1 Peter 5:10-11

• “The God of All Grace” – 1 Peter 5:10–11

  I. Scriptural Focus

  “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” – 1 Peter 5:10–11

  Supporting Passages:

  • Romans 8:28–30 – God’s sovereign plan of salvation

  • 2 Corinthians 4:17 – Suffering is momentary and preparing eternal glory

  • Philippians 1:6 – God completes what He begins

  • Hebrews 2:10 – Christ is the pioneer of salvation through suffering

  • John 14:2–3 – Christ prepares an eternal place for us

  II. Theological Themes

  1. God’s Sovereignty in Salvation

     • Effectual Calling: God irresistibly calls His people to Himself (Rom. 8:30)

     • His grace precedes and sustains all of salvation (Eph. 2:8–9)

  2. Purpose of Suffering

     • Suffering is not random but refining

     • God uses suffering to shape us into Christ’s image

  3. Sanctification by the Spirit

     • Sanctification is God's ongoing work in the believer

     • Each verb in 1 Peter 5:10 reflects a progressive, gracious sanctifying action

  4. Eternal Glory as Our Hope

     • The Christian’s eyes are set on glory beyond this life

     • Glory is not only future, but already guaranteed in Christ

  5. Doxological Living

     • True theology ends in doxology

     • Our response to grace is worship and surrender

  III. Historical & Reformed Context

  Peter's audience were Christians under increasing persecution in the Roman Empire. Many faced loss, alienation, and fear. Yet Peter urges them to lift their eyes to God's eternal promises — grounded not in temporal peace, but in divine grace.

  Reformed theology stresses that:

  • Salvation is by grace alone (sola gratia)

  • God initiates and completes the work of salvation (monergism)

  • The Christian life involves suffering and sanctification

  IV. Practical Application

  • When You Suffer: Remember, it is not punishment, but preparation. God's grace is at work even when you feel weakest.

  • When You Doubt: Reflect on God’s calling — it is His action, not yours, that secures you.

  • When You Are Weary: Lean into the promise that He is settling and strengthening you.

  • When You Worship: Let your life reflect the doxology of verse 11 — living for God's glory alone.

  V. Westminster Standards References

  📘 Westminster Confession of Faith:

  • WCF 3.5 – Effectual calling comes from God alone, not by any foresight of faith or good works.

  • WCF 13.1–3 – Sanctification is a work of God’s grace, imperfect in this life but real and ongoing.

  📙 Westminster Larger Catechism:

  • Q&A 67 – Effectual calling is the work of God’s almighty power and grace.

  • Q&A 75–77 – Sanctification progressively renews us in the whole man.

  📗 Westminster Shorter Catechism:

  • Q. 1 – What is the chief end of man? To glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

  • Q. 32 – Benefits of effectual calling: justification, adoption, and sanctification.

1 Peter 5:10–11 – “The God of All Grace”

Text: 1 Peter 5:10–11
Theme: God’s grace sustains and sanctifies us through suffering as He prepares us for eternal glory.

Key Points:

• Context of Suffering: Peter writes to scattered, persecuted Christians, reminding them they are elect exiles, called by God to an inheritance in heaven, but also to endure trials.

• God-Centered Hope: Every part of the benediction in verses 10–11 centers on God — His grace, His call, His sanctifying work, and His eternal glory.

• The God of All Grace:

  • Grace is unearned favor from God — not merited by goodness or effort.

  • God’s grace is evident in every blessing, especially salvation through Christ.

• Effectual Calling: God has called His people to eternal glory in Christ, not merely invited them. The Spirit gives a new heart, and the believer responds in faith.

• God’s Sanctifying Work:

  • Perfects – mends, restores, and brings toward wholeness.

  • Establishes – sets believers firmly in the truth.

  • Strengthens – builds spiritual endurance, often through trials.

  • Settles – gives a firm foundation and inward peace.

• Purpose of Suffering: It is momentary and purposeful — God uses it to sanctify and prepare us for glory.

