Joy that is Inexpressible

Have you ever been speechless? Has something so overwhelmed you that you can’t find the words to express what you are seeing or experiencing? There is one instance in my life that clearly stands out. It was our first trip to Germany. We were visiting my cousin but stopped in Cologne on the way. My Dad told us we had to go see the Dom Cathedral. It was the highlight of his time in Germany. So, we did.

We had long flights to Germany and immediately got on a train from Frankfurt to Cologne. We were exhausted. I read that you could see the Cathedral from the train station. We exited the train station into this plaza. I looked straight ahead and then to the right. Nothing. Just normal buildings. I complained to my husband that the information must be wrong. Where was the Dom Cathedral?

My husband told me to look left.

My breath caught. I couldn’t find words. I still would not do justice describing taking in the Dom Cathedral that first time. Notice how small the people are in the picture above. As we stood there in the plaza looking at the Dom Cathedral, it filled the sky. It was beautiful. There were more intricate details just on the outside than I could ever count. I could not express what I was seeing and feeling. I could only stare in wonder.

1 Peter 1:3-9 reminds me of that day in Cologne, but when Peter describes that we “rejoice with joy that is inexpressible,” he is referring to something that far surpasses the most breathtaking things we see on earth. Let’s discover what evokes rejoicing with joy that is inexpressible.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 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, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. [1]

There are differing opinions on who Peter’s audience was – Jewish Christians or Gentile Christians. I try to be careful about “rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). The verses we are looking at are more of foundational truths for all Christians, so I think we can learn from and be encouraged either way. However, it is a good reminder to consider who a text is being written to when you study a passage.

After his greeting, Peter begins in verse 3 with praise to God, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” Peter will elaborate on our salvation, but before he does, he praises God from whom our salvation comes. When was the last time you praised God for your salvation?

Peter continues, “According to His great mercy.” We might not voice it aloud, but we can take our salvation for granted. We forget that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), or that we were sinners and enemies of God (Romans 5:8, 10). There was nothing in us deserving of God’s love and salvation. Instead, we are lulled into thinking we aren’t that bad compared to so and so. We serve in the church. We pray and read the Bible. Or maybe that day of salvation was so long ago, that it has lost its impact. Peter wipes away any complacent, take-it-for-granted thoughts regarding salvation. It is only according to God’s great mercy. Peter could have just said “God’s mercy,” but he qualifies mercy with great so there is no mistaking what an immense, undeserved gift God has blessed us with.

“No other attribute could have helped us had mercy been refused. As we are by nature, justice condemns us, holiness frowns upon us, power crushes us, truth confirms the threatening of the law, and wrath fulfils it. It is from the mercy of our God that all our hopes begin” (Spurgeon). [2]

Peter follows God’s great mercy with, “He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” God caused. I am thankful that according to God’s great mercy, He caused me to be made new, to save me, to be born again to a living hope, to an inheritance. We have eternal life because Jesus Himself has conquered death and is alive. On my own, I would not have been born again.

How is this inheritance described? Peter says it is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading (vs 4). He asserts that our inheritance cannot perish, cannot be defiled (degraded or soiled) and cannot fade away like earthly things. Why? Because it is kept in heaven for us. By God’s own power, we are being guarded (vs 5). Our promised inheritance is definite, sure because it is our omnipotent God who keeps us.

This certainty in God’s power to keep us and His promise to do so is what enables us through faith to withstand until Jesus returns. Peter is saturating us in who God is and what He has done for us (indicatives). We need reminding of these truths considering what Peter discloses next. “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials” (vs 6)

Yikes! Rejoice. Grieved. Trials. Those three words don’t seem to fit together. Peter has been preparing us for the grief by trials we will face. He didn’t need to prepare us to withstand through a fairy tale life. Peter was preparing us to endure by faith through the trials.

Maybe you are seeing the connection between grieved and trials, but how does rejoicing connect? Peter informs us that the trials test the genuineness of our faith which is more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire. “God’s purpose in testing is to display the enduring quality of our faith.”[3]

“Even If” by MercyMe is a favorite song of mine especially through my times of cancer. This is a line from the first verse that reflects what Peter is teaching us. “It’s easy to sing when there’s nothing to bring me down, but what will I say when I’m held to the flame like I am right now.” The first time I was told I had cancer I panicked. I went through all the “what ifs…” I threw a pity party. I was behaving as if God had ceased to be good, ceased to be sovereign. Thankfully, God did not leave me there. He grew my faith. He reminded me of who He was, what He had done, and what future I look forward to, like Peter has in our verses today. By God’s grace and mercy, I endured through faith, clinging to what God in His Word says is true. This is what Peter is talking about. Trials reveal whether our faith is genuine, whether we are standing firm in what we say we believe.

Genuine faith is more precious than gold. Why? It results in praise, glory, and honor of our merciful, faithful God. Others may witness the testing of our faith and also glorify God (Matthew 5:16).

Peter had the privilege of seeing, walking with, talking with, doing life with Jesus. The churches he wrote to in 1 Peter didn’t (vs 8). We haven’t had that privilege, but Jesus is no less real to us. In reconciling us to Himself through His death and resurrection, we can love and trust Him, and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. Wow! I love that phrase “joy that is inexpressible.” Our joy in what God has done in us through Jesus is beyond words. So weighty, there is no way to do justice in expressing it. I also love that Peter says that joy is “filled with glory.” We may not have the words to convey our joy for all God has done for us, but it still brings Him glory.

I’ve read through this passage repeatedly the past several days, and I keep thinking, “I want to rejoice with joy inexpressible.” It seems beyond what I feel, but I’m praying that God would give me a deeper understanding of His great mercy that caused my salvation. the living hope and inheritance He has given me, and the genuineness of my faith that He has and is purifying, so I will more and more rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.

Reflection

1. When was the last time you meditated on the magnitude of your salvation which resulted from God’s great mercy in Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection? Take time to do that now. Write out specific aspects of your salvation that cause you to rejoice?

2. “Joy that is inexpressible” does not mean that we avoid expressing our joy and praise to God. Spend time expressing to God what joy-filled words you do have. If you are struggling with feeling and rejoicing with this kind of joy, pray that God would grow joy inexpressible in you.

3. Give specific examples of how grief by trials has proven the genuineness of your faith. Thank God for His faithfulness in growing your faith and proving the genuineness of it.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Pe 1:3–9. [2] David Guzik, 1 Peter, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), 1 Pe 1:3–5. [3] David Guzik, 1 Peter, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), 1 Pe 1:6–9.