About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman

Saints
Under Stress

My commentary on
1 Peter

written 2022

The Biblical text used and quoted in this commentary is the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) as seen in the authorization statement below.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Note: the abbreviation NIV in this book is in reference to the New International Bible.

Table Of Contents

Other Books By Stephen Sweetman

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Author Note

As I normally say, before you read any further, I tell you in advance that due to the fact I have been legally blind since birth, because I am not a professional editor, and, because this book has not been edited by an outside source, you may find a few grammatical or spelling errors. I have tried to keep them to a minimum, but knowing myself, I have surely, without any doubt, missed some mistakes. Hopefully you will not find many, but most importantly, I hope those you do find will not detract from what you read.

This fourth rewrite of my commentary on 1 Peter was inspired by my pastor, friend, and brother in Christ, Trevor Hoskins, who, in the spring of 2022 began a Sunday morning sermon series on the apostle Peter's first letter. What I appreciate about Trevor's preaching is that he is both inspiring and instructive, and that, in a day when most Sunday morning sermons are purely inspirational, and as I say, inspiration is fleeting. Any inspiration you derive from a Sunday morning sermon may soon evaporate within minutes of closing a church building door.

I admit that there are many more detailed commentaries than mine. I have written this commentary, along with other commentaries, mostly to Christians who are new to the faith. I do get technical at times but hopefully these technicalities are written in such a way that all can understand my point.

I have been a serious student of the Bible since 1970, and I still am today. Learning what the Bible has to say to us is a never-ending process. I am always learning, and will continue to learn until the day I die.

Introduction

The two letters that are said to have been written by Peter were written by Simon Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus. Jesus also called him Cephus, an Aramaic word meaning "stone or rock." Most of what we know about Peter is found in the four gospel accounts, the first thirteen chapters of Acts, and a little from what the Apostle Paul wrote or said about him.

We know very little about Peter's missionary trips. In Acts 12:17, after his miraculous escape from prison, Luke wrote that he went to other places. We simply don't know where these other places were. Tradition states that he ended up in Rome , sometime after Paul came to Rome . Tradition also states that he was executed in Rome on a cross, in and around 64 to 66 AD. Some tradition states that he was hung upside down on a cross in order not to die in the same way Jesus died. It has been said that he did not feel worthy to be executed in the same manner that Jesus was executed. Catholics believe that his tomb is under Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome to this very day, thus, the reason for the church building's name.

Peter was a fishermen, and unlearned and untrained in matters of theology, or so the Jewish establishment of his day thought. Acts 4:13 reads:

"When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus."

This portrayal of Peter has presented problems with some concerning the authorship of first and second Peter. Some suggest that Peter was not intelligent enough to write such a letter in Greek, but we don't need to worry about this because Peter himself, in 1 Peter 5:12 wrote that Silvanus, or Silas, as he is also called, helped him write this letter. That verse reads:

"Through Silvanus, a faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you briefly in order to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!"

The New International Version of 1 Peter 5:12 makes the point of Silvanus' help in writing this letter even clearer than the CSB's translation. It reads:

"With the help of Silas, [Silvanus] 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."

This Silvanus was the one who was friends with Paul and Timothy. See 1 Corinthians 1:19, 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and 2 Thessalonians 1:1. Silvanus knew Greek and was a great helped to both Peter and Paul in the writing of their letters.

Another thing we need to understand, something many don't really understand, is when the Book of Acts states that Peter was uneducated, we must think in terms of theological training. The context of the Acts statement concerns Peter's dialogue with the Sanhedrin, the theologians of the day. Peter and his family were most likely middle-class businessmen. They were fishermen with many boats. When those in the Sanhedrin said that Peter was uneducated, they were speaking about uneducated in matters of theology and the rabbinical traditions and laws. We really can't say that Peter was an uneducated country hick. He was not a stupid man.

Peter told us to whom he wrote his letter in verse 1 of chapter 1. He wrote his letter to those in Pontus , Galatia , Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia . In today's world, this would be the north west part of Turkey .

It's interesting to note that if you read Paul's missionary journey in Acts 17 and 18, the Holy Spirit told him not to go into northern Asia, northern Turkey today. The Holy Spirit told him to go to Macedonia instead. See Acts 16:6 to 10. Many of the Roman provinces that Peter specifies in verse 1 were in the area where Paul was told not to go. Maybe, and it's speculation, it was because Peter was already there preaching the gospel.

Peter said that he wrote this letter from Babylon . There is a debate among scholars whether the Babylon mentioned in chapter 5, verse 13, was the city of Babylon , in present-day Iraq . Babylon was not an important city in Peter's day. There were only remnants of the old city. So, that does not seem likely to me. There was a military post in Egypt at the time of Peter's writing called Babylon as well, but most Bible teachers don't believe Peter was writing from there either.

Many, if not most Bible teachers, believe that Peter was using the word Babylon symbolically to represent Rome . The idea is that he did not want to say anything that would be taken offensively by the Roman authorities, who were persecuting Christians at the time in Rome . Also, the designation of Babylon was often used symbolically of Rome among first century Christians. Over the centuries, among God's people, as illustrated in the Bible, Babylon is symbolized as the city of man that is in constant opposition to all things godly.

When it comes to Babylon being used symbolically you can read Revelation 14:8, 16:19, 17:5, 18:2 and 10. Many Bible teachers believe the Revelation Babylon is a metamorphic representation of the nations of the world. The first mention of Babylon in the Bible is found in Genesis 11 and the incident at the Tower of Babel , otherwise known as Babylon . That incident portrays Babylon as being in opposition to God, and the Bible carries out that portrayal throughout its pages.

No one knows for certain the exact date that Peter wrote his first letter. Many, if not most, suggest that it was around 63 AD, or, from 61 to 64 AD. A few even think slightly before 61 AD. The reason given dating the letter in the early 60's AD is because of the reference in chapter 1, verse 1, to those who have been scattered, as in, scattered throughout the Roman Empire . This scattering was due to Christian persecution in Jerusalem and Judea . James, the author of the letter of James, and one of the leaders of the Jerusalem church, is said to have been executed for his faith in 62 AD. This was the beginning of even greater persecution of Christians, not only by Jews but also by Romans that spread throughout the empire. This might be the reference that Peter is speaking about when he uses the word "scattered," thus, the date of around 61 to 64 AD.

The Muratorian Fragments (written around 170 to 180 A D) is the earliest list of suggested canonical writings of the Bible. It lists twenty two out of our twenty seven New Testament books that are found in our modern cannon of Scripture. It omits the first letter of Peter in the canon of the Bible. That being said, we have some pretty significant early Christian writers who seemed to have quoted from 1 Peter. Clement of Rome , prior to 100 AD seemed to have alluded to 1 Peter in his letter to the Corinthians. Polycarp, a disciple of John, wrote in and around 125 A D, directly quoted from 1 Peter 1:8, 1:13, 1:21, 3:22, and 5:9.

In 1 Peter 5:12 we note that Silas, also known as Silvanus, helped Peter write this letter. This is why some think that Paul might have even written this letter. Silas did help Paul write some letters, and for that reason, the writing style of 1 Peter is similar to the writing style of Paul.

Like Paul, Silvanus (Silas) was a Jew, with Roman citizenship. We know that he was probably a Roman citizen because Acts 16:37 implies he was illegally arrested. Silas was probably the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew name Saul. Silvanus is his Roman name. It was also one of the names of a Roman god. Silas was probably a Hellenistic Jew, born and raised somewhere in Asia Minor, present-day Turkey .

There has also been much speculation over the centuries whether Peter was writing specifically to Jewish Christians or all Christians which would have included Gentiles. I'll address this a bit when I comment on Peter's opening remarks.

Theme Of 1 Peter

When it comes to a theme of any book in the Bible, people will always differ on what they think is the theme. From my perspective, the theme of Peter's first letter is how individual Christians, and the Community of Christ as a unified people, should live when being persecuted by an anti-Christ culture, or really, how both the individual believer and the church should live during any kind of stress-filled suffering.

Peter gave both doctrinal and practical advice that was meant to guide his readers through the mine-field of difficulties inflicted on them by their surrounding anti-Chris culture. Such advice is valuable to us today. We are not suffering like those believers in Peter's day were suffering, but as time goes on, and, as our western culture becomes more anti-Christ in nature than it is now, you can expect conflict that leads to us suffering for our faith in Jesus. For this reason, all that Peter told his readers must be burned into our minds so it will sink into our souls whereby it will become the conviction whereby we live, and that, despite all of the problems we will encounter as Christians in an anti-Christ culture.

1 Peter 1:1 - 2

The Text

1 - Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ:
To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen ²according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

My commentary

Verse 1

In verse 1 Peter began his letter by introducing himself as an apostle, or "apostolos" in Greek. "Apostolos" simply means "one who is sent on a mission." This Greek word was not a religious word as our word "apostle" is understood by most today. It was an everyday usage word. Anyone who was sent by another was an apostle. Of course, in Christian terms this word has a very specific meaning. The One who sends is Jesus, and therefore, a Biblical apostle is an apostle of Jesus.

In Acts 1:22 we note that Peter believed that the apostle that should take Judas’ place had to be one that had been with Jesus from the beginning. Does this mean that only men who lived on earth and was with Jesus in the flesh can be an apostle? No, it doesn't mean that. There are other apostles mentioned in the New Testament, including Silas, Timothy, and Paul, among others. Paul himself spoke of his apostleship in terms as being one who was born late, that is, becoming an apostle after Jesus left this world. 1 Corinthians 15:8 and 9 read:

"Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he [Jesus] also appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God ."

Peter believed that the one who took the place of Judas had to have been with them from the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry. The Twelve, as they are sometimes known, were specifically appointed by Jesus while He was on earth, and thus, it only made sense that someone who was with Jesus would take Judas' place. At least this appeared to be Peter’s thinking.

Concerning modern-day apostles, I believe that we need to make a distinction between them and the original twelve apostles, plus Paul. A modern-day apostle cannot proclaim special revelation that does not agree with the Bible. In fact, modern-day apostles only repeat what the Biblical apostles taught.

Is the apostolic ministry a valid ministry for today? Some people say it is and others say it isn't. The fact of the matter is, if there were secondary apostles after the twelve and Paul, and, if an apostle is simply one who is sent, then it is logical to conclude that the apostolic ministry is a valid ministry for today. Paul believed this to be the case because he mentioned the ministry of apostles as being a legitimate ministry in Ephesians 4:11, and that was long after Jesus chose the original twelve. That verse reads:

"And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,"

In my personal experience with so-called modern-day apostles, some who claim such status are not always ones who have been sent out by Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They are more of a pastor or an administrator. A person who is always in one location, as a pastor is, and never is sent out or is on the move, does not fit the definition of an apostle, or so I believe. That being said, I do believe that certain people, by virtue of who they are, are apostolically orientated. In today's high-tech world, where going somewhere can be done with a few key strokes of a computer keyboard, you can sit at your computer and go anywhere. In this sense of the word, apostles today certainly have tools that Peter and Paul never had, but I'm sure, would have loved to have had, and maybe, going somewhere means something different to us than it did to Peter and Paul.

In verse 1 Peter said that he was an apostle of Jesus Christ. This means that Jesus was the one who sent him out to be an apostle. As an apostle of Jesus, Peter represented Jesus to those He met and to those Jesus had placed before him at any given moment. He would have followed the dictates of the One who had sent him out on his mission.

The English name Jesus means Yahweh, or God, is salvation. It is translated from the Greek word "eisous." The title Christ is translated from the Greek word "christos," meaning, anointed one. Christos is sometimes translated as Messiah in the New Testament.

We don't see Jesus' other title here, which is, Lord. Christian Jews, and even Gentiles, in the first century understood that the word "Lord" was in reference to the Almighty God. The Greek word translated as "Lord" is "kuriouis." It was used for anyone in authority, but for the Christian in the first century, the word took on the most elevated meaning possible, and that being, God or Yahweh in Hebrew. This clearly tells us that Jesus, while in human form on earth, was in fact, God Himself.

Also in verse 1 Peter addressed his letter to the chosen, or elect, as we read in the King James Bible. Over the centuries, and especially since the Reformation, the words "chosen" and "elect" has caused great discussion and controversy. Without getting into the totality of the controversy of predestination, "chosen" or "elect" simply means a chosen people or a chosen one. , and, as the New Testament uses these words, chosen by God. Peter most likely uses this term in its Jewish sense. This whole phrase is Jewish in nature, especially with the Greek word "diaspora" used here as seen in the word "scattered." In those days, the "Diaspora" was a designation in reference to Christian Jews who were scattered across the Roman Empire because of persecution in Jerusalem . This fact may have some relevance to whom Peter was addressing this letter.

The word "chosen" is translated from the Greek word "eklektos" that means "to be chosen out of." You might see the resemblance between this Greek word and the Greek word "ekklesia" that is translated as church in the New Testament. Both words, when used in connection with people, imply a choosing of certain people by God out of a larger group of people.

One debate from verse 1 is over to whom Peter was writing this letter. Was he writing to Jewish Christians who had been scattered throughout the empire or was he writing to all Christians, whether Jew or Gentile? Who were the chosen? Were they Christian Jews or Christian Gentiles? I tend to think that he was writing to all Christians, not just Christian Jews. Some say the phrase "your former ignorance" (1 Peter 1:14) suggests that these people to whom Peter was writing were Gentiles. Some say that the phrase "once you were not a people" (1 Peter 2:10) suggests that his readers were indeed Gentiles. Still others say that the words "who weren't God's people" were backslidden Jews. The comment concerning Peter's readers being once pagan (1 Peter 4:3 - 4) suggests that those to whom this letter was written might be Gentile Christians. I realize this all sounds confusing. I only mention it because of its historic controversy. I will comment further on the word "chosen" as it relates to the word "foreknowledge" as seen in verse 2.

Note the word "exiles." Some translations use the word "alien," "strangers," or foreigners." Whatever word you like, it portrays the meaning of what Peter was saying throughout his letter. These words are translated from the Greek word "parepidmos" which simply means "a sojourner or one passing through." It was the first-century Christian mentality that believed the true Christian was indeed strangers in this world. We see this in Hebrews 11:13, that reads:

"These [godly people] all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth."

Our problem in western-world Christianity today is that we do not think of ourselves as aliens because were too much in love with this world to consider ourselves in that light. 1 John 2:15 tells us not to love this world. If we do love this world, John said, the love of God is not in us. That verse reads:

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

The word "love" as seen in the above verse is translated from the Greek word "agape" that suggests love that is demonstrated through sacrifice. John was not saying that we cannot enjoy things of the world. He was saying that we must not sacrifice ourselves to obtain the things of this world, and why? We are to sacrifice ourselves for the cause of Christ, and for Jesus alone.

Jesus Himself, in John 15:19, said that we do not belong to this world. We belong to a heavenly world. We are simply pilgrims passing through on our way to the next life. That verse reads:

"If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you."

What I have just said concerning being exiles in the world is based on a metaphoric interpretation of the word "exiles". Some believe that Peter had more than symbolism in mind here. They believe Peter was thinking literally, as in, when a person became a Christian, he immediately became disfranchised as a person, as seen in the Greco-Roman world, and there is truth in that.

The locations that Peter mentions in verse 1 are in present day North West Turkey , where in Acts 16:6 to 10 the Holy Spirit told Paul not to go and preach. Maybe, and it's speculation, Jesus did not want Paul to go there because that is where Peter was preaching.

Verse 2 states that the Christians to whom Peter was writing had been chosen because of the foreknowledge of God. So, we come back to the controversial word "chosen." Some people see what is called the doctrine of predestination in this verse, or at least a version of this doctrine.

The debate over the words "chosen" (election) and "foreknowledge has been raging for centuries. Has God predestined some to be saved and not others? Has He predestined all to be saved? Are the Jews God's chosen people in New Testament times? Are Christians God's chosen people in New Testament times? Will the Jews ever be God's chosen people, if they aren't now? On and on the questions are asked.

I believe in this present era that Christians are God's chosen people, but, the time will come when God will one day bring His Old Testament chosen people, the Jews, back into the forefront of prophetic history. They too will be His chosen people. You can read my book entitled "Irrevocable Promises," subtitled "the Abrahamic Covenant" for further explanation of my thinking on this issue.

Concerning the word "foreknowledge," God, in His ultimate knowing of all things before all things were ever created, knows what will happen before it happens. He knows who will be saved. He knows who will not be saved. He knows these things because He is all-knowing, and, He exists in what I call the present now. In His world, there is no past, present, or future. It is all now, and so, knowing something before that something is actually something, is not a problem for God.

The problem concerning God predestining, or, predetermining some to be saved and others not to be saved is over such verses as John 3:16. John 3:16 is one of many verses that state that whosoever will believe, will be saved. That seems to suggest that one is saved because of us believing, but I believe there is more to our salvation than just us making the decision to put our faith in Jesus. Taking the "whosoever will believe" verses to their extreme would make salvation all a matter of something we do, and there are sufficient Scriptures that say salvation is more than that. This is where the word "chosen" comes into play.

One fundamental question that needs to be asked here is this. Who initiates salvation on a personal matter? Is it God or is it us? I believe it is God that initiates the process of salvation in one's life.

This subject is way too huge to address here. I will only say the following, which I realize, will not satisfy everyone or solve the debate. Look at what Romans 11:5 says.

"In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace."

Paul wrote that Christians are a remnant of people chosen by God's grace. Now read Romans 12:3.

"For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one."

Romans 12:5 reads:

"According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one's faith;"

According to Paul, grace is something given to us. It is not manufactured by us. Grace is in fact a gift that God chooses to give us, and, it is that gift of grace that saves us.

We cannot discount the fact that God chooses to give us the grace that saves us. The gospel of God's grace, is then, proclaimed throughout the world. The "whosoever will believe" of John 3:16, might well be then, the "whosoever believes" because of the gift of grace, God's ability to believe, has been given to them.

There is also what Jesus said about this issue as well. John 6:44 reads:

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day."

After reading Jesus' statement in the above verse, how do we understand all of the "whosoever will" verses? When God chooses to draw people to Jesus, whosoever of those people who believe with God's help, will be saved.

I will leave this debate at this. Countless books have been written on the subject. I would suggest that you do a serious study for yourself and come to your own conclusion. I believe, if you are like me, your study will lead to questions that are difficult to answer. At that point, things become a mystery until the day our Lord clears it all up for us.

Note in verse 2 that God is Father. Many believe that the term Father is an anthropomorphic term. That is, the word Father best fits who God is. It's a human term that is meant to help explain a non-human, Spirit God. The Jewish sense of Father was a leader, the one in charge of things, as in a family. There is no hint of sexuality in God being Father here as there is in its human context. In human terms, fathers are male, with the ability to help produce an offspring. I'm not sure you can view God as being either male or female, at least how we view male and female in human terms. He is a spirit and is in a class of His own. That being said, you can see both male and female characteristics in the nature of God. Some suggest, because of the name El Shaddai, one of the Hebrew names for God, that God has both male and female characteristics. They say this because the root word "shadd" that El Shaddai comes from, means "the breasted one." I tend to hold to this theological position. I also see this in the creation account, where, in Genesis 1:26 and 27 God created man and woman in His likeness and image. Both, male and female characteristics, then, can be seen in the essence of God.

There is a lot of theology in this second verse, especially from a so-called unlearned man, as the Jewish leaders perceived Peter to be. Peter has just written about two great theological concepts, that is, election and foreknowledge. Now in the next phrase he wrote, "through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit." Here, is yet another theological concept he introduced, and that is sanctification.

