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Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV
Our passage today highlights the interesting yet absolutely necessary tension that is always present in our walk with Christ, and that is: faith.
The writer of Hebrews defines faith rather simply in the opening of Hebrews 11, also known as the Hall of Faith: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter says, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him…” This statement emphasizes the profound reality of faith. We love and believe in a God that we cannot see with our eyes or hear with our ears, yet we know He is as real as our own skin or the house we live in. We trust our soul and eternity to a Savior we have never seen, yet we know Him, believe in Him, and love Him as much as we do our closest friend or family members. It is an intimacy that is reserved solely for Christians – a relationship with God that is strikingly personal and magnificent, and one that the lost simply cannot understand or relate to.
Jesus emphasized the importance of faith throughout His ministry, commending those who had it, like the Roman solider who asked for healing for his servant (see Matt. 8:10), and those who did not, like the disciples in the boat during the storm (see Matt 4:40). In fact, the Apostle Peter’s faith was questioned several times in scripture. It was Peter who walked on water with Jesus until his faith faltered (Matt. 14:30-31) and it was Peter of whom Christ asked three times, “do you love me?” (see John 21:15-17).
And we are no better than Peter. How many times have we doubted God, doubted that He has our best interests at heart, doubted that He loves us as much as He says He does, even doubted that He can save us? Yet, even in these times of doubting, Peter’s history tells us that God is always far more faithful than we could ever be. It is God who will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).
Peter says in this faith we “rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.” This is not happiness, it is joy, and a joy that is deep inside our hearts. It rests like a soft pillow on top of our faith, a cushion for the times in life where we are forced to trust our unseen God. It is the buffer in a Christian’s life between the “already” and the “not yet”. Christ has already secured our salvation and we are eternally His, but we have not yet seen His glory and experienced the true peace and blessing of being in His presence.
Verse 9 explains the reason for our joy: “obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” Our faith is not aimless or misplaced trust in religion or a distant, uncompassionate god, but instead it is the anchor of our salvation through Christ. Peter assures us that our faith, though tested by various trials and temptations, will ultimately result in deliverance from sin and death, and eventually being brought into eternal life with Christ. This is outcome of our faith.
Here we are reminded to celebrate the unseen yet certain reality of Christ and our relationship with Him. Love, faith, and joy are rooted in the hope of salvation only He can give us, and even our faith is a gift He graciously gives (see Eph 2:8, Heb 12:2). To God be the glory!