένοι, a form of ῥιζόω) and grounded in love, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth [Table], and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up (πληρωθῆτε, a form of πληρόω) to all the fullness (πλήρωμα) of God.²⁰

And hope does not disappoint, Paul continued in Romans, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.²¹  I think love here is a kind of shorthand for all the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, because it is not too difficult to see that joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control [Table]²² would all contribute to turning suffering into endurance into character into hope.

Now the question arises, how can one be strengthened with power through [the Father’s] Spirit?  For this reason I kneel before the Father [Table], Paul wrote the Ephesians, from whom every family in heaven and on the earth is named.  I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person [Table]…²³  Or as Jesus said (Matthew 7:7-11 NET):

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? [Table] If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

And Paul concluded (Romans 5:6-8 NET):

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly [Table].  (For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.)  But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Addendum: March 21, 2024
Tables comparing the Greek of Acts 18:19-21 and 19:12 the NET and KJV follow.