The realization of being a chosen person takes place when we become sanctified by Jesus. So, what does that mean? The word "sanctify" simply means "to separate or set apart something from the rest of something." In this context the work of the Holy Spirit separates God's chosen people from the world, so they can be solely His. That is to say, the world no longer owns the Christian. God, not the world, owns the Christian. The Holy Spirit separates the true believers from the unbelievers in the world, and places them into the people of God, that is, the chosen remnant of grace. Of course, if the Holy Spirit does not live in a person, there is no sanctifying work. There is no separation. One must have the Holy Spirit residing in him in order to be a part of God's separate community of people. The apostle Paul made that clear in Romans 8:9, that reads:

"You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him."

Paul also made it clear that Jesus owns us. Read 1 Corinthians 6:20.

"For you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body."

Simply put, if you do not have the Holy Spirit living in you, you do not belong to God. You are not a Christian.

Why does the Holy Spirit do this sanctifying? In verse 2 Peter said that it was "for the obedience to Jesus Christ." Believers are expected to obey Jesus after they give their lives to Him. That only makes sense because Jesus has become their Lord, not just their Saviour. That sounds logical, but experience says that this is easier said than done. One might, thus, conclude that if there is no evidence of such obedience to Jesus, then that one might not be separated as he claims to be, and, then that one might not really be saved. Jesus seemed to have suggested that in Matthew 7:16, that reads:

"You'll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?"

Sanctification has two aspects. It is a one time event when one gives his life to Jesus. It is also an ongoing process once one has been separated unto Jesus. One is in the process of being separated from the world as he gives more of his life to Jesus.

What sanctification is not, at least in my thinking, is a one time second experience as the Methodists would teach, something like the second work of grace called the Baptism in the Spirit as Pentecostals would teach. The Methodist doctrine called "Entire Sanctification" states that at some subsequent point to one's conversion, one gets totally sanctified as a result of an isolated experience. That is to say, the world has absolutely no more hold on the person. I don't believe this can be the case with anyone in this age in which we live. Full and complete sanctification only takes place when all of who we are is transformed into the image of Jesus, and that takes place in the next life.

When one gets saved, one is transplanted from one kingdom to another kingdom, and then after this transplant takes place, there is a process in which the earthly kingdom is, little by little, removed from the person by the indwelling Holy Spirit. You might put it this way. God separates us from the world at conversion when He places His kingdom within us. Then, step by step, He, by His Spirit, takes the earthly kingdom out of us.

Peter closes this verse with the phrase, "for the obedience of Jesus Christ and the sprinkling of His blood." The words "sprinkling of blood" is a direct reference to blood sacrifices as detailed in the Law of Moses. In context, the blood that Peter wrote about is not the blood of animals, but, the blood of Jesus. Obedience, then, is not to the Law of Moses and its animal sacrifices. It is to Jesus, due to the shedding of His blood. This speaks to the fact that Jesus has replaced the Law of Moses for the believer to obey. Romans 10:4 puts it this way.

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes,"

I believe that Colossians 2:14 tells us that the Law of Moses, the certificate of debt, actually was crucified with Jesus on the cross. That verse reads:

"He erased the certificate of debt, [Law of Moses] with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross."

The next phrase ends Peter's greeting. It says, "grace and peace be with you in abundance". This is a prayer in typical Greco-Roman/Jewish fashion. Peter was praying that God's grace and His peace would be with these people in the midst of all their trials and tribulations, of which there were many. The natural tendency for these people, and for us too, would be to give up in times of hardship. Such suffering would cause stress and stress can cause relational problems. Peter wanted God's grace, meaning His ability to get us through our troubles, to be strong in these people's lives. Then beyond that, he wanted the inner peace that only comes from our Lord to be with these people in these hard times. Peter wanted God's divine ability within these people to get them through their troubles with a good measure of peace.

There are two definitions for the word "grace" as seen in the Bible. The first is God's unmerited favour that He extends to us who do not deserve it. This is the most common understanding of grace, but, there is another lesser-known understanding of grace. God's grace is also the God given ability given to us to endure all that comes our way in the process of doing His will.

There are also two ways to understand peace, as seen in the Bible. We have peace with God, meaning, we are no longer His enemies. We also have peace in God, meaning, we have His peace within our hearts that helps us through whatever comes our way, whether good, bad, or ugly.

Note that in the first two verses Peter spoke of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three persons of what Paul called the Godhead are involved in all aspects of our salvation.

1 Peter 1:3 - 12

The Text

³Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth
into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
⁴and into an inheritance that
is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

⁵You are being guarded by God's power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

⁶You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials ⁷so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

⁸Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who prophesied about the grace that would come to you, searched and carefully investigated.

¹¹They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified in advance to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

¹²It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.

My Commentary

Verses 3 and 4

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you."

The first thing we should note about this section of 1 Peter, chapter 1, is that it is one long sentence. That might not work well in our modern English grammar classes, but it is not the only place in the Bible where you read such long sentences. We must realize that modern day English grammar and first-century Koine Greek grammar are miles apart when it comes to rules of grammar. Attempting the process of translation, then, is not an easy task.

Verse 3 begins with the word "blessed." Other translations use the word "praise." The Greek word that is translated into English as blessed is "eulogetos." I'm sure you recognize our English word "eulogy" which is a direct transliteration from the Greek. "Eulogetos" simply means "to speak well of." Peter was about to speak very well of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is amazing in the midst of all his trials and the troubles his readers were going through. Many of us might well be complaining if we were suffering like those people. Some of us would actually forsake our faith in the midst of such persecution that these people were living through. I suggest we learn not to complain because some of us, maybe many of us, could well experience some kind of persecution in the future from the anti-Christian culture in which we live. Complaining will do nothing in our attempt to survive the days ahead. As a matter of fact, it will hinder us from serving Jesus and will eventually harm our witness for Him. Complaining nullifies the lessons we are to learn from our troubles. So, it is best to stop complaining now before times get worse for us.

We note that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the one Peter spoke well of. We have seen this phrase many times in the apostle Paul's writings. The point to be made here is that the God that Peter was writing about was the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter did not believe in a generic god like much of our modern world does today. The New Testament does not hint at Christians serving a generic god. The Bible does not proclaim a one god fits all people as our present western world embraces today. The God that Peter gives praise to, and we should as well, is both the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This God is different than any other proclaimed god in human history. He is not the god of Islam or any other religion as many claim.

One problem I see with modern-day Christianity, especially in the West, is that we speak too much about God and not enough about Jesus. In this day in age when the belief in a generic god is so prevalent, we need to specify what God we serve. We serve the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you don't make this clear, the world will think we believe in their generic god, and we certainly don't believe in the god of this world.

When Peter used the term "God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," as a Jew, this would have been very significant. Jews believed in Yahweh, the God and father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In other words, Peter was now adding Jesus to this all-important list. Even more than being added to this list, the word "Lord" means that Jesus is actually Yahweh, or God, in human flesh. This would be very disturbing to non-Christian Jews. This is what got the disciples in trouble with the Jewish leadership. This is why Jesus found Himself in trouble with the Jewish leadership, and thus, was subsequently executed. Of course, from God's view point, Jesus was executed because it was His will. The Biblical truth that Jesus is God in a human form is the basic reason for why the Christian gospel has been so controversial over the centuries.

We also note that Peter called Jesus "our Lord Jesus Christ." The pronoun "our" is possessive, meaning; Jesus belongs to us as Christians. Even more so, Jesus has been given to us, as seen in Isaiah 9:6 that states to us a child is born and a son is given.

We should also note the name Jesus. The angel told Mary to call her son Jesus prior to His conception. Jesus means "Yahweh is salvation." Jesus' very name tells us that He is God, or, to be more specific, Yahweh in human flesh. God being Jesus' Father also suggest that Jesus is God in human flesh.

Jesus is both Lord and Christ. As Lord He is the Almighty God over all there is. As Christ, He is Saviour for those who give their lives to Him. I believe that the reason why Jesus can be our Saviour is because He is first Lord.

As you study the New Testament, you will find certain truths that the early Christians promoted. At times I feel that we do not promote these truths to the extent that they did. We tend to promote secondary issues instead. One of these truths is found here in verse 3. Peter said that God has "given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus." Three points should be made here. The first truth is the idea of the new birth. It is what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3 to 5. John 3:3 reads:

"Jesus replied, 'Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God .'"

When giving our lives to Jesus, and when Jesus gives His life to us in the form of His Spirit, we are born again. We become someone we have never been. We are a brand new creation, as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17, that reads:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!"

There is an old saying that goes like this. "One who is born once dies twice while one who is born twice dies once." How true that is. I will often make this point this way. As a man is different from a woman, so a Christian is different from a non-Christian. That only makes sense to me. If God, the Almighty Creator lives in you via His Spirit, that has to make you completely different from one who does not have the Spirit of the Almighty Creator within him or her.

The second point we see here is that we are born into a living hope. A study of other New Testament passages will tell us that the hope of the early Christian was for the return of Jesus that would bring the spiritual Kingdom of God to earth in a material reality. This hope is futuristic. For those who suggest that thinking and hoping for the return of Jesus is futile, or being as they say, more heavenly minded than of any earthly good, is just not correct. The early Christians thought much of their new life to come with Jesus when He returns to earth, and so should we. Their existence on earth was full of hardship. In the midst of their persecution, Peter was simply reminding these people to hang in because they had a great future ahead of them, even if they were killed in this life. Their lives to come with Jesus were a motivating factor in keeping their faith in Jesus alive.

We should understand that there is nothing wrong with hoping. Some people today suggest that hope is actually a lack of faith. That's not the way the Bible views hope. Of course, Biblical hope isn't the hope seen in the world. It's not the hope that one hopes to win the lottery. Biblical hope is a certain assurance or expectation of a future reality. Biblical hope is an assurance of God's reliability.

Peter inserts the adjective "living" before the word "hope." That suggests that the certain expectation of a future reality is a real and productive expectation that lives within us, and if hope lives within us, then hope is productive. We seldom think of hope in terms of productivity, but godly hope is productive. It produces that which is needed to live the Christian life at this very moment.

The third point to consider is this. Our resurrection is based on the resurrection of Jesus. Peter, like Paul, was very adamant about this point. 1 Corinthians 15 is the definitive chapter on the resurrection, of both Jesus and us. Paul simply taught that because Jesus rose from the dead, we too will rise from the dead at some future date. Paul was correct when he said that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, Christians should be pitied above all men. 1 Corinthians 15:19 reads:

"If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone."

Peter believed the same as Paul. The resurrection, of both Jesus and the Christian, was one of the most talked about and preached subjects by the first century Christians.

The gospel we preach must include the resurrection of both Jesus and His followers. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, neither will we. If this is the case, then we have no hope of life after death. All the things we suffer in this life have no meaning. All that Peter's readers would be suffering would have been for nothing. That is a sad commentary on one's life.

Note the word "mercy" in verse 3. It is translated from the Greek word "elios." Mercy, thus, means an outward manifestation of pity on someone in need. The most popular definition of grace is unmerited favour, meaning, the recipient of grace receives the grace, not because he deserves it but because the giver of grace simply wants to give it. Mercy is not grace. Mercy is the giving of something based on pity that will fulfill a need in the recipient.

In verse 4 Peter went on to say that this inheritance, that can never perish, spoil or fade, is kept in heaven for us. An inheritance is something that is given to someone after the owner of the things to be inherited passes away. Jesus died, and therefore, He has willed something to us that is beyond our imaginations to comprehend. This inheritance is now in heaven. It awaits us when we die, but even more than that, Jesus waits in heaven to hand it over to us. We not only get our inheritance, we get Jesus in person.

Salvation history, as I call it, is a process. The process is not complete until all that is predicted in the Bible is fulfilled as seen in the closing chapters of the book of Revelation. Our full inheritance will not be realized unto heaven and earth pass away and a new heaven and earth replaces it. Revelation 21:1 reads:

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more".

Everything on earth moves towards perishing, spoiling, and fading, but not so with the inheritance God has for us in heaven. This fading away on earth is called the Second Law of Thermal Dynamics, or, entropy. The Law of Entropy states that all things are in the process of decay and will eventually die. Entropy entered creation when Adam ate from the forbidden fruit and it remains with us until the day God creates a new earth. Despite the belief of some who feel we can escape the decay that leads to death if we have sufficient faith, that is not the case. Jesus, nor the cross of Christ, has nullified the effects of this Age of Entropy.

Today's church places way too much importance on material things that perish here on earth. Much of a church's financial budget is dedicated to such perishing things. This is misfortunate. It is my opinion, and I am speaking in general terms, that far too much money and attention is spent on things that detour us from the will of God. We major on the minors. All that we possess as church are tools we use to facilitate God's will. A tool is just a tool, and nothing more.

Verse 5

"You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."

Peter said a lot in verse 5. He continued with his long sentence. He said that through faith we are guarded or shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that will appear at the end of this age. The words "being guarded" are a present passive participle in the Greek text. That simply means that right now in present time, we are guarded ones, and this guarding is not an action that we do. It's an action that is done to us from without us, that being, from God Himself. As Christians, we should understand that by virtue of our new nature in Jesus we are in fact guarded or shielded ones. We are not simply being guarded. Inherent in whom we are, are guarded ones.

You might not catch the difference between being guarded and being guarded ones, but there is a huge difference. When one is being guarded, that means, the action of guarding is being directed to that person. Being guarded is an action. A guarded one takes the action of being guarded to the next level. Since the Greek text is a participle and not a verb in this instance, the next step is that you have become what the action of guarding is. Becoming an action is not the same as being the recipient of that action.

What are we guarded from? It does not mean we are never affected by the problems resulting from this age of entropy. It does not mean will never suffer trouble, because Peter's readers were suffering much trouble. It means that, we, as beneficiaries of an inheritance are being guarded, and even more so, have become guarded ones. All that transpires in our lives, even if it is bad, does not have to destroy us. God's grace, His divine ability, lives within us that can cause us to stand when all is falling around us. So, inherent in being guarded or shielded ones means that through our trust in Jesus, despite any present losses, our inheritance is still kept for us in heaven.

Paul was right, when in Romans 8:28, he said that nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of God, or in this context, from the inheritance that is waiting for us in heaven. We are guarded, or shielded ones, and in that respect, our legal status as beneficiaries remains constant. Romans 8:28 reads:

"We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."

Peter said that we are guarded ones until the day of our coming salvation. Two points should be noted hear. Nothing in this present life can disqualify us as being beneficiaries of our divine inheritance. Personal salvation is a process, and just because the process is not complete, does not mean will lose our guarded ones status. That is to say, we are saved. We are being saved, and, we will be saved. When our final salvation is realized, that inheritance will be realized as well. It is just part of the process of salvation.

Read the following verses to see that we are saved, we are being saved, and, we will be saved.

We are saved, or, have been saved, is seen in Romans 8:24.

"Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?"

We are being saved is seen in 2 Corinthians 2:15.

"For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing."

We will be saved is seen in Romans 5:10.

"For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life."

The term "last days" is used in two ways in the Bible. One way is that the last days began at the Day of Pentecost. If you read Acts 2 you will note that this is how Peter used this term. The term "last days" is also used in the sense of the very last days, or, the last seven years, that end this age. Many Prophetic Futurists believe that the last seven years are commonly known as the Tribulation while the last 3 and a half years are known as the Great Tribulation.

Peter said that due to the power of God, we are guarded ones. The word "power" is translated from the Greek word "dynamis." I'm sure you can see that our English word "dynamite" comes from this Greek word. The word "dynamite" actually is a good description of what dynamis means. God's dynamic power is ready and available to work in our lives in whatever way God so desires. It does not matter what we go through in life, God's power is readily available for us. His divine power can keep our trust in Him intact no matter what happens, and be assured, things will happen. If we fail to trust Jesus in the hard times, it is not because Jesus has failed us. It's because we have failed to allow His divine power to work in our lives. This divine power, according to Peter, is through faith. Simply put, when we trust Jesus with our lives in the tough times, His power is demonstrated in our lives, and that power brings us out of the trials as victors.

Verses 6 and 7

"You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

In verse 6 Peter said that his readers were greatly rejoicing. The words "in this" here in verse 6 are in reference to their faith, their trust in Jesus, being tested that will eventually give praise and glory and honour to Jesus. This tells me that the testing of our faith is more than just about us. It is about Jesus, as in, He will be honoured due to our witness that has survived the test of faith. As He is being honoured our inheritance will have been kept for us in heaven. When our inheritance is finally given to us, Jesus will honour us. In the long run, we will all be honoured.

Peter was saying that his readers, and us too, greatly rejoice, knowing very well that some day all our trials will be over and we will be in a safe place with Jesus, free of suffering, pain, and everything else this Age of Entropy throws at us. At that point we will be rewarded for our faith, for all we have done in the service of the Lord that has caused His name to be honoured before all who see our lives.

Rejoicing in suffering seems so foreign to our western Christianity these days, but it is God's will. Those in what is known as the Hyper Faith Movement will tell you that if you suffer you are out of God's will. They will tell you that your present suffering is due to a lack of faith. That is just not Biblical and this passage makes that very clear. The best Christians in history have suffered. My answer to this heresy is that if, you as a Christian do not suffer, then, you might not have the faith you claim to have. This is because the testing Peter wrote about here is the testing of one's faith. If you don't have faith, there would be no need for testing.

Peter's readers are definitely not rejoicing because they are excited about their present circumstances. They were rejoicing in spite of their present trials. This rejoicing is not a flippant type of happiness. Such happiness could not be found for them. These Christians weren't happy because they were being persecuted, imprisoned, raped, and murdered for their faith in Jesus. Some suggest that we should always be jumping for joy even in the face of sickness and death. Peter was not saying that. It's a deep seated peace and settled spirit that is found deep within our hearts and souls. This rejoicing is a heart felt thankfulness to Jesus for His presence in the midst of suffering, and, for the future benefits that is safely being stored for us. You can still have a rejoicing heart even when tears of sadness and pain slide down your cheeks.

Peter said that though now for a little while his readers may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. The words "little while" refers to the suffering of this present life, which when compared to eternity, is a little while. Peter's readers, and us too, could have been suffering for a few years, but still, a few years in light of eternity, is a little while.

Note also the words "all kinds of trials." These Christians were living through and experiencing a variety of trials. The same Greek word that is translated as "all kinds of trials" here is also used in 1 Peter 4:10. There, it's used concerning the many aspects of the grace of God working in our lives and ministry. For every trial, there is matching grace from God that can be used in ministry. 1 Peter 4:10 reads:

"Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God."

We don't often think of serving Jesus in the midst of trials and hardships, but this is what Peter was talking about here. Far too often we just hope and pray that we make it through the trials. Again, that was not Peter's point. His point was that we can be the powerful witness for Jesus in the midst of the worst trials of life.

In verse 7 Peter stated the reason for the trials his readers were going through. These trials were a test of their faith in Jesus. They were meant to prove that their faith, or trust in Jesus, was genuine. That suggests to me that not all who claim faith in Jesus has genuine faith. This, I believe, is one of the fundamental problems of today's western-world church. Many who claim to be Christian are not Christian because they do not have the faith they claim to have. They do not even understand the meaning of Biblical faith, so, how can they have Biblical faith if they are clueless to know what it is.

Peter sure sounds like the apostle James here. James wrote about false faith. Here Peter wrote about genuine faith. If there is such a thing as genuine faith then there must be such a thing as false faith. I am convinced that not everyone who claims to have genuine faith in Jesus really has genuine faith in Jesus. If they did, as James pointed out, their lives would prove their claim of faith to be valid.

