Romans 5:3 Meaning and Explanation
“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Even our troubles can become something to give thanks for, because God uses them to grow endurance in us.
The Context of Romans 5:3
Paul has just said that, being justified by faith, we have peace with God and rejoice in the hope of His glory (verses 1 and 2). Now he widens that joy to include the very hardships of the present life.
What Does Romans 5:3 Mean?
Paul says something startling: we glory in tribulations also. He has just spoken of rejoicing in the hope of glory, and now he adds that we can rejoice even in the pressures and afflictions of life. He is not pretending trouble is pleasant. The word he uses for tribulation carries the sense of being pressed and squeezed. His point is that God does not waste it. Knowing that tribulation worketh patience, Paul sees a quiet work going on inside the hardship, the slow forging of endurance that only pressure can produce.
This hope rests on Christ, who Himself entered tribulation and came through it to glory, and who walks with us in ours. Because He is at work in our trials, we can face them with more than gritted teeth. The very thing that presses on us is being used to make us stronger and steadier, shaped by the One who endured the cross for the joy set before Him.
Romans 5:3 in the Original Language
hypomone (ὑπομονή), 'patience' -- steadfast endurance, the strength that remains under a load and does not give way.
Where Romans 5:3 Echoes in Scripture
James strikes the same note: 'the trying of your faith worketh patience' (James 1:3), urging believers to count their trials joy for the very same reason.
How to Apply Romans 5:3 Today
When hardship presses on us, this verse offers a way to see it that does not deny the pain. God is using the pressure to build endurance we could not grow any other way. We can bring our troubles to Christ, who endured His own, and trust that nothing we suffer in Him is wasted.