Suffering and Glory

We’ve gone deep into the pressing, practical truth of 1 Peter via the current sermon series.  And we’ve been confronted again and again with the major theme:  encouraging Christians to stand firm in their faith while sojourning in a hostile world.  This letter is a travel-guide for exiles living in “enemy territory.”  Peter is blunt:  suffering and loss are to be expected as part of the normal Christian life (by contrast, a life of ease and comfort for Jesus’ people would be truly strange—see 4:12).

But there are other important sub-themes in 1 Peter, and it’s urgent to keep them in view—so we don’t imagine that the entire horizon of Peter’s thought-world is covered by suffering.  For example, suffering is paired with glory; cross-bearing now leads to glory later (Jesus says the same in Luke 9:23-24):

• 1:7, testing by fire now, praise and glory when Christ appears.
• 4:13, “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”
• 5:1, Peter is a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker of the glory that is to be revealed.
• 5:10, “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.”

So, yes, there are losses and sorrows we endure today as people who belong to Jesus:  expect it, don’t run from it; and be assured that the Lord is with you in it—he cares for you! (5:7).

And also be assured that Jesus is coming back for you—for all who trust in his saving grace:  a day is coming when Christ will be “revealed” (1:7, 13); he’ll appear in glory (4:13; 5:1); our Chief Shepherd will come gather his sheep (5:4).  Today is the time to be Jesus’ faithful witnesses; tomorrow we’ll see him face to face!