BIG IDEA:
2. Fiery Trials Focus Our Faith On Jesus Christ — Thus Intensifying
Our Joy Instead of Extinguishing It (:6b-9) Emphasis on Christ
INTRODUCTION:
Peter Davids: Hope should lead to joy. The “rejoice” is not a continual feeling of hilarity nor a denial of the reality of pain and suffering, but an anticipatory joy experienced even now, despite the outward circumstances, because the believers know that their sufferings are only “for a little while” and their inheritance is sure and eternal. This joy is based on the knowledge that Christ has come (Luke 10:21; John 8:56; Acts 2:26), that God has revealed his saving grace to them (Acts 16:24), and that they will take part in the consummated joy of God’s glory and salvation at the approaching end of the age (Jude 24; Rev. 19:7). Such joy was already present in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:47), which was itself an anticipation of the messianic banquet in heaven. Peter is not giving a command here, but expressing the experience of the early church resulting from their conversion.
Daniel Doriani: Peter describes our trials in five ways in 1 Peter 1:6–7. First, when compared to eternity, they are brief in duration; they last “a little while.” Second, they are varied in form; there are “all kinds.” Third, they have a kind of necessity; “you . . . had to suffer.” Fourth, suffering proves that our faith is real; “these have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine” (1:7a). Fifth, suffering will “result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1:7b). Because suffering has a limit and a purpose, we can still rejoice in it.
John MacArthur: Genuine salvation and true joy belong together and are not limited to heavenly inhabitants. Peter’s goal in this text is to have believers understand the joy that should be their own constant expression in light of eternal salvation. This joy reflects what Peter certainly knew from Old Testament revelation. The psalmist had much to say about joy and the believer: “O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling places. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God” (Ps. 43:3–4; cf. 4:7; 5:11; 9:2; 32:11; 37:4; 51:12). The prophet Isaiah wrote, “And the ransomed of the Lord will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isa. 35:10; cf. 61:10). The gospel of Luke calls word of Christ’s birth “good news of great joy” (2:10), and Paul commended the Thessalonian believers for receiving his evangelistic message “with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:6; cf. Phil. 4:4; 1 Thess. 5:16).
Peter wrote early on the subject of joy and the believer because his readers needed the reminder and the encouragement as they faced severe persecution. Later, in 2:12, he exhorted them, “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God.” The clear implication is that though the recipients of this letter were suffering unjustly, they should expect such mistreatment and endure it with joy and patience (cf. 2:18–21; 3:9, 14–15, 17; 4:1, 12, 14, 16, 19; 5:10). In light of the blessedness of salvation, no earthly difficulties should have diminished their joy (cf. Hab. 3:17–18; Matt. 5:11–12; James 1:2).
Peter gives five perspectives on joy so that believers may triumph even in the most adverse circumstances. He highlights the reality that joy derives from confidence in a protected inheritance, in a proven faith, in a promised honor, in a personal fellowship with Christ, and in a present deliverance.
I. (:6b) TRIALS MUST BE KEPT IN PERSPECTIVE
even though now for a little while, if necessary,
you have been distressed by various trials,
A. Trials do cause grief and suffering
John MacArthur: Peter with the term been distressed acknowledges that trouble undeniably brings pain (cf. Gen. 3:16–19; Pss. 42:7; 66:12; 89:30–32). Distressed refers not only to physical pain, but also to mental anguish, including sadness, sorrow, disappointment, and anxiety. By God’s design, trouble needs to be painful in order to refine believers for greater spiritual usefulness (cf. Pss. 34:19; 78:34; 119:71; John 9:1–3; 11:3–4; 2 Cor. 12:10).
B. Trials are of relatively short duration
C. Trials are not accidental–but ordained by God when necessary to accomplish His purposes
Peter Davids: Suffering is under the control of God even if it is not part of God’s ideal world. Jesus in the Gospels frequently spoke of the necessity of God’s plan’s being fulfilled, either in terms of prophecy about himself (Matt. 17:10; Mark 8:31; Luke 24:7) or in terms of the cataclysm of the end time (Matt. 24:6; Mark 13:10). In each case the suffering (or in one passage, the preaching of the gospel to all nations) takes place under the sovereign hand of God. God is working history to its good conclusion. But that does not mean that the suffering itself is good, that its agents are good, or that God wants us to suffer. It does mean that in a world in rebellion against God, created as this world has been with the various spiritual and human forces (with their freedom to choose) in it, it is the best way in God’s mercy and hidden wisdom for him to work out his good plan. Suffering may not be God’s desire, but it is not outside his sovereignty.
Daniel Akin: Trials are the rigorous exercises that strengthen our spiritual muscles.
D. Trials are packaged in a diversity of ways
Contrast Satan’s goal = to use trials to extinguish our faith
Wayne Grudem: The phrase various trials should also caution us against looking for any specific kind of persecution or suffering as the historical background for this letter. The word various rightly translates poikilos, which means ‘multifaceted, manifold, having many diverse parts’ (it is used in the lxx to refer to Joseph’s ‘robe of many colours’, Gen. 37:3). The niv’s ‘all kinds of trials’ also conveys the meaning clearly. Since no one kind of trial or testing is in view, Peter’s words have their application to all the trials which Christians experience (cf. Jas 1:2).
II. (:7) PURPOSE OF TRIALS = TO HIGHLIGHT AND REWARD GENUINE FAITH
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;
Wayne Grudem: Gold perishes even though it is refined or tested (dokimazō, from the same word group as dokimion, above) by fire – in fact, gold is one of the most durable of all substances. Yet Peter says that it perishes, because he knows that this entire creation is on its way towards final destruction (see 2 Pet. 3:7, 10–12). Genuine faith is more valuable to God than gold because he is a God who delights in being trusted. And since God’s evaluation of something is the ultimate standard of meaning in the universe, Peter’s readers have a secure basis for a sense of ultimate meaning and importance for their own lives.
