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April 26, 2020
Dave Zuleger | 1 Peter 1:6-9
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.—1 Peter 1:6–9
Introduction: Paradigm of Sorrowful and Rejoicing
Last week, in verses 1–5, Pastor Steven called us to remember we’ve been born again to a living hope through the Resurrection we celebrated the week before. We have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading being kept for us, even as God keeps us by our faith. Verse 6 of our text today starts by saying, in this you rejoice. O, that we would rejoice in this every day, Bethlehem! No pandemic can take our hope.
Yet, then verse 6 goes on to say that until we get there we will be grieved by various trials. “Rejoice. Grieve!” These things are happening simultaneously. How can this be? And Peter is not alone in putting joy and sorrow next to each other as a paradigm for the Christian. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 6:10, says that servants of Christ are …
As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.
I want to put forward to you that this is the paradigm for the Christian heart. The Christian heart is always filled with a mingling of deep joy and deep sorrow. Why?
Because we ought to understand the tragedy of suffering and horror of sin. I didn’t skip out of the pediatric cardiologist office last August excited that my son needed open- heart surgery or walk into his surgery day without sorrow. My heart breaks as I pray for people I love who are in pain for years, or afflicted by cancer, or as I look around at a world high-handedly sinning against a holy God or inside myself at my own remaining sin. Disability and disease should not be. We don’t celebrate the loss of jobs or health because of COVID-19. We ought to groan as we wait for the redemption of our bodies and of creation. “This ought not be!” Sorrow floods in. It’s real.
A theme of this sermon series is that we are homesick for eternity with God. We don’t fit in with the world. People will think we’re weak and foolish like the world thought of the cross. And we groan as we see the suffering and sin around us.
Yet, as I sit with those I love with cancer, or who are in pain, or who have lost a job, or who are struggling with a disability, or who are fearful and afraid with the rise of COVID-19—but whose hope is in Christ—mingled with their groaning and mine is an unshakeable joy that becomes more and more real, even if it sometimes is clinging by a thread. That’s what we’re going to investigate today: How does that miracle happen? Why would we title our sermon series, “Don’t Waste Your Trials?”
As Christians, we don’t say pain is not real. We don’t say we are immune and live in some kind of pretend triumphalism. But, we also don’t say pain is purposeless. Indeed, we will see that pain is a divine pathway to deep joy in Jesus Christ alone. Sorrowful and rejoicing is the paradigm for the Christian life. They go together, and our sorrows serve our ultimate joy in the sovereign hands of our Father who loves us and who is our Perfect Physician. So, we will see three things today: 1) The purposefulness of our trials, 2) The proving of our faith through trials, and 3) the preciousness of our faith from trials. Let’s dive in.
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.
We’ve talked about joy and grief together. So, now I want to talk about the purposefulness of our trials. We know that Peter is writing this letter to this church with the backdrop of growing persecution. Nero was in charge. My kids and I just read about him in history—he was a wicked ruler who would eventually burn Christians as torches and then set his own city on fire for fun, and then he blamed Christians.
But, at the time of this letter, the persecution was not yet in full swing—but building. So, as we read through 1 Peter we can read it through the lens of “various trials,” meaning the trial of a building persecution mingled with the normal sin and suffering of life. I think “various” is divinely inspired to broaden this out to encapsulate all of the ugly, unsettling brokenness of life.
Behind the words for a little while, if necessary is a divine purpose in the pain. Who determines if it is necessary and for how long it is necessary? In 1 Peter 4, the author calls Christians in the midst of this broken world to “share in Christ’s sufferings.” And we know from Isaiah 53 that even with the evil that put to death the Son of God—it was the will of the Lord to crush him. We know in the Garden, as Jesus cried out for the cup to pass, he said, “Not my will, but yours be done.”
We hear similar language in Romans 8:17:
If children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
How do we, as heirs with Christ, inherit that imperishable kingdom and dwell forever in glory with Jesus? We suffer with him—and we trust that the Father who willed his Son’s suffering is using these painful providences in just the right doses to ultimately heal our hearts rather than harm them. So, our trials are a necessary tool in the hands of a perfectly wise, perfectly faithful, always-for-us, and all-powerful divine physician. And it says they will last a little while. What does that mean?