• Doxology (v. 11): All glory and dominion belong to God. Our salvation is for His glory, not ours.

• Final Exhortation: If you haven’t trusted in Christ, today is the day of salvation. If you are in Christ, rest in the assurance of God’s eternal, gracious work.

Will you please turn in your Bibles with me to 1 Peter chapter 5. 1 Peter chapter 5, and this morning the sermon will come from verses 10 and 11. 1 Peter chapter 5. If you're using your provided New King James Pew Bibles, you'll find that on page 1079. I'm gonna read verses eight through 11. Brothers and sisters, this is God's perfect word. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you had suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. The grass withers, flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Let's pray. Father, we thank you. You've given us an amazing passage today, full of hope, because you are our God. So Father, we pray that your Holy Spirit would please work in our hearts through the preaching of your word. Father, we pray that it might become effectual unto salvation. that would be sanctifying to those who are saved, that would be encouraging, Lord, that we would be, by your Spirit, equipped for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We are right at the end of 1 Peter. And as we've gone through 1 Peter, there's been some really, really hard points in 1 Peter. Just some real realities. Peter is not writing from an ivory tower, but as he's writing to the various churches in what's modern day Turkey, and Pontius, and Bithynia, and Cappadocia, Galatia, and Asia, as he's writing to them, he started at saying that they were those who were foreordained by God, elected by Him. that the Father had done, that the Spirit had sanctified them, and that the Son had washed them in his own blood. That they had an inheritance in heaven, but in this life, they were going to live as sojourners and pilgrims, waiting for a better land. And in this life, the Holy Spirit, through Peter, was letting them know this life was going to be filled with trials and hardships, difficult things. There'd be struggles from within their own hearts. And there would be challenges that would come from the outside as well. And they would even have an adversary, the devil, trying to devour them. But, this is Peter's prayer in verse 10. But, may the God of all grace. They're gonna suffer. but just for a little while. Brothers and sisters, the reason why God gives His church the scriptures is because these are timeless truths. They were written to very specific people in a specific place at a specific time. But the truths contained in this passage are very much true for you as well and root and anchor you in the hope that God has given us. Because the suffering of this life is only for a little while. And it's amazing, as I was reading this passage last week, and I was wrestling with it, and I started reading it in the Greek, and I thought, okay, the easier thing for me to do, just to make sure I'm getting my ducks in a row and making the main thing correct, I diagrammed it out as I was sitting on the floor, and I realized something. Everything about this passage is about God, who God is. and what God is doing. God is the controlling subject for everything in these two verses. It is God. And it's because of who God is and what he does that we have joy and hope. So look with me as we look in verse 10 first in this blessing, this benediction, this encouraging prayer. He speaks of God, but may the God of all grace This idea of grace that God has shown us unmerited favor. That the God of the universe who knit you together in your mother's womb and who knows your own rebellious heart still sent his own son to die on the cross for you. That his face might smile upon you. That the light of his countenance might be upon you. This God who looks upon you and knows your sin, removes your sin as far as the east is from the west, and while you were yet still a sinner, he sent Christ Jesus to die for you. And here's the kicker, we didn't deserve any of it. We didn't earn it, we weren't good enough for it, we didn't get the grace because somehow we were so beautiful or so righteous and of ourselves, no. If grace was earned, it's no longer grace. Grace is God loving us because he wants to love us. For by grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves. This is the gift of God. God is the God of all grace. Every temporal blessing you have in your life is because God is gracious to you. We're rebellious people. If we're honest with ourselves, there's not a single person, unless they're really, really self-deceived, who would think, oh, I'm absolutely perfect. And you know what this is like in your own relationships, right? When