It is important to understand that faith is trust. The Greek word "pistis" is translated in the New Testament as faith or trust. If we have faith in God, that means we trust Him. We trust in His reliability. As a matter of fact, we trust Him with our very lives.

Faith is not some abstract concept. It is a real concrete act of trusting, which indicates some type of relationship with Jesus. Faith apart from relationship is not a valid faith.

Faith is more passive than active. It's resting in the arms of Jesus. It's a confidence that Jesus will not let you down, no matter what comes your way. Again, faith is passive, but, sense you have this passive confidence in Jesus, you are bold enough to live an active Christian life of obedience to Jesus. This is how I say it. Passive faith produces active works.

Peter compared our trust in Jesus with gold. Even though gold, or in today's world money, may have importance, it is not as important as the trust you have in Jesus. Your faith, then, must be refined by fire, just like gold is refined in fire. Gold will perish, but your true faith, your trust in Jesus, must survive the testing fires of life. As I type these words in June, 2022, the stock market has been very fluid, fluctuating all around. You may invest one hundred dollars and lose it all before the day is over. In this instance, you certainly need the trust in Jesus that does not fluctuate.

Real faith is more important than gold, and has eternal consequences. What Peter was teaching was that even though you have these trials, and even though you may be experiencing financial hardship, or whatever, your trust in Jesus is more important than the money you may or may not have tomorrow. That sounds pretty tough, but it is the Biblical reality. If your faith is genuine, then these trials will only strengthen and deepen your genuine trust in Jesus. You will trust Him more than you ever did because you allowed Jesus to help you survive the hardship.

Peter compared faith with gold, or, faith with money. It's obvious to Peter, and it should be to us, that money is secondary to one's trust in Jesus. Money does not guarantee your entrance into the next life. The stock market might crash over night and you lose much of your savings. Trust in Jesus, on the other hand has eternal consequences. You have an eternity ahead of you and that is because you have trusted your life with Jesus. Money can't buy you a place in eternal bliss.

To conclude verse 7, Peter said that if your faith is real, then this will result in praise, glory and honour to God when Jesus is revealed. Again, Jesus will be revealed when He returns to earth. If your faith holds true until then, or until you die, your life will have been a great testimony to Jesus.

It appears to me that not all of the results of our tested faith will be revealed in this present life. Some, if not many, will be revealed at the end of this age, or at death, when we see Jesus face to face. This is yet another argument against the Hyper Faith and Prosperity teaching that is prevalent in today's church that says we should have it all right now. We deserve all we can get out of life because we are, as they say, "kids of the King." The Hyper Faith Prosperity Gospel is a very self serving gospel, and such self-serving is not the Christian gospel. As far as I am concerned, this teaching is the worst heresy that has infiltrated the church over the last seventy years.

Both the Prosperity Gospel and Hyper Faith Gospel teach that if you have enough faith, you can do pretty much everything and get anything you ask from God. Prosperity people say that if you are poor, which most of those to whom Peter was writing were, then you have a lack of faith. That would mean that Peter's readers had little faith. It would actually mean that the apostle Paul had little faith, and I don't believe that for a second.

Hyper Faith people say that if you are not healed of an illness, you have a lack of faith. What Peter said here pretty much goes against both of these heresies. Peter wrote that suffering, and it doesn't seem to matter what kind of suffering, is a test of your faith. So, if you are rich or if you are not sick, it might actually mean you have no faith because you are not being tested. Only those with faith are tested.

Verses 8 and 9

"Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Verse 8 reminds me of what Jesus told Thomas, as is recorded in John 20:29.

"Jesus said, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.'"

Those to whom Peter was writing would fit into the people group Jesus reference in the verse above. They believed, but had not seen Jesus in person. "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him," Peter wrote.

The Greek word translated here as "believe" is the verb form of the Greek word "pistis," which means trust. In other words, despite the fact that these people couldn't see Jesus with their physical eyes, they still trusted Him. We should not put a twenty-first century meaning to the word "believe" in this verse. This is not merely a mental belief in the existence of Jesus. This is a trusting of one's life to Jesus as you enter into a relationship with Him, and that, despite the fact that you don't see Him who you trust. If that is you, then, as Jesus said, you are blessed.

These believers didn't only believe or trust in Jesus, they actually loved Him, even though they didn't see the one they love. This reminds me of what Jesus told His followers that if they love Him, they would obey Him. They would keep His commands. John 14:23 reads:

"Jesus answered, 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.'"

The point here is that we often say that we love Jesus, but, we only love Him to the degree that we keep His commands. Love is not an emotional response to Jesus. It is a concrete commitment that is put into some kind of action. I would, then, be careful telling Jesus that you love Him. He might just answer you by saying. "If you love me, obey me."

Peter also said that even though these Christians didn’t see Jesus in person as yet, they were filled with inexpressible joy. Even though these people were going through major trials, and even though they couldn’t see Jesus in person, they were filled with joy that cannot be expressed in words. That sounds incredible. That takes Holy Spirit led conviction, or, that living hope Peter wrote about earlier in this chapter. These people may not be bubbling over with laughter but they did have deep-seated, heart-felt joy that only comes from knowing that they could trust Jesus with their lives in the midst of their life-consuming trials.

The words "you believe" in verse 8 are a Greek present active participle. That means that even though Peter's readers had never seen Jesus, they continued to trust Him. They continue to be trusting-in-Jesus ones, as the Greek participle suggests. They were trusting ones because they had been transformed into someone they had never been. They were born again of the Spirit of God. By virtue of the fact that these believers were a brand new creation in Christ, inherent within them was the ability to trust Jesus in all things.

Verse 9 gives the reason why these people had this inexpressible joy. At least in part, it was because they were receiving the goal of their faith, the salvation of their souls. As I noted earlier, there are three aspects to salvation. They are, you were saved, you are being saved, and, you will be saved. Earlier, Peter wrote about future salvation and now he wrote about being in the process of being saved, and for these people, they were overjoyed because of this process. The fact that they were in the midst of their salvation outweighed their present suffering. I wonder how many Christians today have great joy in the midst of the small trials they go through. We better find this joy now because the day is coming when we will suffer, and if we don't possess what these people possessed, we will not endure what is ahead of us.

The point to be made about being in the process of being saved is that salvation is not always an easy process. Some have been known to give up on salvation for this very reason. Salvation history, as I like to call it, began in Genesis and ends in Revelation. We don't get all of what salvation offers us in this life. It's that simple, but many Christians don't seem to understand this. They, thus, allow the hardships of life to destroy their trust in Jesus.

What are we saved from? The number one thing that we are saved from is the wrath of God that will be realized in the lives of unbelievers during an eternal judgment in what the Book of Revelation calls the Lake of Fire .

The end goal of salvation, as Peter stated, is the salvation of your souls. It's the salvation, or deliverance of who you are. It's the transformation of your essence into something altogether new and eternal.

Verse 10

"Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who prophesied about the grace that would come to you, searched and carefully investigated."

Verse 10 speaks of the Old Testament prophets who were holy men proclaiming this grace that would some day come. Many people view the Old Testament prophets as being very negative in what they prophesied. They prophesied about doom and gloom, something today's Christian is not interested in. All that being said, they did predict the future days of glory to come as well. Isaiah 53 is one prime example how the prophet Isaiah predicted the grace of God that was to be demonstrated in the cross of Christ.

Peter said that these prophets searched for the grace they prophesied about. They would have eagerly anticipated the day when they would see God's glorious grace demonstrated in majestic power. They never saw it. It's what Hebrews 11 is all about. Even though these prophets of faith believed and trusted God, they did not see or receive what they believed Him for. Hebrews 11:13 reads:

"These [Old Testament men and women of faith] all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth."

Like those of faith in the Old Testament and in Peter's day, we have yet to see all that God has promised, but we trust Him and what He has promised anyway.

Verse 11

"They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified in advance to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow."

In verse 11 Peter said that these men inquired to the time or circumstance which the Spirit of Christ within them was pointing to. Obviously, these prophets both knew and spoke the Word of the Lord, but they had little clue to when the words they spoke would be fulfilled. This is true with prophecy teachers today. None of us have the full understanding of Biblical prophecy, even though we like to think we do.

Note that these prophets searched diligently to try to understand when the prophecies they were speaking would be fulfilled. This tells me that if they could search prophecy with such diligence, so can we. We, I believe, can actually search out prophecy better than the Old Testament prophets because we have more Scripture to search and we are closer to the end than they were. Some people believe it is a waste of time trying to figure out Biblical prophecy. That's not exactly my position. That being said, too much searching can make some too dogmatic in their prophetic positions, and such dogmatism is Biblically unfounded, and this is especially so when so much prophecy will not be totally understood until the day prophecy is fulfilled.

Peter said that the prophets of old had the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, within them. We often say that New Testament believers have the Holy Spirit living within them but Old Testament believers didn't. Peter seems to suggest here that some Old Testament believers, namely the prophets, did have the Holy Spirit within them. Whether the Holy Spirit stayed living within these men, or just visited them as they implanted the word of the Lord in their hearts, is a matter of debate.

The prophets spoke of the sufferings of Christ but Peter also added another phrase. The prophets also spoke of the glories that are the result of Jesus' death and resurrection. It was one motivating factor in Jesus' life. It is what Isaiah predicted about Jesus, as seen in Isaiah 53:11.

"After his [Jesus] anguish, he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will carry their iniquities."

I like how Hebrews 12:2 reads in this respect.

"... keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay [glories] before him, he [Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

So here Peter, along with the prophets of old, shows both the suffering of Jesus and the resulting joy that would come from suffering. Like Jesus, suffering in our lives can be productive, and productivity is something that can cause joy in our lives.

Verse 12

"It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—angels long to catch a glimpse of these things."

In verse 12 Peter also understood that these prophets realized that they weren’t really serving themselves, or their generation. They were serving a future generation. This is the generation of believers to whom Peter was writing, and that includes all generations of believers up to our day and beyond. The prophets may not have fully understood to whom they were actually speaking, but in general terms ,they knew those people would be in the future. That is the nature of much predictive prophecy. Some prophecies are directed to the generation at hand, while others are directed to other generations in the future.

Peter added that those who have preached this gospel have done so by what we would call the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that motivated the prophets of the Old Testament to prophesy also inspired the New Testament apostles to preach the good news. Peter was one of these inspired apostle motivated and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Peter concluded this section by saying that even angels long to look into these things. This gives the picture that even angels in Heaven desire to search out the things pertaining to the gospel. This tells us a bit about angels. They don't know the whole story. They can only see what the Lord is doing at any given time and then anticipate what the Lord will do next. That being said, throughout the Bible you see angels helping God with things on earth. You might remember the outcry that God heard because of the sin of Sodom . I believe this outcry came from angels (Genesis 18:16 and following). It certainly didn't come from the sinners on earth because they were enjoying their sin. In those days, angels were in deep anguish with what was happening on earth, as they probably are today.

Angels have a real part to play in working out the will of God on earth. You can see this pretty clearly when you read the Book of Revelation. This is why they desire the things Peter is speaking of here.

1 Peter 1:13 - 25

The Text

¹³Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹⁴As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance.

¹⁵But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct;

¹⁶for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

¹⁷If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially according to each one's work, you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during your time living as strangers.

¹⁸For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold,

¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.

²⁰He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you.

²¹Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²²Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly,

²³because you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God.

²⁴For All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,

²⁵but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.

My Commentary

Verse 13

"Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Peter began this section of his letter with the word "therefore." When you see the word "therefore" in a sentence, we need to know why it's there for. So, in the context of what Peter has been saying, this section should be understood in that light.

Peter just spoke about the gospel message that the prophets in Old Testament days predicted and in New Testament days the apostles preached. He said that angels are eager to look into this gospel. So, because of this great salvation that has now come to his readers, Peter encouraged them to have their minds prepared for action. Note that Peter used the word "minds" in verse 13. Our minds are very important as Christians, despite the post-modern notion of some today who think our minds are secondary to our hearts. Biblical education of our minds seems to have been replaced these days with inspirational spiritual experiences. The simple fact is that there is no growth in the Lord without the proper exercise and use of our minds. If you leave your mind out of the maturing process of salvation, you will not mature as a Christian.

The mind is that part of us where we process all of life. It's our minds that need to be prepared for action as Christians because being a Christian is about doing, not just being. Obviously the doing is based on the being, that is, who we are in Christ. We are not to be Christian couch potatoes, sitting around doing nothing. We have been called to action, as Peter states here.

Peter also wrote about being sober-minded. Charismatic and Pentecostal Christians often speak of being spirit controlled, and that is very important. I grant you that, but, there is a real truth here when Peter said that we need to be in control of our minds. Being sober-minded means to get your mind, and thus, your life under control. You must take charge, with the Holy Spirit's help of course. We can’t get sidetracked with a scattered brain.

When it comes to matters of the mind and matters of the heart, we need to find a Biblical balance between the two parts of our being. Getting this out of balance is never productive, but keeping this in balance is easier said than done for some.

Peter then said that his readers, and us to, should set our hope on God's grace that will be brought to us all at the revelation of Jesus, or, His return to earth, as I understand it. Setting our hope, which is a certain expectation of a future reality, is part of getting our minds ready for action.

Peter's use of the word "grace" that is to come, once again, tells us that we have not yet experienced all of God's grace. There is more grace to be given us and that is seen in the era of the new heaven and earth, as seen at the end of the Book of Revelation.

Remember, this call to sober-minded actions was the advice Peter gave to severely suffering Christians. How could people under such suffering even begin to think about getting ready for any action that Jesus would require of them. The truth of the matter is that we must be ready for action no matter what happens to us. The apostle Paul is a prime example of this. Despite all of his suffering, he not only prepared his mind for action, he was active in fulfilling his mission, and that, even when he was in prison. I dare say that as Paul was being executed, he thought of his death as the supreme witness for Jesus, one of the most important actions in which he was involved.

With all of the above being said, when our English version says that Peter told his readers to have their minds ready for action and to be sober-minded, those actions are not verbs as you might think. They are participles, meaning, Christians are to be sober-minded and ready for action people, because, by our new nature in Christ, that is who we have become. That is to say, we do those specific actions based on who we are. They should be a product of our new nature in Christ. For the Christian, doing is based on being. Without being, we cannot properly do.

Verse 14

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance."

In verse 14 Peter told his readers not to give into the evil desires they had when they lived in ignorance. Whether Jew or Gentile, before these believers gave their lives to Jesus they were indeed ignorant of the things of God. They gave themselves to sinful desires, encouraged by their culture, before they met Jesus. That should no longer be the case. We should note that these desires are not from Satan. They are our own evil desires. At the core of who we are, we are evil. That is not a religiously correct concept these days, but it is Biblically correct. It is our responsibility to recognize our evil desires and with help from the Holy Spirit, turn from them.

The fact that Peter told his readers, who were Christians, not to give into evil desires tells us that Christians are quite capable of giving into evil desires. I believe this is the message Paul was teaching us in Romans 7. Until the moment we receive our glorified bodies, like Jesus' glorified body, we will struggle with what Paul called our flesh, or sinful nature. There is simply no way around this struggle. I suggest that if you do not experience the struggle, then, you have given into your sinful nature, and thus, there is no struggle to fight.

Our English verb "do not be conformed" in the Greek text is a present middle participle. The present and participle part of these words mean that in the present moment of time these believers were not to become conformers to evil desires. The emphasis is on becoming conformers, not just doing the action of conforming. The middle part of this participle means that the action of becoming a conformer is something that both arises from within the believer and from without him. That is to say, he is tempted by both himself and the world around him.

What Peter wrote here is exactly what Paul wrote in Romans 12:1, that reads:

"Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship."

Becoming cultural conformers is just something that we constantly struggle with. We must always be alert to this fact, as we conform to the image and will of God.

Verse 15

"But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct;"

In verse 15 Peter told his readers, and us as well, to be holy, just as Jesus Himself is holy. The Greek word "hagios" is translated as "holy" here and elsewhere in the New Testament. Hagios means to be separated apart from something in order to be given to something else. In Christian terms, being holy speaks of being separated from the world around us in order to be dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ, a dedication that should be evident in the way you live.

We often think of being holy in moral terms, as in, being righteous or good, but that is the secondary meaning to holiness. It's not the fundamental meaning of the word. As Christians, we are first separated from our surrounding culture to be dedicated to Jesus. Once separated, we live the moral life a separated unto-God person should live. This is Peter's admonition here.

In John 15:19 Jesus told His disciples that He had taken them out of the world. He said that they no longer belong to the world but to Him. Therefore, since the world hated Him, the world would also hate them. It's just a matter of fact. As our western world becomes more anti-Christ in nature, the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples will apply to us Christians. John 15:19 reads:

"If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you."

I was raised in an Evangelical church that was part of the Holiness Movement, a Christian movement birthed by men like John Wesley in the seventeen hundreds. The Holiness Movement was a group of churches that aspired to living a morally holy life. Their aspirations were good, but the problem was that in many respects, their attempt at holiness included a humanistic legalism apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in one's life. They viewed holiness in terms of obeying certain church rules, which really, were humanistic in nature. Such obedience is not holiness.

Our English verb "be" in the phrase "be holy" is a Greek aorist passive imperative verb. The imperative part of this verb means it is a command. The aorist part of the verb suggests a one time action to be holy, or separated. The passive part of this verb is interesting. A passive voice verb is when the subject of the sentence is having an action done to it. The subject is not doing the action. The action in this verse is the action of being holy. The action of being holy is a passive action that is being done to the subject of the sentence, which is the people to whom Peter was writing. So, Peter was telling his readers to decide, once and for all, that is the aorist verb, to allow Jesus to make them holy or separated unto Himself. Being holy, then, in this particular verse, is something the Jesus places on us. This fits into the meaning of the Old Testament passage where this verse is taken from, as we see in the next verse. In short, this holiness is being placed on the Christian. It's not something the Christian is doing as seems to be implied by our English text.

Verse 16

"For it is written, Be holy, because I am holy."

Peter gets us thinking about being holy from Leviticus 11:44 and 45, 19:2, and 20:7. Leviticus 11:45 reads:

"For I am the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, so you must be holy because I am holy."

My understanding from the Hebrew text of Leviticus 11:45 is that it was not a command, as in, be holy. It was a statement of fact, as in, you will be holy. Basically, God was telling the Jews that they would be holy. They would be separated unto Him, distinguishable from all other ethnic peoples. They would no longer be counted as their own ethnicity.

Our English verb "be holy" here in verse 16 is a future middle indicative Greek verb. I have already stated that Leviticus 11:45 is not a command to be holy in the Hebrew text. It was a statement of fact. Peter's quote written in Greek of "be holy" is a future middle indicative verb. It pretty much confirms what I said was the verb tense in the Hebrew grammar of Leviticus 11:45. The future and indicative part of this verb states that the Jews of old would, in the future, certainly be holy or separated unto God. The only difference from the Hebrew Old Testament quote and the way Peter used it here is that be holy is also a middle voice verb in the Greek. That means, the action of being holy, or, being separated, is both being done to the Jews and being done by the Jews. Peter's understanding, then, of Leviticus 11:45 seems to be that yes, God is declaring that the Jews will be holy, but at the same time, the Jews have a part to play in them becoming holy or separated. That is the New Testament way of doing things. We co-operate with the Lord in all He does within us.

