1 Peter 1:1-12 NKJV
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.
St. Peter’s first epistle is addressed to the “elect pilgrims” of the Diaspora, that is, to the Jewish Christians scattered across Asia Minor. But the Gentile Christians are also included, as pilgrims scattered across the world until we reach our heavenly homeland. He describes our election in Trinitarian terms: It was (1) according to God the Father’s foreknowledge, (2) in connection with the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, (3) for the obedience of faith, by which the blood of God’s Son is spiritually sprinkled on our hearts, setting us apart for God.
The opening verses of this epistle praise the Father of Jesus for adopting us as His children, too, through faith in Jesus, and for giving us the sure hope of eternal life by raising Jesus from the dead. Just as God had prepared a temporary earthly inheritance for Old Testament Israel in the Promised Land of Canaan, so He has prepared an everlasting heavenly inheritance for New Testament Israel, where we do well to turn our thoughts when the griefs of this life begin to overwhelm us.
And there will be griefs, as Peter freely admits. But they will only last for “a little while,” as our Father in heaven causes us to pass through various trials on our way to our inheritance. Peter explains the purpose of these trials: to test the genuineness of our faith, just as fire is for testing and revealing the genuineness of the gold in a sample of ore. The gold is not injured by the fire. Only the impurities are burned away. Meanwhile, the gold is molded into the shape desired by the Craftsman, resulting in a precious work of art which God Himself will praise in the end.
We must take the beneficial purpose of this testing by faith, of course. We can’t see it now. But that’s nothing new for the Christian. We’ve never seen Jesus, either, and yet, by God’s grace, we believe in Him and rejoice in Him. So let us rejoice also in our trials, knowing that we will see Jesus soon, and knowing also that the same prophets who wrote about Jesus’ death and resurrection have also written about us, “upon whom the ends of the ages have come!” (1 Cor. 10:11). Let us pray: Father in heaven, we bless You for making us Your children. Help us as we journey through earthly trials to our homeland with You in heaven. Amen.