somebody behaves untoward, right? And they're difficult to get along with, they're difficult to live with. Maybe you've got a spouse or a child, maybe you've got a teenager in your home that you're just like, I wanna give them the hammer, but instead you make them breakfast. That's grace. It's choosing to love that person, choosing to show your favor upon that person because you've decided to. This is how God treats us. If we are in his son, God shows the light of his favor, his countenance upon us. Because it's what he does. Notice the second part of verse 10. He's not just called the God of all grace, but he's actually done something. He is the God who has called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus. God has called you in Christ Jesus. The theologians will talk about this as the effectual calling. God, by His Spirit, summons you. He summons you when you heard the preaching of the word and you responded by faith, but before that, He had done remarkable work in your heart. See, what God does, this is absolutely amazing, right? God knows that you're his. And yet sometime in your life, God sent his spirit into your heart and he took out a heart of stone and he gave you a heart of flesh. And then at just the right time, and sometimes this is indistinguishable as we think about it chronologically in time, but at the perfect moment, you heard the good news of Jesus Christ and you believed out of that redeemed heart. You latched on to the gospel for yourself. You assented to it. You held on to it. You clung to Jesus Christ. See, our faith, the content of our faith is Jesus. The content of your faith is Jesus Christ. He's our only hope in life and death. He's the joy of our salvation. He's the Lord of our lives. And so He is the one who has called us effectually by His Holy Spirit. He summoned sinners to Himself. For some of you, you remember this. For some of you, you remember the first time as a child when you heard the gospel. No, that's my Lord. One of my favorite stories, I was talking to an older lady in this congregation, and she was telling me when she was going through catechism class one time, and she was studying the catechism specifically on a question about faith, and she realized at a very specific moment in her young life, I can't play games with this. Is Jesus my Lord? Is he my Savior? Do I actually believe for myself? Some of you remember it later on in life, when God called you to himself. But I don't know each of your hearts. Maybe for some of you, is today the day of salvation? Charles Spurgeon once wrote to his students, And in his lectures to his students, he said to them, if you get up in the pulpit, men, and you don't believe that the Holy Spirit that day can save someone, just shut your mouth and go home. Maybe today you've been holding off. Maybe you've questioned and you've wondered, is Jesus really my Lord? and you have known the Holy Spirit, you've heard the summoning through the scriptures, and you've wrestled with, is he my Lord? Do not hold off. Is today the day you will say that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior? He's my only hope in life and death. He's the resurrection and the life, and I believe in him. There is a point in every man and every woman's life And we must decide if we will follow the Lord. This is what Joshua did. As they entered into the promised land, and he was soon to die. Choose this day whom you will serve. If you will serve the Lord, wonderful. If you're gonna go serve the Baals, just go do it. But as for me and my household, we'll serve the Lord. Have you made the determination in your hearts? that Jesus Christ is your only hope in life and death, that he's your only righteousness, that you have nothing in and of yourself to stand before the righteous presence of God, but that Jesus is good enough. And that when he said, it is finished, it was finished for you. Those whom he has called, he's also predestined. And those whom he's predestined, he has also sanctified. God is doing a work by his Spirit in each of his children's hearts. This is the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus. His eternal glory. Man, I don't know about you, but sometimes I read the book of Revelation, and I think about the beautiful pictures of what John received, of what it was like to sit in the throne room of God, with the angels crying out, worthy is the Lamb, as the radiance of the Lamb shines forth, and there's no sun and no moon, because the light of Jesus Christ is the light of their eyes. Do you long for eternity before the throne of God himself? Does your heart desire to be with him forever? From the very root of your soul, is it your only joy, your highest joy, that when you hear of Jesus