1 Peter How do you have faith and rejoice in suffering?
1 Peter • Sermon • Submitted
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I have often questioned that in suffering will our faith last. When I speak of this suffering, I think of the voice of the Martyrs and their ministry to persecuted Christians.
I read their stories and often wonder would my faith and your faith hold true if I or we faced the same persecution or suffering as them.
I ask myself what empowers them to endure suffering and how can I prepare for this?
As I read my daily Bible reading, I have noticed a them in scripture. This theme is suffering and rescue for the people of God. Over and over you see it suffering for the people of God and rescue by God.
I have also come to the conclusion that if the Israelites suffered for God and Christ himself suffered what makes me think that I am worthy to escape or avoid all suffering.
Today’s scripture in 1 Peter is so good and I think it can really build our faith to survive in the middle of suffering.
1 Peter 1
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
5 You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials
7 so that the genuineness of your faith —more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire —may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy,
9 because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated.
11 They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when He testified in advance to the messianic sufferings and the glories that would follow.
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Angels desire to look into these things.
Here are a few recent prayer request from the voice of the martyrs
(Share the stories)
Verse 6 helps us to understand this passage.
6 You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials
You rejoice in this though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials.
How do you have faith and rejoice in the middle of grief and trials?
Again a common theme in scripture is suffering and rescue, suffering and rescue.
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
Praise
His great Mercy
Mercy: God’s unmerited favor toward sinners in their hopeless condition.
He has given us New Birth.
New Birth into a living Hope
Living Hope:
This hope is active. This hope is growing. If it is alive, then it grows.
This hope exist in the confident expectation of the life to come. (inheritance)
Through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead those who have placed their faith in Jesus share this promise that they to will be raised from the dead and their bodies one day will be raised to live for all eternity with Jesus.
4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
Peter explains that the object of their ‘living hope’ is and inheritance, which is imperishable, undefiled and unfading.
Inheritance:
1 Peter: An Introduction and Commentary 1. Joy in Future Heavenly Reward (1:3–5)
But the Old Testament spoke of the promised land of Canaan as Israel’s ‘inheritance’ (Num. 32:19; Deut. 2:12; 12:9; Josh. 11:23; Ps. 105:11; cf. Acts 7:5; Heb. 11:8), and frequently used ‘inheritance’ to refer to the portion of Canaan belonging to each tribe or family as its ‘share’: Num. 26:54; 27:7–11; 36:3–12; Josh. 13:14, 23, 28, etc.
The contrast is striking: the readers have been born anew, not to obtain a family inheritance in the earthly land of Canaan, but to obtain an inheritance in the eternal city of God (away from which they now live as sojourners, v. 1). The ‘inheritance’ is thus their portion in the new creation and all its blessings.
This inheritance is...
Imperishable: It is not subject to decay, unable to be worn out with the passage of time.
All Earthly possessions will ultimately decay and be destroyed
21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of God’s children.
Uncorrupted: Undefiled, unfit to come before God in worship.
Heavenly inheritance is unpolluted by sin and containing nothing unworthy of God’s approval.
Unfading: It will never wither, grow dim, or lose its beauty or glory
It is kept in heaven for you.
God’s past activity has competed this for you with results that are still continuing in the present.
It is so important to recognize where this inheritance is. It is kept where? Heaven
It is kept where? Heaven
I draw your attention to the location of this inheritance because it is so easy to believe that it is our responsibility to ensure that we get our inheritance that we preserve the land. We start to shift our eye to our local happenings and current events and believe that we must act.
1 Peter: An Introduction and Commentary 1. Joy in Future Heavenly Reward (1:3–5)
The ‘inheritance’ of the New Covenant Christian is thus shown to be far superior to the earthly inheritance of the people of Israel in the land of Canaan. That earthly land was not ‘kept’ for them, but was taken from them in the exile, and later by Roman occupation. Even while they possessed the land, it produced rewards that decayed, rewards whose glory faded away. The beauty of the land’s holiness before God was repeatedly defiled by sin (Num. 35:34; Jer. 2:7; 3:2
6 You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials
You rejoice in this
Rejoice: intense salvation joy
What do you rejoice in?
You rejoice in the inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading that is kept in heaven for you.
Keep your eye on the goal...
Suffering and punishing my body at times for wrestling with the end goal in mind.
Live with the end goal in mind. End goal is new heaven and new earth living for all eternity with Jesus with resurrected bodies our inheritance
A short time you have had to struggle in various trials
the word struggle is also grieve. I think this is a stronger word than just struggle.
It is to suffer grief
There is purpose in the suffering or grief
7 so that the genuineness of your faith —more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire —may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter: An Introduction and Commentary 2. Joy in Spite of Suffering (1:6–7)
Peter says therefore that Christians will experience grief only as it is necessary in the light of God’s great and infinitely wise purposes for them
God refines and purifies the faith of his people as precious metal is refined in a fire.
Trials burn away any impurities in the believer’s faith.
Difficulties produce intimacy if we know who to use them. Trials create deeper faith provided we know how to use them.
In marriage difficulties are opportunities for more intimacy and grow closer together.
God uses trials to refine us and grow us closer to him.
Faith is more precious than Gold
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
3 And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance,
4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.
5 This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
7 so that the genuineness of your faith —more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire —may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The results in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ
This is from the Lord to you who remain faithful and as a result is brings praise, glory and honor to Jesus
8 You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy,
You love him
This implies a personal daily relationship with the ascended Lord Jesus through prayer and worship and reading the word of God
You believe
you trust or rest one’s confidence in or to depend upon.
This is resting oneself in Christ
Rejoice
Continually rejoice
Our personal daily fellowship with Jesus Christ himself is cause for even greater rejoicing that is unutterable and exalted joy.
9 because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
This living hope and the future inheritance is being experienced every day.
You are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated.
11 They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when He testified in advance to the messianic sufferings and the glories that would follow.
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Angels desire to look into these things.
This shows that the grace of Jesus and that salvation through Jesus is greater than the prophets.
The prophets served you. They searched and carefully investigated
When and who?
The Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified in advance to the messianic sufferings and glories that would follow
Scripture is inspired by God the Spirit of Christ within them was testifying in advance to the sufferings of Jesus
Angels desire to look into these things...
I skipped 1 Peter 1:5
5 You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Will I remain faithful in suffering?
Guarded means kept safe, carefully watched.
Guarded so safely that you could not be taken away.