As we get started, consider two quotes about hope. Here’s the first: “Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. It’s got no use on the other side. You better get used to that idea.” Here’s another: “There’s no escape. The only hope is the sweet relief of death.”

The first comes from a man named Red in Steven King’s The Shawshank Redemption. For Red, the hope of release from prison is unlikely. So why hope at all. The second comes from a depressed little star named Lumalee in Super Mario Brothers. Captured by the evil Bowser, Lumalee has resorted to death as the sweeter alternative.

But what the two have in common is no real hope at all. If any hope was present, it was dashed to pieces by the terrible odds of their circumstances. Many set their hopes in things that are sure to fade—money, property, freedom, influence. But they find themselves repeatedly disappointed. In the end, the hope they once had was only a dying hope, because it was bound to something temporary.

By contrast, Peter writes about a living hope. This living hope is bound to a living Savior and a future, unfading inheritance; and he means for this living hope to help Christians stand firm when suffering in Jesus’ footsteps. Let’s read about it in 1:3…

³ 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, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ 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. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

You will notice how verse 6 describes Peter’s recipients: they are grieved by various trials. That agrees with what we learned last Sunday. Peter writes to Christians who are suffering. They are suffering for their faith in Jesus. The world is making it hard on these Christians, pressuring them with various trials.

In suffering, it’s normal to start asking questions or wrestling with doubts—especially when that suffering involves pain and loss. “Is this ever going to end?” you might ask. “Has God forgotten us?” Or you might ask, “What’s the point of all this? Is this suffering meaningless?” When the questions start swirling in the relentless rain of various trials, that’s where hope can begin to fade. Suffering can induce hopelessness.

To stand firm in the faith, we need help. That’s what 1 Peter gives us. Peter writes to help sojourners stand firm in God’s grace when suffering in Jesus’ footsteps. In verses 3-9, Peter helps us to stand firm in at least three ways.

Praising God for the New Birth and What It Entails

One, he helps us stand firm by praising God for the new birth and what it entails. Verse 3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” Peter starts by praising God. In Scripture we find this word “Blessed!” after God acts mightily on behalf of his people. Other letters in the New Testament also begin with “Blessed be the God and Father.” It’s normal for God’s people across the ages to rehearse not what we have done for God, but what God has done for us. Christianity is not a religion where we boast in our goodness; Christianity worships God for his goodness to us.

That’s also why he’s praised not simply as “God” but as “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jews would’ve recognized from their Scriptures that God acted as a father—Deuteronomy 32:6, “Is not he your father, who created you?” Also, according to Acts 17:28, even pagan poets saw that, if there was a God, he must be like a father with offspring. But Peter takes us further than either the Jews or pagans would allow. God exists eternally as Father in relation to his Son. More than that, the Son became a man in the person of Jesus Christ; and Jesus deserves God’s usual title as “Lord.” Peter isn’t vague about the true God. He is distinctly the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He is also full of mercy. Peter says that God has acted, “according to his great mercy.” Not simply mercy but “great mercy.” This is “kindness…expressed for someone in need.”[i] It goes back to an older word in the Scriptures, sometimes translated “loving-kindness” or “steadfast love.” God was known for being merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Uniquely, he was known to help the helpless, to show mercy to the undeserving, to show compassion to the needy.

Same here. In our sins, we too were helpless, needy, undeserving. Ephesians says we were once dead in our trespasses and sins. It also says we were without God and without hope in this world. Ezekiel 36 once compared the human heart to a heart of stone. We were stubbornly resistant to the very truth that would give us spiritual life. In this state, God was not obligated to show us kindness. But he did. According to his great mercy, verse 3 says, “he caused us to be born again.”

The notion of being “born again” has sadly been abused over time. President Jimmy Carter once made popular the phrase “born-again Christian.” And for the last few decades it’s been the equivalent of an American church goer, regardless of what your life proves to be. But in Scripture being born again isn’t a matter of what you call yourself; it has everything to do with what God does inside of a person to make them new.