I think a little while is a phrase that means “all of this earthly life.” Why do I think that? Let’s go to two verses together:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.—Romans 8:18
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.—2 Corinthians 4:17
Both of those verses in Paul show us trials in this present time that are “light” and “momentary.” Now, having been close to suffering for a decade personally and seeing all sorts of suffering as a pastor, I don’t think most people would describe intense suffering as “light” or “momentary.” What about Peter, does he give us any clues?
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.—1 Peter 5:10
How is this “for a little while?” It’s short in light of the eternal glory we will experience? There is eternal glory coming that makes the trials of this life light and short in comparison to the weighty and eternal glory. This is why Peter has already called our attention to the imperishable and unfading kingdom coming—because that is the ultimate destination of our lives, not these momentary earthly lives that are just a breath.
So, who ultimately prescribes just the right amount of trials in this short life to get us to our eternal home? Our faithful Father. Our perfect Physician.
Like a faithful physician who has to prescribe just the right amount of chemotherapy—causing some pain for the healing of the patient—so our God sovereignly turns our trials for our ultimate healing and joy.
So, we’ve seen the purposefulness of our faithful Father in our trials. Now, I want us to see what he is doing in our various trials. Look at the first half of verse 7:
So that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire.
God is putting our faith to the test to make it last. He’s purifying it. He’s taking it through the refiner’s fire. The process of refining the most precious kind of gold would melt it down by fire and the impurities would float to the top to be removed so that what was left was pure gold. That’s what God is doing with our faith—removing the impurities.
In verse 5 last week, we saw that we are being guarded through faith. How is that guarding happening? Our Father is constantly refining our faith through just the right prescription of trials to purify it, strengthen it, and therefore cause it to endure.
I’ve been doing a bit studying on the topic of immunology. And I’ve been learning how you actually need exposure to something to strengthen your body’s immune system toward it. I’m not here to debate how that should happen, so don’t send me emails, because I’m taking no public position. But in a similar way, our Father is strengthening our faith by just the right amount of trials to create a faith by his sovereign oversight that is strong and endures to the end. This is so reassuring to me in the midst of trials.
James says something similar:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.—James 1:2–3
Why rejoice in various trials? Not because of the trials themselves, but because the testing, the refining, and the purifying is producing a faith that lasts. It creates a steadfast person who will stand the test of time and walk more faithfully in the freedom of fellowship with Jesus.
This purifying doesn’t make the trials easier all the time. My faith can go up and down subjectively in how I feel. Praise God it doesn’t depend on the strength of my faith but the strength of the Savior I trust in. In painful, grievous trials we’ve endured, with many tears and anxious moments, there is a settled sense of joy that has been refined in my soul, “Where else can I go? You have the words of eternal life.”
The proving of our faith through trials is the sweet, painful refining of faith into something that will last until the day our faith becomes sight.
So, notice in verse 7 that there is a preciousness mentioned (point 3). This faith is more precious than the most precious gold. Even the most precious gold will someday perish. But, our faith gets us something that will not perish. Look at the second half of verse 7 and then verse 9:
[This precious faith] may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. … Obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Why is that faith refined in the fire more precious than all the precious gold this world has to offer? Because it gets us what we want most. It gets us our salvation now and forever with Jesus. If Jesus isn’t your ultimate treasure, it makes no sense to rejoice in trials that strip other things away to help you see and savor him more. But, if he is, then you can rejoice in him.
Now, listen … the grammar in verse 7 is surprising. What is being praised in verse 7? Our refined faith. When Jesus shows up, we will receive praise, glory, and honor. That is a category for Peter in this book. Listen to a couple verses:
So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”—1 Peter 2:7
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.—1 Peter 5:6
So, this refined faith is working for our good to make sure that when Jesus returns we will be able to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master!” Notice, he will not say, “Well done, good and perfect servant.” God is refining our faith so that we can be faithful and, on the day Jesus returns in his glory, our faith will be praiseworthy as an echo of praise to God for his faithful keeping and refining of us.
In this world, there is no honor or exaltation for the believer. There is no recognition for having joyful faith in suffering. In this world, you look foolish when you don’t go after money and fame and honor. In this world, you look foolish when your treasure is Christ and not just indulging in sin. But, there is honor coming. The words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” So, live for the acceptance and the praise of Christ forever. Not the acceptance and praise of man now for a moment. Our God rejoices over us with loud singing, and that loud singing will be loudest in our awestruck ears the moment he calls us Home or that he returns.
