“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;”
King James Version (KJV)
5:3 We glory in tribulations also - Which we are so far from esteeming a mark of God's displeasure, that we receive them as tokens of his fatherly love, whereby we are prepared for a more exalted happiness. The Jews objected to the persecuted state of the Christians as inconsistent with the people of the Messiah. It is therefore with great propriety that the apostle so often mentions the blessings arising from this very thing.
Ro 5:3 We glory in tribulations also. The peace of Christ is so sweet, and the hope of the saint so glorious, that the Christian can even exult in present sufferings, since he has assurance that even these minister to his eternal joy. Knowing that tribulation worketh patience. Various steps of progress are named here in order. Affliction works out "patience", and patience secures "approval". Such is probably the meaning of the word rendered in the Common Version "experience" (Ro 5:4). So Macknight and Schaff render it. Patient endurance of affliction secures the divine approval.