1 Peter 5:5-14
Notes
Transcript
1 Peter 5:5-14
A five-year old boy who was in the kitchen as his mother was making supper. His mother asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn’t want to go in alone. “It’s dark in there and I’m scared,” he said. She asked him again, and he persisted in his resistance. Finally she said, “It will be OK – Jesus will be in there with you.” The boy walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once an idea came, and he said: “Jesus, if you’re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?”
Life certainly can be scary. The spiritual battle we are in is scary. The hostile world we live in can be scary. Nevertheless, God is with us and he will never leave us or abandon us. We can certainly find comfort and strength in that fact.
About ten years ago a missionary wrote a book with a very curious title, “The Insanity of God.” I’m sure there are some Christians who would take offense at the title because we have to wonder what is insane about God. God is not insane. It’s just that in our limited knowledge and understanding the ways of God may appear insane to us. As God told Isaiah:
Isaiah 55:8-9 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
The author of this book and his wife were missionaries to Africa, where, among other things, they pioneered efforts to establish missions work in horribly war-torn and Muslim dominated Somalia on the horn of Africa. In an effort to provide safety to those he writes about, the author goes by the name Nip Ripkin, which is not his real name. After losing a teenage son to illness in another part of Africa, they spent six years distributing food and supplies where the threat of persecution of Christians was so great that they didn’t dare preach Jesus. Ripken only celebrated the Lord’s Supper once, with four other Somali believers, and within a short time each of them was murdered by Muslim extremists in separate incidents on the same day.
They came home tired and disillusioned, wondering why God permitted such horrific persecution, and more than that, how believers in places where persecution was a regular part of life handled it. It launched Ripkin on a world-wide tour of interviewing believers in persecuted places to discover those answers. What he discovered is that God uses something intended to destroy Christianity to build it up – God actually uses persecution and affliction to perfect his people and grow his church. Obviously, this is counter-intuitive. It was counter-intuitive to the believers living through persecution in the first century.
Turn to 1 Peter 5. We are now at the end of this first letter written by Peter to churches located in what is now Turkey. Those churches were experiencing persecution and Peter wrote to encourage them to look for how God could use that persecution for the furthering of the gospel.
There are two parts to these final verses. In verses 5-11 Peter gives some final instructions and in verses 12-14 he gives his final greetings. We’re going to start with the greetings and then go back to the instructions. So let’s pick up with verse 12.
1 Peter 5:12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.
You may recognize the name Silas. It is assumed that this is the same Silas that traveled with Paul. Silas was with Paul in Philippi when they were both beaten and thrown in jail. At some point, Silas had joined Peter in his work. And now, Peter was trusting Silas to deliver this letter to his readers. As I previously mentioned, Peter wrote to encourage them in their walk with God that they might stand firm in the face of persecution.
1 Peter 5:13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.
The phrase “She who is Babylon” has caused some debate, but most believe Peter was writing from Rome. Tradition says that’s where he died. Because of the persecution they faced there, Christians began comparing themselves to the Jewish exiles in Babylon and began calling the city after that foreign oppressor of God’s people. Earlier Peter had described the believers as aliens and strangers in a foreign land.
Mark is most likely John Mark, also a former traveling companion of the apostle Paul and the writer of the second Gospel. His connection with Peter is not clear since we really don’t know much of anything about him. We know he started the first missionary journey, but turned back soon after leaving home. Barnabas wanted to take him on the second journey. When Paul refused the two men went their separate ways, Barnabas taking Mark and Paul taking Silas. But later on Paul wrote to Timothy asking that he send Mark because Paul could use his help. Here we read that he was also a help to Peter.
1 Peter 5:14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
This kiss was a greeting, not too dissimilar from our shaking hands. It was a common gesture of fellowship among Christians and was part of the ritual of public worship in the early churches. It is still common in many parts of the world today. Paul encouraged the Corinthians to greet each other with a holy kiss. As we discussed in our study of Corinthians, this was not a kiss on the mouth, but the cheek. And, it was most probably men greeting men and women greeting women.
Peter then ends his letter with a final blessing or prayer for his readers. His prayer was for peace, just as it was his desire at the beginning of his letter where he wrote:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
1 Peter 1:2b Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Now let’s go back and look at the preceding section. Peter concludes this letter by pointing his readers to a few attitudes and actions that will insure their victory over the enemy and the persecution he brings. These attitudes and actions are vital to our survival in our present circumstances as well as we seek to serve and glorify the Lord. These attitudes and actions will insure that we stand firm and remain faithful, which is the victory of our faith.
