Every Reason to Rejoice

Reasons to rejoice

Blessed with every spiritual blessing

Fellowship of the saints

Indwelling of the Spirit

Physical provisions of God

Our Reason to Rejoice

Context Marker:

“In this...”

This should make us ask the question, “in what?”

That will then point us back to the previous verse, v. 5.

v. 5 is Peter praising God for his eternal security in salvation provided by God.

This is also a reference to the inheritance in v. 4

Paraphrase: “In this great and eternally secure salvation we rejoice!”

Two Conditions

These two conditions are introduced in the text with the word “though”

Meaning: “in spite of” or even though

There is a condition that is being overcome.

Trials

Suffering and trials is an important theme in 1 Peter.

2 Cor. 6:10 “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”

James 1:2 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,”

Peter describes these trials in two ways

They are temporary

Peter states that these trials will only last for “a little while”.

I have good news and I have bad news.

The bad news is that when Peter says “a little while” this may include everything up to your entire earthly life.

The good news is that your entire earthly life in the scope of eternity is just “a little while.”

This short phrase reminds us to keep an eternal perspective on our suffering, but also on our lives generally.

This life is but a vapor.

2 Corinthians 4:16-17 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,”

In this present life, believers live in a paradoxical state. We have the Holy Spirit living inside us as a “deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14), giving us hope and many spiritual blessings. At the same time, our physical bodies are decaying, having not yet received full salvation and the resurrection of our heavenly bodies. We are wasting away and being renewed all at once. Outwardly we belong to the physical realm, which is passing away, but inwardly we belong to the eternal age to come. People who are aging or experiencing the pains of physical decay more acutely often experience depression and anxiety. As believers, we can receive great comfort and joy in the knowledge of our inward renewal by the working of the Holy Spirit.

This “weight of glory” speaks of the relative insignificance of our present, earthly suffering in contrast with the magnitude of resurrection life and eternal salvation.

When you consider heaven, the suffering of this life is not only small, but worth it.

They are “various”.

Peter has all kinds of trials in mind.

Trials can come in all shapes and sizes.

His intended readers have suffered much for their faith. Most of them have been forced to leave their homes in order to practice their faith.

They have a purpose (v. 7)

Refinement of faith

One of the worst parts of being human is that we tend to learn more from suffering than blessing.

Thus by necessity God allows trials into our lives to teach us more about Himself and our need.

Peter illustrates this process with the refinement of gold in fire.

But I love the little reminder that our faith is more valuable than the gold used to illustrate the refinement process.

Unlike our faith gold perishes

But like our faith gold is tested

Proving of faith

If you take out the parenthetical phrase about testing in v. 7 it would read “that the genuineness of your faith may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

In other words these trials also prove the genuineness of your faith. A dead faith will not endure trial. A dead faith will abandon belief.

This is one reason that John refers to genuine believers as overcomers.

Faith by its very nature is something that once placed in Christ is then given by Christ. Faith is more fruit of the Spirit than it is an act of the will. The real question is what are you doing to cultivate the fruit that the Spirit is growing within you?

Faith

Faith itself is the second condition of our joy.

Paraphrase: “In this great and eternally secure salvation we rejoice, even though we will suffer for a short time and even though you have not yet seen Christ face to face.”

Another great paradox of the Christian life is that we are so deeply in love with someone that we have not seen.

Notice I didn’t say “that we have not met.” We have met Him we have spent our lives knowing Him better. We just have not laid eyes on Him yet.

That is why faith is a condition of our joy. In order to experience this joy that Peter is talking about we have to deeply love someone we have never seen.

Paraphrase: “In this great and eternally secure salvation we rejoice, even though we will suffer for a short time and even though you have not yet seen Christ face to face you still believe in Him. So we rejoice with a joy to great for words, a heavenly joy because by faith we are saved.”

The Nature of Our Joy

Great - in scope it is unmeasurable

Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

Invulnerable - trials cannot crush it

James 1:2 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,”

Habakkuk 3:17-18 “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

Inexpressible - words cannot describe it

Heavenly - it is filled with glory of God, an eternal weight of glory.