***
This
has been an incredibly rich study over the last two years. I never knew so much was packed into this
little letter that is so applicable to me and to the church today. Peter wrote to believers scattered over a
large area who were beginning to experience small forms of persecution, all of
which were a precursor to Nero’s horrific actions against Christians just a few
years later. So the context of his words
are suffering, specifically suffering unjustly for the name of Christ.
Throughout
his letter, I see a man who was profoundly impacted by the teachings of
Christ. Peter was one of Christ’s
disciples, and the exhortations he gives the church through this writing in
many ways mirror what Christ taught him and instilled in him by life example.
Peter
summarizes his own words at the conclusion of all he has said in chapter
5: “…I
have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true
grace of God. Stand firm in it.” (vv12)
What is this “true grace of God”?
I
have to begin in chapter 1 where Peter lays the foundation for everything he
says.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused
us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead.” (vv 3)
This
living hope is my heavenly inheritance, all that God has given me in my
salvation through Christ. Not only is it
being kept in heaven for me, but I am also being preserved for it. Not only is it sure, but it is also
secure. Therefore, Peter is telling me
that my whole being should be oriented toward eternity. My salvation is complete, yet it awaits a
glorious future final consummation when Christ returns, when I experience the
full glory of being with him forever.
This
is why I can rejoice in the midst of suffering, not because of my circumstances
but because I’m convinced that my life on earth with all its challenges and
difficulties is preparing me for the inheritance I will receive in heaven. This
is the intended purpose of trials, to refine my faith so that it is to the
praise of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If
my perspective is fixed toward eternity and my hope truly rests in what Christ
has done for me which can never be taken from me, my life on earth will look
different even as I walk through hardship and persecution.
· I will recognize who I am in
Christ (a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession)
and seek to proclaim the excellencies of Christ in a dark and broken
world.
· I will submit to unjust
masters and seek to win my persecutors over to the Gospel by my life
example.
· I will love the church, use
my gifts for her edification, and exercise humility in my relationships.
· I will submit myself under
God’s hand of providence (even if it includes difficulty) and cast my anxieties
on him because I know he cares for me.
· I will be vigilant and on
guard because I know I have an enemy who is out to destroy my faith.
· I will take encouragement in
knowing that my brothers and sisters all over the world experiencing suffering
are yet remaining steadfast in their faith.
Throughout
his letter, Peter constantly sets before me the example of Christ. Christ as the Suffering Servant entrusted
himself to the Father as he fulfilled the work of redemption. Because Christ suffered in the flesh, I am to
arm myself with the same way of thinking.
I am to look to Christ as my example as well as to remember what his
suffering accomplished, namely victory over all evil powers. Because of his resurrection and because I am
in Christ, I, too, am victorious and have the joy of knowing that I will one
day reign with him. I persevere
because of the victorious power of Christ crucified and resurrected.
“This is the true grace of
God. Stand firm in it.” Peter exhorts me to stand firm. And yet at the conclusion of all he has said,
he reminds me of a beautiful promise: The One who called me by grace is the One who will
sustain me by grace to the very end. So
the grace I remain steadfast in is coming from the same God who is
strengthening me to endure.
Trials of various kinds are
challenging and wear me down in both body and spirit. But my hope is secure in Christ, and God
himself is sustaining me to persevere to the end.