With what I have just written, how then should we understand what Peter said about us being holy? Was he putting a New Testament slant on an Old Testament concept? It would not be the first time that he did such a thing. If you read what he wrote in Acts 2 when he quoted from Joel, chapter 2, you will note that his understanding of Joel two was not exactly Joel's understanding. Joel's understanding, for example, suggests that the last days are yet to come at the end of this age. Peter's understanding was that the last days had now just come with the giving of the Holy Spirit to the believers.

Either Peter's instructions were for us to be holy, or, for us to understand that we are, or, will be holy. There is a big difference between the two concepts. At present, and because of the passive voice verb "be holy," Peter could well have been thinking this. You will be holy, so, decide now to allow God to separate you unto Himself.

Verse 17

"If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially according to each one's work, you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during your time living as strangers."

Note the word "appeal" here in verse 17. Some other English translations translate the Greek word "epikeleo" as call upon. The New American Standard Bible translates this Greek word as "address." I think the word "appeal" has a slightly different meaning than call upon or address. That being said, due to the verb tense of this verse, the word "appeal" is a suitable word. When Paul appealed his case to Caesar (Acts 25:11), this Greek word is translated as "appeal." This Greek verb here in verse 17 of first Peter is a present middle indicative verb. The middle part of this verse means that there is an ongoing interactive relationship between the believer and God, where, the believer enquires of God and God enquires from the believer. For this reason, the CSB used the word "appeal."

As Christians, we are in an interactive relationship with God, and, we do enquire and ask of Him, and as we do, we recognize that He is the Universal Judge. Due to the fact that God is this Universal Judge, and, due to the fact that God, by His very essence is just, He cannot make a judgment based on any partiality. That is to say, He will treat you in the same way that He treats me. He has no special friend whom He treats in a special way.

Peter said here that God will judge each man's work impartially. Note that Peter did not say that God judges each man, which in context, I believe is each Christian. He said that He judges each man's work. I believe Peter is speaking of the works each Christian does in this life in service for Jesus. I could be wrong, but I don't think Peter was thinking in terms of God judging the work of non-Christians in this verse. I think Peter was saying what Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 3:10 to 16. There, Paul said that we as Christians will have our works judged or tested, just as gold is tested by fire. Any work that was not done out of heart felt love for Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, will burn up in judgment. Only the work we do based on true faith inspired by the Holy Spirit will survive this judgment. Those works will be rewarded.

It is important to know that as Christians it is our trust in Jesus that saves us. When we stand before Jesus at what we call the Judgment Seat of Christ, we ourselves are not judged, and that is because, we are already saved and our eternal destiny has already been decided. Our names have been written in the Lamb's Book of Life where there is no sin associated with our name. What is judged here is our works. We enter heaven because of our trust in Jesus, not by anything we have done. We are rewarded according to our works done through faith and the Spirit of God. On the other hand, the non-believer is judged due to his lack of faith in Jesus that produces all kinds of bad works, as seen in what is called the White Throne Judgment, as is recorded in Revelation 20:11 through 15.

Peter went on to say that since our works will be judged impartially by God our Father, we should live our lives as strangers on earth in reverent fear. Peter viewed himself as a stranger in this world. He was a stranger because his whole way of living was so different, so strange, than those in the world around him lived. All first generation Christians viewed themselves as strangers or aliens in this world, and we should do the same. We are to view our existence as Christians as strangers in a sinful world. We may live among the kingdom of men, but our true citizenship is in the Kingdom of God . These two kingdoms have always been in conflict with each other and always will be. We need to realize this and live accordingly. First and foremost, our allegiance is to the Kingdom of God , not the kingdoms of men. I'm far from convinced that this is the mentality of most western-world Christians today.

I often wonder if today's Christian actually ever thinks that he has been called by God to do good works. It might well be possible that some of us will stand before Jesus and there will be no works for Him to judge. We may enter the gates of heaven with our hands empty of any rewards we could have had. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we have been called by God to minister to others by doing good things. That verse reads:

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do."

Peter also said that we are to live our lives in reverence to God. There should be a sense of reverent fear when it comes to God. In one real sense of the word we should be afraid of God. I believe that in most cases these days, we have downplayed fear to mere reverence. Fear means fear. It's a simple as that. Fear of God, or, being afraid of Him, should make us feel like running from Him, but once we begin to run, we realize there is no place to run. So, in thankfulness, we run back to Him and fall into His loving arms. We fear the one we love and we love the one we fear. Remember, Hebrews 12:28 says that our God is a consuming fire. If God appeared to you and I right now in His exact essence, we would be afraid. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

All of the above being said, we must balance fear with our understanding of reverence. We are afraid of Him, being the ultimate powerful authority in the universe, but we must know for sure that He will never harm us in any way. He loves us to much for that.

The Greek word "phobos" is translated as "reverence" in this verse. This word in first century Greek culture meant to flee because of some kind of dread or terror, and thus, the basic meaning of the word "fear."

Verses 18 and 19

"For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb."

In verse 18 Peter reminded his readers that they know that they were not redeemed by such things as silver and gold, or money. The Greek verb here suggests that this knowing was a certainty in the minds of his readers. They had no doubt about the status of their salvation.

Peter obviously did not have a lot of trust in money, although the reference to money is not the focus of the sentence. He told his readers that their redemption was not paid for with gold and silver that perishes. It was in fact purchased with the very blood of Jesus, God's Son.

The word "redemption" or the word "redeem" has a Biblical meaning as well as a cultural meaning. In secular life one redeems a coupon at a store for certain products. In the Bible the Greek word "lytroo" is translated as "redeemed" or one of its derivatives. In Biblical terms, redemption is the process by which Jesus paid the price to free us from the penalty of our sin. You might say He, through the shedding of His blood, was the ultimate spiritual coupon.

One point to be made here is that Jesus did not pay this price to the devil as some think. He paid the price to God His Father. The devil has neither part nor parcel in the process of redemption.

In Roman culture the Greek word "lytroo" was often used when a person would purchase a slave's freedom. Gentile believers, therefore, would have a good understanding how redemption worked because of the society in which they lived.

Note that Peter wrote about the reader's empty way of life handed down to them by their forefathers. For Gentile believers, the empty way of life handed down to them was the religion of polytheistic paganism. For the Jewish believers, the empty way of life handed down to them was their outdated and humanistic-laced Judaism. For us today, our empty way of life could be Christian tradition or the secular world around us.

The Greek word "kenos" is translated as "empty" in this verse. It suggests a uselessness, especially in terms of quality. Peter viewed, and so should we view, the culture around us, whether religious or secular, as being useless, without any quality to its existence.

When the Bible speaks of the blood of Jesus, as verse 18 does, we should note that it is in reference to Jesus' earthly death. Sometimes, I believe, that Christians have made too much of His blood, missing the point that it represents His human death. They plead the blood of Jesus over things, and many do so by repeating the word "blood" over and over again. There is no Biblical support for such pleading. Jesus' blood was human blood. It was shed once and for all and is no longer being shed. As a matter of fact, there is no medical support that suggests that Jesus shed all of His blood on the cross.

In verse 19 Peter says that Jesus was a lamb without any defect. This is in reference to the Old Testament sacrificial system. In Old Testament times God commanded the Jews to offer the best animal for sacrifices. This was prophetic of the supreme sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Throughout the New Testament Jesus is seen as the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world. Jesus, the perfectly sinless one, like all of those perfect Old Testament lambs, was the sacrifice that has saved us from the wrath of God. It puts the end to all methods of sacrifice. No sacrifice that we can make will save us.

Verse 20

"He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you."

In verse 20 Peter said that Jesus was foreknown before the foundation, or creation, of the world. The NIV does not use the word "foreknown" here in this verse. It uses the word "chosen" instead. I understand why the CSB uses the word "foreknown." It is translated from the Greek word "proginisko," which means to know beforehand.

What Peter was saying here is that God foreknew all things, including in the incarnation, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. He foreknows all things because He lives outside of our space and time environment. Actually, foreknowledge is one of the major attributes of God.

This verse also says something about Jesus and the salvation He has provided us. Salvation was not a thought that entered the mind of God after Adam and Eve sinned. God knew Adam would disobey. It was no surprise to Him. It might well have been part of God's plan.

The long-standing debate whether we should understand the Greek word "proginosko" as knowing before or chosen, is important. Does the idea of the incarnation of Jesus and salvation suggest an act of choice on God's part? It is a step beyond merely knowing in advance. It suggests a predetermining, a predestination. I hold to the position that God did choose in advance in the incarnation of Jesus and all that goes with that.

Even though God's plan of salvation was thought about and determined well before creation, it was instituted as Peter said, in these last days. Here we see one of two meanings of the term "last days" that is found in the New Testament. Peter understood the last days to have begun at Pentecost, as is recorded in Acts 2. There, he also spoke of the last days. We read this in Acts 2:17.

"And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams."

The context of Peter's statement was that the giving of the Holy Spirit to the believers, as we read in Acts 2, ushered in the last days. In other words, we have been in the last days for the last two thousand years. In contrast to that, the other way in viewing the term "last days" are those days just prior to the return of Jesus.

Peter said that Jesus was revealed in these last days. This revelation of Jesus is probably in reference to Jesus' birth and all that was accomplished in and through his life, which would include His death and resurrection.

Verse 21

"Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."

In verse 21 Peter said that through Jesus you believe in God. This is especially important in our day when so many people believe in a generic god and that many paths lead to this generic god. This is not New Testament thinking. Peter clearly said that we believe in God through Jesus and no one else. God is the Father of Jesus, and it is this God that Christians trust with their lives.

Peter went on to say that God raised Jesus from the dead and glorified Him. What does this glorification of Jesus mean? I believe the answer can be found in a careful reading of John 17. In that chapter of John's gospel account we read a prayer that Jesus prayed to His Father just before He was executed. It is the longest recorded prayer we have from the lips of Jesus. In it Jesus asked to be glorified with the glory He had with His Father before the world began. John 17:5 reads:

"Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed."

What Jesus was asking of God His Father was to be re-united with Him in the oneness that they had before He came to earth and before the world was even created. We, thus ask, when did Jesus get glorified, and what does that mean? I believe Jesus was glorified at His ascension, when He was ultimately re-united with His Father. At that point, He sat down at the right hand of God in a place of universal authority, which I would believe, would be the supreme glorification that anyone could receive. Some would suggest that Jesus was glorified, and, that He actually had His new heavenly body once He rose from the dead. To date, that is not my opinion.

As an aside, it is my thinking that Jesus was not re-united in the exact same way that He was before He came to earth. God the Father and Jesus the Son were completely one in essence, in nature, prior to the incarnation; however you might want to describe that. When Jesus returned to His Father in Heaven He appears in Scripture as being distinct and separate from His Father. He is in fact, the first born among a brand new creation of beings, as Romans 8:29 states.

"For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."

I find this incredibly amazing. Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to change into a different form for all of eternity. His eternal being, who He is, has been eternally re-arranged in order to bring salvation to us, and He did so, so we, one day, could be like Him. 1 John 3:2 reads:

"Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is."

Peter ends this verse by saying that our faith, or trust in God, is based on the fact that Jesus has been raised from the dead and now is the firstborn among a new creation of people. The resurrection and ascension of Jesus are basic Christian Biblical truths. Our very eternal destiny, our salvation, is based on these truths.

Christians often speak of the resurrection of Jesus, but His ascension is just as important. If Jesus had not returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of God in a place of universal authority, He would not be the Lord over all things material and all things spiritual, and, we would not have received the Holy Spirit into our lives. Yes, the ascension of Jesus is a necessary factor in our salvation, and so is His return to earth. Remember, salvation is a process and Jesus will not end the process before it is ultimately complete.

Verses 22 and 23

'Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other,
from a pure heart love one another constantly, ²³because you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God."

In verse 22 Peter said that his readers have purified themselves by obeying the truth. In Greek, our English verb "have purified" is a perfect verb. This means that this purification took place at one specific time in the past but has continuous implications. The one time in the past Peter's readers would have purified themselves was when they handed their lives over to Jesus in obedience to the gospel.

You might ask this question. Who did the purifying, us or God? Well, as in all aspects of salvation, God initiated the purification and He gave us the ability to participate in the process of purification. In other words, God reached out to us, gave us His grace so we would be seen pure in God's eyes, and then, He helps us participate in the process of purification.

The word "purify" is obviously an allusion to the Old Testament legal aspects of the Law of Moses. That being said, purification in New Testament terms, has nothing to do with obeying the Law of Moses. It has everything to do with obeying the truth as Peter wrote, which means, obeying Jesus.

Note the word "yourselves" in verse 22. It is translated from the Greek word "psyche." "Psyche" is normally translated as "soul" in the New Testament.

With this purification in mind Peter said that as Christians we must continue to love our Christian brothers and sisters. Peter must have believed that if one has genuine faith in Jesus, a sincere love for the brothers should be evident in his or her life, yet even with this love; Peter encouraged them to love the brothers even more. I believe Peter admonished these believers to love because of the suffering these people were going through. In times of stress, relationships can suffer. The worst part of people comes out of them in stressful times. Peter is encouraging his readers to allow the trust they have in Jesus to be evident in the way they live with their brothers in the Lord in severe times of trials. Loving the brotherhood, then, is part of the process of becoming pure.

Verse 23 states that you have been born again. We love our brothers because we have been born again, or at least that is the way it is supposed to be. The term "born again" comes from what Jesus told Nicodemus, as is recorded in John 3:5 and 6, that reads:

"Jesus answered, 'Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God . Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.'"

If we have the Spirit of God within us as we claim, we do have the ability to love our brothers and sisters in Christ as we should. Remember, when the New Testament admonishes us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, it is talking about agape love, that is, love demonstrated through some kind of sacrifice on our part.

Our new birth is based on an imperishable seed, which Peter said is God's word. We often think that God's word is the Bible, but Peter and the believers in His day did not have what we call our Bible. They had the Old Testament, as well as some letters that were considered to be the Word of God. Throughout the Old Testament God spoke about a coming salvation. It was something that He promised and God cannot default on a promise. His promised words would be realized and they are now realized in our new birth. The heavenly seed of the Spirit of God is implanted within us, making us a brand new creation in Christ, as Paul wrote about in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!"

Peter called Jesus the living and enduring Word of God in verse 23. It is what John wrote about in John 1:1 and 2, that reads:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning."

The Word that spoke in Genesis 1 at the time of creation was Jesus Himself. John said it this way in John :14.

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

At this point in time the essence of Jesus was changed forever. As I have written, when Jesus returned to His Father, He did not return as the Word He was at creation. He returned as the firstborn of a brand new creation, as I have previously stated. As believers, we are the rest of this brand new creation, and we have become this new creation due to the seed that Peter wrote about here in verse 21. The seed, God's Word, Jesus Himself by His Spirit lives within the believer. Obviously this would make the believer born into someone he has never been. Beyond that, once we rid ourselves of this earthly body, as Jesus has already done, we will be totally transformed.

Verses 24 and 25

"For All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you."

In verse 24 Peter backed up what he was saying by quoting Isaiah 40:6 to 8, that reads;

"A voice was saying, 'Cry out!' Another said, 'What should I cry? All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.'"

Peter quoted from Isaiah to remind his readers of the futility of man. Mankind perishes. The Word of the Lord is imperishable. This is a Biblical truth that we need constant reminding of. Humanity, including Christians, often thinks of itself and ourselves way too highly than it and we should. The general consensus of our western culture is that man is inherently good. We just do some bad things at times. This is not how the Bible views the human condition. Man is inherently evil and corrupt, so evil and corrupt that we don't know how evil and corrupt we are. It is what Jeremiah 17:9 tells us. That verse reads:

"The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable — who can understand it?"

All of the above being said, the Word of the Lord endures forever. It is not evil or corrupt. It is eternally good and righteous, and through the Holy Spirit's residency in our hearts, we have this eternal Word that can produce more of a goodness and righteousness in our lives than what we might think.

In verse 25 Peter reminded his readers that this message, the Word, was preached to them. Who preached this Word? We know that Paul was in these parts preaching the Word, but this word could have also been preached by Peter. It is most probable that Peter spent time in this part of the Roman Empire where his readers lived.

1 Peter 2:1 - 10

The Text

1 - Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.

²Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, ³if you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God— ⁵you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁶For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.

⁷So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected—this one has become the cornerstone, ⁸and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises^] of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

My Commentary

Verse 1

"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander."

Here in chapter 2, verse 1, Peter told his readers to rid themselves of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind. If these Christians had to be warned to stay clear of such human tendencies, then they might have been exhibiting these sinful human tendencies during their time of stress. Again, when thinking of the stress these men and women were under, the temptation to give into these tendencies would have been a natural thing to do. Stress will often bring out the worst in us, but the worst in us, will disrupt the relationships that are needed to build a healthy community of believers. In the midst of great suffering and persecution, these believers could not afford their God-appointed relationships to breakdown and crumble. Such a tragedy would destroy the church and God's will for the church. I intentionally use the words "God appointed relationships" because I believe that is a fundamental aspect to the meaning of church.

The Greek word translated as "malice" here is "kakia." This is a badness in terms of quality. It's often translated as "wickedness" in the New Testament. In English, malice suggests the intent to do evil, something that is common to humanity.

The Greek word "dolos" is translated as "deceit" in this verse. This Greek word suggests fraud or craftiness. Maybe you'll agree with me, but much of our world, whether in business, politics, or whatever, uses a good measure of craftiness to promote their cause.

I think the words "hypocrisy," "envy," and "slander" are pretty much self explanatory, so I will not take time or space to comment on them. All these human tendencies destroy every kind of human relationship we have, whether that relationship be between us and God, each other in church, or in marriage.

Verses 2 and 3

"Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good."

Instead of involving themselves with such sinful tendencies, Peter told his readers to desire the pure milk of God's Word. I like how the NIV translates the Greek word "epipotheo" as crave here in verse 2. Epipotheo suggests a very strong craving, not a simple desire, as the CSB's translation above might suggest. Epipotheo is also an aorist active indicative verb. This suggests that right now, Peter's readers must without any uncertainty or doubt, actively crave God's spiritual word. This is an admonition that our generation of Christians really do need to hear and follow through on. We, for the most part, do not crave the Bible that we claim is the very Word of God. Our lives prove this to be the case. Many, if not most, western-world Christians are spiritually unhealthy for lack of spiritual food.

What is spiritual milk? It is pretty well accepted that when the New Testament writers wrote about spiritual milk, they were thinking in terms of the Word of God. In Peter's' day, that was the Old Testament. In our day, that is our Bible.

The Greek word "logikos" that is found in the Greek text here is translated as "word" in the King James Bible. If you read the New International Version of the Bible you will note that it does not translate "logikos" in its translation of this verse. That is too bad because it is an important word in this passage. It tells you what spiritual milk is. The NIV leaves it up to the reader to define spiritual milk. That should not be because Peter, as seen in the Greek text, does that for you.

You will notice that the Greek word "logikos" looks a lot like the Greek word "logos" that is translated as "word" in many places in the New Testament. This Greek word has a bit of a twist to logos in that carries the idea of a rational approach to one's digesting of spiritual milk. This emphasizes the rational aspects of the Word of the Lord and how our minds need to be stimulated to study, something I believe many western-world Christians fail to do.

Peter used the adjectives "pure in relation to the Word of God. God's Word is both pure and spiritual; yet, some people corrupt or misuse the Word of God which makes it impure. When we apply the word "spiritual" to the Word of God, that is the Bible, we're not talking about some kind of magic or mysticism. The words in the Bible are just words, but, when the Holy Spirit takes these words and burns them into our minds and then our hearts, they become more than words on a page. They become the power by which we live. This is why Bible study, with the help of the Holy Spirit and wise teachers, is so important for our spiritual well-being. Peter's readers could not have survived their trials of persecution without the reality of God's Word enabled by the Holy Spirit to be burned into their lives, and neither can we. Our problem today is that Christians are so Biblically illiterate that the Holy Spirit cannot bring any of the Word to our attention when needed. There is no Word in us that the Holy Spirit can empower us with. That's why I say that many will not survive the trials that lie ahead of us in this present anti-Christ culture in which we live.