Christ, when you hear the pictures of heaven, that you long to join that heavenly choir? He is preparing your heart in this life because you're sojourners and pilgrims, knowing that your home is being prepared in a better place, in a different place. And Jesus went to go prepare a room for you there. And if it wasn't so, He wouldn't have said it. That's why He rose again from the dead and ascended up into heaven, because He has prepared a place for us with our Father. And so He's our hope and He's called us to an eternal joy We may suffer a little while, but even in our suffering here as we sojourn, he's doing a number of different things. In your life, Christian, God is working in you, individually, And us as a church, this is all written in the y'all, right? In English, we don't use, especially in the North, we don't use a second person plural very often, right? There's you, like you singular, like you and you and you. But in Greek, it's very clear when it's not just you, but it's y'all, right? You churches, you saints, you people, you redeemed ones, you people of God. He's doing something in you. Even through your various trials, what is he doing? He is perfecting you. Catartizo. This is the idea that you were broken and he's mending you. He's restoring you. He is taking things that are out of order in your life and he's placing them in order. The trials and the sojourning and the pilgrimage and the difficulties submitting to those who are tyrants and trying to play our role in the different places God has put us in our life, it's tough, right? People are slandering and people are accusing, people are persecuting. In these areas, people are gonna literally be tortured for their faith in Jesus Christ. And God's putting their priorities straight. God's reorienting their hearts, changing their loves, changing their minds, making them new. He's perfecting us. Because see, we're not perfect here. We're not perfect here. We struggle, we wrestle, We have issues. But God is bringing you about. Thank the Lord for this promise. He who has begun a good work in you will bring it about to perfection under the day of Christ Jesus. God is perfecting you to be with him forever. Not because you're perfect in and of yourself. but he's making you more and more like Jesus. Do you see, Jesus died for our sins. On the cross, Jesus paid for our sins. The debt was paid. He was the scapegoat for us. But when he died and he was buried in the tomb, there was something better to come. He would raise again for our justification. God has legally declared you righteous. And Jesus has ascended up into heaven. And he sat down at the right hand of God the Father, and he has been made the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and he has sent his spirit. And now by his spirit, your king is perfecting you, making you ready, not for this life, but for the life to come. He's establishing you. He is establishing you. After you have suffered a while, perfect, establish. He is firmly fixing you. I grew up not very firmly fixed. I went to eight different schools by the time I graduated high school. We were just poor. And oftentimes we couldn't pay the rent and we had to move. Sometimes there was job changes, sometimes there was just opportunity changes. And we moved a lot and we weren't firmly fixed. And there's something we know, something we long for in our heart, is to have something that's unmovable, not changing, fixed. That's why Jesus says, build your house upon the rock. Woe is the man who builds his house upon the sand, for the wind comes, the waves come, and the house is washed away. You know there's a house floating around in the Atlantic Ocean? They built it with pylons in the sand in North Carolina or South Carolina. And when a hurricane came, it literally whooped the whole house. And every once in a while, if you're on social media, you'll see a video of some guy out in a boat. And all of a sudden, there's the attic of a house floating in the ocean. Someday it will sink. But it didn't have firm fixing. It wasn't deeply rooted and deeply moored, but as we suffer, even for a little while, God is firmly fixing us. He's strengthening us. I've said this before with strengthening. Don't hide it from my coach at the gym either. I don't like, I like the idea of getting strong. I don't like trying to go to the gym and be strong. Do you know what it takes to be strong? Your muscles have to rip apart. Literally, how people get strong, how your muscles get stronger is the fibers in your muscles are being pulled apart under stress so that when you rest, then they get stronger and they build and they mend and being ripped apart and then having time for rest and building back together is how your muscles get