And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
(1 Peter 5:10-11)
Peter implies in these verses that the one behind the trials and suffering is our adversary, the devil. We have heard all along that the trials which grieve us may be necessary (1:6) and may be God's will (4:19); we have also heard that they are for a "little while" (1:6; 5:10).
The word for "trial" in both 1:6 and also in 4:12 ("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..."), is also the word for "temptation." This is the context for Peter's closing his epistle with exposing who is ultimately behind their suffering. The word does have a range of meaning from "to test" in the positive sense of trying to discern the true nature of something (eg. 2 Cor. 13:5), to "to tempt, trap, or lead into temptation" which can have a disastrous end. Peter seems to embrace the whole range of meaning in his epistle. He refers to trials as testing the genuineness of our faith like fire tests gold (1:7) and continually exhorts us to follow Jesus' example and not sin when sinned against, trusting that we will share in his glory.
Our being ready and able to faithfully endure suffering begins in our minds: "Be sober-minded; be watchful" (v. 8). Again he echoes a theme he has already introduced:
"Therefore, preparing you minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct..." (1:13-15).This preparation of our minds (literally, girding up of our minds) includes knowing two things: (1) our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, and (2) that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by our brothers and sisters throughout the world.
Does a prowling lion roar? I'm not sure, but it seems like a prowling lion is a quiet lion, sneaking up on its prey. Maybe Peter is just saying that he is fierce and he is scary so watch out for him, or maybe he's saying that while he is seeking to devour people he can't help but expose his presence by his roaring, his seeking to intimidate or dominate by force and fear. If this is the case, then his point is that the devil actually can't sneak up on you stealthily, unless you're not prepared in your mind, but that there are signs, sounds, and evidence that he is behind the trial attacking you. This would be interesting to pursue, and I'll leave it up to you...
"Resist him, firm in your faith." Don't be afraid. Don't resort to magically sayings, or go around binding and loosing everything, or yelling and screaming. Don't look for him behind every tree, nor ignore his deadly prowl. Just resist him, firm in your faith. If you have entrusted your soul to a faithful creator and a just judge, if you are born anew through the resurrection of Jesus whose suffering was vindicated by God, you only need to resist him and his temptations to resort to ungodly ways through the suffering. (cf. the temptation of Jesus, Matthew 4). We only need to stand up strong against him with the armor of God, and having done all, to keep standing (Ephesians 6:10f).
We are not unique in suffering various trials. Whatever they may be. The devil tries to use suffering and pain to turn our hearts from trusting God and to break down out minds from being sober-minded and focused on the truth. This can be illness, relational brokenness, economic distress, and certainly persecution ("all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted," 2 Tim. 3:12). But we are not unique. We are not the only ones to suffer, and we're not the only ones to be targeted. So do not isolate yourself. Stay connected with your brothers and sisters - support one another, bear one another's burdens, speak the truth to one another, and pray for one another.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
(1 Peter 5:10-11)
God, who has dominion forever and ever, will himself deliver us (the devil does not have dominion - "the Lord will reign for ever and ever," Exodus 15:18). I have always thought of this promise in a temporal sense, in terms of a here and now resolution. I'm not as sure as I read it in light of whole epistle. However, we are to pray "deliver us from evil." And I do think there is a here and now aspect to the Lord's Prayer.
Worst case scenario (in terms of our present life in the flesh) is that this restoration will be at the resurrection. That may be what Peter is getting at. He says in chapter 1, verse 13, to "set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Jesus is bringing grace! You will obtain "the outcome of our faith, the salvation of your souls" (1:6-9) when you see him, at the revelation of Jesus Christ - after a little while.
"For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison..." (2 Cor. 3:17).
The body of the letter closes with that prayer "To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen." "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done... for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen."
In his closing Peter explains his purpose: "I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it" (v. 12). Jesus himself suffered for us once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous. By his wounds we are healed. In trusting in him, receiving his word, being sprinkled with his blood of suffering, following his example and walking in his steps, we too entrust ourselves to a just judge and faithful creator, and we too will be raised with him and vindicated by him - and in the meantime we will be advancing his dominion by means of his grace, in which we stand firm.
"Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ."
O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(BCP, p. 99, Morning Prayer)
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