２
If the proving of our faith is positive, the proving will result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ—vv. 7-8:
ａ
The Lord is with us today (Matt. 28:20) but in a hidden, veiled way.
ｂ
His coming back will be His revelation, when He will be seen openly by all—Rev. 1:7.
ｃ
At that time not only He but also the proving of our faith will be revealed.
Ⅲ
The proving of our faith being found unto praise, glory, and honor results in receiving the end of our faith—the salvation of our souls—1 Pet. 1:9:
A
The salvation in verse 5 is full salvation, ultimate salvation, the salvation of the Triune God; it refers specifically to the salvation of our souls from the dispensational punishment of the Lord's governmental dealing at His coming back.
B
This is the salvation—the salvation of our souls—which is ready to be revealed to us at the last time, the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ in glory; the salvation of our souls is the end of our faith—vv. 9, 13; Matt. 16:27.
C
Our soul will be saved from sufferings into the full enjoyment of the Lord at His revelation, His coming back—25:31:
１
For this salvation we must deny our soul, our soulish life, with all its pleasures in this age so that we may gain it in the enjoyment of the Lord in the coming age—10:37-39; 16:24-27; Luke 17:30-33; John 12:25:
ａ
To lose the soul-life means to lose the enjoyment of the soul, and to save the soul-life means to preserve the soul in its enjoyment—Matt. 16:25.
ｂ
We will either lose our soul-life today and gain it in the coming age, or save our soul-life today and lose it in the coming age.
ｃ
If we would enter into the Lord's joy in the coming age, we need to pay the price in this age by losing our soul-life—25:21, 23.
Morning Nourishment
1 Pet. 1:6-7 …You have been made sorrowful by various trials, 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.9 Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The various trials in 1 Peter 1:6 are that the proving of our faith [in verse 7] may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of the Lord. The proving of our faith to be found unto praise, glory, and honor results in the obtaining of the end of our faith, that is, the salvation of our souls [in verse 9]. The salvation in verse 9 is full salvation, the salvation which is in three stages—the initial stage, the progressing stage, and the completing stage. We are of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. Our spirit has been saved through regeneration (John 3:5-6). Our body will be saved, redeemed, through the coming transfiguration (Rom. 8:23; Phil. 3:21). Our soul will be saved from sufferings into the full enjoyment of the Lord at His unveiling, His coming back. For this we have to deny our soul, our soulish life, with all its pleasures in this age, that we may gain it in the enjoyment of the Lord in the coming age (Matt. 10:37-39; 16:24-27; Luke 17:30-33; John 12:25). (Life-study of 1 Peter, pp. 46, 50)
Today’s Reading
Salvation in Matthew 16:24-27 and 10:37-39 comes from losing our soul-life; it is obtained by our willingness to pay the price of sacrificing our soul… Save refers to receiving a reward when the Lord returns in glory because we were willing to deny ourselves, take up our cross, follow the Lord, and lose our soul-life for the Lord’s sake. According to the New Testament, this reward is our entrance into the millennial kingdom and our enjoyment of the joy of our Lord (25:21). The enjoyment of joy is particularly related to the soul. If we are not willing to lose our enjoyment in this age, we will save our soul-life today but lose our soul-life in the future; that is, we will lose our soul’s enjoyment in the millennial kingdom. If we are willing to sacrifice our soul’s enjoyment for the Lord’s sake in this age, even to the extent of losing our soul-life, we will find our soul-life in the future; that is, we will obtain a reward when the Lord returns, and our soul will enjoy the joy of the millennial kingdom with the Lord. This is the salvation of the soul.Our soul is not only where we experience joy and happiness but also where we experience suffering. Whether we experience joy or suffering, these are particularly felt in the soul… All the ridicule, persecution, and harm that we receive from others because we believe, serve, and follow the Lord cause our soul to suffer. For example, some want to love the Lord, but their spouse does not agree and gives them trouble. Others want to serve God and take the Lord’s way, but their parents or children oppose them, their friends reject them, and even their closest relatives and neighbors persecute them. These are sufferings to the soul. If we do not love and follow the Lord because we want to avoid these sufferings, we will save our soul-life and avoid them. However, this will cause us to lose the enjoyment of the kingdom in our soul. If we are willing to bear these sufferings for the Lord’s sake, we will allow our soul to be troubled, to be dealt with, to be put to death, to be lost, and to be sacrificed for the Lord. This will be the salvation of our soul, and it will enable our soul to enjoy the joy of the Lord in the future.
Our soul is just our self. If we are willing to deny our self, to put the self to death without saving it, we will lose, rather than save, our soul-life. If we are willing to do this today, we will experience the Lord’s life in our spirit and enjoy the joy of the Lord in our soul in the future. In the future, when we enjoy the joy of the Lord in our soul, we will find our soul-life and obtain the salvation of our soul. (CWWL, 1932-1949, vol. 3, “Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 1,” pp. 260-261)
Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Peter, msg. 6