Precious (4186) (polytimos from polus = much, great + time = price, honor) literally means "of great price", as that which is very high on a monetary scale and thus very precious or far more valuable and much revered. It is a word some might think would more likely be used by ladies, but Peter is very fond of "precious" using it some 7 times (not all are "polytimos") in both his epistles (Click for all NT uses of "precious" by Peter and one by James). Polytimos is used 3 times in the NT: (1x Mt;1x Jn;1x1 P) Jesus used polytimos describing the "the kingdom of heaven" which He declared is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Mt 13:45-46) Jesus pictures salvation as something hidden from most people but so very precious that people who have it revealed to them are willing to give up all they have to possess it. How "precious" is genuine faith to the great Refiner's eye! In describing Mary's (the "Mary" of "Martha and Mary" see Lu 10:39ff) act of love and deep devotion, John records that she "therefore took a pound of very costly (polytimos) perfume of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume." (Jn 12:3) Raymer writes that Even refined gold, though it lasts a long time, eventually perishes (see note 1 Peter 1:18; Js 5:3). It will be valueless in the marketplace of eternity. But faith “purchases” an inheritance that can never perish. (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 1985. Victor or Logos) John echoes this truth about gold and other things the world holds precious, declaring that the world is passing away and also its lusts" (1John 2:17) Matthew Henry adds Gold is the most valuable, pure, useful, and durable, of all the metals; so is faith among the Christian virtues; it lasts till it brings the soul to heaven, and then it issues in the glorious fruition of God for ever. The trial of faith is much more precious than the trial of gold; in both there is a purification, a separation of the dross, and a discovery of the soundness and goodness of the things. Gold does not increase and multiply by trial in the fire, it rather grows less; but faith is established, improved, and multiplied, by the oppositions and afflictions that it meets with. It is not the approved faith, but the approval itself that is in the apostle’s mind here. To illustrate this distinction imagine a gold-mining company wishes to buy a proposed site where gold is said to have been found. But it is not sure whether the metal is real gold or not and whether it is there in sufficient quantity so that a mine if sunk would be a profitable venture. It engages an assayer of metals to take samples of the gold ore to his laboratory and examine them. The assayer sends his report to the effect that the ore contains true gold, and that the gold is found in sufficient quantity so that the venture will pay. The report of the assayer approving the gold ore is of far more value to the mining company than the gold he returns with his report, for upon the basis of the report, the company can go ahead with assurance and buy the land and begin mining operations. The fact that God finds our faith to be one which He can approve, is of far more value to Him and to His glory, than the approved faith, for He has something to work with, a faith that He knows can stand the testing and the trials which may come to the Christian. The fact that God can trust a Christian as one that is dependable, is of great value to Him, God is looking for faithful, dependable workers, not necessarily gifted, educated, cultured ones. It is a “well done, thou good and faithful servant” that will greet the ears of the saint at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Why compare our faith to gold? - In the ancient world gold was considered the most expensive & rarest of all metals. It was used in the worship of the gods, and was very prominent in the temple of Jerusalem, where the true God was worshipped. Emperors & heroes were know for their lavish use of gold. Under Augustus and Nero the price of the Roman gold coin, the aureus, was worth 45 denarii (a Roman soldier got 225 denarii a year and one denarius was considered to be a day's wage. All of this indicates that a tried, genuine faith is extremely valuable! The known quantity in this statement is the preciousness of gold -- a genuine faith is much more precious than that. (Reinecker & Rogers page 567) EVEN THOUGH TESTED (and found approved) BY FIRE: dia puros de dokimazomenou (PPPNSG): (Behind a Frowning Providence - Why Christians Suffer by John A Murray) Pithy quotes and sayings relating to adversities and trials... God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty. -- Peter Marshall Afflictions are but the shadow of God's wings. -- George MacDonald Fire is the test of gold, adversity of strong men. Our great Teacher writes many a bright lesson on the blackboard of affliction. As in nature and in the arts, so in grace: it is rough treatment that gives souls, as well as stones, their luster. The more the diamond is cut, the brighter it sparkles, and in what seems hard dealings God has no end in view but to perfect our graces. -- Thomas Guthrie When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord’s choicest wines. -- Samuel Rutherford If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace. If he has made it bitter; drink it in communion with him. -- Oswald Chambers Some hearts, like evening primroses, open more beautifully in the shadows of life. Affliction is the school of faith and trial is the school of trust. The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction. -- C H Spurgeon Stars may be seen from the bottom of a deep well, when they cannot be discerned from the top of a mountain. So are many things learned in adversity which the prosperous man dreams not of. --C. H. Spurgeon Nothing can render affliction so insupportable as the load of sin. Would you then be fitted for afflictions? Be sure to get the burden of your sins laid aside, and then what affliction soever you may meet with will be very easy to you. -- John Bunyan. It takes the grindstone to sharpen the axe. -- Vance Havner "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/1_peter_17.htm#Precious%20polytimos