Verse 6
We can rejoice greatly in this hope. However, the antecedent of "this" may be "the last time" (1 Peter 1:5). Peter’s idea would then be that we will rejoice on that future day whereas now we experience various distressing trials. God will preserve both us and our inheritance until we receive our inheritance. "Trials" (Gr. peirasmois, the same kind of trials James wrote about in James 1:2, et al.) are all kinds of tests that challenge our fidelity to God’s will.
"Peirasmos here means not the inner wrestling with evil inclination, but undeserved sufferings from outside the person who is distressed by them." [Note: Bigg, p. 103.]
Peter was not denying that we face temptation from within, but he was addressing temptations from external sources particularly. [Note: See Gordon E. Kirk, "Endurance in Suffering in 1 Peter," Bibliotheca Sacra 138:549 (January-March 1981):46-56, for a good brief summary of Peter’s teaching on suffering in this epistle.]
In comparison with the eternal bliss ahead, our present distresses are only temporary and brief (cf. Matthew 5:4-5; 2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Trials are necessary for the Christian. God uses them to perfect us (cf. James 1:3-4). However they tend to rob us of joy if we do not remember what Peter urged his readers to bear in mind here (cf. James 1:2).
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