Part 2: 1 Peter 1:6–9
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3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine,
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.
It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Through the world we safely go.
William Blake
Verse 6 starts with: ‘In this you greatly rejoice…’
Everything I have read today has been about rejoicing. This morning I read
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
and
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
In what do we greatly rejoice but in the fact that we have an eternal home in which we will go to be with our resurrected Lord. This, as we saw last week was the reason for Peter’s thankfulness and blessing of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thankfulness should be our hearts attitude and this is made easier when we accept the lot and portion God has given to us.
But, of course, it is right to bring Him praise and how easy it is when things are easy and going our way. Though this is obviously not very true to life for things are only easy going for small parts of our lives. Life does not often go our way. Perhaps, as will be alluded to at Bill’s funeral on Friday, his life was not plain sailing but a man of God he was all the same.
The Book of Proverbs seems to say in many places that life will be good if you are righteous – and who is more right than Jesus but He suffered beyond any man ever has. And who is more right than one who has been made right in the blood of the lamb? So, when things go wrong we can wonder what is going on. But of course elsewhere it says that God’s ways are His own and what He does no one can really search out.
A lot of the time, therefore, we know that things go well when we are right with God but then we ask questions about how right we are with God if things keep going wrong. We, though, are not promised that things will not go wrong – just that God will bring good out of it for us…but we might not see nor understand it before we stand before Him one day. But we can prepare our hearts:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
And we know that God is in full control:
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
He cares for us and wants us to know Him but of course we know He cares for us because He knows us
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
and indeed He has shown in the ultimate way in redeeming us to walk with Him:
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
So, back to our passage: trials come and trials go as it is with all people at some time or another and that is no surprise as indeed Peter says later in the same letter:
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
James has the same kind of words that Peter is expressing:
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But what do we mean by trials? how do we understand them. When we look at the different places this word is used in the Bible we find:
• There will be seasons in life when you will lack provision, power, position, protection, and a sense of permanence.
• At times you will become the recipient of verbal or physical persecutions that arise on account of the Word.
• This includes the pain experienced by those who have loved ones whose bodies appear to be wasting away before their very eyes.
• This includes the dark moments in life when we are asked to fend off the prowling attacks of Satan.
Preaching the Word: 1 & 2 Peter and Jude—Sharing Christ’s Sufferings Trials Prove the Genuineness of Our Faith
Hearing that Heaven’s joys are intertwined with earthly trials—and this by divine design—must have raised many questions in the minds of early followers of Jesus—questions like, “What function do trials serve?” or “What ultimate purposes will trials accomplish?” From our text it appears that Peter intends to provide an answer. No sooner does he connect joy to woe than he begins explaining the purpose of life’s trials.
… so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1:7)
Trials come for testing, and testing, like putting gold into the fire, is meant to prove the genuineness of one’s faith. To put it differently, trials are the proving ground for our faith.
Which means that occasionally we will fail!
It is also clear that if things are only going well for us then we will not learn anything of any significance. But when things go wrong it causes us genuine pain, whether of the heart, mind, soul or body. When things go wrong we will grow in our faith, or at least that should be the outcome of it. We also know that we will not be tested beyond our endurance:
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Temptation is the same word ‘trials’. It is not always about temptation to sin but the trials that come in our lives.
Peter speaks of gold that has been tested in fire. Indeed he may have known that
…the Eastern goldsmith kept the metal in the furnace until he could see his face reflected in it. So our Lord keeps us in the furnace of suffering until we reflect the glory and beauty of Jesus Christ.
Preaching the Word: 1 & 2 Peter and Jude—Sharing Christ’s Sufferings Trials Prove the Genuineness of Our Faith
A picture from ancient Roman times shows the method by which grain was threshed. One man can be seen stirring up the sheaves, while another rides over them in a crude dray equipped with rollers instead of wheels. Attached to the rolling cylinders are sharp stones and rough bits of iron. As they grind over the recently tossed sheaves, the stones and iron help separate the husks from the grain. The simple cart was called a tribulum.
This agrarian piece of farm machinery is the object from which we get our word tribulation. Do you ever feel as if you are under the inescapable weight and force of the tribulum? If so, Peter wants to remind you that no thresher ever operated his tribulum for the purpose of tearing up his sheaves. The thresher’s intentions were far more elevated than that. The farmer only wanted to cull out the precious grain. And as it is with the ancient farmer, so it is with God.
Understanding that God’s purposes for us include various trials is important, for by them we are tempered. The extracts of this world are removed from us, and we are made fit for Heaven. A simple bar of iron ore, pulled from the earth, might be worth $5.00. However, that same bar, when made into horseshoes, would be worth $10.50. If the owner decided to make the bar into needles for sewing, it could be worth as much as $3,285. And if he turned it into springs for watches, its value could jump as high as $250,000. What made the difference? Simply the amount of heat by which the iron bar was tempered and honed.
