56. Suffering and Glory a

Suffering and Rejoicing – The Foundation

Before we begin with this morning I want to begin with a summary of what J.I Packer says in ‘Knowing God’ in the last chapter titled the Adequacy of God. Why does the person who is wise come to the Scripture? It is truth about God taught by God. But it is not just a book about doctrine, but it is also the book of life, showing by exposition and by example what it means to serve God and what it means not to serve Him; to find Him and to lose Him in actual human experience. It is also the book of the church, defining what the church is, its membership, its governance. It is the pillar and support of the truth. But it is also to us God’s personal letter to each one of us.

It is on this I want us to bear in mind as we read the Scripture for this morning. It, the Word of God is the book of doctrine, it is the book of life, it is the book of the church, and it is God’s personal letter to each of you.

1Pe 4:12-19  Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;  (13)  but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.  (14)  If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.  (15)  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters.  (16)  Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.  (17)  For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?  (18)  Now "IF THE RIGHTEOUS ONE IS SCARCELY SAVED, WHERE WILL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER APPEAR?"  (19)  Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

We have seen through the course of this letter that suffering and persecution has been a strong theme. Though Peter has mentioned and alluded to it many times he focuses particular attention on it now as he begins writing his last instructional unit. In these verses he mentions or alludes to suffering 6 times. And as an introduction he lays the foundation in verse 12. We see three points.

Foundations

Position

Preparedness

Purpose

These are not new points in Peter’s letter, rather they are a reminder of what has already been written. And as suffering has been a prominent theme in this letter so also are these foundations for handling suffering and persecution.

Position – God’s Beloved Children

Beloved. This is the adjective form of the word agape. It describes us in our unique position before the God who created the heavens and the universe and all that is in them. It defines us as the objects of God’s love displayed in His past, present, and future actions on our behalf. At the end of days those dark forces which have arrayed themselves against the Lord of hosts, those people who have not closed with Christ in faith will know His fearful and terrifying judgement. We will only know Him as our Father, who looks upon us as sons and daughters. Peter reminds us in 1:1,2 that we were elect according to the foreknowledge of God. in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. 

We are immersed and secured in the salvation of the triune God. In His decree, Christ securing our salvation and the Spirit’s application. He has made us His.

He has caused us to be born again.

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

We are protected by the power of God

1Pe 1:5  who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Paul tells us in Eph 5:1-2  Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;  (2)  and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Walking in love is not only to be a hallmark of our attitude and actions but it also to have a constant knowledge that we walk surrounded by and immersed in the infinite love of God. So that we might have full confidence.

As the Beloved of God we have Romans 8 – There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We have been set free from the law of sin and of death, been embraced in adoption and given the token of God’s infinite, unfailing, all encompassing love. Rom 8:32  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

Romans 8 begins with there is therefore now no condemnation and closes with ‘who can separate us from the love of God?’ Rom 8:35-39  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  (36)  Just as it is written, "FOR THY SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."  (37)  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  (38)  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  (39)  nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Peter addresses this truth in this way. 1Pe 2:4-5  And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God,  (5)  you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

We are living stones as Jesus is the living stone, as He is choice and precious in the sight of God, so we too are choice and precious in the sight of our God. He is our foundation stone, He is the rock upon which we stand as the beloved and it is upon our position the equips us to face the internal afflictions of the power of remaining sin and the external forces of suffering and persecution.

Preparedness – Do not be surprised

Peter is issuing a command (present imperative) which when combined with the negative ("not") implies they were in fact being surprised or shocked by the fiery trials that had come upon them. The idea of this command then is to “stop thinking it a thing alien”, "stop being shocked". This has everything to do with being mentally prepared for what is to come. This mental preparedness is a theme through Peter’s letter.

1Pe 1:13  Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

It is our minds rather than our emotions that should rule us. That with which we are to gird our minds is the word of truth. It is the word of God that prepares our minds for what lies ahead by reminding us of who our God is, what He has done our behalf, and what He will do and all this in light of the opposition of this world and it’s hatred of all things Christ including His people. To be watchful, calm and collected in spirit, temperate, dispassionate and circumspect in this present evil age. It's the image of not being drunk when it comes to spiritual things and implies alertness and evaluating things correctly, because you see clearly, and your mind isn't numb with intoxicating influences. Such a person is able to see things without the distortion caused by worry, fear, and their related attitudes. He or she is well balanced and does not "get drunk" on the intoxicating "liquor" that the world so tantalizingly offers to the senses of our old flesh nature.