stronger. I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound very pleasant with my life. I don't like being ripped apart. But yet, when we're corrected, when we're rebuked, we're being trained for righteousness. that we might be thoroughly equipped for every good work. When we're confronted with sin, when we're put into the pressure cooker of sanctification, God hasn't forgotten you. When there's death, when there's cancer, when there's pain and poverty and persecution, thank God there's a reason for it. If you are in Christ Jesus, he's giving it to you because he knows you will be stronger coming out of it. This is what our Heavenly Father does, the God of all grace. In his grace, he strengthens us and he settles us. This God of all grace, as we suffer a little while, he settles you. The dictionary for this Greek word says, to provide a secure basis for the inner life and its resources. You might translate settle differently as establish or strengthen you. These whole ideas are tied together. That God is moving you. God is working in your life. Because when you were first believing, that was good. And eternity was guaranteed for you. But God doesn't just save us and then take his hands off of us. He's a wonderful heavenly Father. Who knows every tear that we shed. Who knows every grievance that we have. Who knows every trial that we go through. And here's the wonderful thing. We have a Lord who sympathizes with us. Jesus suffered like us. He was tempted in every way. And he endured even the depths of the most difficult suffering upon the cross as he took on our sin. God settles us. He's prepared us for a home. He's strengthening us. But here's the fun thing. It's not about us. Why does God do all this? Did you notice that? Verse 10 is what we call a benediction. a blessing, a prayer of God's blessing, or a declaration of God's blessing. But verse 11 is a doxology. God's blessing us feeds and to us giving him glory. To him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever, amen. You have been called You have been redeemed. You are being sanctified. And you will someday go into glory. And you will spend forever with your heavenly Father. And what will you do for eternity? You'll bask in his glory. Is why the end of the Lord's Prayer to you be the glory and the power and the dominion forever and ever. Our salvation isn't about us. It's because we get to glorify Him. Our salvation is because we get to praise Him, because we get to live under His sovereign rule, because we get to live as part of His kingdom. because we get to live with him as our crowned prince, as the one who rules with justice and mercy, truth and grace. And of the end of his reign, there is no end. You know, we're psalm singers here. I wasn't always a psalm singer. And I remember one of my favourite lines of a very famous hymn, right? As we sing of God's grace in one of the hymns. As we've been there 10,000 years, it's only just begun. We get all eternity, forever and ever, to worship him. Great sinners like us. This has been the hope from generation to generation. It's the hope of those two women in Bithynia, who just about three decades after this letter would be written, would be tortured, would be tortured by plenty of the younger for their faith. And they knew that that suffering was only a little while. And as they were tortured for being Christians, they gave their testimony that their hope was in Jesus Christ. You can go to the pages of history, and whether it was William Tyndale, or any other martyr of the past. It's amazing to me how frequently the saints have passed as they would suffer and even die for the faith. They will look up to heaven, pray for those who are persecuting them, and worship, and ask God to receive their spirits. Because I knew They knew what was on the other side of that veil. What's your hope, Christian? What's your joy? To God be the glory forever and ever. Let's pray. God, we pray that you indeed would not just let these words just be words. O Lord, your word by the power of your spirit is sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow. Father, we pray that you would convict us and give us renewed hope. Lord, I pray for any today who have been struggling with hope that you would renew and strengthen their hope. Lord, we pray for those who feel weak, who are weary and heavy laden. Lord, we pray that they might be able to come to Jesus Christ and find rest for their weary souls. Lord, we pray for those who have struggled with disbelief. Lord, we pray that they might be like the one who came to Jesus and say, I believe, help thou my disbelief. Lord, renew our strength. Give us joy. By the power of your spirit, in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

