Scripture: 1
Peter 1:3–9
This letter was likely written some 35 years after Jesus’
resurrection to Christians who lived in regions that make up modern-day Turkey.
As such it is written to people who weren’t there on the first Easter. These
are people who believed because of the testimony of God’s Word through God’s
people. In that sense they are very like us. Peter begins this reading by
praising God and then talks about the impact of the Gospel on his readers. He
also speaks of the trials faced by believers, and the value of faith. This
reading wraps together themes from other readings this week, and helps us to
focus on praising God for Jesus’ resurrection.
Teaching
The first sentence of this reading leads the reader into
praise. The word translated “blessed” can also be translated “praised.” Either
way, this is a worshipful statement that glorifies God. What, then, is the
cause of praising the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? It is his
salvation. Peter writes of it as a living hope and an undying inheritance. The
hope we have in Jesus’ salvation is very precious as is the faith that receives
Jesus’ salvation.
Faith, however, gets tested. Peter states that the various
trials his readers faced tested their faith to prove its genuineness. Luther
compares this testing to the fire that tests gold, not to destroy it but to
purify it. He says, “Thus God has imposed the cross on all Christians to
cleanse and to purge them well, in order that faith may remain pure, just as
the Word is, so that one adheres to the Word alone and relies on nothing else.
For we really need such purging and affliction every day because of the coarse
old Adam. … [W]hen faith is tested in this way, all alloy and everything false
must disappear.”[1]
Life
The old saying goes, “Seeing is believing.” Yet this is not
the case when it comes to the Christian faith. Our daily lives often reflect
the belief that seeing is believing, but as God’s people we deal with the Bible
as God’s Word which, by its own authority, has reality-defining power. Look
around; where do you see empirical proof of God’s mercy, the power of the
cross, the forgiveness of sins, the hope of the resurrection, and the like? All
these things are only seen – and only seen rightly – through the eyes of faith.
That precious faith takes hold of God’s salvation for us in Christ.
Treasure your faith. Feed it with the Scriptures and God’s
Sacraments. Go to church to hear and receive God’s gifts. Look forward to the
day when you will see Jesus with your eyes, knowing that he will be as you have
seen him by faith through the testimony of God’s Word and that he will deliver
all he has promised to you.
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