Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 2 Study # 5
March 1, 2009
Lincolnton, N.C.
1769 Translation:
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1901 ASV Translation:
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials,
7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ:
8 whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9 receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
- I. The Rejoicing of the Elect.
- A. The realm of the rejoicing is the "prepared salvation" of 1:5.
- B. The nature of the "rejoicing" is revealed by the word Peter chose to use in this text ("agalliao").
- 1. In Matthew 5:12 Jesus used two words to indicate some level of "rejoicing". The first is "chairo" and it is the more "typical" (used seventy-four times in the New Testament). The second is "agalliao" (used only eleven times in the New Testament and never by Paul). The translators, recognizing a distinction in meaning, translated the former as "rejoice" and the latter as "be exceeding glad". The setting is significantly negative (persecution) and the focus is upon the "great" reward that belongs to them in the future.
- 2. In Luke 1:14 the angel Gabriel told Zacharias that he would have "joy" ("chara", the noun form of the verb "chairo") and "gladness" ("agalliasis", the noun form of the verb "agalliao") when his son was born, not only because he was getting the longing of his heart, but because that son was to be "great in the sight of the Lord". This is the same kind of "doubling up" that Jesus did in the Matthew 5:12 text and indicates a certain paucity of ability in describing the emotion of Zacharias that the birth of his son was to bring (one does not "stack up words" unless there is "too much" involved in the concept to communicate with a simple descriptive term).
- 3. In Luke 1:44 Elizabeth claimed that when Mary's voice sounded upon her ears, her baby "leaped in [her] womb for joy" (agalliasis).
- 4. In Luke 1:47 Mary claims that her "spirit" was involved in this "rejoicing" in God because He had elevated her above "all generations."
- 5. In Luke 10:21 we are told that Jesus "rejoiced" in His spirit because of the way that His Father had moved to hide "these things" from the wise and prudent and to reveal them to "babes".
- 6. In Acts 2:46 Luke used the same word to describe the early church when they had first believed, held all things in common, and were in daily worship without conflict with one another.
- 7. Hebrews 1:9 claims that because "thou has loved righteousness and hated iniquity; ...God...hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." In other words, this emotional state is directly connected to one's commitment to righteousness.
- 8. And Jude 24 uses the same word to describe what will be the case when a believer is "presented faultless before the presence of His glory".
- C. The circumstances of the "rejoicing" include "grief" because of a host of difficulties.
- 1. This is a difficult statement because it posits antithetical "emotions". How does one "rejoice with exceeding joy" while being subjected to "many" and "serious" problems?
- 2. There may be some help in the verb tenses. The "grief" is presented "aoristicly" (a point in time reaction) while the "rejoicing" is presented as an on-going reality. This may well signify the fact that the events of the troubles have a temporary impact upon those upon whom they fall because they challenge them to adjust their values and, once they "adjust", they return to the joy. Whether this happens, or not, is heavily dependent upon the concept in 1:8 called "believing". This implies that when one is faced with flawed values, they are adjusted by faith.