1 Peter 1:6 - Meaning and Application

The word “wherein” points back to what the apostle has just said about the greatness of their present standing and their sure hope for the future. In that hope, they greatly rejoice, even though for a little while, if need be, they are made sad by many trials (1 Peter 1:6). Peter admits that they are in deep trouble, but he also gives several reasons their grief is not the whole story.

Every true Christian always has something for which he can greatly rejoice. This kind of joy is more than a calm feeling inside or a brief sense of comfort. It shows itself in the face, in behavior, and especially in praise and thanksgiving. The main joy of a good Christian comes from spiritual and heavenly things, from his relationship with God and his hope of heaven. In these things every true Christian can greatly rejoice, because his treasure is of great worth and his claim to it is secure.

Even the best Christians, those who have strong reason to rejoice, may still be very heavy in spirit through many trials. All kinds of troubles are tests of faith, patience, and steadiness. These troubles rarely come one at a time; they are many, and they come from different directions, and the result is deep sorrow. As people, we are subject to personal and family grief. As Christians, our duty to God often brings us sorrow, and our compassion for the suffering, the dishonor done to God, the troubles of his church, and the ruin of humanity through their own folly and God’s judgment, can fill a godly heart with almost constant sadness (Romans 9:2).

These afflictions are only for a little while. Though they may hurt badly, they do not last forever. Life itself is brief, and its sorrows cannot outlast it. Knowing that any suffering is short helps lessen its weight. Great heaviness is also often necessary for a Christian’s good: “if need be, you are in heaviness.” God does not afflict his people without reason, but wisely, according to what they need. There is a fitness, indeed a real necessity, in such suffering, and that is what the words mean. For this reason, no one should be shaken by these troubles. We know that we are appointed to them (1 Thessalonians 3:3). These heavy troubles never come unless we need them, and they never last longer than necessary.

Peter then explains the purpose of their suffering and the ground of their joy under it. The end of a godly person’s trials is the testing of faith. This testing is much more precious than gold that perishes, even though gold is tried by fire. And when faith is tested, it will be found to praise, honor, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. God’s purpose in afflicting his people is to prove them, not destroy them. A trial is an examination, a searching test, by which suffering shows the value and strength of faith.

Faith is tested above all because, in effect, testing faith tests everything good in us. Our Christianity depends on faith. If faith is missing, nothing else in us is spiritually sound. Christ prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail, and if faith is upheld, the rest will stand firm too. The faith of good people is tested so that they may have comfort in it, God may have glory from it, and others may benefit from it.

A tested faith is far more precious than tested gold. Gold is the most valuable, pure, useful, and lasting of metals, and faith is among the greatest of Christian graces. Faith lasts until it brings the soul to heaven, and then it leads into the full enjoyment of God forever. The testing of faith is even more precious than the testing of gold. In both cases there is a refining, a separation of what is impure, and a proof of what is genuine. But gold does not increase through fire, it becomes less. Faith, however, is strengthened, improved, and increased by the opposition and suffering it meets.

Gold will perish in the end, but faith never will. “I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:32). The testing of faith will result in praise, honor, and glory. Honor is the respect and value one has in the eyes of another, and so both God and people will honor the saints. Praise is the spoken acknowledgment of that honor, and Christ will commend his people on the great day, saying, “Come, you blessed of my Father.” Glory is the brightness that shines on a person who has been honored and praised in heaven. If a tested faith ends in praise, honor, and glory, then faith should be valued far above gold, even though it is attacked and tried by suffering. By present usefulness and by final outcome, this is true, even if the world sees it as unbelievable.

Jesus Christ will appear again in glory, and when he does, the saints will appear with him, and their graces will shine clearly. The more their faith has been tested, the brighter it will appear then. The trial will soon be over, but the praise, honor, and glory will last forever. That should quiet our hearts under present suffering, because these troubles are working for us “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

Peter also praises the faith of these early Christians for two special reasons. First, it had the excellent object of the unseen Jesus. The apostle had seen the Lord in the flesh, but these scattered Jews never had, and yet they believed in him (1 Peter 1:8). It is one thing to believe that God or Christ exists, as even demons do, and another thing to believe in him, which means submission, trust, and expecting every promised good from him.

Second, their faith produced two remarkable results, love and joy, and their joy was so great it could not be fully described: “You rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.” Faith is rightly concerned with things that have been revealed, but are not seen. Sense deals with what is present and visible. Reason rises higher and can draw sound conclusions from causes to effects and from promises to fulfillment. Faith rises higher still, accepting many truths that sense and reason could never discover on their own, because God has revealed them. Faith is the evidence of things not seen.

True faith is never alone. It produces a deep love for Jesus Christ. True Christians sincerely love Jesus because they believe in him.

This love shows itself in the highest regard for Christ, warm desire for him, a willingness to leave this life and be with him, glad thoughts of him, cheerful service, and willingness to suffer for him.

Where there is true faith and love for Christ, there is, or can be, joy beyond words and full of glory. This joy cannot be fully described. It is best known by experiencing it. It is full of glory, full of heaven. Much of heaven and the future glory already enters the present joy of mature Christians. Their faith removes the causes of sorrow and gives the best reasons for joy.

Even when good people sometimes walk in darkness, this is often because of their own mistakes and ignorance, or because they have a fearful or sad temper, or because of some recent sin, or because of some painful event from God’s providence. These things can dim comfort for a time. Still, they have reason to rejoice in the Lord and be glad in the God of their salvation (Habakkuk 3:18).

Those first Christians had strong reason to rejoice with joy beyond words, because they were each day receiving the goal of their faith, the salvation of their souls (1 Peter 1:9). The soul is named here for the whole person, since it is the more noble part. Salvation is called the goal of faith, because faith leads to it and reaches its purpose in it. Faith helps save the soul, and when that work is done, faith’s task is finished forever.

Peter speaks in the present tense: you are now receiving the goal of your faith. The word he uses points to the games, where the winner received a crown or prize from the judge and carried it off in triumph. In the same way, the salvation of the soul was the prize these Christians were seeking, the crown they were laboring for, and the goal they were aiming at. It was coming closer to them every day.

So we learn, first, that every faithful Christian is daily receiving the salvation of his soul. Salvation is one lasting work. It begins in this life, is not broken by death, and continues forever. These believers already had the beginnings of heaven in holiness, in a heavenly mind, in their duties, in fellowship with God, in the first payment of the inheritance, and in the witness of the Holy Spirit.

This was a fitting comfort for these suffering people. They seemed to be losing on the world’s side, but the apostle reminds them what they were actually receiving. If they lost lesser goods, they were still receiving the salvation of their souls. Second, it is right for a Christian to make the salvation of his soul his aim. God’s glory and our own blessedness are so closely joined that if we rightly seek one, we must gain the other.