Suffer & Rejoice
Notes
Transcript
Some of you know what it’s like. There you are, at Walmart, and you find yourself toward the back of the store. You’re near the electronics section. And there’s a bin. You have to go through it; you have no choice. You need that $5 DVD, even though everything in that bin is currently streaming for free.
All the same, there’s something wonderful about rooting around in that bin of DVDs and coming up with just the right movie—that one DVD that brings back memories of when you watched that B-level movie in the theatre.
I love the DVD bin at Walmart, and usually restrict myself to buying just one movie. Because, really, who needs a copy of ‘Operation Dumbo Drop’ on DVD?
It isn’t the most spiritual illustration, but that’s the image that struck me as I was reading our text for this morning a couple weeks ago.
There’s so much here, so many wonderful truths in these verses. As I rooted around for the one idea, the one phrase, the one part of these verses that helps make sense of the whole, it’s 1 Peter 1:6. If I were only allowing myself to take home one verse, this would be it.
This, I believe, is the clarifying verse. Verse 6 is the central verse in this section.
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
1 Peter is largely about suffering. Suffering as a Christ-follower is what’s to be expected. Peter infers suffering and grief and trials, suffering grief because of the trials, heaviness through manifold temptations (KJV), every kind of aggravation in the meantime (M:BCL)—these are part and parcel of the Christian life.
Certainly, what Peter’s original audience is going through in the mid- 1st Century can only be described as suffering. They were Christians living in a hostile world.
The InterVarsity Press introduction to 1 Peter says this about the world at the time 1 Peter was written:
It was a shaky time for Christians in the Roman Empire. The evil emperor Nero had died, and so, in A.D. 69 troops proclaimed the military leader Vespasian as emperor—and saw that he stayed there. Vespasian hated Jews, and he counted Christians among them. Prior to becoming emperor, his goal had been to trample Judea and erase it from existence. As emperor, he sent his oldest son, Titus, to finish the job. Titus put Jerusalem under siege for three months. Then he tightened the noose. Troops leveled buildings to the ground. The temple became a crumble of stones. Jerusalem fell. Jews (and Christians) became Roman captives.
Aftershocks vibrated throughout the Roman Empire, blending with the general persecution against "atheists" (people who refused to worship Roman gods) that Nero had begun.
Christians everywhere suffered. They were driven from their homes, deported to the outer borders of the empire, forbidden to worship openly and more.
It is possible that the apostle Paul was martyred under Nero. And Peter was martyred as well—crucified upside-down, tradition says, because he felt unworthy to die in the same position as his Lord. It was a dark season for Christians.
How were they to endure?
This is what Peter says:
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
“What now, Peter?!? Rejoice? Greatly rejoice?”
The Romans are killing Christians, running them out of their homes, killing, torturing, imprisoning them. And Peter’s telling them to rejoice?
It doesn’t seem right (or possible!), until you see the rest of what Peter says.
If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to 1 Peter. If you are able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word:
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
May God add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word.
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The initial comfort of verse 6—what I would argue is the central verse—is that suffering is just for a little while. Even if you suffer for the entire duration of your life here on earth, it’s really just a little while in the grand scheme of things.
80 years, 90 years, 140 years (John Hough) on this earth—even if filled from beginning to end with suffering—is just a little while.
There is some comfort there, that suffering and trials are for a little while. This is a phrase Peter will use again in regard to suffering.
1 Peter 5:10 (NIV)
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
A little while...a little while longer, Christian, and suffering will cease. Suffering is not forever, and there’s comfort in that.
Peter says the people there in the 1st Century may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
I’m not sure where the “may” comes from. I’d think it’s all but a guarantee. There was almost certainly suffering, trials, tribulations then, just as now. There’s no way to get through life in this fallen world without experiencing suffering.
There’s comfort in the fact that suffering isn’t permanent; it’s not forever. But the real good news—what Peter says brings rejoicing—is found in the other truths of the verses that surround 1 Peter 1:6.
