And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
"What this verse promises is this: if God called you to his glory, he's going to get you to his glory. A little suffering in between is not going to stop him. "The meaning of being a Christian is that we have been effectually called to eternal glory . . . This is Peter's way of saying what Paul said in Romans 8:30: 'Who God calls he also justifies, and who he justifies he also glorifies.' Peter simply says, The One who called you to his glory will get you to his glory: he will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. It's a promise. You can take it for yourself if you will have it and believe it and bank on it in . . . "And I urge you to take it. When Peter says that 'the God of all grace' makes this promise, he wants to help you believe that it's for you. You may say, It can't be for me. I'm not qualified. I'm not spiritual. Peter says, you don't start with being qualified. You start with the God of all grace. Grace precedes qualification. You may have this promise freely, if you will believe in this God of all grace." ~ John Piper [emphasis added] |
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