In verse 2 Peter said that it is through this milk that you grow up in this salvation. This tells me that a person can be saved but not grow up in the salvation he has. Growing up means to become mature, which indicates living right with all understanding and wisdom. For many Christians today who have not put much emphases on the Bible, it is impossible for them to grow up into being mature Christians, and we wonder why we don't see more of the power of the Spirit in our lives and ministries.

Peter ends this section in verse 3 by saying, now that his readers have tasted that the Lord is good. To me the word "tasted" suggests the beginning of things. You first taste new food to see if you like it. Once you like it, you do more than taste it. You eat it and you continue to eat it. Peter said that these people have tasted that the Lord Jesus is very good. Now that the taste test is over, delve into the things of the Lord and start to grow from the sincere milk of the word. Tasting is only the first step. One normally eats what he tastes, and if he really likes what he tastes, he'll keep eating.

Concerning the pure milk of the word being fed to baby Christians, I'd like to compare it to human babies. Babies need milk to survive and grow into healthy children. They cannot live on hugs and kisses alone. I compare this to the modern church whose leaders simply want to inspire their people with inspirational sermons. This is like hugging and kissing the congregation and hoping they will grow into mature Christians. It doesn't work that way. The way the congregation will grow into mature Christians isn't by inspirational hugs and kisses style sermons. Growth comes by instructional teaching of the Word of God. In far too many cases, we have replaced good instruction with poor inspiration, and no wonder we have so many emaciated Christians in the church. The feelings of inspiration are fleeting. They can leave in moments once you leave the door of the church building. You drive home and as you do, someone cuts you off and almost causes a car accident. The inspiration goes out the window. Good instruction, though, if burned into your soul can cause you to act accordingly as the car ahead of you cuts you off.

Verses 4 and 5

"As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God—you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

Peter shifted his thinking a bit in these next few verses. Here in verse 4 he wrote that his readers, and us too, have come to Him, that is Jesus, the living Stone. The word "stone" holds some important imagery for Jews, as seen in Exodus 17:6 where God told Moses that when he would strike the rock, water would come out of it so the Jews could drink the water. Exodus 17:6 reads:

"I [God] am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water will come out of it and the people will drink." Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel ."

In 1 Corinthians 10:3 and 4 Paul made much of this rock. Those verses read:

"They all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ."

Paul called this rock a spiritual rock, that in fact was, Christ Himself. Much could be said about Paul's metaphoric interpretation of this Old Testament passage. The Old Testament readers of this passage would not have thought that the rock had any significance to Jesus. They knew nothing about Jesus. Nevertheless, this was Paul's understanding, and his understanding here is a matter of Biblical hermeneutics which is a topic for another day and another book.

Here in verse 4, Peter was saying what Paul said. In today's New Testament world, Jesus is our spiritual rock or spiritual stone, but as we will see, Peter is viewing this Stone not as the source of water, but a building block in the New Testament temple of God , the church.

Peter said that Jesus was rejected by men but accepted by God. Throughout the history of man, the tendency has been for us to reject all that God is. Our generation is no different from any other generation in this respect. We continue to trade all things godly for all things human.

In verse 5 Peter said that his readers, also like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house, whereby Jesus is the living corner stone that we as living stones have been built upon. Some Bible teachers suggest that it's not a corner stone Peter had in mind but a cap stone. The corner stone is the first stone in the foundation of a house, while the cap stone is the last stone in an archway. I would suggest the stone to be the corner stone, although later on in the chapter Peter does use both terms to represent Jesus.

Peter also called his readers, and us too, a holy priesthood. In Biblical terms, a priest is one who represents God to people and the people to God. The spiritual house that Jesus is building is a house of priests. This is pure Jewish terminology. Each tribe of Israel was considered a house, as in the house of David, and so on. The house of Levi was the house or tribe that was the priesthood in Israel . Only a man from the tribe or house of Levi could be a priest to represent God here on earth. What Peter was saying here is that New Testament Christians have replaced the house of Levi as priests of God. The church, the New Testament house of priests, has replaced the house of Levi as priests. In short, the church, and individuals in the church, represent God to the people of the world and the people of the world to God.

It is important that we realize that we as Christians do not represent other Christians to God. We are not priests in relation to other believers. Only Jesus is that priest, but, when it comes to unbelievers, we are priests. As priests, we show them God. We also petition God on their behalf, as a priest would do. Here is how Revelation 1:6 puts us as being priests.

"... [Jesus] made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father — to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."

In John 20:21 Jesus told the disciples that He was sending us into the world, just as God, His Father sent Him into the world. This means that you and I as Christians, and the church as a whole, are acting on the behalf of Jesus. We represent Jesus to the world and the world to Jesus. This is the job of a priest. In one sense of the word, then, Christians are truly priests, and so is the church.

The doctrine of the priesthood of the believers, as it has been called over the centuries, has been challenged many times throughout the history of the church. The whole role of the priest in the Catholic Church is based on the false premise that we need a person to stand between us, the Christians, and Jesus. This aspect of Catholicism is not New Testament thinking. Many cults over the centuries have done the same with charismatic leaders who claim a special place before God. This too is not New Testament thinking. Whether it is any cult or the cult of Catholicism, there is no need for a priest. Each and every believer is a priest, and part of our duty as priest is to be a priest to the unbelieving world.

If you study Hebrews 8 you will note that Jesus is our Great High Priest. It is Jesus, not any man, who stands before God on our behalf. It is Jesus who represents us to God. In one sense of the word, Jesus is our lawyer, as the apostle John wrote. 1 John 2:1 and 2 read:

"My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate [lawyer] with the Father — Jesus Christ the righteous one. He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world."

For further explanation of 1 John 2:1 and 2 you can read my commentary on John's letter entitled, "An Elderly Man Speaks." These two verses are extremely important in our lives as Christians. If you fail to understand these two verses, you will fail to understand much of Jesus' present-day ministry, and that, will certainly affect your life as a Christian.

When thinking of these things, the term "in Christ" comes into play. God, when looking at Jesus, sees you and I inside of Jesus. It's like a photographic filter on a camera lens. God sees us through the filter of Jesus. This is due to the fact that when Jesus died on the cross, He died in our place. He represented us on the cross. So, when God looked at Jesus while He was on the cross, and, when He looks at the Christian now, He sees us within Jesus. He literally sees us in Christ. It is for that reason why God has declared us to be perfectly righteous just as He is perfectly righteous, even though we are far from perfectly righteous.

We should also understand that that a pastor is not a priest. A pastor is a God-appointed person who cares for the people of God. He does not stand between the people and God. It is important to understand that the people a pastor cares for belongs to God and not the pastor. Those in the congregation are in fact a community of priests. There is no Biblical logic to think that a pastor is a high priest over a body of priests. Remember, it is Jesus who is our only High Priest. Hebrews 4:14 reads:

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens — Jesus the Son of God — let us hold fast to our confession."

Many times you might hear a pastor use the term "my people." Those whom a pastor cares for are not his people. They are God's people. This should make a major difference in how a pastor cares for those in his congregation. Also, a priest and a pastor are two very distinctly different ministries.

In verse 5 Peter said that we are indeed living stones that offer living sacrifices that are acceptable to God. Again, this phraseology is very Jewish in nature, which would have caused many Jews to stumble. No longer are animal sacrifices acceptable to God.

The obvious question is this. What kind of sacrifices are Christians to give to their God now in these New Testament times. I believe Paul answers this question in Romans 12:1, that reads:

"Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship."

The primary sacrifice that we as Christians make today is ourselves. We offer all of who we are to Jesus, and by so doing, all that we do in life for Jesus, and that out of pure motives, is our spiritual sacrifices. It appears to me that this is a Biblical concept that many Christians no longer think about, and that due, to the hedonistic way of life we live. We think and live to benefit ourselves and not Jesus. That is not offering spiritual sacrifices.

Verse 6

"For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame."

Peter quoted from Isaiah 28:16, that reads:

"Therefore the Lord GOD said: 'Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable.'"

The context of Isaiah 28:16 is God's judgment on Jerusalem and its leaders who have entered into a covenant with death, or as the Hebrew text puts it, "a covenant with Sheol." the place of the departed dead. In short, when the religious leaders of the Jews departed from their God and paganized themselves, they actually made a covenant with Sheol. In other words, and as the Isaiah text states, they believed the spirit of Sheol would pass them by. Death, or at least not national death, would pass them by. We know that did not happen. The last remnant of the Jewish nation fell as an act of divine judgment in 586 BC.

Here in verse 6, peter puts his New Testament spin on this Old Testament verse. Again, Peter's interpretation of Isaiah 28:16 is a matter of hermeneutics. That being said, we, as New Testament Christians must understand Isaiah 28:16 to be predictive of Jesus.

The Bible uses the name " Zion " in many ways. The most basic way was that it was one of the mountains in Jerusalem . Beyond that Zion is also seen as the city of Jerusalem , the nation of Israel , Solomon's temple, and the heavenly city of Jerusalem .

Note the words "chosen and honoured" here in verse 6. Jesus was the supreme Chosen One. I capitalize Chosen One because back in Peter's opening statement of his letter he wrote that we are also chosen ones. As God chose Jesus, so He chooses us in many respects, but obviously, not in all respects. We do not have to die on a cross to bring salvation into the world. Because Jesus obeyed His call to be the Chosen One, He has been greatly honoured. This honour is seen in that He now, metaphorically speaking, sits at the right hand of God, meaning, He shares the universal authority with God, His Father.

The Isaiah prophecy says that no one who puts his trust in the Stone, that is Jesus, will be put to shame. What does that mean? It certainly does not mean that we won't be viewed as shameful fools, or go through embarrassing moments in life. The Greek word that has been translated as "shame" here is a very intensive word that suggests an embarrassing and shameful disappointment. The one who really trust his life with Jesus will never ever be disappointed. That does not mean he will never feel disappointed. Such human feelings are commonplace in this Age of Entropy, that is, all things in life decay and lead to death. What it does mean that we will never regret not being a Christian, and if you do, you might want to rethink your salvation.

Think about the point Peter was making here with this quote from Isaiah. It would make non-Christian Jews very angry. He was taking an Old Testament quote that mentions Zion , the city of Jerusalem , and applying a New Testament meaning to it. He was saying that the corporate identity of what we call church is now Zion and that Jesus is the cornerstone of this new Zion . The church is Zion , and this Zion includes Gentiles.

Does this mean that the word " Zion " will always refer to the church? Will it ever have any Jewish significance again? I believe as this age comes to an end and as the Jews return to God's plans in prophetic history, Zion will once again regain its Jewish distinctiveness because God cannot revoke His promises that He made to Abraham that the Jews would eventually become a great and powerful nation. You can read my book entitled "The Age Of The Messiah," subtitled, "the thousand year rule of Jesus on earth" for further explanation of this.

Verses 7 and 8

"So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected—this one has become the cornerstone, and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this."

Both the verbs "believe" and "do not believe" here in verse 7 are Greek present active participles. These words could easily be translated as "believers" or "unbelievers." Because these verbs are in the present tense, this means that the faith or the belief spoken of here is an ongoing present reality. Peter was not thinking in terms of making a decision to believe in Jesus at some past time in one's life. He was speaking in terms of present-day believing, but there is more.

We must understand the Greek word "pistis" that is translated here as believe means to trust. Pistis is not just a simple acknowledgment of the existence of Jesus and the gospel message. New Testament believing is all about trusting Jesus with your life. There is a difference between trusting Him and simply believing in Him, as we understand believing today, but again, there is more.

The word "believe" is a Greek participle. That being the case, the point to be made here is not the action of believing or trusting. It is actually becoming a believer or a trusting one. That is to say, a true Christian is one who does more than the action of believing. He has become a believer, and, he becomes a believer when the Holy Spirit comes into his life and causes him to become a believing one. There is a major difference between doing the action of believing or trusting and becoming that action.

The same is true when Peter wrote about unbelieving. That too is a participle. This person is, by his very nature, an untrusting in Jesus one. That is who he is. It is more than a matter of not believing in one's mind. It is a matter of not trusting your life with Jesus because that is who you are.

Peter quoted Psalm 118:22 here, that reads:

"The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone."

The builders spoken of here are clearly the Jews, and more particularly, the Jewish religious leaders. It was the Jews who were to build the house of God and it was the Jews who rejected Jesus, the cornerstone in the building process.

Notice the term "capstone" is used in some versions of this verse while the CSB uses the term cornerstone. I mentioned this before. The difference is due to the translator's view of the original text. That being said, Jesus is both the first and the last stone in the building.

In verse 8 Peter quoted one last time from Isaiah 8:14 to further his point. That verse reads:

"He will be a sanctuary; but for the two houses of Israel , he will be a stone to stumble over and a rock to trip over, and a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem ."

What do these words mean? There are people in this world that don't believe in the existence of some kind of god. Few are criticized for this belief. In my thinking, it is not difficult to imagine the presence of a Supreme Deity in the universe, but what does make men trip or stumble, in both their intellect and emotions, is the existence of Jesus as being God in human flesh. This bothers many in our world today. They simply cannot get their minds around the idea of God existing in a human form. So, you can easily say that they stumble over Jesus. In short, you can talk about God all you want without much criticism, but when you talk about Jesus, you get criticized, especially if you claim that He is divine. Jesus being a historical teacher of a certain morality is fine to speak about, but Jesus as God, that is a completely different scenario.

Peter went on to say in verse 8 that people stumble because they disobey the word, or as the NIV says, "the message." The well known Greek word "logos" is translated in the NIV as message or the CSB as word. All of that being said, the word or message spoken is the message of the gospel that these early Christians were proclaiming. Once again, it is Jesus, and the message about Jesus that trips men and women up.

As in verse 7, our English word "disobey" in verse 8 is a Greek participle. It is not a verb. Those Peter hand in mind, then, stumbled over Jesus and the gospel message because, by their very nature, they were disobedient people. They had not received a new nature in Christ. Those who by nature are disobedient are destined to stumble. It's just a natural, Biblical fact of life. Disobedient ones stumble over Jesus. There is nothing super-spiritual about that.

All the above being said, some translators prefer to use the word "appointed" instead of the word "destined" in verse 8, and, that would be an appropriate rendering of the Greek text. Those who like the word "appointed" will say that God actually appointed or chose the Jews to be disobedient ones. He was the one that caused them to stumble, and there is Scriptural support for this. Romans 11:8, 9, and 10 read:

"... as it is written, 'God gave them [the Jews] a spirit of stupor, eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear, to this day.' And David says, 'Let their table become a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution to them. Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and their backs be bent continually.'"

It is clear from what Paul wrote about the Jews stumbling here that it was God's doing. He darkened their understanding because they rejected Him. If you continue reading on in Romans 11, you will note, that despite the fact that God blinded the eyes of the Jews to salvation, He will open the eyes of their understanding to a remnant of Jews at the end of this age, but that is a topic of discussion for another day.

Verse 9

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises^] of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

In verse 9 Peter is now comparing those who have not trusted their lives with Jesus with those who trust Him. Peter mentioned three things that the community of Christians is. They are; a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. All three of these descriptions are Old Testament Jewish concepts. Again, for Peter and the Jews, this is revolutionary. He was telling his readers, and us too, that both Jew and Gentile believers are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation, all descriptions that were once attributed to the Jews alone.

According to Peter, New Testament Christians are now a chosen people. God's chosen people are not simply Jews, at least in this present era. In a historical and prophetic sense of the word, Jews still have chosen status, but this is not the context used by Peter here. The Jews will come back into prophetic prominence at the end of this age, or so I believe.

The words chosen people are translated from the Greek word "genos." This word can be, and is, translated as generation or race in the New Testament. A very similar Greek word, "genea" is used in Luke 21:32 where Jesus said that "this generation, or race, will not pass away until all is fulfilled."

As an aside, many people interpret Jesus' words recorded in Luke 21:32 to mean a set period of time, but I don't. I understand Luke 21:32 to mean that when the race of Jews who become a nation once again, as in 1948, that race of Jews will not pass away until every prophecy is fulfilled. When thinking in this way, time is irrelevant. You do not have to determine the length of a generation of Jews as many have tried to figure out over the years. Right now, the race of Jews has become a nation. This present day race of Jews will not lose their national status, as Jesus said. Our present day race of Jews possessing their own nation, then, will be in existence when Jesus returns, whether that be in twenty years or two hundred years.

Peter also said that Christians are a royal priesthood. No longer is the tribe of Levi priests only. All Christians are priests who represent God to the world and the world to God. It is my thinking that more often than not the church has failed to be the priest is was meant to be. We have misrepresented God so much that the world knows little about the God we claim to represent.

Christians are also a holy nation, a holy "ethnos" in Greek. The Greek word "ethnos" means a race of people with the same ethnicity. Obviously, our English word "ethnic" comes from this Greek word. As Christians, we are a nation unto ourselves, even though we live in our secular nations here on earth. It's for this reason that Christians are often times in conflict with the kingdoms of men. We are citizens of a kingdom that the kingdom of men opposes. Our first allegiance must be to the Kingdom of God , not the nation in which we live. Simply put, Christians are an ethnicity unto themselves. Due to the Holy Spirit living within the individual Christian and the corporate community of believers, we are completely different than unbelievers. This is why Peter calls us an ethnic people unto ourselves, different from all other ethnic people.

The conflict between Christian Jews and Christian Gentiles that was to be resolved by a convention of leaders, as is recorded in Acts 15, is making a re-appearance today. It's becoming a problem that is separating Christians. There are various degrees, but many Christians are becoming more Jewish orientated today. Some go as far to say that we must obey the Law of Moses in order to be a real Christian, something the apostle Paul fought against in the book of Galatians. I mention this to simply say that the same conflict that was raging in the beginning days of the church age has now re-appeared near the end of the church age.

All of the above being said, I do believe that when the last Gentile is saved, as Paul wrote in Romans 11:25, God will bring the Jews back into His prophetic plan. It's in fulfillment of His promises that He made to Abraham in what we call the Abrahamic Covenant. Romans 11:25 reads:

"I don't want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you will not be conceited: A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in."

According to Paul, when the last Gentile becomes a Christian, the Jews and Israel , will come back into God's prophetic plan.

God is not finished with national Israel . He promised Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, and the prophets, to restore Israel to its great nation status, and He will fulfill His promise. Until that day comes, Christians, in a collective sense of the word, especially in the mind of God, are a real nation. This is how we should view ourselves. This concept was very important to Peter's readers who were suffering persecution from the anti-Christ nation in which they lived. They were in the midst of two nations in conflict and they needed to know how to deal with this conflict. The same is true in our world today and the conflict between the nations of the world and the nation of Christ progressively grow into more conflict.

Also in verse 9 Peter said that we as Christians and the church are God's possession. We belong to God, and therefore, our lives must give glory and praise to the God to which we belong. Our western-world's secular culture is very individualistic in nature. We claim to belong to ourselves. We are slaves to no one. We are no one's possession. We are free to do as we please. This is not really the Biblical concept. If you are a real Christian, you do not belong to yourself. You belong to God, and thus, the church also belongs to God. Paul confirmed this in 1 Corinthians 6:20.

