"Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now we see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."
1 Peter 1:6-9
Part 2
Yesterday: The Fact of Tempting Trials
“Wherein ye greatly rejoice.”
“Though now for a season.”
“If need be.”
“Ye are in heaviness.”
“Through manifold temptations.”
Our Lord graciously brings us the means of correcting and building our character. He does so by using His many, varied, and seasonal (“little while”) trials.
Today: The End of Our Faith
(1 Peter 1:7-9) “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
“That the trial of your faith.”
Does God test His people? If trials are painful and complex, and they are, why will God put His child to the test? He has several reasons for trying us. The word “trial” is the idea of “proving” something. It is that test with which we are “tried or proven”[2] (Thayer). We might say that God’s “testing” is given “to prove us by trial.” Sadly, there is also cruel testing out there in the world that is designed to destroy God’s child. Satan is a pro at this kind of testing (James 1:13-15). But God’s trials are always given to His child to “prove” what is good and right in us. Please understand, God never puts us through a test because He doesn’t know what’s in our hearts or the details of our character. God’s trials are for our benefit because we don’t know our own hearts nearly as well as God does. Each test shows us what we are made of.
Here’s what Job knew about his own trial.
“But He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).
The psalmist understood God’s process of trials firsthand.
“For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried” (Psalm 66:10).
Solomon saw that God’s trials are meant to be a heart check. We need to see and deal with what’s in our own hearts.
“The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts” (Proverbs 17:3).
God has used many trials to test His people, Israel. When they saw their own hearts’ condition, they should have acknowledged their sin and turned back to the LORD.
“Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?” (Jeremiah 9:7).
God even tested His holy men, the Levites, to improve their ability to serve Him.
“And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness” (Malachi 3:3).
“The Trial of Your Faith.”
This sounds especially difficult. What could God be trying to teach us when He “tries our faith?”
“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:3-4).
God will try our faith to build in us patient endurance, for by this kind of testing, “you will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be”[3] (James 1:4b, HSB).
God said our trials are,
“Being much more precious than of gold that perisheth.”
Are we reading this right? “The trial of your faith…being much more precious than gold?” In the New Testament, “precious things” are “of great price,” very costly. And these precious things are “held in honor.” They are greatly “esteemed.” And we hold these kinds of things “especially dear” to ourselves.[4]
King David understood the preciousness of God’s testing. Surprisingly, he did something that most of us might find shocking, David asked God to test him!
“Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart” (Psalm 26:1-2).
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
Judge me, examine me, search me, and try me!
David was no glutton for punishment. But he did value God’s priceless refining process that brought about the godly results in his life.
And how will God try our faith?
“Though it be tried with fire.”
We need to understand that we don’t just have “trials.” God says they are going to be “trials by fire.” These trials are not just challenging, but they are called “fiery.”
“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you” (1 Peter 4:12).
Note what God used to “refine” His people, Israel.
“Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10).
And yes, He puts us into the crucible of affliction also. And why not?
If our faith is more precious than gold, and gold is tried by fire, why not try our faith by fire? Our testing from God is “especially dear” to our hearts for how it corrects them and for the precious outcomes it produces in us. Gold is valuable but not as beneficial to us as when God tests our faith. The world’s gold is only temporal, and it will perish when the “elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:10c). The results of God’s trials working us over can produce genuine faith, which is more valuable than all the gold in the world.
When we respond correctly to God’s trials, ultimately, we,
“Might be found unto praise and honor and glory.”
God blesses His faithful children. Someday, our Father will honor those who are faithful.
“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor” (John 12:25-26).
When will this happen?
“At the appearing of Jesus Christ.”
Talk about “precious!” For the believer, what can be more precious than our Lord’s return? We need to be ready for Jesus’ appearance. We want Him to find us faithful, having passed all the trials we have been given in life.
It is not simply going through the testing that improves the soul of a believer. It is enduring the trial and handling it as from God, and seeing His hand moving in it, and letting it work God’s will in us. This kind of endurance will gain a crown.
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him” (James 1:12).
“And, behold, I [Jesus] come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12).
“Whom having not seen, ye love.”
Physically, we have not seen Jesus yet. That privilege was given only to the early Church. Jesus is the One who died for us, and we are trusting in Him for our salvation since He has shown us the truth, how we have come to love Him!
There is a name I love to hear,
I love to sing its worth;
it sounds like music in my ear,
the sweetest name on earth.
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
O, how I love Jesus
because he first loved me![5]
“In whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing.”
Not only do we love our dear Savior, but we also believe in Him. He is the One we are trusting for our eternal life. He is the One who made our eternal life in heaven possible. He is the One we long to see and be with for all eternity.
“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
Believers, we are blessed! We have not “seen” Him, and still, we trust in Him through His Word.
“So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
“Ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
We are rejoicing! But we are unable to find the words to express the joy in our hearts.
“Joy unspeakable” “occurs only here in the New Testament, and describes a joy so profound as to be beyond the power of words to express”[6] (Grudem).
“Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).
“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ” (Ephesians 1:12, but see also 13-14).
“Receiving the end of your faith.”
Here it is. This is “receiving” the “end of your faith.” It is time to “receive back,” and to get what is promised.” “The end of your faith” is “the conclusion, the culmination” of our faith. It is pointing to “Jesus… [the] ‘Pioneer and Perfecter of Faith’”[7] (Robertson).
This is where all the fiery trials have led our faith. This is the final “end of your faith.” And the finishing result of your faith is,
“The salvation of your souls.”
Our salvation began with faith in Jesus Christ, who is the Author or Pioneer of our faith. And it will end with Jesus Christ the Finisher or Perfector of Faith. At His return, our salvation will be completed!
“The salvation of your souls.” “The condition of one who is a true Christian here is so secure that it may even now be called salvation”[8] (Barnes).
Quote:
Praise him! praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins, he suffered and bled and died;
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail him! hail him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound his praises — Jesus who bore our sorrows —
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep, and strong:
Praise him! praise him! tell of his excellent greatness!
Praise him! praise him! ever in joyful song![9]
[1] Spurgeon’s quote is from the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Volume 29. Downloaded: Monday, March 29, 2021. From: https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/all-joy-in-all-trials/#flipbook/.
[2] J.H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] HSB, Harvest Study Bible. From Harvest Ministries, Guam.
[4] See Thayer, ibid.
[5] This is the first verse and the refrain of “O, How I Love Jesus,” written by Frederick Whitfield (1829-1904). The author of the refrain is anonymous. The tune is O, HOW I LOVE JESUS. Copyright Status: Public Domain.
[6] Grudem’s quote is borrowed from David Guzik’s Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. 1 Peter 1:8.
[7] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword.
[8] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword. 1 Peter 1:9.
[9] This is the second verse and the refrain of “Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus Our Blessed Redeemer!” By Fanny Crosby (1869). Tune: [“PRAISE HIM! PRAISE HIM! JESUS OUR BLESSED REDEEMER!”], (Allen). Copyright status: Public Domain.