Dwight Eisenhower once said:
There are no victories at discount prices.
That is also true when it comes to the spiritual battle. What attitudes and actions does Peter want us to develop with the help of the Holy Spirit?
First, Peter says to be humble.
Peter started the chapter encouraging the elders. In verse 5 he turns to the members and encourages them to follow the leadership of their elders.
1 Peter 5:5-7 5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Peter literally tells us to permit ourselves to be humbled. Having an attitude of humble submission before God is a choice. There are things that happen in life that should humble us, but ultimately we have to decide to be humble before God. The “mighty hand of God” is as common Old Testament phrase that speaks of God being in the control of the destiny of his people if they humbly and faithful accept his guidance. When we humble ourselves before God and submit to him, God will be in control.
Humility and submission are attitudes and actions that are inseparably linked. We all are to live in humble submission to God and to the leaders God places over us.
Back in earlier chapters of this letter, Peter commanded Christians to be submissive to government authorities, slaves to submit their masters, and wives to submit to their husbands. Last week we looked at the verses that precede this section that talk about elders and their leadership. So now Peter turns his attention toward the younger believers and lets them know that they must be submissive to those elders who serve as their shepherds. As those shepherds submit to the Chief Shepherd, so the flock should submit to their shepherds.
While no one is exempt from Peter’s exhortation that everyone is to be submissive to their elders, Peter targets specifically the younger men. We don’t know the context for why Peter singled them out, but it was probably because younger men then as now are often more headstrong than other members of the church. I know I’ve certainly had to deal with that attitude in my own life. There have been times when I thought I knew more than I really did.
The author of Hebrews has a helpful comment on this subject. He wrote:
Hebrews 13:17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
Again, we are told to submit to those who are in authority over us.
Peter also suggests that we should clothe ourselves with humility. The Greek literally means “to tie something on oneself,” such as a work apron worn by servants. You have to wonder if when Peter wrote this verse he was recalling the occasion when Jesus did just that. There in the upper room as they celebrated their last Passover with Jesus, he stood, tied a towel around his waist, and washed his disciples’ feet. If we want to be like Jesus, then we need to clothe ourselves with humility even as he did.
To reinforce the point he was making, Peter quoted a passage from Proverbs 3:34 where we read that God mocks the proud but is gracious to the humble. We also read in Proverbs 6 that there are seven things which are detestable to God. The first and foremost is pride. The Bible indicates that it was pride that caused Satan to rebel and become the enemy of God and of us. So without question, God is opposed to the proud. Pride sets a person against God and therefore, God against that person. But humility is something that is attractive to God and something that God blesses.
Based on this, Peter concludes his point by encouraging us to humble ourselves and trust God. Submission and humility are both an act of faith. God’s mighty, sovereign “hand” is descriptive of God’s will and God’s activity. Peter wanted the people to whom he was writing to understand that the persecution they were suffering was something they needed to endure humbly and submissively. He wanted them to trust that God would lift them up in God’s own wisely determined time. And as they humbly submitted to God’s will, they could find their strength in God’s purpose and care. Peter said to give all your worries to God. We can give God our discontentment, our discouragement, our questioning, our pain, or whatever trial we encounter. We can give them to God because we trust in God’s love, faithfulness, power and wisdom.
The first important attitude and action that will insure victory is humility. We must be humble.
Second, Peter says to be watchful.
1 Peter 5:8-9 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
This command to be watchful includes two commands – be alerts and sober minded or self-controlled. This is the third time Peter has mentioned this topic. The basic idea has to do with godly, clear thinking, rather than intoxication. We need to have our minds disciplined and alert.
Why do we need to be alerts and self-controlled? The reason is because we have a dangerous enemy and he is at war with us. The realities of the spiritual war call for vigilance. We must not be caught “off guard” or “asleep.”
Peter identifies the devil as our adversary. The devil is not only the adversary of God, but he is also our enemy. The word “devil” means slander, false accuser, to defame. The devil does this to as all the time; he also tries to get us to fall for his schemes. This is a partial list of his activities as he tries to destroy us.
