B6-devotions

1 Peter 1:6-9

Devotions for Friday 27th June

Does your faith mean so much that you can endure all possible trials and troubles and still give glory to God? This is not an idle question, because the problem of suffering is one which deeply affects many people today. Some are able to endure the most terrible suffering and maintain their faith, but others do not. Every church pastor knows what it is like to try and help those who have endured severe distress, and say ‘I can’t believe that God would allow this ...’ and because of their shock, leave the church and say ‘I have lost my faith’. Whilst we would all like to feel we could withstand any shock in life, none of us knows how we would respond during severe testing.

After a quick reading of this passage we may feel that it is a text which asks us to ‘rejoice in all circumstances’, as if the right Christian thing to do is to be seen to ‘rejoice’ even when undergoing extreme pain and distress. Peter appears to say this in verse 6, and then tells us that such rejoicing proves the ‘authenticity’ of our faith (1:7) which will bring us ‘praise and glory and honour’ when Jesus comes in glory! Though the last two verses of our passage are a warm endorsement of the faith of those who have not personally met Jesus yet persist in faith, we are still left wondering. Does Peter really consider that we should all remain ‘happy’ if we wish to be assured of the ‘salvation of our souls’? (1:9)

Now, there are other passages of scripture which comment on how we handle the random and dreadful sufferings there are in the world (such as the book of Job), but this is not one of them; and here in 1 Peter, what is said about suffering is in fact quite different. It is most important to spot this because unless we do, we may create misunderstanding. It is pastorally insensitive to either condemn or appear to condemn those who are enduring a period of severe testing, just because they find it impossible to ‘rejoice’.

So what does this passage tell us? Firstly, it follows on from the previous verses (1:3-5) studied yesterday which speak glowingly of the privileges of faith; ‘an imperishable, pure and unfading inheritance, which is kept in heaven … a salvation waiting to be revealed …’ (1:4,5). Peter tells his readers that this ultimate salvation is a cause for our great rejoicing (1:6), even though no one could avoid the pain of various trials. At this point we must accept that the Greek words for ‘rejoice’ and ‘trials’ are not just general words as in English, but ‘religious’ words which mean the ‘joy of happiness in worship’, for example, and the ‘trial of suffering for your faith’. Indeed, Peter may be speaking about particular religious persecutions when he says they happen ‘for a little while’. This is not the same as the on-going sufferings of life which we were discussing above! This means that Peter was asking his readers to endure the pain and hardship of being Christians, because this brings praise and glory both to God and from God!

Secondly, Peter praises his readers for maintaining the faith even though they have not personally met or seen Jesus (1:8). In the early days of the church, this was a critical issue, with many people rating the faith and testimony of those who had been with the Lord in His earthly life more highly. Peter possibly remembered the words Jesus said to Thomas ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have come to believe!’ He wanted Christians who had not seen or known Jesus to take to heart in Jesus’ message that their faith was very precious to Him. If they thought that Peter would surely go to heaven because he had known Jesus, Peter wanted them to know that they had a heavenly heritage through their genuine faith, which was one in which they could rejoice!

6 Rejoice in this, even if for a little while you must experience the pain of various trials, 7 so that the authenticity of your faith (of greater value than gold, which is perishable even when refined by fire) may be found in praise, glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 You love Him though you have not known him, and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an indescribable and glorious joy 9 in receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Lord God Almighty; when trouble is near and we are hard pressed, come to our rescue. When we fail before others and before You, forgive us and help us. When we sense evil around us and cry out for help, deliver us from the enemy. When we yield to temptation, remove the root of sin from our hearts. Lord God Almighty, purify our souls, and by Your grace and the blood of Jesus, bring us to Your eternal Kingdom: AMEN

(a meditation using John 1:14-17; Acts 14:3; Rom 5:1;

1 Cor 15:10; 2 Cor 4:15, 12:9; 2 Peter 1:2, 3:18)

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,

And we have received grace upon grace:

Grace and truth has come to us

through Jesus Christ our Lord;

Grace is the measure of His love for us,

shown by signs and wonders;

Grace gives access to His glorious throne,

Through faith and hope and peace;

Grace towards us is never in vain,

for He has made us His children;

Grace continually extends to us,

overflowing around the world;

Grace is always sufficient for us,

His power is made perfect in weakness;

Grow in the grace and knowledge of God,

And may peace be yours, forever.

Weekly Theme: Justice

Pray for the family and home life of your own country, within which children learn the moral values they live out in later years. Pray for the teaching and upholding of ‘right and wrong’.

On-going prayers

Give thanks for daily blessings
Pray for the people who live near you or in your street
Pray for local shops & businesses

For the full Bible study, click link above,

or for a brief review, scroll page down.

Going Deeper: (what you will find on the Bible study page)

When properly focussed, this passage offers us great encouragement. There can be no doubt that suffering for one’s faith may be no small matter, and people have died as martyrs of the Christian faith. However, everything about this passage draws us towards the positive, not the negative, to rejoicing not to despair and to confidence in faith not to the abandonment of it. The whole passage is almost visionary in its scope and wonder.

To read more about this passage of scripture: go to the Bible study page

To read the questions and discipleship challenges for this text: go to the discipleship page