Jesus once had to explain the new birth to a man named Nicodemus. In John 3:3, Jesus tells him, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus then asks, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answers, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”

Nicodemus didn’t realize it, but Jesus was reaching back to Ezekiel 36:25-26, and the prophecy about God’s Spirit cleansing people and giving them a new heart—replacing that old stubborn and stoney heart with a heart of flesh. In the new birth, God changes our inner person. He changes us morally such that we now love God’s truth and submit ourselves to it. He changes us spiritually such that we’re alive to God and the things of God. The Holy Spirit gives life to our spirits so that we are new people, born into a new family. God is our Father, and we take after him. This is the work of God.

But that’s not where Peter stops. In fact, Peter brings up our new birth to show what God has secured for us through it. He mentions first a living hope. Verse 3 again: “[God] has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Why does he call it a “living hope”?

It’s a living hope because it’s bound to a living person, Jesus Christ. God raised Jesus from the dead. That doesn’t mean he simply raised Jesus from death—though that’s true. It means he raised Jesus from all the dead ones. He beat everybody else out of the grave, in other words. The end-time resurrection has already begun in Jesus. To put it differently, Jesus’ resurrection is our assurance that God will come through on our resurrection life as well. Thus, our hope is tied to his resurrection life.

You cannot find a living hope anywhere else. In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis wrote that “Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy.”

We all know what Lewis means. We long for a hope that’s guaranteed, a hope that stays alive and never dies or fades away with the things of this world. So many people set their hope in money, power, prestige, family, personal goals, property, good health, influencing others. But when all is said and done, each proves to be a dying hope. There is only one living hope, the hope that’s bound to the living Christ.

If you’re here today and don’t know Jesus, the Bible describes you as someone “without hope.” You’re without hope because all that’s left for you is eternal death. Jesus came to save you from eternal death through his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. Place your faith in Jesus Christ, and God will give you a living hope.

The new birth also leads to a superior inheritance. Verse 4, “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” Now, if there were any Jewish believers listening, their ears just perked up. They knew what it meant to have an inheritance. Under the old covenant, God entrusted them with the land as an inheritance. But because of their sin, they lost that inheritance. Their sin defiled the land. The land perished before them. Their inheritance faded away.

God is saying that under the new covenant in Christ, the inheritance is way better. It is imperishable, meaning it cannot decay or rot away. To use Jesus’ words, no moth or rust will destroy it; no thief will break in and steal. It’s also undefiled; no moral impurity will ever tarnish it. No corruption will ever diminish its value. And it will never fade away. It’ll never grow old with time. It’ll never be conquered by another regime. No, God preserves this inheritance in heaven for you.

But he doesn’t just preserve the inheritance, he also preserves the heirs to the inheritance. Verse 5, “kept in heaven for you who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” “Through faith”—when you rest yourself in Jesus, trusting him to save you, you have a relationship with God. Within that relationship, God guards you by his power. He keeps the inheritance in heaven and he guards the heirs on earth until the two are brought together. That doesn’t mean he guards you from suffering—just read verses 6-7. Rather, he guards us in the suffering. He makes sure that everything we need to endure, we will have it.

Can you imagine how such truth would help a Christian stand firm? Consider what Christians will often lose when they choose to follow Jesus. They lose family and they lose inheritance. Wasn’t it Jesus who said we’d lose houses and lands and brothers and sisters and mothers for his name’s sake? This week I read a story from Voice of the Martyrs. Two boys in Vietnam, one 16 years old, the other 15—they were beaten and disowned by family for choosing to follow Jesus.[ii]

From an earthly perspective, these boys lost everything. They were now like exiles, who didn’t belong. But from the perspective of God’s grace, these boys have gained everything. God has given them a greater family through the new birth. Those boys have a Father in heaven who will never push them away. God has made them heirs of a better, sure, and eternal inheritance. That’s their living hope.

If you belong to Jesus, he’s done the same for you. Through the new birth, he’s given you a living hope and a superior inheritance. Still, we might find ourselves wondering, “Okay, but will I make it? Will my faith endure these various trials that I’m facing? How do I know I won’t just abandon Christ and walk away from him?” Because everyone who’s born again is born again unto that inheritance. God doesn’t cause you to be born again and then forget to guard you. He keeps the inheritance for you; and he guards you for the inheritance.

Peter helps us to stand firm by praising God for the new birth and what it entails. Suffering does not mean we cannot worship. If anything, suffering is when we need to worship God most for the incredible mercy of new birth. Perhaps that’s why Paul and Silas sang hymns when sitting in jail for their faith.

