That the trial of your faith (much more precious than gold which is tried by the fire) may be found unto praise and glory and honour at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
ινα το δοκιμιον υμων της πιστεως πολυ τιμιωτερον χρυσιου του απολλυμενου δια πυρος δε δοκιμαζομενου ευρεθη εις επαινον και τιμην και εις δοξαν εν αποκαλυψει ιησου χριστου
11 Church Fathers comment on this verse
The righteous are subjected to troubles in order to be crowned, and sinners in order to be punished. But not all sinners are punished here, lest many deny the resurrection.
Nor do all the righteous suffer, lest you think evil worthy of praise and come to hate virtue.
As the Teacher in His promise announces not only joy, but also sorrow, saying, “In the world you will have tribulation” (Jn 16:33), so the Apostle adds to the word about joy, “having been grieved.”
But since this too is sorrowful, he now adds “for a little while,” and this agrees with his Leader. For He also says, “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy” (Jn 16:20).
Or the word “now” should be referred to joy, since future joy will follow it, not brief, but lasting and endless.
Since speech about temptations causes disturbance, the Apostle indicates the purpose of temptations. Through them your proven character becomes more manifest and more precious than gold, just as gold tested by fire is more highly valued by men.
He adds, “if need be,” teaching that not every believer and not every sinner is tested by sorrows. Neither the one nor the other is left in them forever.
The righteous who suffer sorrows endure them in order to receive crowns. Sinners suffer them as punishment for sins.
Not all the righteous undergo sorrows, lest you consider malice praiseworthy and come to hate virtue.
Not all sinners undergo sorrows, lest the truth of the resurrection be called into doubt if everyone already received what was due here.
“Unto praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” By these words the Apostle indicates why the righteous endure evil here.
He partly consoles them by saying that through sorrows they become more glorious. He partly encourages them by adding “at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Then, by making their labors manifest, He will grant great glory to the athletes.
The rest of the saints, who likewise trusted God, received this proof with joy, as Job said: "May the name of the Lord be blessed!" (Job 1:21). And the Psalmist said, "Try me, O God, and know my heart" (Ps 138:23).
The golden part is you who avoid this world. As gold is tested by fire and becomes useful, so you too are tested while living among them.
Those who remain firm and are tested by them will be purified. As gold leaves behind its impurity, so you also must leave behind every sorrow and grief. Be purified and made fit for the building of the tower.
The glory of the saints after the resurrection is never devalued, because it is tested by the fire of temptations. The gold of this world, however, is said to rust (Jas 5:3).
The patience of the saints is fittingly compared to gold. For as there is nothing more precious than gold among metals, so patience for the Lord is most worthy of every praise.
“That the tested genuineness of your faith,” and so forth. This saying defines the purpose of sorrow from temptations: that faith, having passed through these temptations as tests, may appear in full perfection.
Temptations for faith (cf. the note on Jas 1:3-4) are like the testing of gold by fire. This comparison is often used in the Old Testament books (Job 23:10; Ps 65:10; Jer 9:7; Zech 13:9; Mal 3:2).
Gold is a precious metal, but faith is more precious than this precious metal. Gold is purified through fire; faith is purified by the sorrows of temptations.
Through fire every admixture falls away from gold. Through temptations everything alien to faith falls away from faith.
This includes everything selfish and personal, every trust in one’s own wisdom and strength, and every reliance on any help except divine help.
Gold is called perishing in order to cast the idea of faith in stronger relief, as eternal and unceasing in its essence, and to show its preciousness in comparison with gold.
“Unto praise and honor and glory.” These words indicate the reward which believers will receive for their faith tested by temptations at the Second Coming, “at the revelation” (v. 7), of Jesus Christ (cf. Theophylact).
This reward consists, first, in praise for the tested firmness and purity of faith (cf. Mt 25:21; 1 Cor 4:5; Rom 2:7, 10; 2 Thess 1:5).
Second, it consists in the honor promised by the Savior to His faithful servants (Jn 12:26; Rev 3:21; 22:4).
Third, it consists in the glory which the Father gave to Christ (v. 21) and which He grants to His followers (1 Pet 4:13; 5:1).
All these concepts express one common idea of blessedness in its different aspects.
The future final glorification of man, embracing his soul and body (cf. 1 Cor 15:43, 49; Phil 3:21), is the final purpose of the whole work of redemption.
Therefore it is the chief object of Christian hope (Rom 5:2; Col 1:27), and also the object of joy amid sorrows from temptations.
Having then told his disciples that the power of God, through faith, keeps them for salvation, the Apostle teaches that this salvation will be revealed for them in its full power only in the last time.
For now they must grieve a little, if need be, so that their faith, tested by the fire of temptations, may prove more precious than refined gold at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
This means at His Second Coming. Here we see an indication of the persecuted condition of the Christians of Asia Minor.
Yet love for Jesus Christ, in whom they believe though they do not see Him, must constantly bring them heartfelt and inward joy, inexpressible and full of glory. At last, through their faith, they will definitively attain the salvation of their souls.
The contemplation of future good things should completely remove from Christian hearts every sorrow unworthy of them, even during persecutions against them.
For as gold becomes brighter through fire, so the faith of Christians can become firmer through temptation. Therefore it becomes more worthy of the highest honor and glory on the day of the Lord's glorious appearing.
"He knows my way. Let Him test me, and I shall come forth like gold," said the ancient sufferer, the prophet Job (Job 23:10).
Sorrows, privations, illnesses, and sudden events that strike us visit us like teachers at appointed hours. They instruct us in the power and essence of self-denial, contempt for the world, dispassion, and surrender to the will of God.
These are forms of knowledge unknown in the world except by name. We are led “through fire and water” (Ps 65:12), so that we may become white as snow and pure as gold.
Thus “the tested genuineness” of our “faith, much more precious than perishing gold though tested by fire, may be found unto praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
The goodness of God toward those who believe and endure sorrows for the faith is revealed not only in this, that these sorrows are brief compared with the eternal joy of salvation.
It is revealed also in this, that through sorrows for the faith the dignity of faith is exalted, just as the dignity of gold is exalted through fire.
Gold is cleansed in fire from foreign admixtures, and in pure form it appears as a precious metal.
But incomparably more precious is faith preserved whole and unshaken in the fire of temptations by sorrows. It triumphs over the cruelty of persecutors and despises their threats, enticements, and tortures.
Yet the comparison of faith with metal purified by fire gives only a weak idea of the dignity of faith that has survived sorrowful trials and been strengthened by them.
Pure gold is esteemed the most precious of all metals, yet like every material thing it is still a perishing metal.
There will be a time when “the earth and the works that are on it will be burned up” (2 Pet 3:10). Then gold too will lose its value, for it will burn.
This time is the day of Christ’s Second Coming, the day of His revelation, or glorious appearing. He will then appear to carry out the universal judgment.
Before His judgment, faith in Him that has endured testing will “be found more precious than gold.” He will crown it with praise, honor, and glory.
For this very purpose He sends it the trial of sorrows.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 25 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS