START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Peter 1:3-9
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OBSERVE:
Although Peter never personally wrote a Gospel, and was not as prolific a writer as Paul, the two epistles in his name in the New Testament are extremely valuable. They reveal the doctrine and faith of an Apostle who had actually spent time with Jesus as one of his closest friends and confidants.
Peter is writing this letter to the Christians who have been scattered by persecution and perhaps economic necessity, whom he calls:
the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (1 Peter 1:1).
He begins with the praise of God for his great salvation event:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy became our father again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Peter is careful to maintain the distinction between God the Father and God the Son, but also acknowledges that both are divine. Although the careful formulations of the doctrine of the Trinity are still three centuries away, they are foreshadowed by Peter along with other writers in the New Testament.
For example, it is Jesus who consistently referred to his Father, and who is called my beloved Son in his baptism and at his Transfiguration by God the Father (e.g., Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17). This is a uniquely intimate title for the Almighty Creator of the universe!
And Peter refers to Jesus as Lord. The word Lord in Greek is Kyrie; and in Hebrew it is Adonai. In ancient Judaism, the most holy name of God in the Hebrew language is Yahweh. In order to avoid profaning that name, they substituted Adonai, which means Lord. For Peter, Jesus is no mere rabbi or prophet. He is Lord and he is God!
What is most astonishing is the great news that Peter shares — that because of the resurrection of Jesus, God has become the Father of those who believe! The Greek phrase in verse 3 actually alludes to those who are born again to a living hope. As with the Apostle John who also heard Jesus’ teaching, Peter is very familiar with the concept of the new birth. This new birth is initiated by faith in the resurrected Christ. Because of God’s great mercy, believers are born again to a living hope, and:
to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Once again, we have that persistent theme of the “now” and the “not yet” that occurs throughout the New Testament. Believers are guarded through faith now by the power of God, but they are also awaiting the inheritance in Heaven that will not fade, and will be revealed in the last time. This is the eschatological hope that is never very far away in the New Testament — God’s kingdom is coming!
Peter summons the dispersed Christians to rejoice, but tempers that joy with realism. He realizes that they are suffering persecution as a minority faith in their far-flung Dispersion, but he makes three important claims about their trials:
- First, their grief in various trials is temporary — for a little while. This is the same claim that Paul makes in Romans 8:18:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us. - Second, he suggests that their sufferings are like the fire that tempers and proves their faith:
the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire…
Even gold may be destroyed in fire, but the faith that endures the fire is far more valuable, and will not perish. - Third, this temporary suffering, which tempers their faith like a refining fire, has a blessed result:
…in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
And Peter seems to marvel that though these Christians in the Dispersion never knew Jesus in the flesh as he did, yet they love Jesus; and though they don’t see him, they believe. The result of this love and faith is salvation:
whom not having known you love; in whom, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory— receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
APPLY:
The Scriptures aren’t sugar-coated. Efforts to remake the Gospel into a recipe for prosperity fail to take it seriously.
The Apostles were realistic about the fallen nature of the world, the hostility of the culture around them, and the sufferings that Christians would endure. They had heard Jesus tell them these things, and they had witnessed his sufferings. And they had plenty of personal experience of their own. And they warned the church that suffering and trials will occur.
But they also offered the real hope that comes from faith in the risen Jesus. Yes, Jesus suffered the agony of the cross; but that suffering was overshadowed by his resurrection.
And this is our hope as well. The now of our existence may have its share of blessings and success, and yes, even prosperity; however, it is also always at risk because of suffering, loss, and in some places in the world, real persecution. The not yet, is guaranteed not by our achievements or work-ethic or merit, but because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. This is the source of our hope:
a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
RESPOND:
On Good Friday, I received a phone call. My friend has cancer, and will have surgery in just a few weeks.
She confessed that her initial reaction was pretty dark. All the fears came rushing in to her mind. But her faith in the God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ came shining through. She trusts in the promises revealed in Scripture, and confirmed in her faith.
She isn’t naive. She believes she will be declared cancer-free. But if not, she is prepared for the radiation and/or chemotherapy that may be required. And if that doesn’t work, she is prepared to die — although she joked that her husband wasn’t ready for that. He wouldn’t have a clue about how to start dating again at his age!
I thought it was appropriate that we were talking about all of this on Good Friday. The cross of Jesus reminds us that he knows what it is to suffer, that there is nothing we can endure that he doesn’t understand. What that means to me is that God has been where we are, no matter what we go through.
We have been given in Christ the proof of our faith:
which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, [and] may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Lord, I thank you for the whole story of the Gospel — not only the sufferings but also the resurrection and the new life. I know the trials will come; for some of us those trials are already here. But I also trust that you will see us through them. Thank you! Amen.
PHOTOS:
“Born again to a living hope” uses this photo:
“Review” by Hernán Piñera is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.
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