Suffer and Rejoice because there is:
Living Hope
Living Hope
Hope is, in itself, an interesting word. We use the word ‘hope’ in a wishful kind of way. “I hope the Chief’s win.” “I hope you have a good day at work.” “Hope you feel better soon.” It’s a little superstitious when used that way.
There’s a difference, though, in the way Peter speaks about hope here. It’s not just hope; it’s a living hope.
Look again at verse 3:
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
What Christians have been given is not a fool’s hope or a horoscope’s chance at hope, no! The Christian’s individual and corporate hope is a living hope, one that’s tied to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
That’s an entirely different hope than any sort of wishful thinking. Listen to Tom Schreiner here:
“A living hope is one that is genuine and vital, in contrast to a hope that is empty and vain. The focus, of course, is on the word ‘hope’ itself.
Those who are suffering persecution in Asia Minor are not dashed to the ground by their troubles. They look to the future with the sure confidence that inestimable blessing awaits them. Nor is their confidence baseless superstition. It is grounded in and secured by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Their hope, in other words, is the hope of resurrection, triumph over death; hence, whatever happens to them in this world is trivial compared to the blessing of the future resurrection.”
The word living connects hope to resurrection. It is through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and His ascension into Heaven that we who go by His name—Christians—have been born again into a living hope.
The first part of Peter’s argument here is a reminder that we will suffer but that we can/should rejoice, because of what we’re guaranteed via our union with Jesus: a living hope.
If our future is tied to the Risen Jesus (and it is!), then everything we suffer here will be undone. Jesus rising from the grave, victorious over sin and death, is the source of our hope.
Our hope is a living hope!
Suffer and Rejoice because there is
Lasting Inheritance
Lasting Inheritance
My dad’s dad, Ralph Case, died in a tragic plane accident when my dad was 12 (Dad’s brothers were 13, 14, and 15-years-old). Grandma Arlene raised four teenage boys on her own in the 1960s. She never had very much money, as you can imagine.
When Grandma Arlene passed away, there was nothing of note for anyone to inherit: no money, no estate. Meghann and I got a set of dishes and a bedroom set. Everything she had fit in a two-bedroom apartment.
My mom was the 8th of 9 children born into a very comfortable life. Grandpa Ernie worked for Standard Oil.
When Grandpa worked for Standard Oil, the company bought him one share of stock for every share he purchased (no limit). Grandpa was no dummy; he bought thousands of shares of stock in Standard Oil, matched 1-for-1 by his company. The stock split several times, and as Standard Oil became Amoco and then BP, the value doubled and tripled over the years.
Grandpa, a humble delivery driver, retired after decades with Standard Oil a very, very rich man. Each of his five living children inherited an amount of money so large it’s rude to talk about.
What we inherited from my dad’s family was very little, almost nothing (a set of dishes and a sizeable bald spot). What we stand to receive from my Mom eventually is an exceptionally large amount of money (if Mom doesn’t spend it all on stuff from Facebook ads in the meantime).
When I read the word inheritance in our text for today, I couldn’t help but to compare it to our earthly inheritance.
You see, no matter what our inheritance might be (untold wealth or a few housewares), none of it is lasting. There will be an end to whatever inheritance I receive from my Mom. If Meghann and I don’t spend through it, Magal will blow what’s left on Jordans and Yeezys and other ridiculous shoes.
The difference between our earthly inheritance and the inheritance from the LORD is found in four descriptive words/phrases found in verse 4.
4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
The Christian’s inheritance is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, and kept in heaven.
These words help us get our minds around the magnitude of our inheritance. Our heavenly inheritance cannot be destroyed, it can’t be spent, it won’t be destroyed by moth or rust; what’s more, it’s kept secure in heaven (nothing can touch it). It’s God Himself who reserves this inheritance for those who believe.
In the strongest possible terms, Peter emphasizes the beauty and certainty of the reward awaiting those who belong to God.
In Christ, we have a lasting inheritance—it will never lose its luster or beauty, it will never fade away. We’ll never see the end of it; it won’t dry up or run out.
Peter encourages his audience to rejoice, even amid suffering and difficulty, because there is, waiting for us, an inheritance that lasts.