What Peter is saying is that our faith is far more precious to God than a bar of iron. According to the text it is even more precious than gold! So be encouraged. You may find yourself on the anvil of suffering, but God is at work. He is testing the genuineness of your faith. And for him, that faith has eternal value.
What comes out of trials is up to us. We can be bitter, we can be angry, we can be down or we can grow in our faith in God because of it and reap the rewards both in this life and in the next.
Thankfully we have examples and I’ll give two, one from the Bible and other of more modern times:
When this man lost his property and his children in the same day we read:
20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
He is commended to us in the New Testament:
11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
In 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 3 months before he was executed in a concentration camp at the command of Hitler wrote these words in a book I highly recommend, the Cost of Discipleship:
Preaching the Word: 1 & 2 Peter and Jude—Sharing Christ’s Sufferings The Importance of Our Response to Trials
Should it be ours to drink the cup of grieving
Even to the dregs of pain, at thy command,
We will not falter, thankfully receiving
All that is given by thy loving hand.
Indeed he was quite a man.
Can you imagine that if we bear the trials of our faiths without complaining against God, with endurance, what kind of reward we will get when this, as Paul says, fleeting life passes or to quote him directly:
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
Just think about the weight of glory and we along with all people will carry this glory into the Heavenly City:
24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,
Who are the kings here? Will we not be called kings? Oh indeed we will: We are already called that:
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
All these good works we have done since we became Christians will result in praise from the Lamb of God. We will receive so many rewards on that day for things we did not even realise, for things we did not consider would be worth it. But the glory of those who suffer in this life and bore it with the help of God will receive even greater rewards and receive crowns.
The crown that we will receive will be unlike the crown that Jesus wore, a crown of thorns, a crown of suffering. Indeed we will endure the suffering we have in life if we remember our Lord who bore it all for us and nailed our sin to the tree.
What crowns, then, can we expect?
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
So, a crown is not made of something that will decay or rust away but will last forever.
We read from James earlier but has he something to say about crowns?
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Surely this is a crown that belongs to every true believer in Christ. The glory of these crowns I wonder if they will shine brighter for those who loved Him more. The crown is a symbol of rulership, of princes and Kings and Queens, a symbol of what they represent, of their standing.
Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords and He is crowned with many crowns.
All our trials pale into insignificance when we consider that what Jesus achieved was the salvation of our souls. The work He wrought for us on the way to Calvary, on the cross, His resurrection and ascension brought us to Him forever as His people. These thoughts are what give us joy in the midst of pain and hardship, what causes us to be overwhelmed by the thought of His love for people like us who were going our own way, yet He made the first move bringing light to our inward eyes, opening up the deadness of our soul to His saving grace and mercy. Our God, our creator, our Lord, our redeemer, our Saviour.
This life is but a preparation for the next one – one in which we will serve Him in the capacity He has trained us here for – and what will that be, what is the work of Heaven? Only God knows the answer to that; we are just to follow the training.
Peter goes on to say that this is our Lord whom we have not seen yet we love. The fact is, though, all we are doing is responding to the love that He has shown for us. We rejoice with a joy that is deep and assured for we know that the end of our faith, the end goal, the finish line is in sight for we are receiving the salvation of our souls. And then truly we will be like Him.
The trials and tribulations that we go through in the meantime are for us to become like Him and what kind of metal we are:
An assayer is someone who tests whether metals are genuine or fake, whether we are producing pure gold or fool’s gold – whether we are indeed those who are of faith or false faith. Troubles just reveals what kind we are. Whilst all of us have temptation to sin and in overcoming this we are saying: Jesus you are Lord. But what if we were to be told of a different temptation like the one the Church in Smyrna were told about
10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
This is the experience of the persecuted Church and they will receive a crown.
Let us take courage, then, and rejoice in the trials that come our way for we have the living hope of an eternity with the Saviour of our souls.
Benediction
Benediction
5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Elliott, J. H. (2008). 1 Peter: a new translation with introduction and commentary (Vol. 37B). New Haven; London: Yale University Press.
Helm, D. R. (2008). 1 & 2 Peter and Jude: sharing christ’s sufferings. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (1996). 1 Peter–Jude. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (1 Peter) (electronic ed., Vol. 54). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Cedar, P. A., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1984). James / 1 & 2 Peter / Jude (Vol. 34). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.
Nystrom, C. (2002). 1 & 2 Peter and Jude: 12 Studies for Individuals or Groups: With Notes for Leaders. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Connect: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press.
Scofield, C. I. (Ed.). (1917). The Scofield Reference Bible: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments. New York; London; Toronto; Melbourne; Bombay: Oxford University Press.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 19:23 24 November 2018.