2/28/26 Trial by Fire

1 Peter 1: 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

The apostle Peter starts us off with praise to the Father because he is the One who sent the Lord Jesus Christ as we all should. Without him we have no hope. This hope stems from the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb 3 days later. This is the same resurrection that Paul preached in the book of Acts & repeatedly was met with danger, flogging & being imprisoned. It is through that resurrection you gain an inheritance, this inheritance is not material because all material fades, rusts, turns to dust or is destroyed by fire. This inheritance is in heaven.

Heaven. Everyone wants to go there, no one wants to die to get there. In GR Ouranos the abode of God by extension, implied it is eternity. Eternity, where time is no more, eternity where there is no limitation by material. Eternity where you are known and will be known by the Creator of all things. Eternity is your destiny but you choose which side you will be on based on your relationship with the Savior of the world. It says so right here. Notice the conduit it is delivered through faith in Jesus. Faith that he is Savior faith he has overcome the world faith that he is the truth. This faith you give in the love offering of God to you, to us, we gain a shield from Almighty God, but this shield is misunderstood.

In the original text it is guarded & phroureó in the GR. But this is not guard like you might believe. It means “To mount guard as a sentinel (post spies at gates); figuratively, to hem in, protect — keep (with a garrison)”  So this is not to exactly prevent as much as it is as a watchman, an observer. & while it says to hem in & protect there is an extent to that we will examine as we get deeper into this. Let’s go further into V8

6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Here is the blunt force truth to combat inspirational speaker movement in some churches that tells you life is never supposed to be a drag once you are with Jesus. V6 tells us you have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. But notice the explanation. These have come to prove the genuineness of your faith.

WAIT! You mean that trials don’t just come out of the randomness of life? Look at what V7 tells us. There is a reason this trial occurs because this is no common trial. This is a trial by fire.

Trial by Fire, oft-used phrasing that is applied to hard times & is biblical. But we must remember–

  • It has a purpose.
  • It is truly a fire
  • It hurts
  • It changes
  • It wins

Peter speaks of trial of faith here. It exists & the blood of Christ gained by faith does not omit us it demands our trying. The subject is faith to turn it more precious than gold. This is the third type of biblical fire we endure. This is the exact same word that we covered in Matthew 3:11 & 12 Pur (poor) In Scripture, fire is often used figuratively – like with the “fire of God” which transforms all it touches into light and likeness with itself

God’s Spirit, like a holy fire, enlightens and purifies so that believers can share more and more in His likeness. Indeed the fire of God brings the uninterrupted privilege of being transformed which happens by experiencing faith from Him. Our lives can become true offerings to Him as we obey this imparted faith from God by His power. Peter brought up fire again 3 chapters again.

1 Peter 4:12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,

Peter goes back to Chapter 1 declaring it is coming, & this is about refining it is not uncommon to have. Expect it. This is trying. This is crushing at times. Nothing is off-limits.

This time fire in the GR is a more direct word, purósis a burning, hence a refining.  Peter’s point here is that do not be surprised that you are dealing with a trial. A trial is a means of testing, & we do not usually enjoy testing. What is testing in the walk with Christ? A test is the method by which you prove to the teacher that you know how to apply what you have learned. The problem is unlike school testing it is not limited to an hour or so, it can be very prolonged. This can be very trying & painful. So we call out to the Lord asking questions and we get nothing back. Why?

Perry Stone once said that God will go silent on you during testing because during a test you cannot expect the teacher to give you guidance. It is testing on what you know. All things of greater value & strength get tried.

The shield in the opening verse is observing you by creating a perimeter which things are allowed to pass through. But I want you to catch this, only what he wants to get through will get through. The trial, whether it is a relational, or financial or spiritual or physical, even a combination of, It has a purpose. This form of Biblical fire has come into your life to see what you have learned & how well you know how to apply it!