«　WEEK 7　DAY 3　»

　　1 Pet. 1:7 So that the proving of your faith, much more precious than of gold which perishes though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

　　4:12 Beloved, do not think that the fiery ordeal among you, coming to you for a trial, is strange, as if it were a strange thing happening to you.

　　The Bible shows us that there can be no faith without testing. All faith must be tested. Faith has to be tested for the following reasons. God tests our faith in order that we may grow. No Christian can grow without first having his faith tested. Every Christian who is growing has his faith tested. I can say without reservation that all Christian faith must be tested. The only way for faith to grow is by testing. The only way that God helps us grow is by testing our faith. We come to God and receive all of His grace by faith. When our faith is tested, we spontaneously grow.

　　God tests our faith not only for our growth but also to satisfy Himself. No one who has believed in the Lord and received God’s grace can avoid the testing of faith. The testing of faith proves that we have genuine faith. It is genuine faith that satisfies God. A faith that is approved is a glory to God’s name. God’s name is glorified in this world through an approved faith. When we pass through tribulations, persecutions, obstacles, and darkness, and we still believe after these tests and still stand fast after these trials, this faith will glorify God’s name. (CWWN, vol. 24, “The Overcoming Life,” p. 129)

　　In 1 Peter 1:7 Peter gives the reason we are put into trials. We are put into trials because our faith needs to be tested, proved. The Greek word rendered “proving” means testing for approval. It is the proving, the testing, of our faith, not our faith itself, that may be found unto praise. This may be compared to an examination in school related to a student’s study. It is not the student’s study itself that is found approved; rather, it is the examination that is found to be approved. Of course, the approval of our faith comes out of the proper faith. The emphasis here is not on our faith; the emphasis is on the proving of our faith by the trials through sufferings. A good student will actually welcome the opportunity to be examined. An examination will prove how thoroughly he has studied and how much he knows concerning the material on which he is being tested. Without examinations, a superior student would never be proved to be outstanding. A student who studies diligently may look forward to an examination because it will prove, both to the student himself and to others, that he is an excellent student. This is an illustration of what Peter means by the proving of our faith.

　　In verse 7 Peter says that the proving of our faith is “much more precious than of gold which perishes though it is proved by fire.” The words much more precious than of gold… by fire do not modify faith; they modify the proving. This means that the proving of our faith is much more precious than the proving of gold. The comparison here is not that between faith and gold. Many Christians understand verse 7 in this way; however, this understanding is wrong. The comparison here is that between the proving of our faith and the proving of gold. Gold is proved by the purifying fire. In like manner, our faith is proved by trial. This proving is certainly more precious than the proving of gold. In verse 7 Peter uses the adjective precious. Peter in his two Epistles presents us five precious things: the precious stone, which is the Lord Himself (1 Pet. 2:4, 6-7); the precious blood (1 Pet. 1:19); the precious promises (2 Pet. 1:4); the precious faith (2 Pet. 1:1); and the precious proving (1 Pet. 1:7). (Life-study of 1 Peter, pp. 45-46)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 24, “The Overcoming Life,” ch. 8