"... for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body."

Again, Peter was addressing his letter to people who were suffering from an anti-Christ culture. Even in their suffering, they were to give praise to God and proclaim the name of Christ to those who are causing them grief. As far as Peter was concerned, this was no time to slack off or give up one's faith in Jesus.

Note the word "called" in verse 9. It's what the word "church" really means. The word "church" is translated from the Greek word "ekklesia," meaning, the called out ones. We, as the church, are called out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light. We should, thus, live accordingly to our calling.

Verse 10

"Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

Verse 10 takes some thought. Peter said that once you were not a people but now you are God's people. At first glance you might think that Peter was referring to Gentile Christians that were not God's people, and that might well be the case. Some, however, say that he was speaking about Jewish Christians, in part because they believe that was to whom Peter was writing. If you read Hosea, chapter 2, you will learn that God divorced Israel , who He considered to be His wife. At that point in time the Jews were no longer the people of God, but through the cross of Christ, they once again, along with Gentiles, were included into the people of God. I'll let you figure out whether Peter was writing to both Christian Jews and Gentiles or just Christian Jews. I lean towards his letter being directed to both Christian Jews and Gentiles, but I do see how one may differ with me on this point.

The word "mercy" in verse 10 should be understood in terms of pity. That is to say, God has pity on the pitiful, which when compared to God Himself, we are all very pitiful.

1 Peter 2:11 - 17

The Text

¹¹Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul.

¹²Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.

¹³Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority ¹⁴or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good.

¹⁵For it is God's will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.

¹⁶Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves.

¹⁷Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Verse 11

"Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul."

In verse 11 Peter said that Christians are strangers and aliens in the world. We really are. We may live in our various nations but our true citizenship, our ultimate allegiance, is to the Kingdom of God . We are strangers because if we live as Jesus wants us to live, we are very strange when compared to those around us. As western culture forsakes any Christian influence it might have once had, we will become even stranger than we are now. We are indeed aliens in our own nation, and thus, often find ourselves in a cultural conflict with our surrounding secular culture.

Also in verse 11 Peter encouraged his readers to abstain from sinful desires because they war against the soul. As Christians we are in a constant battle with our sinful self. If there is no battle, I suggest that we have given into our sinful desires, and thus, there is no need to fight. The lack of this spiritual battle with self is the experience of many western-world Christians today.

Peter's admonishment to abstain from sinful desires was important. They were in the midst of suffering, much of which was being persecuted from the surrounding anti-Christ culture. It would have been easy for them to simply give up, quit Jesus, and follow the ways of the world and live happily ever after, at least from a worldly standpoint. Of course, there is no such thing as a non-Christian living happily ever after when thinking of their eternal destiny.

The phrase "you have received mercy" is a Greek aorist passive participle. The aorist designation suggests a one time action of receiving mercy from God. That is probably in reference to when a person becomes a true Christian. The passive designation means that this mercy came from without the person, meaning, it came from God. The participle part of this phrase is important. It means that the Christian is not just receiving mercy, he has become, what I call a "reciprocal of mercy." He is a constant beneficiary of mercy. It is who he is. It is more than an action of mercy being given to him.

Note the words "dear friends" here in verse 11. Some versions of the Bible more accurately use the word "beloved" instead of "dear friends" because of the Greek word "agapetos" that is seen in the Greek text. This Greek word comes from the Greek word "agape," meaning, love demonstrated through sacrifice. The Greek word "agape" had gone out of style in first-century Roman culture. As I've just said, it meant selfless sacrificial love, and I guess most people weren't interested in the thought of sacrificing one's self for the sake of another. So, Christians adopted the word "agape" to represent God's love. It is for this reason why I like the word "beloved" in this verse. These people were more than Peter's friends. They were those that he sacrificed himself for.

The Greek word "philos" is a word that means "brotherly love" or "reciprocal love." I would suggest that "dear friends" would rather be a better translation if the Greek word Peter used here in verse 11 was "philos," but he did not write that word.

It's quite obvious from both experience and this verse that Christians can fall into temptation and sin, and when they do, we all know what it does to our souls. Sin corrupts our souls and disrupts the fellowship we are to have with Jesus.

In one sense of the word, our relationship with God is a legal matter. Some people don't like using such terms in connection with a loving God because they think it is kind of cold and harsh. But fundamentally speaking our relationship with God is a matter of legalities because that, in part, is what the cross of Christ is all about. The death of Jesus was a matter of satisfying God's justice. We were the ones to be executed but Jesus took our place. The justice of God, then, was satisfied and as a result, the love of God was bestowed on us. In theological terms this is called justification. It is my belief, then, that an act of sin cannot disqualify us from being justified in the mind of God. What sin does, though, is mess up our relationship with Him who has justified us, and a disrupted relationship, in part, defeats the reason for our justification.

Verse 12

"Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits."

In verse 12 Peter admonished his readers to live a good life among the Gentiles so that no one could accuse them of doing wrong. Instead, the Gentiles might see their good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits them. These Christians were being accused of wrong because they did not fall into the culturally correct line of living. Peter was telling his readers that even with all of these accusations, their good works should be evident that they were good people. They may not be acknowledged in this present time as being good, but on the day when Jesus visits them, or, the day He returns to earth, people will notice them to be the godly people they were, and at that point, their lives as Christians would glorify God.

The fact that non-believers will glorify God on the Day of Judgment tells us something about that day. Paul was right, when in Philippians 2:10 he said that "every knee will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Every man and woman that has ever lived will bow their knees and make this confession. They will also see those of us who have been saved, and at the point in recognition to our good works, they will also give glory to God. For the unbelievers who bow and acknowledge that Jesus is in fact the Universal Lord, it will be too late for them. We as Christians will bow our knees and acknowledge Jesus as being Lord with great thanksgiving. For the non-Christians, they will make the same acknowledgement, but only because they have now seen that He is the Lord that they have rejected. They will fall before Jesus in fear and horror for the fate that awaits them.

Verse 12 is especially important today, as it was back in Peter's day. These suffering saints could have said all sorts of negative and nasty things about those who were causing them to suffer. Peter was telling them not to do that. The secular culture around us these days is constantly saying negative and nasty things about others, and that includes us. The TV channels, the air waves, and the internet blogs, are full of nastiness. Christians must not be so nasty, but many are. Yes, we speak the truth, but we speak the truth in the most loving way possible. The world should not be able to criticize us for our nastiness. They should criticize us for the truth of the Bible that we speak and live.

We should note that the only people that Jesus spoke nasty words to were the hypocritical Jewish religious leadership. So, if you are going to get into name calling, call the so-called Christian hypocrites the nasty names. Leave the rest alone.

Verses 13 and 14

"Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good."

Verses 13 and 14 have caused much debate and challenging discomfort over the years. Peter told his readers, and I believe, us too, to submit to government. The Greek word "hypotasso" that is translated as submit throughout the New Testament literally means to rank under, as in, rank under or fall in line with the governing authorities.

The Greek verb tense concerning the verb "submit" is an aorist passive imperative verb. The aorist part of this verb means that the readers were to once and for all time decide to submit to the government. The passive part of this verb suggests that the reader is to allow the government to exercise authority over them. The imperative part of this verb means that this is a command, not a suggestion. Again, this would be an extremely difficult command for Peter's readers to obey because of the abusive, dictatorial rule of the Roman government, headed by Caesar Nero who was a very evil ruler who had it out for Christians.

If you were one of Peter's readers of this letter, you would have certainly struggled with his admonition. The very government that Peter told them to submit to was the same government that was imprisoning and executing them for their relationship with Jesus. The same governing authorities would end up executing Peter just a few years later. In our humanity, that just does not sound right. If you read Romans 13:1 through 7, you will notice that Paul wrote the same thing to the Roman Christians, and they, were right in the centre of the persecution since they lived in Rome.

Both Peter and Paul tell us that government has been established to punish the wrong doer. So, if a Christian does wrong, he should expect to be punished, but, what if the wrong a Christian does, is performed in obedience to Jesus? Remember what Peter himself told the religious and political authorities a few years earlier. I like how the KJV translates Acts 5:29.

"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, 'We ought to obey God rather than men.'"

When Peter said that he must obey God rather than man, the word "man" is in reference to the very governing officials that in 1 Peter 2:13 he told his readers to obey.

Also read Acts 4:19 and 20.

"Peter and John answered them, 'Whether it's right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.'"

So what's going on here? Are we to obey the government or disobey the government?

Read what Paul wrote in Romans 13:1.

"Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God."

Paul said that governments are instituted by God. There is some debate here. Is the idea of government instituted by God, or, is each and every government on earth, somehow, put into place by God. I believe the second to be true, and I do so because of such verses like Daniel 2:21, that reads:

"He [God] changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding."

Much could be said about this issue. I will only make a couple of fundamental comments. God is more involved in the affairs of men than what we think. He institutes governments to accomplish a specific purpose. If, then, God puts governments into place, then, governments must submit to Him. That is simple logic because He is the final universal authority. It is, thus, God's responsibility to bring governments down that refuse to fall into line and submit to Him. That is not our job. We submit to government, but when government demands us to not submit to God, we submit to the final universal authority and accept the consequences placed on us by the God-appointed government. In other words, when we obey God and disobey government, we freely submit to the penalty government imposes on us.

You can read my book entitled "The Politics Of God And The Bible for more of my thinking on this issue.

Verse 15

"For it is God's will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good."

According to Peter, it is God's will to silence the ignorance of foolish people. In context, I believe the foolish people are the governing authorities to whom we are to submit. So, I guess it is okay for us to view governing officials as foolish people. That being said, our actions, that is, doing good, is the thing that should silence them. It is not our negativity that we splash around on our favourite social media site that should silence them. That does a disservice to us, our witness, and to Jesus Himself.

The Greek verb tense, "doing well," is a present active participle. This means that Christians are not just to do good things. It means that they are to be "doers of good," which places the emphasis on one doing good because of who he is, that is, a new creation in Christ. He does good not simply to obey the command to do good. He does good because that is just what he naturally does now that he is a Christian.

Part of the point Peter was making here is that Christians should not be punished by the authorities for doing evil. If they were going to be punished, it should be for doing good, and that should embarrass the government for all to see. Once again, this admonition should cause us to let go of all our nasty name calling, and other such things, that we direct towards government,

Verse 16

"Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves."

In one sense of the word, Christians are free people, but being free people should not be an excuse, or cover-up, to do evil, as in, disobeying government. The number one thing that Christians are free from is the wrath of God and final judgment. This, however, does not mean we are free to allow our sinful nature to run wild and rule the day. Christian freedom does have its limits, and if we step beyond those limits to satisfy self, we do evil in the mind of God.

Being free, as the Bible defines freedom, enables us to be free to serve God, as Peter wrote here. A good reading of the Book of Romans tells us that sin disrupts the freedom we have to serve Jesus, because, we end up serving ourselves.

Note the word "slave" in verse 16. The Greek word "dulos" is translated as slave here, and slave is an appropriate word to use. Many English Bibles translate dulos as servant, and that is due to our western-worlds negative view of slavery that stems from the slave trade of prior centuries. The Greek word "dulos" in the first-century Greek world was understood to be the lowest of the lowest slaves. It morphed into the idea of one giving himself up to the will of another. This is how Paul, Peter, and most first-generation Christians viewed themselves in relation to Jesus. They considered themselves as slaves to Jesus. They freely gave themselves up to the will of God. As tough as this sounds, this should be our understanding of who we are in Christ. I question that most western-world Christians view themselves as a slave by choice to Jesus. Of course, our slave master is nothing like the slave masters that could be seen in the southern United States in the 1800's. We have a gracious and loving master, who by the way, will discipline us when needed, as seen in Hebrews 12:5 - 6, that reads:

"And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: My son, do not take the Lord's discipline lightly or lose heart for the Lord disciplines the one he loves and punishes every son he receives. Then you are reproved by him,"

Some of you may recall Jesus saying that He no longer calls us slaves. So what does that mean in light of all I have just written? John 15:15 reads:

"I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn't know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father."

So, when it comes to Jesus, are we friends or slaves? We are both. We are slaves because He is our Lord. We are friends because He has laid down His will, His life, for us, as John 15:13 and 14 states.

"No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you."

That verse says it all. If we do as Jesus says, meaning, we live as His slaves, then, we are His friends.

Verse 17

"Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor."

In verse 17 Peter told us to honour, or show proper respect, to everyone, and that includes governing authorities. It meant showing respect for Caesar Nero who ended up killing many Christians. This honouring is a Greek aorist active imperative verb. An imperative verb is a command. It's not a suggestion. An aorist verb is a one time action, suggesting that once and for all, we must decide to honour everyone, including the government we did not vote for. The action part of this verb simply means we must put our decision to honour into everyday actions.

Peter also told his readers, and us too, to love the brotherhood of believers. The word "love" here is translated from the Greek word "agape," meaning, love that is demonstrated through some kind of sacrifice. That's pretty heavy duty love, don't you think? We don't just love our brothers and sisters in Jesus because they love us in return. We love them whether they love us back or not.

Jesus told us that the world would know that we are truly His disciples if we have such sacrificial love for one another. John 13:35 reads:

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

This has always been a difficult Biblical command for Christians to follow. No wonder the world fails to see Jesus in much of the church.

Peter commanded us to also fear God. I've said this before, but fearing God should not be down graded to mere reverence. Fear means to be afraid as well as reverence. That being said, we love the one we fear and we fear the one we love. It sounds paradoxical, but it is Biblical. It's what we see in the life of the apostle John, as is recorded in Revelation 1:17. There, John met the ascended Jesus face to face. Look at how he responded.

"When I saw him [Jesus], I [John] fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid. I am the First and the Last."

There is no getting around it. John was more than reverent. He was afraid. That being said, Jesus relieved his fear with a gentle and loving touch of His hand. The point I see here is that in our natural selves we fear the majestic power of Jesus, but then, once seeing His love and compassion directed towards us, we are relieved of our fear. The one we fear is the one who loves us.

1 Peter 2:18 - 25

The Text

¹⁸Household slaves, submit to your masters with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel.

¹⁹For it brings favor if, because of a consciousness of God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly.

²⁰For what credit is there if when you do wrong and are beaten, you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.

²¹For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²²He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; ²³when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

My Commentary

Verse 18

"Household slaves, submit to your masters with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel."

"For it brings favor if, because of a consciousness of God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly."

In verses 18 and 19 Peter gave the same advice to slaves as Paul gave his readers. He told slaves to submit, hypotasso in Greek, to their masters, even if their masters were unjust and cruel. The Greek word "despotes" is translated as "masters" in this verse. This Greek word is in reference to domineering masters. The reason why Peter told slaves to submit to their masters, even to unjust masters, was because it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. Is Peter being masochistic here? Has Peter got his mind too much into the life of suffering that he can't think straight? Should he begin to think more positively in order to get out of such a mindset? Whatever the answers to these questions are, Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said that it is commendable to go through unjust suffering. This is not really the attitude of many Christians today who avoid suffering at all costs. Many Christians believe you are out of God's will if you suffer. What Peter was saying here is that we should not be so quick to escape suffering. Remember, back in chapter 1 he said that suffering is one way in which your faith is tested to be either genuine or false.

When Peter wrote these words, there were millions of slaves in the Roman Empire . We need to realize that slavery was simply a form of Roman culture and the economics of the day. Jesus, Paul, and Peter were not out to change that aspect of culture. They were preachers of the gospel to individual people, not to governments or culture. Peter wanted to win individuals to Jesus, not governments to Jesus, and by so doing, individuals would begin to view slavery much differently.

The Greek word translated as reverence in verse 18 is "phobos." This is where we derive our English concept of a phobia.

The Greek word "skolios" is translated here as cruel. Skolios" means crooked, bent, or twisted, and that, rightly describes an unreasonable master. Note that skolios has become a medical term in our English language.

In verse 19 Peter gave the reason why people can endure such suffering from a crooked and cruel master. He said that it is because they sense the consciousness of God, or, the awareness of God's presence in our lives. Once again, many of us are not conscious of God in our lives. There is no awareness of His presence. We just go about living our lives as if there is no God. We may say a morning prayer, and even though we don't say it, we might as well say, "see you tonight Lord."

If the Holy Spirit lives within us as we claim, we should sense His presence, if not all of the time, at least some of the time. No wonder we can't endure hardship and suffering as Peter commanded. Many of us do not sense the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives in the best of times let alone in the worst of times. Being conscious of God's presence gets us through the sufferings of life.

Many of us don't feel the Holy Spirit's presence because we don't take the time to come to Him and sit in His presence. We are too preoccupied with the things of the world. As Hebrews 12:1 tells us, we should throw off all of these hindrances in our lives in order to run the race God has asked us to run. Hebrews 12:1 reads:

"Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,"

We need to note that the suffering Peter is talking about in this part of his letter is unjust suffering. He is not talking about suffering of other kinds, like sickness, for example. He was talking about Christian persecution. He was saying that when you as a Christian suffer because of your faith in Jesus, you bear up under the suffering. You don't retaliate, get even, or get mad at God or your persecutors.

Verse 20

"For what credit is there if when you do wrong and are beaten, you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God."

In verse 20 Peter clearly stated that if a slave is beaten for doing wrong, he deserves it, but, if he is beaten for doing good (and that would be God's definition of good) and if he holds up under injustice, God says that is commendable. It's this mentality, difficult as it is to understand, that we need in the coming conflict with the anti-Christ culture in which we live in the western world. Christians in other parts of the world, and Christians throughout history, have suffered for their association with Jesus. It's nothing new. It's just our time to experience what others have, and still do, experience.

Peter said that enduring such suffering due to unjust punishment is commendable in God's sight. Really, when you think of it, that was exactly the mindset Jesus had during the days leading up to His execution. It was His mindset when He was interrogated by Pilate. This is a tough one for us to understand. Why did Jesus endure the injustice that led to His death? It was because it was God's will. It was His mission in life to die on the cross. It makes sense, then, that He must endure the suffering without complaining. If we as Christians, suffer because of our faith in Jesus, then so be it. It is just part and parcel of following Jesus.

Note that the Greek word "hamartano" is translated as "do wrong" in verse 20. This Greek word is often translated as sin in the New Testament. It means to miss the mark.

Note also that the Greek word "charis" that is normally translated as grace in the New Testament is translated as favour here in the CSB. Some other translations translate chairs in this verse as pleasing or acceptable. The English Standard Bible, more accurately translates charis as gracious. It, thus, appears to me that when we as Christians endure unjust suffering, we are actually demonstrating an act of grace in God's sight, that is, grace directed towards those being unjust to us. In the long run, our grace is to be a witness to lead those unjust people to Jesus, just as God's grace has led us to Jesus and salvation.

Verse 21

"For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."

In verse 21 Peter stated why unjust suffering is commendable in the sight of God. If Jesus, our Leader, had to face and endure unjust suffering, so should we. We follow in His footsteps.

The English verb "were called" is a Greek aorist passive indicative verb. The aorist part of this verb means that at one specific point we were called. That would suggest the very moment we were called to salvation by Jesus, was the moment we were called to a life of enduring injustice. The indicative part of this verb means that this calling to endure suffering is a certain calling. There should be no doubt about it. The passive part of this verb means the action of being called came from without us, meaning, from Jesus Himself.

Verses 22 and 23

"He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly."

Peter backed up his point in verse 22 by reminding his readers of Isaiah 53:9, that reads:

"He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully."

Jesus stood before His accusers with few words of self defense. He accepted the abuse because it led to a higher good. He did not retaliate because He knew He was in His Father's will, as difficult as His Father's will was to live through.

