On Sunday evening, Reverend James MacIver continued in his study series on 1 Peter 1:8-12, preaching a sermon entitled, 'Jesus, our joy'.

Unusually, the sermon began with a riddle, the answer to which should become clear: What do Christian joy, sand castles and Old Testament prophets have in common?

This passage focuses on two things in particular, the first of which is the present love and joy of Christians. Peter's choice of words here is interesting, in that he says that his readers do not 'now' see Jesus, meaning that they will see Him yet.

Despite not seeing Him with their eyes, they love Him by faith - note the present tense, not something which is to be fulfilled in the future. They love Christ even in their suffering circumstances, which is something that only believers can fully understand. Atheists think that Christians are foolish to believe what they cannot see, and this brings into sharp relief the contrast between the believer and the unbeliever.

Christians know that Jesus lives.Their faith, as we heard in the morning sermon, involves coming to know Jesus. A look at Hebrews 11:27 shows us that Moses, who is an example of this kind of faith, lived as though he were able to see the invisible Lord. Jesus Himself, in John 20:29 speaks to Thomas, saying, 'blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed'. Thus, the very thing that confounds the atheist - this ability to believe without visible 'evidence' - is a comfort to those who abide in faith.

Peter's allusion to rejoicing in Jesus may strike some as odd, and they may feel that this is not something which describes their own faith very accurately. Such an abundance of joy may seem like an alien concept. It is important, therefore, to understand that this joy should be understood as a quality rather than a quantity.

It is not unmarred, nor yet fulfilled joy of the kind the Christian expects to experience in glory. Nonetheless, it is a foretaste of the same.

Mr MacIver asked the congregation to imagine a child building a moated sandcastle on a beach, then going to the sea with her bucket, and pouring the contents of that bucket into the moat. The child could very properly claim to have filled the trench with sea - it would be but an infinitesimally small proportion of it, but would, nonetheless, have all the properties of the actual sea.

And so it is with Christian joy. Christians are already, Mr MacIver said, 'drawing your joy from the ocean of glory'. It is, he added, a privilege that the world cannot comprehend, to have one's heart already refreshed with drops of the joy with which heaven is replete.

The second focus of this passage is the predicted suffering and glory of Christ, which refers to the way in which Old Testament prophecy is fulfilled in the New. Christ's spirit was the means by which these men spoke and prophesied as they did, serving the church of God in their own and future generations.

It is significant that the pattern of prophecy - fulfilled in Christ - always has sufferings followed by glories. This speaks to Peter's readers in their many hardships, reminding them that their lives are patterned upon that of their Saviour. As such, if they are living in faith, their present suffering will eventually give way to eternal glory and they are privileged to be so linked to Christ in the manner of their Christian experience .

He too suffered, but has been exalted. The Christ who is in glory now was the same Christ who suffered the agony of the cross.

It is also the same Spirit behind the Old and New Testaments. Believers in both ages are all part of the same church, and are one people, through the Spirit and sanctified by Jesus.

Finally, the passage speaks of things into which angels long to look. This does not mean that they wish to and are unable; in fact, it means quite the opposite. They are, in fact, looking into the glories of salvation with an intense interest. In the original, the language used evokes the idea of them stooping down from the ramparts of heaven for a closer look.

'Christians', Mr MacIver addressed the congregation, 'do you believe that you are the object of intense scrutiny by holy angels?'

And, he pointed out, if the issue of our salvation holds such fascination for the angels, how much more should it concern ourselves?

Be amazed, be humbled, be assured, be joyful - be everything this passage wants. If you are unsaved, be aware of how much you are excluding yourself from. Come in, give your life to Jesus and have this joy so great that the very angels of God are drawn to its beauty.