1 Peter 1:6-9 “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto the praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love, in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”

Peter spends quite a bit of time on the subject of faith in both of his epistles. He is drawn to the subject based on his personal experience of faith and his struggles with doubt in his life. (This certainly speaks to my experience as well.) He uses this to teach us about some very important aspects of faith.

We know that faith is a part of the fruit of the Spirit, imparted to the child of God in the new birth. This is proven in Galatians 5:22 and Romans 12:3. The faith that we have is that gift that God bestows upon us based on the righteousness and faithfulness of Christ Jesus. The faith that has been bestowed upon us is evidence of our position in Christ. It didn’t put us there, but it testifies that we are the children of God in conjunction with His Spirit. It is also the means of living our lives in this world. Paul indicates this in 2 Corinthians 5:7 when he says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

There are four principles of faith that Peter establishes in these verses that show us the working of faith in us.

FAITH: THE EVIDENCE (1 Peter 1:6)

Peter weaves his way through the first several verses of chapter 1, bringing many things to light that lead up to the “now” salvation discussion that starts in verse 6. These things include:

            Election (v2)
            Lively hope (v3)
            Eternal Inheritance (v4)
            Final Preservation (v5)
            Eternal Salvation (v5)

Using these as his foundation, he then introduces this faithful living truth. We are to be “greatly rejoicing” in the hear and now in the knowledge of the there and then of our eternal salvation! So, this knowledge and belief of things eternal, becomes our NOW (in time) salvation. Faith, then, is the evidence on which we build our rejoicing in our lives. Paul declares our faith as “...the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1) The songwriter says, “Faith is the brightest evidence of things beyond our sight!” Our walk in life must be conducted by faith. Faith provides all the evidence we need to continue to pursue this and all the while trusting in God. Faith makes believing possible regardless of external forces. Consider Abraham and his faithfulness in God when God told him to go! Abraham went! Even in the midst of trials, our faith leads us through! The inevitably of trials in life is marked by the words “...if need be…” they are going to happen, but even so, we rejoice in our salvation that Christ secured for us on Calvary. These temptations (putting to proof) are manifold (of different, varying sorts) and remind us that “...tribulation worketh patience; and patience experience, and experience, hope…” (Romans 5:3-4) We don’t suffer just to suffer, it has meaning and bearing in our lives.

FAITH: THE BASIS OF SALVATION IN TRIALS (PROVEN FAITH) (1 Peter 1:7)

Basis, in this usage, is defined as “the underlying support or foundation for an idea, argument, or process” (Oxford English Dictionary) So, the trial of faith is established on the both the the reason of process of the trial and, more importantly, the outcome.

Notice the wording of this verse: “trial of YOUR faith,” “tried with fire,” “might be found,”

The trial of your/our faith establishes whose faith is under consideration. (Again, the faith that we have is the faith of Christ, but is imparted to us to use as the “compass” in our lives.) There is nothing wrong with calling it “my faith” because Peter establishes the precedent by saying “your faith” in the text. Our faith is placed in a position of great value! How could we even begin to live our lives were it not for the faith that we have in us? It’s more precious than anything else in this world! It is invaluable!

The trial is one by fire. It is not comfortable to the flesh, but necessary in our lives! “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering of righteousness.” (Malachi 3:3) The picture here is one of great heat being used to refine silver or gold: the hotter the heat, the more and faster the movement of the silver as dross (impurities) is purged until finally, at the end, the purifier can see his reflection in the silver. What a beautiful picture of what our trials do for us in our faithful walk!!! The end result is something that not only God sees, but we are blessed to see as well!

Once the trial is over, our faith “might be found” to the praise, honor and glory of Christ Jesus! Remember, He is the one who gave you the faith in the first place! The Lord is pleased by our faithful walk, regardless of any outward buffeting. We can’t please God without faith! Paul amplifies this by showing that not only is God a rewarder of them that seek Him by faith, but that He is our reward Himself! (Hebrews 11:6) And then there’s Job, speaking great words of encouragement, “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10) We don’t like trials, right? But, the end result of them is what helps carry us through!

FAITH: ACTIVATED (1 Peter 1:8)

How is it possible to love one that we haven’t seen? (Trick question!) It’s by faith! The evidence faith supplies to the child of God drives a love that makes no worldly sense but is so evident in our spiritual lives! John says we love Him because He loved us first. Our faith drives that love in our hearts to the knowledge of our love for Him because of His great love for us! When we faithfully walk, it is evidence of faith that is working in our lives. I like to call it “activated faith”, because it’s the result of actually living by faith. Perhaps Paul put it best: “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7) I reckon we could list the entirety of Hebrews 11 to show the examples of the faithful, but suffice to say it’s a complete justification of Peter’s writings as well!

FAITH: THE RESULT (1 Peter 1:9)

To be specific, “receiving the end of your faith” is the result of our faith on the other side of the trial of our faith. It is the end result! This result comes from applying our faith in our walk in this life. That end of trials results in faith being the salvation we enjoy in the here and now! We prove that God is faithful! I submit to you that God is and always will be faithful to the blood of His son. We must strive in our lives to always be faithful to the God of all glory, not just because of what blessing we receive by being faithful, but because God demands our faithful walk in praise to Him!

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18)