Seeing Our Trials in Light of God’s Purpose

A second way Peter helps us stand firm: by seeing our trials in light of God’s purpose. Verse 6, “In this you rejoice.” He’s pointing back to the new birth. In this living hope, in this unfading inheritance “you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.”

“If necessary”—meaning, the Christian doesn’t pursue suffering, as if to glory in suffering itself. Rather, we pursue faithfulness to Jesus, and sometimes that will necessitate suffering. Faithfulness will put you in circumstances where suffering is necessary to bring someone the gospel, or to stand firm on a moral issue. That should dispel any notion that Christians shouldn’t suffer, or that suffering is a sign of faithlessness. Here, suffering various trials is a sign that your faith is real.

Suffering these various trials, he also says, will grieve us—a word used elsewhere in Scripture to describe severe mental or emotional distress. It’s possible to rejoice in the graces of the new birth, while also experiencing grief in the trials. Christianity is not a religion where you can’t grieve, or where sadness is a sign of faithlessness. No, Christianity recognizes the goodness of God’s world, which is why it hurts so badly when the good things are stripped away. Our various trials cause grief.

But in that grief—which is sometimes necessary when following Jesus—Peter helps us remember first that our various trials are temporary. Listen again to how he puts it: “though now for a little while.” By saying “a little while,” he doesn’t mean our trials can’t last a lifetime. On many occasions, Christians following in Jesus’ footsteps will endure a lifetime of suffering. Some die because of the length and severity of their trials. But in light of the eternal inheritance, the trials are only “a little while.”

Suffering can feel like forever when you’re in the middle of it. And that’s when the questions come: “This is taking forever. This is too long. Is this ever going to end?” At the same time, the world and sometimes our flesh pressures us to forsake Christ for temporary benefits now—whether that’s escape from pain or lesser humiliation or freedom from jail or the comfort of a normal life again.

But here’s where these words help us: what’s any of that compared to an inheritance that’s imperishable, undefiled, and unfading? What’s 80 years of trials in comparison to an eternity with Christ? Your trials won’t last forever but your inheritance will. Your grief won’t last forever but your joy in Christ will.

Our various trials are temporary; they also have a special purpose. Notice how he puts it in verse 7: “so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it’s tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

When you experience various trials, those trials test the genuineness of your faith—much like a jeweler tests the genuineness of precious metals. To make a precious metal like gold shine, you have to remove the impurities. But the only way to do that is putting it through fire. Fire exposes and burns off the impurities. The gold is then tested—its quality is judged after the fire. If impurities still exist, back into the fire it goes. And this process gets repeated until the refiner can see his reflection in the gold.

That’s one of God’s purposes in your trials. He uses the trials to test the genuineness of your faith, to burn off the impurities. Your suffering isn’t meaningless. God has a purpose to refine your faith. Your trials aren’t meant to destroy your faith; they’re meant to purify it, to make you shine with all kinds of beauty…until your Father sees his reflection in you. Gold is valued as one of the most precious metals on earth. But your faith is more precious to the Lord. In Christ, our trials have a purpose.

This answers another question that often bothers us in suffering: “Lord, what’s the point? Is this suffering doing anything?” Verse 7 says, “Yes, it’s refining you. It’s not meaningless.” The Lord designs each trial to purify our faith. Your ultimate good is not a pain-free life. Your ultimate good is not a trial-free life. It’s conformity to the image of Christ. It’s praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Now, that could mean “praise and glory and honor to God at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Our trials are for our good and for his glory—that’s true. But it could also mean “praise and glory and honor before God at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” In that sense, it’s speaking more to what we will get to enjoy. In 5:4, Peter encourages the pastors to endure and says, “when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” Romans 2:10 also says that when we persevere in well-doing, God will reward the Christian with glory and honor and peace.

At this point, I don’t know if I’ve decided. The two ideas aren’t mutually exclusive. But if it’s referring to what we enjoy before God, consider how that might aid the believer in suffering. I mentioned before that following Jesus will sometimes mean we suffer the loss of family and inheritance in this life. It’s also possible that a Christian suffer the loss of honor. The world will often humiliate Christians for their commitment to Christ. Perhaps some of you have been shamed before coworkers or friends or family for not agreeing with their choices and lifestyle anymore. In that moment, the temptation might be to soften your Christian stance to gain honor or to save face before people.