At times, standing up for one's civil rights when one is experiencing injustice is appropriate. We have this right in our western-world democratic nations. There may be times, however, where you might not be able to stand up for any civil rights. Paul had the choice, at least at one juncture of his life that we know of to appeal to Caesar because of his Roman citizenship. Other Christians in Paul's day did not have that choice because they had no Roman citizenship. They were unjustly persecuted, even to death, as was Peter, and Paul as well in the long run. Peter, Paul, and others, therefore, had to endure this injustice, even when it meant death. My conclusion is that we stand on Biblical grounds when we defend ourselves, if that is possible. If that is not possible, which is becoming more the reality in twenty first century western culture, we need to endure the injustice, knowing Jesus is with us, and He lived through the same injustice.

In verse 21 we see the word "example." Jesus left us the example when it comes to suffering. The Greek word translated into English as "example" here means a "carbon copy." We are to be a carbon copy of Jesus in all respects of life, and that includes suffering in the midst of injustice.

Verse 21 is especially relevant when it comes to today's social-media culture where many people, including Christians, have retaliated against those who think differently than them. The nastiness that is being spread around the internet is neither Christian or Biblical, and so, Christians should never be seen being so nasty, but they are. It was not the way of Jesus and it should never be the way of a Christian. We may, with all respect, speak or write our opposing views, but we don't get nasty in the process.

Again, I need to point out that one reason why Jesus did not defend Himself after being arrested was that it was God's will for Him to die on the cross. Trying to defend Himself so He wouldn't be executed was not God's will. Our persecution is different than Jesus' in this respect. We are persecuted because we follow Jesus. Jesus was persecuted because it was God's will for Him to die on the cross for our salvation. I'm not saying it's not God's will for us to suffer. Peter says it is. It's only the reason for our suffering that is different than Jesus' suffering.

Note that Peter said that it is God who is the one who judges justly. We have no need to retaliate because God will avenge those who do evil against us, and, He will do a much better job than us. Remember the martyred saints under the altar in Revelation 6. They asked God when their blood would be avenged. God responded by simply saying that it was not yet time. The time will come for vengeance and justice, because God is just, that He will deal with those who unjustly cause us to suffer.

Verse 24

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed."

Note the words "He Himself" here in verse 24. Peter is emphasizing that it is Jesus, and He alone, that bore our sins on the cross. No one can or ever could accomplish this feat. It had to have been Him and Him alone. It has been said that Jesus could only be the Saviour because He was first and foremost the Lord.

Peter paraphrased Isaiah 53:5, which reads:

"But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds."

Peter wrote that Jesus bore our sins in His body while on the cross. His body became unrecognizable as a human being because He became sin. Isaiah 52:14 actually predicted this.

"Just as many were appalled at you—his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like a man, and his form did not resemble a human being ..."

The Greek word "anapharo" that is translated as bore in verse 24 means to take up, or in this case, to take upon one's self. Jesus somehow picked up our sins, and as Paul said, "became sin" on our behalf. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says this:

"He [God] made the one who did not know sin [Jesus] to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

In Leviticus 14:20 in the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, we see the Greek word "anapharo" used in reference to a lamb being lifted up on an altar. It's a word representing sacrifice, and in Old Testament terms, animal sacrifices.

Once we know this Biblical truth, it should motivate us to work with Jesus so that we sin less and less every day of our lives. If Jesus actually became sin for us, and if we continue in sin, then, Jesus became sin for nothing. . This clearly suggests that we, with the help of the Lord and the Holy Spirit, are capable of overcoming sin in our lives more than we might think. Obviously at this point we need a clear understanding of sin. Sin is more than disobeying the Ten Commandments. It's anything we do that stems from our fallen sinful nature, and that's pretty much a lot of what we do.

Another point along this line is that sin is not our most important problem, although we cannot say it's not problematic. Our number one problem is our sinful nature. It is our sinful nature that causes us to sin, and that is why, step by step, we are in the process of change.

Peter continued by saying that because of his wounds, we were healed. The point to consider here is this. What does the word "healed" refer to? The Evangelical community is split over this issue. Some say that the word "healed" refers to physical healing of sickness because physical healing was paid for on the cross of Christ. In other words, physical healing was part of the atonement. Other's don't believe the word "healed" refers to physical healing but spiritual healing because they feel physical healing was not paid for at the cross of Christ, or, is not part of the atonement.

We should understand that in Old Testament Jewish culture, the culture in which Isaiah 53 was written that Peter quoted, sin was considered a sickness that people needed to be healed from. Isaiah 1:5 and 6 read:

"Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep on rebelling? The whole head is hurt, and the whole heart is sick. Your land is desolate, your cities burned down; foreigners devour your fields right in front of you — a desolation, like a place demolished."

Whether physical healing is part of the atonement or not is debatable. The way I see Peter's statement in this verse is that neither Isaiah, in Isaiah 53:5, nor Peter, was talking about physical healing. The context doesn't suggest that to be the case in either passage. There is no direct reference to the healing of our sick bodies in either passage. I believe Peter was speaking about spiritual healing; healing from sin because that is the context in which he is making his point. I would also believe, then, that Peter has interpreted the Isaiah passage for us. We don't need to interpret it any differently than Peter.

All of the above being said, I certainly do believe that Jesus can and does heal a person physically if it is His will. Miracles of healing sick bodies did not end with the first generation Christians, and I'm a living example of that. I would have been dead at the age of 6 if not for Jesus healing me of Juvenile Diabetes.

The Greek word "aiomai" is translated as "healed" here and throughout the New Testament. A simple word search of both of these Greek and English words will show us that healing is in reference to both sin and sickness. John 12:40 is just one example. It reads:

"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they would
not see with their eyes or understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them."

This verse is a direct quote from Isaiah 6:10, that reads:

"Make the minds of these people
dull; deafen their ears and blind their
eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed."

The word "heal" in the above passages is clearly in reference to being healed from the sickness of sin.

One point to be made here is that among Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians, as soon as they see or hear the word "heal" they immediately think in terms of physical healing without considering the context of the passage in question. That is bad hermeneutics. We should not jump to our preconceived traditional thinking without giving the text serious thought.

Before we go on to verse 25 I'd like to comment on Isaiah 53:5 from which Peter is quoting. The NIV reads as follows. "Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering..." The KJV reads, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows ..." The CSB reads, "He Himself has born our sicknesses and carried our pain ..." Note the words pain in the NIV, griefs in the KJV, and sicknesses in the CSB. It seems to me that the variations in translations depend on how you understand the Hebrew words associated with our English words.

The Hebrew word "choliy" is translated as pain (NIV) griefs (KJV) and sicknesses (HCSB). This word has a variety of meanings that range from sickness, grief, evil, calamity, or something similar. So, depending on one's presupposition will determine how one translates this phrase from Hebrew to English.

The Hebrew word "makof" is translated as suffering (NIV) sorrow (KJV) and pain (HCSB). This word can mean pain in a physical, mental, or emotional sense. As in the Hebrew word "choliy" above, one's presupposition will influence the translation process.

Here is one more thought in connection with the last two paragraphs. It is my thinking at present that Isaiah 1:1 through 6 sets the tone of how we should understand sickness and pain that we read in Isaiah 53:4. As noted earlier, God through Isaiah, told Israel that it was sinfully sick. God used physical or bodily descriptions to give a mental picture of how sinful Israel actually was. In Isaiah 1:1 through 6 God was not speaking of physical sickness. He was speaking of sinful sickness, which I believe He is also doing in Isaiah 53:4. I, therefore, conclude that however one translates Isaiah 53:4 and however one views "by His wounds we were healed" healing has to do with sinful sickness, not physical sickness.

Again, here is what Isaiah 1:5 and 6 states. Note that God viewed Israel 's sin in metamorphic terms of physical sickness.

"Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep on rebelling? The whole head is hurt, and the whole heart is sick. From the sole of the foot even to the head, no spot is uninjured—wounds, welts, and festering sores not cleansed, bandaged, or soothed with oil."

Maybe you will agree with me. In God's sight, sin is sick. Maybe that is why Jesus said that saying "your sins are forgiven" is no different than saying, "rise and walk." Matthew 9:5 reads:

"For which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, ‘Get up and walk?'"

You can read my book entitled "Clarifying Biblical Healing" for further details on this issue.

Verse 25

"For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

In verse 25, also like Isaiah 53, Peter called his readers sheep that have gone astray, but now they have been returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of their souls. Note that Peter called Jesus a Shepherd and an Overseer. Shepherds, overseers, elders, and pastors are all the same functional ministry in the church. These are four names for the same ecclesiastical responsibility. The KJV adds a fifth word, and that is the word "bishop." So, we may have earthly pastors to care for God's people, but there is one Pastor, or Shepherd, that feeds us all. We may have our earthly overseers, but there is one Overseer who directs our paths.

Non-Christians, although they don't realize it, wander around in their lost existence. They have lost the concept of a Supreme Shepherd and Overseer that can care for them and direct their lives. Only, once finding the Shepherd and Overseers of their souls will they even begin to realize how lost they are.

1 Peter 3:1 - 7

The Text

1 - In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the word, they may be won over without a word by the way their wives live ²when they observe your pure, reverent lives.

³Don't let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes, ⁴but rather what is inside the heart—the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

⁵For in the past, the holy women who put their hope in God also adorned themselves in this way, submitting to their own husband, ⁶just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You have become her children when you do what is good and do not fear any intimidation.

⁷Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker partner, showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

My Commentary

Verses 1 and 2

"In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the word, they may be won over without a word by the way their wives live when they observe your pure, reverent lives."

Chapter 3 continues on with Peter's theme of how Christians live while suffering various kinds of grief. Here in chapter 3 such suffering includes Christian wives submitting to non-Christian husbands. As it was with Christians submitting to ungodly government and slaves submitting to ungodly masters, so it is with wives submitting to ungodly husbands. In all three instances, submission is to be one form of evangelizing, or at least, a demonstration of godliness to the ungodly.

In our western world where the individualism rules the day, talk about Biblical style submission to anyone does not go over well, but it is a main theme in the Bible. Of course, our priority is to submit to God for it is He to whom we will eventually give account. We, even as Christians, struggle over the issue of submission.

Concerning wives submitting to non-Christian husbands as seen here in verse 1, some have suggested that this means a Christian can be wed to a non-Christian if the Christian views it as an opportunity to share Jesus with the one he or she claims to love. More often than not, this is simply a way of giving into one's hormones instead of the Word of God. This verse is speaking specifically to an already married wife who has subsequently become a Christian after she has been married.

There is a very important historical point to be made here. Roman culture was a male dominated society. For the most part, and that despite the move towards women's liberation back then, women were on a lower social scale than men. You might call women second class citizens because they weren't actually Roman citizens. That being said, unlike Jewish wives who were not permitted to divorce their husbands, Roman wives were permitted to legally divorce their husbands.

Verse 1 begins with the words "wives in the same way." The words "in the same way" refer back to how slaves were to submit to their masters even if their masters were not nice men. So, Peter is saying that the principle he has just set forth for slaves and masters also applies to the wife husband relationship.

The Greek word that is translated as submit is hypotasso. It is derived from two other words, "hypo," meaning under, and "tasso," meaning to arrange or rank. Hupostasso, thus, means to rank under or to arrange under. Hypotasso was very much a military word in the first century Greco-Roman world. A soldier for example, would rank under his superior officer. Peter is telling Christian wives to align themselves under their own husband. Modern men and women may struggle over this point, but this is what Peter was saying.

The Greek verb tense here to submit is a Greek present passive participle. This means that submission must be a present reality. The passive part of this verb means that the husband must have some authority over the submissive wife. The participle part of this verb means that the wife is a submitter. In short, the wife, because of her new nature in Christ, is a submissive person. It is not just that she submits. Submission is who she is.

One thing we should know, and this is a matter of hermeneutics, is how the New Testament actually uses and views the cold, harsh-hearted word "hypotasso." In Roman culture it was very much a dictatorial word, but that is not always the case when the New Testament uses it. When hypotasso is used in connection with Christians submitting to each other, Christians submitting to elders, and here, wives submitting to husbands, the New Testament softens this cold-hearted word. Christians submit to each other out of genuine love, concern, and care for each other. It's not a matter of one person being a dictator over another person. When Peter told wives to submit to her own husbands, he understood this submission to be based on a godly love and care that a wife has for her husband, even if her husband is an ungodly dictator.

At this point, if you want a more detailed discussion on how the New Testament speaks to husband and wife relationships I suggest you read Ephesians 5:22 and following. The apostle Paul said things about this issue that Peter does not say. I won't elaborate on that here since I've done so in my commentary on Paul's letter to the Ephesians. In short, Paul told his readers that all Christians must have a spirit of mutual submission based on love and care. A wife must submit to her husband because she loves him. A husband must lay down his life for his wife because he loves her. If the husband does his part, it will be easier for the wife to do her part.

We should also understand that if an ungodly husband demands the wife to do something ungodly, the wife must respectfully decline because she must also submit to God in obedience. If, for example, a husband demands his wife to join him in bed with another sex partner, the wife must decline. If that causes her husband to divorce her, then so be it.

In Peter's day, if a man became a Christian, the chances that his wife becoming a Christian would be good, but, the reverse is not always the case. If a woman became a Christian, because of the nature of their marriage and their culture, a man would not necessarily follow his wife's lead in this matter. Again, a bit of history helps us understand this Bible verse, and history, is often overlooked in today's post modern church.

In 1 Corinthians 7 the apostle Paul elaborated on the idea of a mixed marriage, that is, a believer being married to an unbeliever. Paul told his readers that in such a situation the believer should stay with the unbeliever as long as is possible. However, if the unbeliever wants out of the marriage, the believer should accept that in order to live in peace. We do need to know that what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7 should be taken from the standpoint that the believer becomes a believer after getting married. Again, it's quite clear in the Bible that a believer should not marry an unbeliever. 2 Corinthians 6:14 reads:

"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"

Peter went on to speak to the issue of a believing wife married to a non-believing husband. If the wife submits to her husband and behaves as a believer should, then it is quite possible that the husband might be won over to Jesus without words, without the wife preaching, even nagging, to him. A wife, thus, has a reason to stay with an unbelieving husband. It's also why the believing wife should submit to an unbelieving husband. Paul said the same in 1 Corinthians 7:15, that reads:

"But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace."

One thing to note here is that the good behaviour without words might win the unbeliever over. The idea of one's good behaviour only, without preaching the gospel, is not the norm in Scripture, but Peter understood the nature of marriage, especially in his day. A wife preaching to her husband, attempting to win him over to anything back then would not go over well. It would probably be a reason for the husband divorcing his wife and leaving her on the street without any financial support. That being said, what one preaches must be evident in the way one lives or else his preaching is useless. Actions say a lot, especially bad actions.

Note the words "your husband” in verse 1. There might be the temptation, especially if one's husband was not a Christian, to submit to a Christian brother who is teaching her the Word of the Lord. Although Christian brothers, and that includes elders, do have input into Christian wives, the wife must submit to her husband, not to another husband. In the Charismatic Movement of the 1960's and 1970's, on some occasions, I saw Christian wives who had non-Christian husbands, submitting to Christian men they looked up to at the neglect of submitting to their husbands. That is Biblically wrong.

Verse 2 says that when the non-Christian husband sees the purity and reverence of his Christian wife, he might just pay attention to her godly way of living. You must remember, back in those days there was much sexual impurity. The husband in many cases would not be faithful to his wife. Many felt that it was a right and even a privilege to have other sexual partners, which included both men and women. In many respects this sex with both men and women was a part of pagan worship. Temple prostitution was a part of pagan worship at the pagan temples. The purity of the wife that Peter wrote about was meant to speak volumes to her husband.

The Greek word "hagnos" is translated here as purity. It is related to the Greek word "hagios" that is translated as holy in the New Testament. Both words suggest a separation, and in this sense of the word, separated from immorality unto morality.

Being reverent towards your husband would also speak to him as well. I would suppose at times this might have been a very difficult thing for a wife to do, but the goal of such reverence is the salvation of the husband. The Greek word "phobos" is translated here as "reverence." It is also translated as "fear" in many New Testament verses, but here, the word "reverence" might well be more appropriate. I think Peter is speaking of a wife freely reverencing her husband. I don't think he is saying that a wife should submit to her husband out of fear or dread.

Think this through. A wife becomes a Christian and the husband doesn't. You're in an anti-Christ culture that is persecuting Christians. Your husband is very upset. He is angry over the fact that his wife is now a Christian. He could now be persecuted, even killed, because his wife is a Christian. This would have been a major problem back then. It would be very easy for a wife to divorce her husband or a husband to divorce his wife. This same kind of thing is taking place in Muslim countries today. If a Muslim wife becomes a Christian and if her husband knows it, the family will disown her. She will be out on the street in no time. Often, the Muslim wife who has become a Christian will attempt to be a secret Christian and try to follow Peter's admonition by submitting to her husband as best as she can without violating the truth of the gospel.

Concerning the concept of submission, we need to think about what Peter taught and how he lived about submission to government. We've said that Christians should submit to government the best they could, but, when government refuses to submit to God and makes you submit to something that is ungodly, then you don't submit. As I've said earlier, I believe the same is true here when it comes to a wife submitting to her husband. Wives should submit to their husbands as best they can without violating their submission to the Lord. If the husband, like government, demands ungodly submission by making her do ungodly things, then wives don't submit. They have a higher authority to whom they must submit.

Verses 3 and 4

"Don't let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewellery or fine clothes, but rather what is inside the heart—the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

Verse 3 has been greatly misrepresented by certain legalistic groups over the years. It says that the wife's beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate or braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry, and fine clothes. Some have taken this verse in a legalistic sense and told Christian women not to braid their hair and not to wear jewelry. Then beyond that, they have added other rules as well pertaining to how women should dress. Peter wasn't saying that women should never wear jewelry or braided hair, and the word braided is an appropriate word to use due to the meaning of the Greek word "imploke" that the CSB translates as elaborate. He is simply saying that a woman's beauty should not come from such things alone. If that is all that makes a woman beautiful, then obviously the beauty is skin deep. I would suggest that braided or elaborate hair styles are one example that Peter could have used because such hair styles were often worn by prostitutes in those days. The same applies with all of the jewelry.

Peter's admonition doesn't mean that a woman can't or shouldn't make herself look nice. I don't see anything wrong with that, and I don't think Peter did as well. The point to be made here is modesty, a modesty that does not take pre-eminence over the good character quality of a wife. As it has often been said, "beauty is skin deep." There are many beautiful women who are very nasty in their character. The same would be true with men.

In short, and in the context and customs of the day in which Peter and Paul wrote, both men admonished his women readers to not dress like a prostitute. The type of dress that both men mentioned in their writings was worn by the temple prostitutes in the Greco-Roman world. They should not be first known for their beautiful appearance but for their beautiful character as a Christian.

Verses 5 and 6

"For in the past, the holy women who put their hope in God also adorned themselves in this way, submitting to their own husband, just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You have become her children when you do what is good and do not fear any intimidation."

In verse 5 Peter made what I would call a generational point, maybe not like many of us would make today. For example, we might say, "your grandmother never dressed that way." Obviously, the child to whom you are speaking might suggest that there is no relevance between her and her grandmother. This kind of statement might not go over well, but Peter made the case anyway. Women of old let their godly character be the source of their beauty. I would think that the women of old Peter was speaking of were clearly Jewish women. Gentile women might not have lived as Peter is telling Christian women to live.