And notice in verse 9 that this praiseworthy faith testifies that we will make it to Jesus on the day he returns because it means we already have our salvation. We are obtaining the salvation of our souls now. We have that today. We have eternal life with Jesus today. We are, by faith, already seated in the heavenly places with Jesus. We have, by faith, been raised from death to life. We have, by faith, been adopted into his family so that we can cry, “Abba, Father,” in the midst of the trials of this life. Nothing can separate us from his love.
Do you really think COVID-19 will be the main story of 2020? It will not in the books of eternal history. The main story of 2020 in eternity future will be how God refined his church through trials, how he weaned them off the comforts and conveniences and idolatries and wrong priorities of this life. How he was helping them live in the glorious salvation they already had with an eye to the day when it was fulfilled and all suffering and sin and death would be swallowed up. The main story of 2020 will be God keeping his promise to build his church by causing them to hope in the death and resurrection of Jesus as they realize he is the only hope and comfort that is sure.
The preciousness of our refined faith is that it gets us to the day when we see Jesus face-to-face to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” and it connects us to him in the here-and-now so that we can know now that salvation is ours now and will be ours forever.
Application: Set Free From Pain Management
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.—1 Peter 1:8
Ultimately, this testing is worth it, and this faith is precious because it connects us to Jesus. It tells us he is the thing we love and long for most. We want to be with him and fellowship with him. It means we believe in him—depending on him most for salvation and all of life. He is the place we run to when for security when we are afraid and weary. And it means he is where we find our deepest layers of joy no matter the circumstances. All other joys roll up and crescendo in him.
The sovereignly prescribed trials of this life strip away disordered loves, disordered dependence and securities, and disordered joys to mercifully give us what our hearts need most, even when we don’t know that we’ve drifted. The trials focus our eyes on Jesus. Our Love! Our Rock! Our Joy! Isn’t this COVID-19 doing that? A virus comes and suddenly health, jobs, our economy, our way of life, our conveniences—like getting toilet paper or eating out—they’re just gone in snap of the fingers. Who isn’t gone? Jesus.
God prescribes these trials to make the sun dawn on our sleeping hearts. Like the sun rising, bringing light and beauty to a world that was sleeping, so God wakes up our sleeping hearts through trials to the unmatched, unparalleled hope and beauty of Jesus that lasts forever. These trials strip away all the easily explainable earthly joys that will perish and give us a joy “inexpressible and glorified” in Jesus Christ.
This kind of joy is unexplainable to those who don’t see Jesus as glorious. The world thinks we’re foolish when we rejoice in trials. How can you rejoice in cancer? How can you rejoice in COVID-19? Because we have Jesus now and forever. He is who we want most! These trials aren’t distancing us from him—they are drawing us near to him now and forever. What an opportunity to show the world the preciousness of Jesus to us!
This joy is inexpressible. We can’t describe it fully, but we try. He is so good and so true and so steady and so wonderful that we just keep writing songs and preaching sermons and coming to worship and going to the Word to try to find words to describe our inexpressible joy! And this joy is “glorified.” What does that mean? It means it is a future, heavenly joy breaking into the present, earthly brokenness. We are waiting for the fullness of our joy in the glory of Jesus someday when he returns, but for now, we see that glory with unveiled face and are set free to love him and rejoice in him now. Glorified, inexpressible joy in Jesus causes our hearts to rest.
And so, Christians are gloriously free to avoid pain management. Set free to not live a life just trying to avoid pain at all costs by liv for our comforts and conveniences as first priority or trying to numb pain with addictions and entertainments. Don’t settle there. Don’t stay there.
Instead, we lean all the way into the trials. We groan deeply. We feel the brokenness. We let it refine us. We let the medicine do its work. We let it wean us of wrongly prioritized joys. We weep with those who weep. Our Savior walked through suffering for the joy set before him and trusted his Father. And now, in Christ, we share in his sufferings for the eternal joy set before us—a partial joy now—trusting our Father that we will have it in full one day soon.
And so, through tears, we rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory – because we know that every trial brings us closer to Jesus as it refines our faith. We lean into the sorrow and we lean into the joy because we know the trials bring refined faith and we know that by our faith we have Jesus now and forever. And he is what we need—and want—most.
Outline
Introduction: Paradigm of Sorrowful and Rejoicing
Application: Set Free from Pain Management
Discussion Questions