1 Peter 5:10 (ESV)
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
The book of 1 Peter was written to a church who was suffering from many things, not the least of which was from the human government at the time. The first verse of the book tells us who Peter is writing to:
1 Peter 1:1 (ESV)
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
The church was being persecuted and they had dispersed around the region. The extent of the persecution was quite severe. Here is what one historian wrote about this time frame and the aspect of the church suffering:
(UBC-NTSet) Nearly fifty years after the probable date of 1 Peter, Pliny the Younger (A.D. 62–113), the Roman governor of Bithynia-Pontus (109–111), one of the provinces to which this letter was addressed, wrote to the emperor Trajan for advice on how to deal with Christians:
“I have never taken part in investigations of Christians, so I do not know what charge is usually brought against them. Neither do I know whether punishment is given just for the name [of Christian], apart from secret crimes connected with the name. This is the course I have taken: I asked them if they were Christians. If they said yes, I asked them a second and a third time, with threats of punishment. If they still said yes, I ordered them to be executed. Those who denied being Christians, I thought it right to let go. They recited a prayer to the gods at my dictation, offered incense and wine to your statue, and cursed Christ. Those who are really Christians cannot be made to do these things.” (Pliny, Letters 10.96)
In 1 Peter 4:10, above, we read the conclusion of Peter’s entire argument in the book. He has been trying to encourage the church and trying to help them stay pure, despite the persecution. It is in persecution or suffering that we often fall away from obedience to Christ. He tells them a number of things to motivate them and comfort them:
1. He tells them that their suffering is just a “little while.” That might not seem comforting, but compared to the eternal weight of glory, it is. Paul stated the same thing:
2 Corinthians 4:17 (ESV)
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
2. God is the God of all grace. God’s grace is an active and empowering aspect of God’s attributes. It is an attribute He shares with us. What we do this in the power of His grace, not in our own strength. That is a key to living in and through suffering.
3. We are living for eternity, not for the present moment. We are not to think of this suffering by viewing it through the lens of this earth, but through the lens of eternity.
4. God, though the ministry of Christ and the power of the Spirit will restore us, confirm us, strengthen us and establish us in our suffering. There is nothing more motivating than to know that in the midst of suffering you will NOT be moved, but rather brought into a more firm relationship with God as a result of the suffering.
Suffering is an aspect of the Christian life that not only does not go away, but rather gains intensity as you age. But, so, too, does the grace of God to endure and flourish in it.
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