Suffer and Rejoice because there is
Total Salvation
Total Salvation
Salvation can be defined as being rescued from God’s judgment and wrath on the last day.
Salvation is usually thought to be something past or present, something people possess at the moment of belief—and both pictures are true and found throughout the pages of the NT.
Biblically speaking, salvation generally refers to the future deliverance believers will enjoy. Peter is clearly speaking of salvation in future terms.
Just as inheritance is something in the offing, so also is salvation.
5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Believers are shielded/guarded/protected by God’s power, but this doesn’t mean those who believe won’t experience suffering. God protects/guards His people so that they will receive the final inheritance and experience salvation—total and complete deliverance—at the end.
God Himself sustains our faith, even through difficulty and persecution and suffering. He will hold us fast.
Peter’s readers may have wondered about whether they would have the strength to remain faithful to Christ as the persecution and suffering got worse and worse.
Peter assures them (and us) that Christians are those who are guarded by God’s power. God is preserving believers and protecting them from external attacks.
Salvation is God’s work, from beginning to end. Salvation here, according to Wayne Grudem, is the “full possession of all the blessings of our redemption.”
Salvation—final salvation, future salvation, complete salvation—is what suffering Christians await. The trials and sufferings of this life won’t last forever. Why? Because salvation/deliverance is coming!
Salvation is the complete and final future deliverance from sin and full enjoyment of eternal glory. This, we look forward to—salvation full and free from our God and Father.
Now, with these in mind—living hope, lasting inheritance, and total salvation—with these in mind, let’s read our verse again:
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
In all this—living hope, lasting inheritance, and total salvation—in all this you greatly rejoice.
Viewed this way, of course there’s rejoicing amid the suffering, because we know what’s on the other side!
Our hope, tied to the Risen Jesus will not disappoint. Our inheritance will never perish, spoil, fade, or run out. Our salvation is final and complete, spelling out complete deliverance over evil and sin and death.
In this, we rejoice, even as we suffer.
Even more, trials and suffering reveal the genuineness of our faith (v. 7).
Our sufferings/trials/difficulties are meant to result in praise, glory, and honor—not only for Christ, but for the Christian!
Life as exiles is anything but easy, and yet by God’s grace, the lives of believers are filled with joy, not gloom. One day—when Jesus returns—His people, called by His name, will experience praise and glory and honor with Him.
We look forward, with great hope, to the moment when Jesus is revealed and everything is made new.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The original readers of Peter’s letter had never seen Jesus; they’d never laid eyes on he historical Jesus, as Peter had, but they love Him.
For all they’ve suffered, they love Jesus. Peter is commending them. They love Jesus. They don’t see Jesus, but they believe in Him.
I don’t know the specifics of what Peter’s original audience suffered. We know in general life was not pleasant for them, but that’s about it.
I don’t know the particulars. But I know you. And I know what you’ve suffered, the trials and difficulties many of you have faced. Some of you have faced some heavy, horrible, life-altering stuff.
And still, you love Jesus. You believe in Jesus, deeply. You are filled with love for Jesus; He is precious and lovely to you, in spite of everything you’ve suffered here.
1 Peter 1:8 “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,”
Believing is not based on seeing, like Jesus said to Thomas:
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
We don’t see Jesus now. But someday we will. By God’s grace and in the strength He provides, we love Him and believe in Him, and rejoice with inexpressible joy.
There is, somehow, inexpressible and glorious joy NOW. This, because of Jesus and the living hope we have in Him.
Though God’s people suffer here and now in this fallen world, this world which is broken and marred by sin, there is more to be experienced than this.
There is more, because of what Jesus has done, because of what Jesus has secured, because of what Jesus has promised, because of all Jesus offers to His own.
Those who are the LORD’s have something the suffering of this world cannot touch. Suffering isn’t worthy of being compared to our living hope, our lasting inheritance, our total salvation.
Christians know, despite present sufferings, they will see their Savior face-to-face and will enjoy Him forever.
In all this, we greatly rejoice.