"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you." 1 Peter 4:12-14 (NIV)
Christ means anointed. And The Christ are the anointed members of the body of Christ, where Jesus is the head and His body members are the faithful church class (the wise virgins). God has planned that the Christ will have all the suffering experiences of mankind in order to qualify them to be wise and merciful high priests in Christ's kingdom on earth. "Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church." Colossians 1:24 (NIV).
Part of the reward of faithful Christians is living and reigning with Jesus over mankind, teaching and uplifting them back to the perfection Adam lost in the garden of Eden. Revelation 20:4, "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Obadiah 1:21, “Then saviors (the entire Christ, head and body will lift mankind out of sin back to perfection) shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.”
Yes, even as Jesus learned obedience by the things which He suffered, so too learns the church class. Hebrews 5:8, "though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” We should not be surprised because this suffering is a necessary part of our development.