In such a moment, Peter’s words help us to stand firm. Faithfulness will result in praise, honor, and glory before God. Faith that endures humiliation before people will result in honor before God. We’re encouraged, then, to stay faithful!

Commending Faith and Joy in Christ Until the End

Finally, Peter helps us stand firm by commending love for Christ and faith in Christ until the end. Verse 8, “Though you have not seen him, you love him.” Peter got to see Jesus. His recipients have never seen Jesus. Yet still, they loved Jesus. Jesus isn’t just someone to know about, but someone we can relate to in the here and now with deep affection and the warmth of a relationship.

Verse 8 then adds, “Though you do not now see him, you believe in him.” “Believe”—same word group that’s translated elsewhere as “faith.” They still couldn’t see Jesus, but they had faith in him. That means they not only knew about him and agreed with him; it means they also trusted him. Faith carries that element of restful reliance. They relied on Jesus to come through for them in suffering and in salvation.

That’s why he then says, “you believe in him and rejoice with joy that’s inexpressible and filled with glory.” Verse 6 says they have been grieved by various trials. Yet here it says they still have a joy that’s inexpressible and filled with glory. Grief and joy, at the same time. To borrow from Paul in 2 Corinthians, they were “sorrowful yet always rejoicing.” What produces that kind of unshakable joy in various trials?

Jesus does—by ministering to us the hope of our final salvation. Notice the connection between the verse 5, verse 7, and verse 9. Verse 5, “a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” End of verse 7, “praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” God is taking the world there, to the revelation of Jesus Christ. It’s the final day when Jesus returns with the inheritance. Peter wants us to see our present trials in light of that bigger, eternal picture.

Then comes verse 9, when he points to the goal of our faith: “obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” The salvation he’s talking about here is the same one he mentioned in verse 5—the salvation “ready to be revealed in the last time.” He’s speaking to the future salvation of our souls—our whole selves will enjoy the benefits of God’s new creation: total sinlessness, total protection, total healing.

Peter wants us to hold in mind that future salvation, while at the same time seeing that you are already in process of obtaining it. Notice the present tense: “obtaining.” Right now you’re obtaining it. It started with the new birth—at that moment, God made you an heir with Christ and put you in motion of obtaining it. It’s like the transactions have already been submitted and you were handed the deed to the property and all that’s left is for the owner to wrap some things up.

So, even though it’s future, we can experience the blessings of that assurance in the present through a relationship of love and faith with Jesus. That’s what gives us the joy. And it’s a joy that’s “inexpressible and full of glory.” Why does he talk about it that way? Because that’s what the coming age is like. The NET has “indescribable and glorified joy.” The joy itself is clothed in splendor. It’s a taste of the new age.

In other words, as we love Jesus and put our faith in him, he ministers to us the joys of the age to come in our sufferings. That’s how we can have joy even when we are grieved by various trials. Jesus creates this joy in his people as they trust him, as they love him. Many of you have endured trials in the path of obedience. Some of you are walking through a trial right now in the path of obedience. That trial has grieved you. It’s caused mental and emotional anguish, you’re finding it hard to hope, and you don’t know if you have the strength to go any longer.

Beloved, you don’t have the strength. But Jesus does. Rest yourself in Jesus, keep loving him, and he will minister to you the joys of the new creation. He will give you a joy that’s inexpressible and filled with glory. Jesus will use these trials to refine you and make you more like himself, until it results in praise and honor and glory. In Jesus your Father is keeping an inheritance for you, and he’s guarding you for the inheritance. You have a living hope in the resurrection of Jesus, not a dying hope.

No matter the circumstances, we can rejoice in that. We don’t need our circumstances to change, our spouse to change, our kids to change, our sufferings to change, our trial to end, in order to rejoice. Peter praises God that, because of the work of Jesus, we can know this joy now as we love Jesus and trust in him. May the Lord help us to join Peter in this praise. May the Lord use these things to help us stand firm in God’s grace when suffering in Jesus’ footsteps.

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[i] BDAG, s.v. “eleos.”

[ii] https://vomkorea.com/en/2022/09/14/vomk-report-220/