Did Paul have to suffer even though he wrote 'If God be for us, who can be against us'?
Yes. Paul, the same apostle who wrote "If God be for us, who can be against us," still had to suffer greatly for the Gospel. The context points to 2 Corinthians 11, where he recounts receiving thirty-nine licks five times from the Jews, showing that this promise does not mean believers are exempt from hardship.
Les explains that when we read "If God for us, who against us?" the first thought is that God promises nothing can happen to believers. But he says that is not what it means. He directs attention to 2 Corinthians chapter 11, where Paul, whom he considers perhaps the greatest servant God ever had and even a little above Moses, went through tremendous suffering for the sake of the Gospel. The same man who wrote "If God for us, who against us" still had to go through it. Verse 24 begins the record: of the Jews five times he received 39 licks with those catenine tails.
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
More Questions
Did Paul suffer if God was for him?
Paul, the same man who wrote Romans 8:31, went through great suffering for the sake of the gospel, showing that 'if God be for us' does not mean exemption from harm.
Why does Paul's suffering show that 'If God be for us' does not mean nothing bad will happen to believers?
Because the very same Paul who wrote 'If God be for us, who against us' went through severe suffering for the Gospel, that verse cannot be a blanket promise of protection from suffering.
How can Paul say 'If God be for us, who against us' after suffering so many hardships?
Paul spoke/wrote 'if God be for us, who against us' even though he had been beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, and exposed to countless other dangers, not from an untested life of ease.