In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. --(1 Peter 1: 6-9)Joy, even through suffering; faith, even in what has not yet been revealed; salvation, the ultimate prize worth keeping the faith and the source of our joy. These are the threads Peter weaves through his narrative. It's as if Peter has so many ideas in his mind that his head is about to explode, and the tapestry that is left is what we read in this passage.
"In this..." verse 6 starts with a reference back to the threads he was talking about in verses 3-5: through mercy we have been given a new birth, and that new birth makes hope alive in us; we have hope because Jesus was resurrected from the dead. This mercy also allows us to share an inheritance, sealed by God--imperishable, kept in heaven for us. We, the heirs of God, by faith are protected by God's power until his salvation is fully revealed. Whew! Are you following this? So whether the "this" refers to mercy, new birth, living hope, resurrection, God's inheritance, heaven or salvation, we have no choice but to ..."greatly rejoice."
"Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials." The days, weeks, months, or years that we grieve in this life pale in comparison to an eternity with God in heaven. Romans 5:3 says, "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance." Note that in this verse Paul did not say we rejoice because of our sufferings, but in our sufferings--he does not advocate a morbid view of life, but a joyous and triumphant one. James 1:2 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." The same Greek root word lies behind the word "trials" here and the word "tempted" later in the text--one represents difficulties from outside us; the other refers to inner moral trials such as temptation to sin. But Peter doesn't dwell on the suffering of trials and temptations; he encourages us to rejoice.
"These have come..." Again, "these" in verse 7 refers back to the trials in verse 8. "...so that your faith...may be proved genuine." Have you ever known anyone with a genuine faith? I guarantee they didn't get there without going through a living hell. Peter says this kind of faith is worth more than gold, "which perishes even though refined by fire." What happens to gold when it is put in a crucible? It runs. It takes a liquid form and does not stand. But through Christ the faithful can stand through the fire, just like Shadrach, Meschak and Abednego. Remember the story? These three faithful Hebrew men refused to bow down to the image of Nebuchadnezzar, so he had them thrown into the fiery furnace. Not only that, but he was so angry that he asked his attendants to increase the heat seven times hotter than usual. But after the men were thrown in, and the soldiers who threw them in died because of the heat, "King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, 'Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like the Son of God.' "
If you read my last blog entry, the one about Solomon dedicating the Temple, you might remember I Kings 8:51, "For they are your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace." Moses, who led them out of Egypt, is revered and given honor even now. Peter says your faith, too, "may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." Yes, we will praise the Son of God when He comes back to Earth, but He also will give us honor, saying "Well done, good and faithful servant." Won't that be exciting!
Peter now segues into a dissertation on the revelation of Jesus Christ. Verse 8 says, "Though you have not seen him, you love him." Why? Because he is God. How do we know? By faith. See how these threads continue to intertwine? "Even though you do not see him now, you believe in him." In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul concludes his chapter on the subject of love this way: "Now abide faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." Peter describes our love borne of faith in Him and the hope of salvation in this way: "you believe in him, and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." Remember your first love? How you felt when that person entered the room? Nothing else mattered--your beloved was there.
Peter had been in the room when Jesus appeared to Thomas, the doubting disciple. John 20:29 says, "Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believe'." John 3:15 says, "that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." John 3:36 says, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." Genesis 15:6 says, "Abram belived the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Romans 4:11 says, "And he (Abraham) received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them." Hebrews 11: 7 says, "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” How rich are the scriptures when they speak of faith leading to righteousness. Maybe this is what Peter was thinking when he wrote verse 9: "For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
Isn't that what it's all about? That is why we put up with the sufferings of this life; that is why we rejoice. Faith, like gold, must be purified in the fire, but results in genuineness and purity. By our genuine and pure faith, we see Jesus revealed in us to a dying world.
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer. Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge; take it to the Lord in prayer. Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In his arms he'll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there.
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