Seeks to provoke us to sin
Looks for victims
Causes some physical illness
Spiritually blinds unbelievers
Shoots flaming arrows
Hinders God’s servants
Seeks to devour
Undermines God’s Word
Wants to take advantage
Transforms himself into an angel of light
However, we must also remember that Satan’s activities are limited:
He must receive permission from God
His head has been crushed by Christ
He can be resisted
He can be overcome
In addition, Scripture describes Satan’s destiny:
He will be crushed by the God of peace
He will be bound for one thousand years
He will be cast into the bottomless pit
He will be cast into the lake of fire
He will be doomed to everlasting fire
He will be judged by God
We certainly need to respect Satan and realize just how dangerous he is. Right not, Peter describes him as our great enemy who prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Satan is a dangerous enemy. We must never forget that he has great power and intelligence, and he has a host of demons who assist him in his attacks. He is a formidable enemy and we must never joke about him, ignore him or underestimate him.
By using the imagery of a lion, Peter has chosen an animal that is both ferocious and terrifying. Few animals terrify people in the wild more than the lion. When Peter says that the devil is like a prowling lion it is easy to envision the way lions search for their victim. They often look for the weak one, or the one that is isolated from the pack, and they often roar just before they attack in order to cause their prey to freeze in fear. Perhaps Peter was alluding to the way the Romans persecuted Christians in Rome by feeding them to hungry lions in order to entertain Roman spectators in the coliseum.
Peter tells us that in the face of Satan’s attack we need to resist him and stand firm in our faith because we know that other Christians throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. We are not alone in our battle.
How do we resist the devil? We resist him by being firm in our faith. James tells us that when we do so he will leave us alone – at least for a while.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Since Satan is a liar and a deceiver, the only sure way to stand up against him is by faithful obedience to biblical truth. We must resist him as Jesus did, with the Word of God. And we must never forget that others are facing the same attacks as we are. We are not alone and we must be faithful like others and for the sake of others.
Had Peter obeyed these instructions the night Jesus was arrested, he would not have gone to sleep in the garden, he would not have attacked Malchus and cut off his ear, nor would he have denied knowing Jesus later that night. We must be watchful, being self-controlled and alert. We must bow before God, so that we can take our stand against Satan.
And third, Peter says to be hopeful.
1 Peter 5:10-11 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Peter closed the body of his letter on a positive note and reminded his readers that God knew what he was doing and was in complete control. No matter how difficult the fiery trial may become, a Christian always has hope. Peter gave several reasons for this hopeful attitude.
First, we should be hopeful because of God’s grace. Peter calls God “the God of all grace.” It is very similar to the description Paul gave of God to the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
Peter encourages us to stand fast in the grace of God. Concerning this grace from God, David Owens writes:
How wonderful to know that we are saved by grace through faith. How wonderful to know that God has grace to help us in our time of need. How wonderful to know that God is a God of all grace. All this should give us hope.
Second, we should be hopeful because our suffering will end. As Peter wrote in chapter 1, our trials are temporary.
1 Peter 1:6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
We can usually endure much more if we know it will not be forever. Peter says that the suffering will only be for a little while, and then God will restore, support, and strengthen us. Whatever trial or persecution we suffer for Christ’s sake, we can rest assured that it is temporary.
Finally, we should be hopeful because we know that we are going on to glory. Earlier in the letter, Peter wrote God has called us into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This pure and undefiled inheritance is kept for us in heaven beyond the reach of change and decay. And Paul encourages us with these words:
2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
The road may be difficult, but it leads to glory, and that is all that really counts.
In his book “The Insanity of God,” Rip Ripkin noted that God uses the very things which the devil intends to use to destroy our faith, to build it up to be more like Christ.
One of Ripken’s journeys took him deep into China where he was able to attend a secret gathering of believers from many house churches, believers who had repeatedly and regularly experienced great persecution because of their faith. He was impressed by the intense devotion to Christ of these believers, and he discovered the reason why – most of them had spent years in prison as a result of their faith. In fact, what he found is that the one experience that seemed to qualify people to be spiritual leaders in their churches was the standard prison sentence that each of them had received for association with an underground church – three years in prison. In fact, that three years in prison seemed to have the same effect on the maturity of believers there that three years in seminary in the U.S. is supposed to have – it equipped and matured the believers so that they could be spiritual leaders in their churches.
Remember, God uses persecution and trials of all kind to perfect us for his purposes. Persecution and affliction of all kinds are God’s loving discipline designed to perfect us for our good and his glory. So be humble, be watchful, and be hopeful.