1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect… I. THE CONSOLATION HERE SET BEFORE US. "God hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus." In such wonderful terms the Word of God expresses the blessed remedy which His mercy hath provided for the evils of man's fallen state; and you cannot fail to observe how much more they express than a mere relief from such evils. It is a call to a state of actual happiness. It is a call to a state of positive excellence or holiness. It is, finally, a call to a state which we have no language to describe, nor material of thought to imagine — namely, a state of "glory." II. THE COURSE THROUGH WHICH YOU MUST PASS. "After that ye have suffered a while." Men have sometimes made it an objection against the goodness of God, that there is so much suffering in this world. This they might do with more reason if they could show that men are innocent in this world and deserve no correction, or even that they are, willing to be prepared for the happiness of another world and need no such calls to serious consideration; but, in the present sinful state of fallen man, the very goodness of God requires that there should be suffering. That suffering is indeed, in justice, the punishment for sin, but at the same time it is, in mercy, the corrective of our wanderings. "God hath called us to His eternal glory"; but how little do men naturally care even for eternal glory, so long as they can find their pleasure elsewhere? The very bounties of their Creator unhappily rather drive them to a greater distance from Him, instead of drawing them nearer. He needs to wither these comforts, or to interrupt our enjoyment of them, before we can see their insufficiency and remember the better blessings awaiting us. It is generally, in short, only after we have "suffered a while," that we think of "the eternal glory" to which God hath called us. You cannot indeed be supposed to wish for "afflictions, or to welcome them as your choice. This is always your best consolation under them, that they are neither sent idly nor borne uselessly. They not only serve to show you more dearly the true value of the eternal glory which awaiteth you, but also to prepare your souls the better for its enjoyment. In this view they bring a blessing which compensates for their evil. III. THE EFFECT TO BE PRODUCED BOTH BY YOUR CONSOLATIONS AND SUFFERINGS AS CHRISTIANS, viz., that you may be "made perfect, stablished, strengthened, settled." (J. Brewster, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. |
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