“Our trials keep us trusting”

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I encourage you to look at the passage in 1 Peter before you read this Blog entry.  What do you see in the text yourself?  What questions come to your mind?  How would you interpret what the writer says?  After even a few minutes examining and thinking about the text you will be much better prepared to evaluate the comments in the Blog.

The beginning of Peter’s letter is an interesting mix of past, present, and future aspects of God’s work in the lives of believers.

Timeline

Consider the various affirmations Peter makes and how he expresses the timing of different aspects of God’s work in the lives of believers.

Past – What God has done

• • Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (v. 2)
  • Caused us to be reborn (v. 3a)
  • Resurrection of Jesus (v. 3b)

Present – Our current experience

• • Living hope (v. 3c)
  • Guarded through faith (v. 5a)
  • Rejoicing (v. 6a)
  • Trials (v. 6b)
  • Love, belief, rejoicing (v. 8)

Future – What we anticipate

• • Inheritance (v. 4)
  • Salvation to be revealed (v. 5b)
  • Praise and glory and honor (v. 7b)
  • Salvation of souls (v. 9)

Peter knows that his audience is already experiencing difficulties, and he will deal with those issues throughout his letter (e.g., 1 Peter 1:6-7; 2:18-20; 3:1, 13-17; 4:1-4, 12-19; 5:10).[1]  He gets right to the point with his words, “grieved by various trials” (v. 6).  He doesn’t offer solutions to eliminate the trials, and he doesn’t minimize their pain.  What he does instead is to offer a perspective, a timeline from God’s election in eternity past through the ultimate resolution marked by the return of Jesus “in the last time” (v. 5b).

His description of the present experience of believers is mixed, connecting grievous trials (v. 6b) and joy beyond words (v. 8b).  His reference to joy and trials (v. 6b) is surrounded by reminders of what God has already done and the foretaste of our future.  In this perception of the present, Peter parallels Jesus, James and Paul.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.  (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Peter’s letter (as we will see in future chapters) continually echoes the clear and consistent message throughout the New Testament: our present circumstances are not the whole story.  Only with eternity, past and future, in view can we make sense of today.

Is This Really Necessary?

While our group discussion touched briefly on a few other topics in this passage, most of our time was spent on the phrase in verse 6, “if necessary.”

An interesting aspect of our group is the fact that most of us have experienced problematic or even destructive teaching in previous churches. (For example, seeing James as the “punch in the face letter” used as a hammer to coerce cult-like conformity or to shame or scare believers into better behavior.)  Those kinds of teaching are usually based on isolated verses taken out of context to make a point. There is little concern for what the text actually says or what the original writer intended.

A benefit of careful inductive study is the opportunity to re-examine the manipulative misuse of Scripture.  The group discussion provides an atmosphere that encourages questions as we are looking at the text together.

The present passage, and specifically the phrase “if necessary,” provided one more example of bad exegesis from past experience.  A person in the group asked about the phrase in verse 6:

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. (ESV)

The interpretation offered years ago (which still has a lingering impact on the thinking and emotions) was that trials are only necessary for those with sin in their life.  Thus, trials or difficulties indicate the presence of unconfessed sin or sin that has not been addressed or conquered.  The refining of gold (v. 7) was taken as an illustration that the purifying process was only “necessary” when there were impurities remaining.  Once the impurities have been removed, so this thinking goes, further refining is not necessary.  Trials cease when sin stops.

Is that Peter’s point?  Is his emphasis on a present “living hope” (v. 3) and glorious joy (v. 6,8) actually focused on escaping trials?  Is evading trials our primary motivation to grow in holiness?

The Pattern in 1 Peter

The best way to refute the misleading teaching is the context of the rest of Peter’s letter.  He repeatedly mentions suffering, probably since he knows his widespread audience is experiencing “all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:6; ποικίλος, poikilos, “many-colored, variegated,”[2] the same description used in James 1:2).  The kinds of distress they are suffering are like a cloth with so many colored threads that it cannot be neatly categorized –servants with harsh masters (2:18), wives with unbelieving husbands (3:1), slander for following Christ (3:16), social pressure from partying neighbors (4:1), harsh treatment in general (4:12).  And just as colors in variegated cloth, the sufferings likely overlapped and intermingled.

