Well, this final section of 1 Peter 4 is a return to focus on a theme that goes throughout this book; it's a theme of suffering. And I think Peter, again, is just showing that God has worked in his life, and this brash man has become a tender-hearted pastor. And he just knows how hard suffering is for us and how we can lose our way in suffering. So, he says:
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
For the believer, this side of eternity, suffering is both the norm and universal. I've said this many times, "If you're not suffering, now, you will someday; and if you're not suffering now, you're near someone who is." And so, Peter says, "You should not be surprised." There are four reasons that the New Testament gives us that we should not be surprised that we suffer.
First of all, by God's plan, between 'the already and not yet,' we're living in a fallen world that doesn't operate the way God intended, and that brokenness will enter our door.
We suffer for the purpose of our spiritual growth. Peter says that here, "God is testing you"-he doesn't mean Pass-Fail. He means tempering you so you're stronger and more beautiful and more usable.
We suffer because it qualifies us for ministry; that's 2 Corinthians 1, "If we suffer, it's for your sake, so that we may give you the same comfort that we have received." (Summarized.)
And we suffer because the world will reject us because of Christ-like living. Those four things mean that somehow, some way, I have to accept, by grace, that suffering will be part of my life, between my coming to Christ and my going home to be with Him.
But Peter makes this important point, he says. "But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad..." That part of the sentence that begins with "that" is a purpose clause. It says God has a purpose for this right now, "So that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed."
Now what he's saying is that the suffering that we're going through right now is preparatory. We're not ready for the other side, and what God is doing is He's using our suffering to deepen our desire for eternity, to deepen our readiness for eternity. I always think of that when I think about camping that, you know, living in a tent for a few days, makes you desirous and more thankful for home. That's what he is saying here; that God is using this to bring in us an expectancy, a hopefulness, a readiness, for the glory that will be ours.
What tender love that God doesn't just allow us to feel singled-out or abandoned when we go through hardship, but it says, "No, these are the reasons you will suffer. And here's what I'm doing in the midst of your suffering." In those moments, God is for you, and He's with you, and He's in you. And He is doing things in your heart that need to be done in order for you to let go of the pleasures of this world and open your heart to what is coming so you live with longing and expectancy and joy as you realize that this is not all there is-there is glory to come!
