The final sermon in our 'Exiles' series based in 1 Peter 5, looking at how God sustains us by His grace and calls us to Himself in glory 'after we have suffered a little while'.
The Kipchoge Smile - 2.8% more economic than when frowning and 2.2% more economical than when neutral. He taught himself to force a smile:
“When you smile and you’re happy, you can trigger the mind to not feel your legs.” AND
“The way you think about pain and suffering is the way your life will turn out.”
We have come today to the final part of the letter and our series in 1 Peter. And as we reach the end, Peter lifts our eyes to see our finish line…the goal of the Christian life.
And Peter’s challenge is this: Don’t just finish—finish well. We don’t want to trick our minds to not feel the suffering, but we certainly want to have a view of suffering that helps us make choices in the midst of a life with high highs and deep lows, and build a good life, a blessed life, a fruitful life and an eternal life on the foundation of Jesus.
So as we come to the close of this letter, let me read our passage together.
1 Peter 5:
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of
the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
10 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. 11 To him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. 13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with the kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
We will briefly touch on the first half of the passage and then look at the 6 points Peter makes to help sustain us to the end of the Christian life.
I. BRIEF SURVEY OF 1 PETER 5:1–9 — THE CONTEXT FOR SUFFERING WELL
Before we dive into verses 10–12—which are our focus—Peter sets the scene with three important themes: leadership, humility, and spiritual warfare. All three are essential for suffering well.
1. Elders Shepherding Through Suffering (vv. 1–4)
Peter begins chapter 5 speaking to elders—pastors, shepherds, overseers.
Shepherd the flock among you.
Not under compulsion, but willingly.
Not for shameful gain, but eagerly.
Not domineering, but being examples.
And do it all with your eyes on the Chief Shepherd, who will appear.
Why start here?
Because suffering churches need gentle, faithful, humble shepherds who reflect the heart of Jesus. When life hurts, God calls leaders not to control, but to care—not to dominate, but to disciple. Pointing people to the scriptures, to the gospel and to Jesus both in words and through the example of their own lives.
For those who are leaders and especially those who will grow to become elders in Mosaic and other churches, there is a reward for leading and serving well. There are also great warnings for us to consider.
As always, ‘What would Jesus do’ is a great question to ask if we’re in doubt.
2. The Flock Following With Humility (vv. 5–7)
Peter then addresses the congregation:
“You who are younger, be subject to the elders.”
“Clothe yourselves… with humility toward one another.”
“Humble yourselves… casting all your anxieties on Him.”
Suffering often makes us grasp for control. Anxiety grows. Fear rises. Tempers shorten. And Peter says: humility towards God and one another is part of the way through suffering. Trust God. Release control. Cast your anxieties on Him—He cares for you. Ultimately it is God who will get you through.
Also, God uses ‘one another’, community to help us go through the storms of suffering. Remind of Gods faithfulness, be Gods hands towards one another, be an arm around the shoulder.
3. The Enemy Attacking the Suffering Christian (vv. 8–9)
Now Peter brings up the spiritual enemy:
“Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion.”
He seeks to devour.
Resist him.
Stand firm.
Story: I as young Christian, discouraged a little at work, the woman I loved was very far away. I encountered a demon as I was emailing in my room one night. I was terrified, and tried everything. It remained while the fear remained.
In suffering, you are spiritually vulnerable. The devil loves discouraged Christians. He loves tired Christians. He loves isolated Christians. He wants to wear you down through pressure, persecution, pain, and doubt.
I remember a friend of mine preaching on this passage once, and he said: Remember that Jesus pulled the teeth of the lion, so all he can do is roar. But some Christians are so soft that he can ‘gum’ them to death.
But Peter is preparing us for hope—the devil wants to devour, but God wants to develop.
II. THE HEART OF THE PASSAGE (vv. 10–12): SIX TRUTHS TO SUSTAIN US TO THE END
Here we slow down today as the main emphasis.
They are Peter’s one-paragraph theology of suffering and hope.
1. Know God’s Character – He is “the God of all grace”
Notice the title Peter chooses: “the God of all grace.”
Not:
the God of fairness
the God of justice
the God of truth
the God of love
Though He is all those things.
Peter wants suffering Christians to know this above all: God deals with you on the basis of grace.
Grace in the Bible isn’t just a nice feeling—it is the covenant by which God relates to His people. It is the promises of God towards us:
Under the Law, God demands righteousness and perfection.
Under Grace, God gives righteousness.
Under the Law, one single sin makes you a sinner.
Under Grace, one Saviour makes you righteous.
A helpful way to remember grace is this:
G.R.A.C.E. — God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
What expense? The expense of His death in our place. When Jesus was crucified, He fulfilled what none of us ever could. God’s law, given to Moses at Sinai, demands perfect righteousness. But no matter how hard we try, we know—we are far from perfect. That has always been the point. The law reveals our inability to save ourselves and points us toward our need for a Saviour.
The entire Old Testament builds this longing for the Messiah (Christmas). And when Jesus came, He came as the suffering servant—fully God and fully man. He alone perfectly kept God’s law. He alone was truly righteous. And because He was sinless, He alone could stand in the place of sinners before a Holy God.
On the cross, Jesus suffered the punishment sin deserved, but not His sin, our sin. He took our guilt and, in exchange, gives us His righteousness and holiness and perfection. That is why we can say for those who believe in Jesus for their salvation and receives this, that God offers grace to sinners at Christ’s expense.
And this is why God is not harsh with you when you suffer. He is not standing over you in disapproval. Suffering isn’t your punishment from God for your sin. He is the God of all grace, the God who has already dealt with your sin fully through the suffering and death of Jesus.
How often do we do this? When we suffer, our first question is why God? What have I done wrong? This feels like the very normal human reaction to suffering.
Peter wants your final impression of God to be this:
When you suffer, you are not in the hands of an angry God. Quite the opposite, you are in the hands of the God of all grace.
2. Know God’s Calling – “Who called you to His eternal glory”
God’s plan for you does not end with grace for today—it ends with glory forever. Glory forever is built on the foundation of the ‘God of all grace’.
Jesus prayed in John 17:24:
“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me (demonstrated grace to) be with Me where I am, to see My glory…”
You have not merely been saved—you have been called to eternal glory.
Glory means ‘weight’, ‘heaviness’, ‘real substance’.
This lifts your horizon. It helps you see beyond the pain of today to the glory of tomorrow.
Paul captures this in 2 Corinthians 4:
“Our light and momentary troubles are producing for us an eternal weight of glory.”
Glory is coming.
Try if you can to imagine your moment of greatest joy so far in your life. For me I get a collage of my wedding day, the birth of our children, flying planes, discipling new believers in different places around the world. Climbing beautiful mountains. Travelling across great deserts on my motorcycle. Peter would say to me, that there is nothing amongst all the most beautiful and true and real things in this life, that can compare to being with Jesus in His eternal glory.
Realistically, this means heaven. And realistically, unless Jesus comes back for us before our death, that this ‘glory’ that Peter is referring to, will only be experienced on the other side of death, when we close our eyes in this life and open it in the next.
Peters idea is that glory of God that awaits us through the grace of God helps us to lift our eyes when suffering comes.
Application:
Suffering causes us to look inward and downward. Grace now and the promise of glory soon, causes us to lift our eyes off ourselves and our situation, and to lock them onto Jesus.
3. Know God’s identity – “In Christ Jesus”
Everything—grace, glory, and the promises of this verse—comes only through Jesus.
Peter writes:
“Who called you to His eternal glory IN CHRIST JESUS”
Grace is not automatic. Glory is not automatic. Heaven is not automatic.
Jesus said:
“You must be born again.”
“I am the way… no one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Story: I remember painfully taking my fathers funeral after his death. I spoke warmly and lovingly about my dad, but also truthfully that he had not been a follower of Jesus and was quite firmly anti-God. I spoke about how it saddened my deeply that if I take my dad at his words, that I wouldn’t see my dad in heaven. I cannot tell the number of people who came to me afterwards and told me that they were sure my dad was in heaven, because he was such a good man.
I get that God can do whatever he wants and thankfully is the final and ultimate judge, and we will most certainly be surprised when we get to heaven when we see who is there and who isn’t.
But ultimately thinking good people go to heaven is like looking at a beautiful car without the keys. The Keys to heaven are exclusively in the hands of Jesus. You can be in church, be in a LifeGroup, be around Christians weekly, even own a Bible, and not have the keys to eternity because you are not IN CHRIST yet.
If you take Christ, you get the whole package:
grace for today
glory for eternity
Everything God promises in this passage flows through Christ.
4. Know God’s Curriculum – “After you have suffered a little while”
Suffering is not random. It is not meaningless. It is part of the Christian curriculum.
Everyone suffers. But for believers, suffering becomes purposeful.
Romans 8:28:
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good..”
Story: Joshua and I were talking about this the other day in the car. How is it that Sodium which a poisonous element, and Chlorine which is a poisonous element, when mixed give us something that makes food taste amazing…salt.
Paul understood this. He had a thorn in the flesh—something painful, humbling, persistent. He called it “a messenger of Satan,” yet said, “It was given to me.” God allowed it to keep him from pride.
Paul prayed for it to go away. God said no.
Why?
Because sometimes grace does a deeper work through pain than without it.
Duration: Peter compares suffering with glory:
Suffering = “a little while”
Glory = “eternal”
This life’s suffering and pain is temporary; your future glory is forever. Again, he’s saying, lift your head to your saviour who gives us grace and draws us to himself in ETERNAL glory.
5. Know God’s Commitment – “He will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you”
Now Peter gives four promises God Himself will accomplish:
Restore — mend what suffering has broken.
Confirm — make firm what is fragile.
Strengthen — infuse power where there was weakness.
Establish — ground you on an immovable foundation.
God does not outsource your sanctification. He doesn’t hand you off to someone else.
He Himself will do these things.
Even when:
the devil attacks,
life overwhelms,
and suffering presses in,
God is working to fortify you.
STORY: It doesn’t look like it but I’ve started going to the gym again after being ill for a long while. What happens in the gym is that you train a muscle and you actually create little tears in the muscle, which is why you’re often really sore. But when the tears heal, the muscle that is grown is stronger than the previous muscle and can handle heavier weights.
A bit like going to the gym, what the devil intends to destroy you with tears, God uses to develop you with growth of stronger muscle.
6. Know God’s Compensation – “To Him be the glory and dominion forever”
Peter ends with a doxology:
“To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
This is not just a closing line. It is the conclusion of the entire letter. It is the natural outcome, an outpouring of worship and love and appreciation.
At the end of all things—when suffering is over, refinement complete, and we stand in eternal glory—we will look back and say:
“Everything God did was right. Everything God allowed was good. To Him be the glory.”
There will be no complaining in heaven. No accusing. No “God, You owe me answers.” Where’s my dad or why did we get in a terrible car accident, or why didn’t we have that house at the beach!!
We will fall down on our faces in wonder and say:
“Glory to You forever.”
Dear Mosaic family and guests, after all is said and done, we can see how Jesus cries and mourns with those who suffer because He understands. But He not only understands, but he pours out grace upon grace into our lives to sustain us every day.
His grace is a daily reminder of the eternal glory that is to come for those who hold onto Jesus to the end.
We get to practice now in this life what we will be doing for eternity in heaven, declaring ‘Glory to You forever’.
AMEN
MOSAIC CHURCH