1. 1 Peter 5:10 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is the meaning and/or difference between the words “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish”?

1 Peter 5:10 (ESV)

10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Every word (in this sequence too) has its unique flavour. Nevertheless, these words are so similar as to be (particularly in this context) synonyms; to attempt to differentiate these words is to miss Peter’s point. The apostle is piling synonym on top of synonym in order to press home that the vision of sharing Christ’s glory is exactly what it takes to persevere in the struggles that come with being maligned in this life for Christ’s sake. Through looking past the suffering to the glory to come, we are today restored, confirmed, strengthened, and established in the faith. Please note that Jesus too looked beyond the suffering to the glory to come in order to persevere through the trials of his life (Hebrews 12:2).