In all that variety, Peter makes no mention of a believer’s sin as the cause.  Instead, his common thread through the multi-colored suffering is the demonstration of genuine faith.  He expects unbelievers to be puzzled enough to ask questions.  A Christ-like response to unjust suffering provokes a response, even from a Roman army officer (Matthew 37:54, Mark 15:39, Luke 23:47).

The mistake of the misleading teaching that matches trials to sin goes at least as far back as the disciples: “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” (John 9:2).  They were asking the wrong question. Jesus corrected their erroneous assumption with the true purpose, “so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

Likewise, Peter sees the trials of believers as opportunities to display the genuineness of faith, to show unbelievers “the works of God” as they followed the example of Jesus in suffering (2:21).

Peter’s “if necessary” in verse 6 is not about sin in a believer’s life.  Like all his subsequent instructions about suffering, the “various trials” are opportunities to display authentic faith to the unbelieving world.

Peter’s own letter should be sufficient evidence to confirm the explicit teaching of Jesus in John 9.  In addition, there are other aspects of the text that exhibit the error of the distorted teaching.

Vocabulary

The word translated “tested genuineness” in the ESV or “trials” in KJV (δοκίμιον, dokimion) means “the process or means of determining the genuineness of something.”[3]  While purity may be in view with that word, authenticity or genuineness is the primary meaning.  Is the substance being tested (gold in a furnace or faith in trials) the authentic article?  Or is it an imitation or even a counterfeit of what it claims to be?  Purity is only important if the item is genuine to begin with.  Pure lead is still just lead.

For example, someone might try to mix in a bit of lead with gold to sell for an extra profit.  But the testing furnace would soon show the difference between reality and pretense.  Lead melts at 375.5°C and would drain away long before the melting point of gold at 1064°C.[4]

Likewise, Peter’s argument is that trials will cause counterfeit or simulated faith to melt away. Genuine faith, like its golden counterpart, endures.  While purity and holiness may be part of God’s training in trials (e.g., Hebrews 12:5-11), the vocabulary Peter uses indicates that his concern in this passage is the proof of faith’s authenticity.

The word dokimion (with its related forms) is used thirty-seven times in the New Testament.[5]  In every instance, the context is about authenticity rather than purity.  Is the object being tested genuine?  For example,

• • Are the oxen worth the price? (Luke 14:19)
  • Is the plan truly God’s will? (Romans 12:2)
  • Are the men to carry money to Jerusalem reliable? (1 Corinthians 16:3)
  • Do the potential deacons meet the requirements? (1 Timothy 3:10)

Purity and the removal of sin may be one of the purposes God has in our difficulties.  But troubles may also be His way of protecting us from potential temptations (2 Corinthians 12:7). Or the trials may be unrelated to anyone’s sin but intended to demonstrate God’s power (John 9:1-3).  According to James, trials contribute to Christian maturity, producing believers who are “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:4).  Perhaps most importantly, difficulties move us from self obsession to God obsession.

Our trials keep us trusting; they burn away our self-confidence and drive us to our Saviour.[6]

Grammar

The grammar that Peter uses can sound ambiguous in many English translations, as if trials may or may not be necessary.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. (ESV)

Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations. (KJV)

However, the construction in the original language offers more clarity.

The conditional particle εἰ [ei, “if” – mw] normally expresses a factual rather than a hypothetical condition, and it is probably so be understood in that sense here.[7]

The same writer suggests that the “factual condition” of the complete phrase (εἰ δέον ἐστίν, lit. if necessary it is) “adds the note of inevitability to such trials (‘since indeed it is a necessary thing’), an inevitability in this context most likely of divine origin.”[8]

Peter may also be describing the inescapable consequence of genuine faith in relation to a hostile world.  Another writer suggests that the language of this phrase

indicates that the suffering Peter has in mind may be an inevitable situation, not merely a possible occurrence. For, by virtue of being chosen to respond in faith to the gospel (1:1-3), one is at the same time necessarily alienated from the priorities and values of unbelieving society, which inevitably results in various types of suffering.[9]

Finally, the erroneous exegesis described above (trials as a sure sign of sin) results in fear and uncertainty and doubt.  Instead, Peter is offering his readers (like us) an important comfort.