• Why is human righteousness insufficient before God? Human righteousness is insufficient before a holy God because, as Romans 3:10-12 and Genesis 6:5 highlight, we are all inherently sinful. Our thoughts, intentions, and actions consistently fall short of God's perfect standard. We are prone to evil, and even our best efforts are tainted by selfishness and pride, meaning we cannot achieve a state of righteousness that would satisfy God's justice. This demonstrates the dire need for an external source of righteousness.

• What is meant by 'substitutionary atonement' in the context of Jesus' suffering? Substitutionary atonement refers to the concept that Jesus, who was completely righteous, willingly took the punishment for our sins upon himself. As Isaiah 53:4-6 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 show, he suffered and died on the cross as a substitute, bearing the consequences of our wrongdoing. This act of love and sacrifice satisfied God's justice, allowing us to be reconciled to him. Christ's suffering was not merely a demonstration of love but a means of payment for the penalty that we deserved, hence the "just for the unjust".

• How does Christ's resurrection impact our hope and justification? Christ's resurrection is vital because it proves the completeness and success of his sacrifice. Romans 5:1-5 and Philippians 3:9-11 describe how it demonstrates that God has accepted Jesus' atonement. It signifies not only the forgiveness of our sins but also our restoration to a right relationship with God. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, the believer has been given an "alien righteousness", one that was not earnt by them, but imputed to them by God through faith. It is through Christ's resurrection that we have the hope of eternal life, having been both acquitted of our sin and declared righteous in God's sight.

• What does it mean for a Christian to be "blessed" in suffering for righteousness? According to 1 Peter 3:13-17, suffering for righteousness is a blessing because it means our lives are aligning with Christ's teachings, and we are participating in His suffering. When we are persecuted for our beliefs, it is not a sign of God's disfavor, but rather a testament to our faith and a confirmation that we are following Christ's example. It gives us a unique opportunity to testify to the hope we have in Christ. Instead of fearing such suffering, we are to view it as an honour and an opportunity to glorify God.

• How should Christians respond when they face evil or persecution? Christians are called to respond to evil or persecution not by retaliating, but by exhibiting compassion, humility and love. 1 Peter 3:8-12 says, instead of returning evil for evil, we should bless those who persecute us. We are to seek unity and pursue peace, trusting that God is ultimately just and will avenge us. The focus should be on reflecting the character of Christ, showing grace even when facing injustice. This includes being gentle and respectful when defending our faith.

• Why is the concept of Christ's finished work so crucial for Christians? The "finished work" of Christ means that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection were all sufficient for our salvation. This means our righteousness is not based on any personal achievement, but a gift given freely by God. As the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms point out, Christ's obedience and sacrifice fully satisfied God's justice. Because of this, we can have full assurance of our salvation. There's nothing more we can or need to add to what he has already accomplished. This frees us from the burden of trying to earn our salvation and establishes Christ as the sole foundation for our relationship with God.

• How should the assurance of Christ's finished work influence our daily lives? The assurance of Christ's finished work should lead us to live with a deep sense of gratitude and confidence in our relationship with God. Knowing we are righteous because of Christ, not ourselves, should cultivate humility and motivate us to pursue a life that is pleasing to him. We should seek to display unity, peace, and love in our interactions with others. In our lives, we must seek to give a defence to others for the hope that we have in Christ, in meekness and fear. This should inform the way we approach every aspect of our lives.

• What is the practical application of the phrase "the just for the unjust" in our lives? The phrase "the just for the unjust" highlights the central tenet of Christian faith: Jesus, being perfectly righteous, took the punishment that we, being unrighteous, deserved. This realisation should foster a spirit of gratitude and humility. We must acknowledge we have no merit of our own, and our salvation comes entirely through grace. The just one took our place so that we might be brought into the presence of God. The application is that we can never rely upon ourselves for our own righteousness, and so must place our full trust in Jesus. This should lead to living lives that honor God's grace.

• Justification: God's act of declaring a sinner righteous in his sight through faith in Christ, not through their own good works or merits.

• Imputation: The act of crediting or transferring something, in this context, God credits Christ's righteousness to believers.

• Atonement: The reconciliation between God and humanity through Christ's sacrificial death, which covers the debt of sin.

• Substitutionary Atonement: The doctrine that Christ died as a substitute for sinful humanity, bearing the punishment and penalty for their sin.

• Righteousness: Moral perfection and conformity to God's law. In Christian theology, it's seen both as a standard and a gift of God through Christ.

• Sanctification: The process of being made holy, where God works in believers to transform them into Christlikeness over time.

• Passive Obedience: Christ's willing submission to suffering and death as part of his obedience to God's will, not limited to simply his active obedience to the law.

• Alien Righteousness: A righteousness that is not inherent to the individual but comes from an outside source. In Christian theology, it refers to the righteousness of Christ imputed to believers.

• Reconciliation: The restoration of a relationship to harmony, specifically, the bridging of the gap between God and humans through Christ.

• The Spirit: In the context of this study, refers to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, who is believed to give life and bring about spiritual regeneration.