Last time in our meditation on First Peter, we saw that 1 Peter 1:8 focused on the fact that even though we haven’t seen the Lord, we still love Him and are filled with inexpressible joy filled with glory. But of course, the end of verse 8 was not the end of the sentence. Verse 9 goes on to say, “obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

As I think about this, what that short phrase is telling me is that my possession of the faith Peter speaks about in verse 7 – the faith that is more precious than gold – is the evidence of salvation. Here’s what I mean by that: Verse 9 begins with the word “receiving” or “obtaining.” This is a present tense verb. That means that through faith we love one whom we have never seen, and we rejoice in that, and in so doing we are presently receiving the outcome of our faith. That outcome is the salvation of our souls.

“Outcome” is another interesting word. Some translations use the word “end.” The Greek word is telos. A telos is the goal and purpose of something. Our English word “end” is not quite the right word because “end” often means the stopping point. A potter might be working on a lump of clay with the intent of creating a beautiful vase. The telos of his project is a beautiful vase. But the actual end of the project might be when the vase falls from his tongs after it has been fired. A broken vase was not the potter’s telos but it was the end of the vase.

The goal, target, purpose, and outcome of faith is the salvation of our souls. As we have faith in the Christ we have never seen, we rejoice with inexpressible joy. In doing so we are presently receiving the telos of faith which is the salvation of our souls. Take some time this week to let that sink in.