First Peter is written to Christians whom he describes as chosen aliens (1:1), outsiders who no longer fit in this world, but who have been placed exactly where they are by God the Father, set apart for holiness by the Holy Spirit, and marked by the blood of Christ as the Son brings them into his new and living covenant and marks them as his own. For those who are in Christ, we rightly stand in awe of the Father’s generosity as we see that he has given us a living hope through Christ’s resurrection, a lavish, unfading inheritance as he gives us himself in Christ, and a lasting salvation as we are kept by God as he gives us a faith that endures to the end. And because of this, we “rejoice greatly” (1:6).
But rejoicing happens in the face of trials. Notice five things about these trials:
First, notice that Peter doesn’t ask us to pretend that trials don’t hurt. “You greatly rejoice,” even though “you have been distressed by various trials.” The word “distressed” doesn’t talk so much about physical pain and suffering (though trials could involve that). The New King James and English Standard versions read “You have been grieved” (NKJV, ESV), and the King James captures it well: “ye are in heaviness” (KJV). In other places, the word is translated “made sorrowful.” It’s the mental/spiritual/emotional distress that comes with trials, the laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering how much longer this could possibly last and how you’ll ever be able to face another day with it. So don’t be surprised if rejoicing doesn’t keep the tears from flowing.
Second, notice that trials come in all shapes and sizes (“various trials”). Sometimes we’re inclined to look at a situation (especially someone else’s) and say, “Look, you’re not actually being martyred for the sake of Christ here—suck it up!” We may feel guilty that the difficulties of life get to us, rather than just rolling off of us. But the Spirit doesn’t limit the scope of trials to really big stuff, or spectacular stuff, or fatal stuff. Trials may involve persecution and physical harm—cf. 1 Pet 2, 3, 4. But they may also be people speaking evil of you (4:4). Or it may be the various difficulties, pains, and disappointments of living post-Fall—there’s nothing easy this side of the Garden. All of these trials, big or small, long-term or momentary, will in the long run serve us (more in a minute), and not one gets left out.
Third, notice that we are distressed by various trials “for a little while.” It may feel like forever, but it really isn’t. They may last a lifetime—but not a moment longer. It’s why Paul calls all that he went through “momentary, light affliction” (2 Cor. 4:17), and said that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18). It’s why David said, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5, NKJV). If you belong to Christ by faith, your suffering, as deep as it may be, has an expiration date.
Fourth, notice that we are distressed by various trials “if necessary.” Your trials do not happen randomly, or by accident, or simply as a byproduct of the Fall, an impersonal cause-and-effect relationship from Adam’s sin. If you are in Christ, and if you face trouble (hint: you will, Jesus promised), it is because the same Father who chose you according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (v. 2), who birthed you into living hope and gave you an inheritance in Christ and lasting salvation (v. 3-5), has deemed it necessary for you to face this particular trial. He has seen this particular trouble as the context for blessing you and all those who love God by making you more like Christ.
That doesn’t mean “try to guess what God is up to in full detail”—we’re bad mind readers! Within that broad category of making us like Christ and equipping us to love and serve one another better, the Father may use a given trial in any of a hundred more specific ways. Our job is less to figure out what God is doing, and more to consider how to trust and obey in the moment. It does mean that we can take heart that our troubles aren’t a sign that God forgot us.
Fifth, notice that these temporary, necessary trials lead to an astonishing result: “so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (v. 7). Trials become the testing ground that shows where our faith lies. Peter says our faith is “more precious than gold which is perishable.” Gold is shiny, durable, and long-lasting, but eventually it gets melted down and made into something else, or it gets lost, or I die and don’t care about it anymore. Yet we still consider it valuable enough that jewelers melt it in a crucible, skim off the dross, and bring it up to a certain standard of purity, ready to make beautiful, praiseworthy works of art.
And if that’s true of temporary gold, how much more faith that God has made to last! This testing makes it clear what saving faith is made of. Don’t miss this: Peter isn’t commanding us to rejoice. This passage is not in the imperative mood, telling us what to do, but the indicative—telling us what is true. Those who are in Christ do rejoice, even as troubles keep coming. That doesn’t mean there are no weak moments, no times when reason to rejoice gets hazy. It does mean that, by God’s faith-giving grace, we will continue to get back up, continue to press on, and continue to rejoice in this good Lord.
Why the test? Because not all faith is saving faith—faith is only as good as what it is placed in. Troubles bring to light what we’re putting our trust in. For an unbeliever, even a religious unbeliever, trials snatch away false hopes and leave a choice: see a better hope in Christ, or go down fighting for a dying hope (see Ps. 115:4-8, where those who live for pretend and worthless gods end up like them, dead and useless). But for the Christian, trials smash idols and pull us back to Christ—the loss hurts, but it reminds us that we still really do love Christ more than what we lost. How we react tells us what we trust.
But here’s the shocking part: notice the end result of this tested, genuine faith! “…may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” When we see Jesus, this passage doesn’t say that we will praise, glorify, and honor him. (We will—but that’s not what Peter says here.) The result of this genuine, approved faith is that we receive the inheritance, the salvation promised in v. 4-5! We will be praised by Jesus Christ: “Well done, good and faithful servant!” We will share in the glory of Jesus Christ: “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Rev 3:21)! We will receive honor from Jesus Christ: “You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master” (Matt 25:21)!
Brother, sister, if you are currently grieved by temporarily necessary trials, rejoice that the Lord Jesus is using even these circumstances to demonstrate before the universe that your trust in Christ is genuine. Rejoice that the result will be you standing in front of Christ, sharing in praise, glory, and honor that are rightfully His, but that He generously shares with those He calls brother and sister!
Grace and peace,
Mike Yates
The audio of a sermon on this passage, which was preached at Grace Chapel Baptist Church, Kingwood, on Sunday, October 16, 2016, may be listened to below, or it may be downloaded by right-clicking and “Save Link As” here.
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