Page 36 - The Christian Life and the Church Life_Government of God

The Christian Life under the Government of God 35

The Emphasis in 1 Peter 1:7 Being Not on Faith but on the
Proving of Faith by Trials That Come through Sufferings

The emphasis in 1 Peter 1:7 is not on faith but on the proving of faith
by trials that come through sufferings. We go through trials and sufferings in
order to prove our faith.
Recently, I have been considering what my service life should be. Since
I am getting a little old, I was considering if I should still be traveling this
much. Some of you may think that traveling is very nice. Actually, traveling is
a suffering. I was thinking about the places where I have been serving. Some
places are very encouraging, while some places are a real suffering. But I
praise the Lord that He has put us through many things in order to prove our
faith. The faith that we have is actually the faith that the Lord has infused into
us. We do not have faith in ourselves, but as we come to the Lord and spend
time with Him, He infuses us with His faith. As we go through sufferings, we
can come to the Lord and His faith will enable us to go on day by day.
First Peter 1:7 says, “So that the proving of your faith, much more
precious than of gold which perishes though it is proved by fire, may be found
unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” This verse
implies that everything we are going through is actually hidden in God. It has
not yet been revealed. But one day it will all be revealed at the revelation of
Jesus Christ. On the one hand, God is hidden; but on the other hand, because
of the faith that He has infused into us, we can see Him and we can love Him,
so that we can go on with Him.
ALTHOUGH WE HAVE NOT SEEN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST,
OUR LOVING HIM, AND ALTHOUGH WE DO NOT SEE HIM AT
PRESENT, OUR BELIEVING, EXULTING WITH JOY THAT IS
UNSPEAKABLE AND FULL OF GLORY

Although we have not seen the Lord Jesus Christ, we love Him, and
although we do not see Him at present, we believe, exulting with joy that is
unspeakable and full of glory (v. 8). Don’t you think this is wonderful? There
is this kind of faith within us. When I read this verse, I was really full of joy.
I do not know if worldly people can be full of joy as they are going through
suffering. To them, these are two opposite things. But right after Peter spoke
about suffering and the proving of our faith, he talks about this joy in verse 8.