The Perfecting Grace 1 Peter 5:10

Recently I have been studying 1 Peter 5:10. I have thought about this verse for months. I have reflected about it, talked with friends and family members, and have even spoken a message from this text. The verse states "After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you."

I first thought about the suffering for a little while. What does it mean to suffer? Is this suffering apart of our fallen nature or is it apart of our Christian growth or both? Thinking about this I believe that it is both. We suffer first in our fallen nature by being separated from God. We also suffer in our Christian growth from the spiritual attacks on our relationship with Christ. But the promise of God's grace is through perfecting grace. Even though we may suffer, we do not have to succumb to the temptations that destroys God's work in and through us. So the old saying that we cannot be prefect does apply to our nature, but it stands in contrast to God's desire to perfect us for what He created us to be. Because He is perfect, He is the only one who can perfect us to be what we were called to be.

To be confirmed in God's eyes is to have confirmation meaning to be in tune with God's spirit. To be in tune with God's spirit we must be in communion with Him in all walks of life. In both our personal life and public life. God is seen in our attitude and actions. Confirmed is for others to notice the difference about our life. But how do you grow in confirmation of God's direction for your life? How do you know that He has confirmed upon you His grace? I believe that this is where the third word comes into focus.

One cannot be confirmed if they are not strengthen in the things of God. Here in this verse the connotation of the word strengthen in the Greek is used here only once. It literally is the only form of a positive use of the word strengthen in all of scripture. But this strength is not obtained by our actions, but by Christ actions upon the cross. His actions on the cross "love" is bestowed upon those who commit their life to Him. This grace flows from Him, through us, allowing us to feel the confirmation of His spirit in tune with our spirit strengthening us to face the difficulties of  this life. Last is the establishment of a foundation.

When we have been perfected, confirmed, and strengthened, we have an established foundation upon which to encourage holiness of heart, fellowship with Him as His child, know His strength, to establish a desire for perfection. One thing is true, we all want that perfect life to be filled with achievement and success. But without God's strength we will fall short of the mark. The question you must ask yourself; Do I desire a less than perfect life or do I desire a perfect life? If it is the latter then seek the God of grace and ask for the forgiveness that strengthens our communion with our Savior.