In the case of the second birth (resurrection), it is our father who went through the suffering:
We do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the originator of their salvation perfect through what he suffered… So Jesus …says:
‘Here am I, and the children God has given me.’
(Hebrews 2:9-13)
Perhaps, instead of thinking of “purification”, we might think in terms of a health check on the new(re)born creation (no needles required!).
If you want to use that analogy, I was once given general anaesthetic while part of me was cut away internally. It was like being dead. I drifted away into the blackness and knew nothing, didn’t even dream, while the dangerous tissue was removed. There was no pain, either during or after the operation. I don’t know what happened in the operating theatre. Everyone made a special effort to keep me comfortable and cheerful. I wasn’t “afflicted” and didn’t “endure” anything. All I know is that I remained healthy afterwards. And that was achieved with only the technology and kindness available in this world.
The kindness of our Father is way beyond this type of experience. More than that, he heals by, well, simply healing – we know this from how Jesus did it: he didn’t need to bring a person to complete wholeness by using the scalpel, the gamma-knife, toxic chemicals or procedures. Jesus had a very different approach, that only he could use: he didn’t need to do limited harm in order to bring about a greater good; he simply brought about the good and took the harm and pain into himself.