There should be no theological objection to understanding this phrase to refer to the praise that God gives to his people when Christ returns, because the New Testament elsewhere speaks of God’s future declarations of approval of his people: see Matthew 25:21 (‘Well done, good and faithful servant’); Romans 2:29 (‘His praise is not from man but from God’); 1 Corinthians 4:5 (‘Then each one will receive his commendation [or ‘praise’; Greek epainos here is the same word translated ‘praise’ in 1 Pet. 1:7] from God’); 1 Peter 5:4 (‘you will receive the unfading crown of glory’).
David Walls: Peter cemented his point with the illustration of a goldsmith. To form a useful object, raw gold must be cast into a mold. For that to occur, the solid ore must be melted, requiring a temperature of 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit. When the gold is melted, the impurities rise to the surface, where they are skimmed off or burned off. A goldsmith knows the gold is ready to cast when the liquid gold becomes mirror-like and he can see his face reflected in the surface.
Erland Waltner: One perspective that Peter introduces here is that suffering may even become beneficial as a process that proves the genuineness of Christian faith. Those of Jewish background were familiar with the OT stories of how the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been tested. Israel as a people often failed the test of their faith in troubling times. Jesus, on the other hand, is presented as one who met the test of faith and suffered in an exemplary way (2:21-25; 3:18; 4:1). Here Peter affirms the faithfulness of those to whom he is writing.
Daniel Akin: Is your faith real? Trials will prove it. Do you really trust Christ? The challenges, difficulties, and trials of this life will bring it to light for all to see. Faith purified in the fire of trials will shine bright today and forever (Dan 3).
III. (:8a) APPLICATION: GENUINE FAITH FOCUSES ON JESUS CHRIST
and though you have not seen Him, you love Him,
and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him,
Peter Davids: Yet the focus of their joy is not the inheritance nor the glory, but the returning Christ. Here one finds a paradox. Unlike Peter and others of the first generation who had seen Jesus, they have neither seen him in the past nor do they see him at present; their faith is not based on their perceptual experience. Yet, despite this apparent deprivation, they in no way come behind the first generation of disciples in Palestine, for they love and believe on Jesus. This paradox of faith without sight is often found in the NT (see John 20:24-29; 2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 11:1, 27), for as soon as the church expanded outside Palestine it was the experience of most Christians. The really important thing is not what they can see (e.g., the trials they have and their enemies), but whom they love and are committed to (cf. also 2 Kings 6:14-17), even though they do not see him.
Thomas Schreiner: Peter is not exhorting the churches but commending them. Their sufferings have not made them morose and miserable. They are filled with love for Jesus Christ. He is precious and lovely to them. Peter’s main point is clear: believers who suffer are not dashed to the ground by their troubles. They love Jesus Christ and rejoice in him, even though they have never seen him and do not see him now. Their lives are characterized by a hope that fills the present with love and joy.
John MacArthur: Love and trust are the two crucial ingredients in any meaningful relationship. In this verse, the apostle exalts those two aspects as essential to believers’ relationship with Christ and vital to the joy that results. He also reflects genuine pathos and personal humility with these words, based on his past, personal experience as one of the Twelve.
IV. (:8b-9) FOCUSING ON CHRIST INTENSIFIES OUR JOY
you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
Louis Barbieri: The goal that God has in view for His children is their salvation (vv. 4–5), but we need not wait until eternity to enjoy all of it. Peter views such blessings as assurances that the individual is a true child of God. There is both a present reality and a future expectation to our salvation.
Thomas Schreiner: The word “souls” could be understood to refer to our immaterial substance. Most scholars argue that the term “souls” refers to the whole person. The reference is to “a person’s whole life or self-identity.” Feldemeier raises serious questions about the consensus that soul refers to the whole person and shows that the salvation of the soul may be indebted to Diaspora Judaism and Hellenistic thought, which focuses on the immaterial part of human beings. He especially notes Philonic parallels, maintaining that 1 Peter is conversant with Hellenistic Jewish traditions. Despite the strength of Feldmeier’s arguments, it seems that the term designates the whole person in the letter. For instance, suffering believers are to entrust their “souls,” i.e., all of who they are, to the Creator (1 Pet 4:19). It seems doubtful that the body is excluded especially since they were suffering. Also, the souls saved during the flood (1 Pet 3:20) naturally refer to the whole person since the wicked drowned bodily in the deluge and the righteous were spared from death. Thus, despite the impressiveness of Feldmeier’s arguments, the whole person is in view.
John MacArthur: Peter is not looking at the future but at the here and now; one could literally render obtaining (komizomenoi), “presently receiving for yourselves.” The root, komizō, means “to receive what is deserved.” Flowing out of believers’ personal fellowship with Christ is the result due them, the present outcome of their faith, namely the salvation of their souls. Salvation refers to believers’ constant, present deliverance from the penalty and power of sin—from its guilt (Rom. 6:18; Eph. 1:7; Col. 2:13–14), condemnation (Rom. 8:1), wrath (Rom. 5:9; 1 Thess. 1:10), ignorance (Rom. 10:3; Gal. 4:8; 1 Tim. 1:13), distress, confusion, hopelessness (1 Cor. 15:17; 1 Peter 1:3), and dominion (Rom. 6:10–12).
There is really no reason for believers to lose their joy when they can tap into all the present and future spiritual realities mentioned in this passage—present proven faith, fellowship with Christ, and deliverance; and a protected future inheritance and promised honor. As Jesus assured the apostles, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:11).