"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you."
1 Peter 5:10
Part 2
Yesterday: We Trust in Our God for He Is Gracious!
“But the God of all grace.”
God always has the grace we need in abundance.
Today: We Trust the Sovereign God Who Called Us
“The God of all grace” is the one who has called us. He came to us first before we looked to Him.
“Who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus.”
“His Call.”
The basic meaning of the word that Peter used here is “to call,… to invite,… to be called,”[1] among other uses (Thayer).
Peter shows us that God calls the believer to glory. The way to glory, through suffering. The basis of this calling, the grace of God in Christ (“the God of all grace”).
“Eternal Glory By Christ”
Believers, what encouragement, we are called to be “in Christ,” sharing His “eternal glory.”
“But this calling is ‘in Christ,’ i.e., not merely by Him as the instrument through whom the call came, but as being ‘in Him,’ i.e., by virtue of our union with Him.”[2]
This is what defines God’s child in Christ as a Christian, a true believer.
“Christ as the life, head, and very principle of all existence to the Christian”[3] (Cook).
When did He choose me to be in Christ?
“According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Ephesians 1:4).
Why did He choose me to be in Christ?
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
“That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12).
Peter tells us that before “eternal glory,” there is suffering.
“Christians’ suffering will last only a little while, while their glory in Christ, to which they were called, will be eternal”[4] (BKC).
“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:17-18).
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
“All Christians experience temptation and trial, but Peter says these sufferings are brief and insignificant compared with the glory we will share with Christ in His resurrection life”[5] (Knowles).
Come back tomorrow as we look at how to trust our sovereign God through our suffering.
Quote: “For the persecuted Christian, comfort comes from recognizing that other believers are suffering, that earthly suffering is temporary, and that suffering ends in eternal reward from God”[6] (Fee).
[1] J.H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Cambridge Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 1, pp. 671–672). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
[4] Raymer, R. M. (1985). 1 Peter. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 856–857). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. The emphases are theirs.
[5] Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed., p. 678). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
[6] Fee, G. D., & Hubbard, R. L., Jr. (Eds.). (2011). The Eerdmans Companion to the Bible (p. 708). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.