Peter adds the interesting phrase “if necessary” (ei deon), which means that the sufferings believers experience are not the result of fate or impersonal forces of nature.  They are the will of God for believers (cf. 1 Pet 4:19).  The NT regularly sees suffering as the road believers must travel to enter into God’s kingdom (cf. Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Jas 1:2‑4)[10]

Or more briefly

Peter says therefore that Christians will experience grief only as it is necessary in the light of God’s great and infinitely wise purposes for them.[11]

Another grammatical point also affirms Peter’s priority on the authenticity of faith that demonstrates God’s work to others.  In verse 7 he describes the necessity of trials,

so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The natural question is, What is more precious that gold?  It may be common to assume that Peter is describing the value of faith.  But the grammar clarifies that detail.  The form of the adjective “more precious” (πολυτιμότερον, polytimoteron) connects grammatically[12] with the noun “tested genuineness” (δοκίμιον, dokimion).

The emphasis here is not on faith itself so much as on the nature of the faith that results from such trials. It is that tested and proven character (δοκίμιον) of faith which is more precious (πολυτιμότερον) than gold and which brings approval from God at the last judgment.[13]

Some interpreters see the quality that is tested as more than correct doctrine. Trusting God through trials requires the aspect of faith that “here has more the connotation of faithfulness than the notion of believing in something.”[14]  Faithful endurance through difficulties demonstrates the genuineness of belief.

Trust

Attributing all trials to sin is contradicted by the immediate context of Peter’s letter and by the vocabulary and the grammar he uses in verse 6 (not to mention the unmistakable words of Jesus in John 9).  But that assumption is common even apart from the explicit erroneous teaching mentioned by one person in our group.  We considered why that is.

One comment pointed out that we have the illusion of control.  If we can eliminate our sin then we can at least reduce the trials we face.  Modifying our behavior seems more practical, more proactive than waiting and trusting God to preserve us through the trials.

This desire for control must be answered by a correct view of three of God’s attributes.  If we believe that God is perfectly wise, infinitely loving, and absolutely sovereign, then we can trust that He knows what is best in His wisdom, He wants what is best (in His love), and He achieves what is best in His sovereign providence.

We should not deduce from this that sufferings are somehow enjoyable or that a specific reason should be assigned to each suffering; nor should we minimize the evil actions of others in inflicting suffering (Acts 2:23).  Peter assures his readers, however, that God is working out the plan even in their anguish.[15]

Remember Peter’s intricate interweaving of present circumstances with past and future eternity.  Focusing on present difficulties can lead to despair.  Efforts to eliminate trials by trying harder or doing better takes our attention away from God.  We focus on ourselves and our self-protection and making life work the way we want it to work.  On the other hand, when our attention is on God’s providence, we can anticipate the inheritance and experience the living hope that enables our endurance.

In the allegorical Pilgrim’s Regress C. S. Lewis describes a wanderer who is being led back home by a loving Landlord:

You may be sure that the Landlord has brought you [home] the shortest way: though I confess it would look an odd journey on a map.[16]

We can trust in God’s wise and loving providence even when the journey is difficult.

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[1] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville:  Holman, 2020), 21.

[2] W. Bauer, F.W. Danker, W.F. Arndt, and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 2000), 842.

[3] W. Bauer, F.W. Danker, W.F. Arndt, and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 2000), 256.

[4] https://www.americanelements.com/meltingpoint.html

[5] John R. Kohlenberger III, Edward W. Goodrick, James A Swanson, The Greek-English Concordance to the New Testament With The New International Version (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 1507.

[6] Edmund Clowney, The Message of 1 Peter, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, Illinois:  InterVarsity Press, 1988), 52.

[7] Paul J. Achtemeier, 1 Peter, Hermeneia – A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis:  Fortress Press, 1996), 101, emphasis added.

[8] Paul J. Achtemeier, 1 Peter, Hermeneia – A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis:  Fortress Press, 1996), 101, emphasis added.

[9] Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Zondervan, 2011), 95, emphasis added.

[10] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville:  Holman, 2020), 65.

[11] Wayne Grudem, 1 Peter, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 1988), 62.

[12] Both are nominative neuter singular; “faith” (πίστεως, pisteōs) is genitive feminine.

[13] Paul J. Achtemeier, 1 Peter, Hermeneia – A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis:  Fortress Press, 1996), 102.

[14] Paul J. Achtemeier, 1 Peter, Hermeneia – A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis:  Fortress Press, 1996), 101, Footnote 32

[15] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville:  Holman, 2020), 65.

[16] C. S. Lewis, The Pilgrim’s Regress; Wade Annotated Edition (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 177.