1Pe 4:7  The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. That we are to be of sound judgement and sober spirit both in our actions so that our prayers would not be hindered and also in our prayers that we might pray rightly before our God

1Pe 5:8  Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Perhaps they were surprised at the suffering and persecution. Perhaps what caught them off guard was the intensity of the persecution. ‘the fiery ordeal’ literally means burning, heat as of furnace or blaze used in smelting. It reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace that he had heated up 7 times higher for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But Peter calls them to right their minds, to be prepared. And as an aside, since Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace has been mentioned. We look at the three as privileged being saved and in the presence of God in the furnace. But we are all Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedego. Daily we are beckoned to bow before the world’s idols and my prayer for us all is that we will have the same response as the three. “We do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Children, sometimes when we are sick, we have to go to the doctor. Going to the doctor is one of the least favorite things I like to do as a kid or as an adult. When I was a child, my mom would start preparing me way before we left to go to the doctor.

It was not only the external forces of suffering and persecution but the internal affliction of dealing with the power of remaining sin.

1Pe 1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,

1Pe 2:1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,

1Pe 2:11  Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,

It is the power of remaining sin with which we all have to deal. It is the agony of Romans 7 the good I wish to do I do not do and the evil I hate, I do. Who will save me from this body of sin and death?

Know this, whenever we are in the furnace of affliction and suffering, He is there.

As though some strange thing was happening to you – Here is the affirmation that suffering and persecution is our lot in life. It is our birth right.

2Ti 3:12  And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Psa 37:12-14  The wicked plots against the righteous, And gnashes at him with his teeth.  (13)  The Lord laughs at him; For He sees his day is coming.  (14)  The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow, To cast down the afflicted and the needy, To slay those who are upright in conduct.

Purpose – for your testing

The reference to the fiery ordeal points to heat used in smelting. When gold is smelted, it is heated to the point it liquifies and all the impurities and dross float to the top to be skimmed off. The Greek word for testing has no negative connotation. Whether it becomes a proof of righteousness or an inducement to evil depends on our response. If we interact with the fiery trial by renouncing our flesh and relying on the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, the test proves our faithfulness. As James says it hones and sharpens our faith! Jas 1:2-4  Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,  (3)  knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  (4)  And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If we succumb to the trial, it becomes a solicitation to sin. Jas 1:14-15  But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.  (15)  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

These two diametrically opposed responses help us understand why the Bible sometimes translates the same Greek word as trial in James 1:2 (testing in James 1:3) and tempt (or tempted in James 1:13-14). The pressure of affliction brings out what's really on the inside!

In our testing we find comfort. God like the ancient silversmith prepares the crucible of affliction for His children, but He controls the intensity of the fiery trial, for He alone knows just how much "heat" is necessary to cause the "impurities" in our life to rise to the surface. And just like the ancient silversmith, God never leaves us in the refining fire, but continually keeps His eye on us. And finally just like the silversmith, God's goal is that He might see His face (so to speak) in us, and specifically we might reflect the image of His Son.

It is in the furnace of persecution and affliction that we see our need for Christ, our need for repentance from our pride, our need of submission. We mourn our failures but it is in our failures we see our need for greater dependence upon Him. Those areas we need to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Spurgeon explains the great value of his personal trials writing "I am afraid that all the grace that I have got out of my comfortable and easy times and happy hours might almost lie on a penny. But the good that I have received from my sorrows, and pains, and griefs, is altogether incalculable. What do I not owe to the crucible and the furnace, the bellows that have blown up the coals, and the hand which has thrust me into the heat?… I bear my witness that the worst days I have ever had have turned out to be my best days… I can bear my personal testimony that the best piece of furniture that I ever had in the house was a cross. I do not mean a material cross; I mean the cross of affliction and trouble… In shunning a trial we are seeking to avoid a blessing.

How, again, do we ready ourselves for persecution?

Being firmly grounded in our position as Beloved

Being firmly prepared mentally and spiritually for persecution and trials.

Having a firm understanding that the purpose of trials and afflictions are for our testing and in the sovereign control of our God and Father.