1 Peter 4:12
"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you..."
As God's children living in this world, we should not be surprised that we will experience trials, afflictions, and opposition. Perhaps some think they will be protected from grief and sorrowful experiences because they are God's children. The thought is that if the LORD Jesus has paid their sinful debt, the effect will be complete protection from any evil that may confront them. Yet, here, the apostle exhorts believers to courage and steadfastness in the face of opposition, indicating that trials should be expected and should not surprise them.
Here, particularly, it is not just any trial but specifically that of persecution for Christ's sake. Our LORD told His disciples before He went to the cross: "Remember the word that I said unto you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). Persecution for Christ's sake should not catch the LORD's children off guard. All ought to be prepared for persecution—not by dreading it, but rather as a blessing, counting themselves worthy to suffer for Christ's sake. In the book of Acts, after the apostles were beaten for testifying in Christ's name, they declared: "And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name" (Acts 5:40).
Who are those to whom this exhortation pertains? The "beloved" of the LORD were chosen by God before the foundation of the world, given to the LORD Jesus, who came and died in their place, and are called by the Spirit of God to Him. "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied" (1 Peter 1:2).
What is the nature of the exhortation that Peter writes to these beloved ones of God? It is two-fold:
Think it not strange. — The same word is used in 1 Peter 4:4: "Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you." It literally means feeling like people in a strange country—lost and bewildered. It is further explained by the clause, “as though some strange thing were (by bad fortune) happening unto you.” These Hebrew believers were not to think that, because they had been redeemed and justified by Christ's death, they would therefore be exempt from persecution.
The fiery trial which is to try you. — The fiery trial was not future, but present. It states, "The fiery trial that is presently trying you." At this point in history, the Church in Asia was enduring fierce persecution because of the Faith that God had revealed in them and caused them to believe, in opposition to all the attempts of the Roman Empire and Judaizers to extinguish them. The word that describes this persecution that they were enduring is only found elsewhere in Revelation 18:8-9 as “burning,” hence a "fiery" trial.
What confidence do God's children have when called upon by God to suffer for Christ's sake?
"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"
(1 Peter 1:7).
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