For a full description of the (Y3) reading plan, see the “About” page.
- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
1 Pet. 1
“You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Pet. 1:5). What a thought! It is God who does the whole work of our salvation. First, He offers us permanent atonement for our sinful nature through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But He doesn’t stop there. If we accept His offer, believing on the Holy name of Jesus, He then guards our new life in Him by the power that gave life to our resurrected savior. We read a similar statement from Paul to the Colossians a few days ago. “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:3). If God is hiding and guarding my life like His most precious treasure, I need never fear losing it!
1 Pet. 2-4
People are always looking for an answer to the question of why bad things happen to good people. There are actually multiple answers to that question, and I just noticed a few more in reading these chapters this morning. Peter wrote, “But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it this brings favor with God.” (1 Pet. 2:20b). He also noted that when we suffer for righteousness, it gives us opportunity to direct others to God and for God to put to shame those who oppose Him. He then wrote, “…the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin” (1 Pet. 4:1b).
He pointed to Jesus as the example for all of this. Jesus was the ultimate case of bad things happening to the undeserving. Yet it is because of His suffering that God exalted His name as the name above all names. And it is because of His suffering that our reconciliation with God is possible. Jesus’ suffering ultimately revealed God’s glory, putting His accusers to shame. And the end result of that suffering is what sealed sin’s fate.
Thus, we, too, suffer so that God can exalt us. It is how He transforms us from lowly, sinful humans to righteous children of God. As we live out that transformation, God works though us to reconcile others to Himself and put to shame those who ridicule Him by ridiculing us. Finally, we suffer to put sin in its place. To borrow an analogy from Paul for all of this, training for a marathon may feel like punishment. But runners stay the course because of the hope of victory. We endure whatever suffering this life throws at us for the same reason. However, unlike those marathon runners, our hope for victory with Christ is both certain and eternal. So instead of asking, “Why?” when we suffer, we should rejoice, knowing that we are blessed to share in Christ’s miraculous work and imperishable crown.
1 Pet. 5
Whatever the reason for our suffering, there is no question as to the end result. “The God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while.” (1 Pet. 5:10). We saw that outcome for Job. We also saw it for Jesus. And we will see if for all who believe and thus share in Christ’s sufferings when God’s appointed time arrives.
A little while may feel like forever while we are going through it, so we need to maintain an end goal perspective. The entire span of time is merely a speck in the scope of eternity. How much less is our period of suffering? Also, the CSB notes an alternate translation of, “to a small extent”. Again, suffering in this life rarely feels small. Yet even Job’s great suffering does not compare to what Jesus suffered on our behalf. And as Paul, who also suffered much, said, “For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.” (2 Cor. 4:17).