Greater Glory

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. I Peter 4;13-14 (KJV)

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. I Peter 4 :12-19 (KJV)

Peter wrote to the suffering church that was being persecuted and had been scattered throughout (I Peter 1:1), just like James had written to the 12 tribes scattered (James 1:1). Like the early church, we go through tough times and we think it is strange. We ask, “What is going on?” We think it is odd that we are mistreated for being a Christian or for acting Christlike. Christ was persecuted and we will be too.

Peter said happy are you because you are suffering? Yes, you can be happy in the midst of trials because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. God gives us grace and glory to go through all we face. God’s glory is tronger than our persecution or our suffering, and as we suffer, we can glorify God by the Spirit of glory that is on us. Therefore, we endure by that which is great than the suffering, pain, and mistreatment.

It is better to suffer for the will of God, being a believer, and naming the name of Christ than to suffer as an evildoer. As we suffer persecution and choose to commit our souls to God’s keeping like Jesus did, God will cause us to triumph. As a result, God is glorified in what we go through. We win whether through life or death. God’s glory is our reward, which is better by far than anything this world can give us and will outlast any trial we go through.