Verse 6 tells us that Sarah, Abraham's wife, was an example of her submission to her husband, such submission that God considers to be holy. For those who believe Peter was writing to Jewish believers, this would be one point in their favour. Gentile women could not relate to what Peter said about Sarah. The point Peter was making is that Jewish women respected Sarah. That being the case, they should respect their husbands as Sarah respected Abraham.

What Peter said in verse 6 is pretty far fetched in today’s feminist world. The idea that Sarah obeyed Abraham, and went as far as to call him her lord, well, is just unacceptable in these days. What else can be said here than what is said. Wives in the western world do not call their husbands their lord, but Sarah did, and Peter commended her for that. This is a simple matter of complete respect for the husband, a respect that we should all have for each other. I'm not saying that Christian wives in today's world should call their husbands lords or masters. This terminology is cultural in nature, just the wording people used in Abraham's day. We word things differently today. The bottom line here is a healthy respect for one's husband, no matter what you call him.

The Greek word "kyrios" is translated here as lord. Kyrios has a wide range of meanings. It could be in respect to the ultimate authority, like God Himself, to an ordinary person with some kind of authority. When wives called their husbands lord, it was a simple matter of respect. There would not have been any hint of dictatorial authority. As a matter of fact, the Greek word "kyrios" can easily and rightly also be translated as sir, and the word "sir" is a simple word that shows respect, not submission.

Note that Peter viewed Christian women as daughters of Sarah. If, as the apostle Paul put it, we have the faith of Abraham, then we are both children of Abraham and Sarah.

Peter ended his encouragement to women by telling them that they should not give into intimidation. The Greek word "phobeo" that simply means fear or to be afraid is translated here in the CSB as intimidation. I would suggest that a godly wife, who was strong in the Lord, despite the situation she might find herself in with her husband, could overcome any fear that she might have. Woman can be, and should be, strong in faith and character women.

Verse 7

"Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker partner, showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered."

After all of the verses Peter devotes to Christian wives, in 1 Peter 3:7 he leaves only one verse for the Christian husband, but there is a lot in this verse. The verse opens with the words "'in the same way," meaning, all that he wrote about the women would similarly apply to the men, which I would suggest, would be to have a submissive attitude towards his wife.

Peter told the husbands to treat their wives in an understanding way. The KJV puts it this way. "You husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife." The KJV does a bit better job in my opinion translating certain Greek words here. The Greek word "gnosis" is the word that the KJV translates as knowledge." Gnosis simply means knowledge. I believe this means that husbands must know their wives, something that takes effort and good communication. They must know how their wives think, feel, react, and really, every part of whom their wives are. In the era in which Peter wrote this letter, especially Gentile men, were not all that interested in knowing their wives in this way. In many respects, their wives were baby machines to carry on the family lineage. As a matter of fact, men in general, had other sex partners, many of which were men. Wives were not a high priority for many, if not most, men back in the first-century Greco-Roman world.

What Peter was telling the husband here was that as the wife respects the husband, so, the husband should, love and respect his wife. In short, the husband wife relationship is a mutual submissive and respectful relationship. There is no hint of the husband being a dictator. There is no hint that the wife should nag until she gets her way. Love implies sacrifice, and if you're not willing to sacrifice, you shouldn't be thinking of marriage.

Again, in first century Roman and Greek culture men did not value their wives. They valued other things as being much more valuable. So, when Peter instructed men as he did here, he was going against the cultural norm of his day. Many non-Christian men would have thought Peter to be way off base. Peter was not being culturally correct, that is for sure.

The word "honour" must be emphasized at this point. In God's sight, the value of both men and women are equal. One is not more valuable or honourable than the other. So, when we talk about wives submitting to husbands, it's not a matter of worth or value. It's a matter of one's roll or place within the family structure.

We should note the words "weaker partner." These words refer to physical weakness, not social, mental, or any other kind of weakness. The context itself should confirm this because Peter said that the wife is heirs with the husband of God's grace. Simply put, when it comes to the gift of salvation and all that goes along with that, the wife ranks right beside the husband. There is no difference between male and female when it comes to salvation and participation in the Kingdom of God . This too would have been revolutionary in both the Roman and Jewish world of Peter's day. Both cultures viewed women on a lower social scale. It is the gospel of Jesus that elevates women to a place of equality, not above man, but beside man, as was the case in the creation account.

What we see Peter saying here is very much like what the apostle Paul taught in Ephesians 5. However, there is one big difference. Paul told Christian men to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Jesus gave Himself completely, even unto death, for the church. Paul expected such love from Christian husbands directed towards their wives. Maybe Peter didn't say it as openly as Paul, but I believe I can say it is implied in the one verse he did direct towards husbands.

Peter said something interesting concerning husbands and their prayers. If the husband doesn't treat his wife as she should be treated, the husband's prayers might well be hindered from being answered. This tells us something about praying. Things can hinder our prayers, and in this case, the things are relational between the husband and his wife. I would suggest also, even though Peter did not say this, that a wife's prayers might well be hindered if she did not properly submit to her husband. I would also suggest that our prayers might not be answered because of other relational problems as well. Discord and relational problems in the church would be a primary example why prayers go unanswered today.

I often hear people question why we don't see more of the miraculous in our churches today. I believe what Peter said here is one reason for the lack of miracles. When there is division in the home between husband and wife, prayers go unanswered. On any given Sunday morning in any given congregation, there might well be much family dysfunctional relationships. This would in turn quench the presence of the Holy Spirit in the meeting.

In the last three sections of Peter's letter we have seen the word "submit" used in terms of government, slaves to masters, and wives to husbands. The Greek word "hypotasso," as I've said, means to rank under. Submission is, therefore, seen in light of social order. It doesn't mean the one doing the submitting is of any less in value. Value and worth is not what Peter was talking about. All human life is valuable. I believe that is clearly seen in the Genesis account of creation. God created Adam, and then from Adam, He created Eve, and as the text suggests, to stand along side of him. Adam had his role in life, and so did Eve. They had different roles, but equal value, as they worked together to function as God had called them.

Genesis 2:23 reads:

"And the man said: 'This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called woman, for she was taken from man.'"

It is my thinking as I believe is implied in this verse, and also is implied in the reason why God created woman, was that a husband and wife would be co-workers in the implementation of His will.

1 Peter 3:8 - 22

The Text

⁸Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble, ⁹not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.

¹⁰For the one who wants to love life
and to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, ¹¹and let him turn away from evil and do what is good. Let him seek peace and pursue it, ¹²because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil. Undeserved Suffering ¹³Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good?

¹⁴But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, ¹⁵but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

¹⁶Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.

¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.

¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, ¹⁹in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison ²⁰who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water.

²¹Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

My Commentary

Verses 8 and 9

"Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing."

In verse 8 Peter begins this section with the word "finally." The word "finally" is most likely in reference to concluding this portion of his letter that covers one's submissive attitude to others.

After writing to and about husbands, wives, slaves, masters, and government, he now gives a general encouragement and admonition to his brothers and sisters in Jesus who are suffering so much in an anti-Christ culture. He told his readers to be like-minded, sympathetic, loving and humble. Peter was speaking to Christians, encouraging them to be an example to the rest of the world in a godly way of living. Remember, Jesus said that the world would know that we are His disciples if we have genuine love for one another. John 13:35 reads:

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Note the word "like-minded" in verse 8. It is translated from the Greek word "homophron," that is made up of the Greek words "homo" and "phron." Homo means the same while phron means the mind. So, in one since of the word, our English word "like-minded" is a good translation of this Greek word. Does this mean we are all to think the same on every issue? I don't think so. We can strive to think the same on every issue, but life tells me that will never happen. I believe the like-mindedness Peter had in mind, and I think the context suggests this, is that Christians are to agree on living compassionate and loving lives among each other, especially in times of stress as his readers were experiencing. I don't believe that thinking alike doctrinally is what Peter had in mind when he penned these words.

This admonition for relational harmony would be important when Christians are being persecuted from the culture in which they live. In times of persecution or stress, tempers would naturally rise. People would easily become more irritable with one another. So, more than ever, great concern must be given to living in harmony in such times.

Living in a state of harmony seems difficult for people, and that includes Christians. Nevertheless, we should go out of our way to live in harmony with one another. When division and discord inflict the church, our witness for Jesus suffers, and that is why much of church has lost its effectiveness in exercising its ministry calling.

In the same way that husbands are to be considerate of their wives, we are all to be considerate of each other. Also, in the same way that wives are to submit to their husbands, we are all to submit to one another. This submission to one another means giving way to others instead of always promoting one's self interests, which is our selfish human tendency. It's what Paul told his readers in Ephesians 5:21.

"... submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."

Our western democracies are very much self-centered. The democratic form of government is my preferred way to govern a nation, but, we should know that the Bible does not prefer one form of human government over another. What it does promote is the Kingdom of God , where Jesus is the king. Our democratic way of life in one sense of the word spurs on our human fallen nature that says, "I am the important one. My will be done." It's what we all fight for in the political arena. This is not the mentality that Christians are to have, especially in relation to others in the Body of Christ.

Our English word "sympathetic" in verse 8 is translated from the Greek word "sympathes." This word means "to suffer with or to suffer alongside." It means to sit down with others and suffer along with them as they are suffering. This takes a good measure of love, care, empathy, and patience, but it is what the Body of Christ is meant to be.

Peter told his readers to be humble. Humility is seen as a virtue in Biblical thinking. In the Roman world of Peter's day humility was seen as weakness, and probably in today's world as well. What Peter was saying to the believers was not what they learned or saw in the Roman world in which they lived. In other words, it was culturally incorrect to be humble. Again, we see Biblical teaching as being completely opposite from what the world teaches. Those who accepted this teaching would be radicalized in a negative sense in the eyes of their community.

In verse 9 Peter said not to repay evil with evil or insult with insult, something that is basic to our fallen nature. It is obvious, then, that even in the church someone may insult you, but you are not to insult them back, but rather extend a blessing. The reason why Peter said this is because at some point we all will inherit a blessing when we behave in this fashion. So, giving a blessing now is a small thing compared to the big blessing that Jesus will give us, either in this life or in the next life. That being said, Peter's admonition does not just apply to our relationships within the church. The same applies to those in the culture around us, those who insult us and do evil against us. We are told to respond with a blessing. As difficult as that is, that is the Biblical thing to do, and, we do so in order for those who throw the insults at us may see the love of God. Besides, it's not our place to repay evil with evil. That is God's job when He will judge the world, which He will do justly.

Note the words "you were called" in verse 9. Peter said the same in chapter 2, verse 21. We have been called to live a certain way no matter where we find ourselves in life at any given time. Even in the midst of grief-filled suffering we live a blessed life by exhibiting blessings to others. Christians, like Jesus Himself, must be a blessing to all who cross their paths.

This portion of Peter's letter is especially appropriate for us as I rewrite this commentary, here in 2022. The Covid 19 pandemic that has hit the world hard over the last three years has been a major source of divisive controversy. It has split church congregations in half. Many have left a congregation that they have been a part of for years, and that, without any hint of behaving as Peter told us to behave in this verse. If you think that Covid Crisis is rough on you, there is worst to come. If you could not survive this crisis, you will not survive the others that will arise as this age gets closer to its end.

Verses 10 through 13

"For the one who wants to love life and to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, and let him turn away from evil and do what is good. Let him seek peace and pursue it, because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil. Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good?"

Here in verse 10 Peter quoted from Psalm 34:12 to 16, that reads:

"Who is someone who desires life, loving a long life to enjoy what is good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech. Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry for help. The face of the LORD is set against those who do what is evil, to remove all memory of them from the earth."

Both the Psalmist and Peter told us that whoever wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. It is quite clear that controlling our tongues will cause us to live a better life. An uncontrolled tongue creates many unnecessary conflicts. We don't need to speak everything our mind thinks. The Book of James really zeroes in on this, so, if you want to learn more about the nastiness that proceeds from our tongues, read James.

There is some truth to the old saying that says sticks and stones will break your bones but names will never hurt you. That being said, nasty names spoken against others are very hurtful and can have resulting problems in our lives. As I've said, we don't need to speak everything that comes into our minds. The word "bullying" has become a real popular word these days. Nasty talk directed to others is bullying and Christians shouldn't be involved in such talk. It's sad to say, but many Christians talk like the world these days. It's clearly seen on our social media internet sites. Such talk destroys our relationships and ends up destroying our ministry calling as a church.

There are some people that you just don't feel like being around because they are so overly negative and divisive. They complain. They speak evil of others. They don't control their tongue. All of this results in one miserable life that is not attractive to anyone. It disrupts relationships, whether in or out of the church. It inhibits the very witness for Jesus we are called to be.

The verb "let him keep" in let the phrase "him keep his tongue from evil" is an aorist active imperative verb. The aorist and active part of this verb means that at one point in time we must once and for all actively decide to keep our minds from evil. The imperative part of this verb means this is a demand, not a suggestion. Wouldn't it be nice if we all decided to obey this command.

In verse 11 Pater admonished his readers to turn from evil to do good. His readers must pursue peace. This was the teaching among all first century Christians who were suffering from injustice done to them by their anti-Christ culture. Doing good to those who persecute us makes no sense to our human reasoning, but it is what Peter was teaching.

As time goes on, Christians in the western world will suffer like those in Peter's day. Christians should be peace seekers, actually must be peace seekers, when that day comes upon us. We see this in the life of the apostle Paul. He, for example, did his best to try to live peacefully with everyone, despite the fact that not everyone wanted to live peacefully with him. Still, Paul did not repay the evil done to him with evil. That was God's job. It's what Paul taught, as seen in Romans 14:19, that reads:

"So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another."

In verse 12 Peter continued by saying that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their prayers. There are two aspects of us being righteous, as seen in this statement. We are seen as righteous in the eyes of God, even though we are not righteous, and that is because Jesus took our place on the cross. When God sees Jesus, He thus, sees us. We should know that Jesus is still taking our place as He sits at God's right hand. On the other hand, righteousness should be in the process of being worked out in our lives. If we are on this path of righteousness being worked out in our lives, then God will keep and eye on us and hear our prayers. If, then, our prayers are not answered, this may be one reason why, but not the only reason.

Peter then wrote that the face of the Lord is against those that do evil. This is clear and simple. God turns Himself away from evil doers, having nothing to do with them. He leaves them alone to muddle around in their own calamity. Possibly the only time He will turn His face towards them is on the Day of Judgment when He pronounces judgment on them. The thought that God would turn His face from someone is not popular in today's culture, yet it is a Biblical truth. This is in fact what God did to Jesus while on the cross. Jesus actually became sin as He was dying. God turned His back on Jesus and refused to save His life. God couldn't save Jesus because the sinful evil that Jesus became repulsed God. For this reason God's wrath fell on Jesus as it will fall on the unbelievers at the White Throne Judgment, as seen in Revelation 20.

Earlier in chapter I commented on the husband's prayers not being answered because of their mistreatment of their wives. I said that was one reason why we don't see more of the miraculous in our Christian meetings. Here is another reason why we don't see more of the miraculous today. It's because some in the congregation are doing evil and not behaving as the Christians should behave.

In verse 13 Peter asked who will harm you when you do good? He was simply being practical and logical here. If you do good to others, there's a good chance they will do good to you. This is true on some levels and in some situations, but remember, the people to whom Peter was writing are being persecuted, or, have the possibility of being persecuted from the anti-Christ society in which they lived. These people may do good, but, many were still executed for their faith in Jesus. What is good in the eyes of the world may not be good in the eyes of God. The doing of good that Peter had in mind here might be the doing of good to your brother and sister in Christ, who, in times of stress, doing good was a difficult task.

Verses 14 and 15

"But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you."

With the possibility of bad being done to Peter's Christian readers, he told them that even if they suffer for doing good, they are blessed. The Greek verb tense here is an often not used tense. The Greek reads something like this. "If suffering happens to happen to you." The point here is that these people weren't looking for suffering to come their way, but, if it happens, then it happens. It's a bit like one of my friends who used to say. "whatever happens will happen." Unlike fundamentalist Muslims today, these Christians did not have a martyrdom complex.

Peter said that we should feel blessed in times of suffering. Such talk doesn't sound like good common sense. The fact is that Jesus suffered unjustly, and if we suffer in like fashion, we should be thankful that we are suffering in the same way that our Lord suffered. This was Peter's attitude towards unjust suffering. Peter wanted to follow Jesus, even if it meant suffering unjustly that would end in his death. That's exactly what happened to Peter. Early church tradition tells us that like Jesus, Peter was executed on a cross. The only difference was that Peter chose to be hung upside down.

Peter then told his readers not to fear, or, not to be intimidated by those who will persecute them. We should possess the God-given ability to stand firm in our faith, despite all that happens to us. We should have a God-given confidence. Remember, Jesus told us not to fear those who kill the body, but fear Him who will destroy both body and soul. Matthew 10:28 reads:

"Don't fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

People often feared their government in Peter's day, especially Nero's regime. As far as Peter was concerned, he feared no one, not even Nero. Instead, he feared God. If you understand the evil who Nero was, not fearing him would have taken much divine assistance.

Instead of fearing your oppressors, verse 15 tells us what to do. Peter said that in our hearts we should regard Christ as Lord. The Greek verb hagiazo is translated as regard in the CSB in verse 15. It's the verb form of the noun hagios which suggests a setting apart for a specific reason. Both the noun and the verb form of this Greek word are often translated into English as holy. Our lives, then, should be set apart from the world in order to serve Jesus and accomplish His will. We, thus, do not allow evil men to detract us from God's will. Peter's readers were to regard Jesus, not Nero. They were set apart to do the will of Jesus, not the will of Nero. If that meant conflict that result in death, then, so be it.

In the midst of this unjust suffering Peter encouraged his readers to be ready at all times to give a reason, or a defense, for the hope we have in Jesus. This has always been an important verse in my thinking, especially today, when many Christians are so Biblically illiterate that they cannot defend the reason why they believe. It takes Biblical literacy to give a reason for why we believe, and that takes Biblical study.

Peter pointed out that Christians actually have hope in the midst of the suffering. Some may not have this hope, but that does not mean it's not available for them. Unlike cultural hope that consists of doubt, Biblical hope is a certain expectation of a future reality. Christians have a great hope in what the future has for them. There is nothing wrong with true Biblical hope. It's not a lack of faith as some might think.

I have been legally blind since birth. If I tell some Christians that I hope to be healed some day, they may think my hope is a lack of faith. Some have told me that the mere mention of the word "hope" disqualifies me from being healed, because in their minds, hope infers doubt. I should claim my healing, as if I am already healed. They say that is real faith. That is not my position concerning the meaning of Biblical faith. There is nothing inherently wrong with Biblical hope as being a certain expectation of a future reality.

Peter said that we should be ready at all times to give a reason for why we hope. Christians need to be ready to explain as many aspects of the gospel as they can. If we can't do that, how can we be the mouthpiece of God? Preaching and teaching the Word of God is our God-given responsibility. Yes, some have a specific ministry in preaching and teaching. I certainly get that, but, what Peter wrote here applies to all Christians, not just those who are called to a specific ministry of teaching and preaching. It's what I believe the apostle Paul would have done when he stood in Nero's court. He would have instructed Nero, and those in court with him, the Word of God. He would have given Nero the reason why he had great hope in Jesus, despite the fact that Nero was about to execute him. That is real hope. Hope in the face of death is true Biblical hope.

In verse 15 Peter said that our explanation must be given with gentleness and respect. Giving our explanation in arrogance will do more harm than good. It only makes the questioner more antagonistic and agitated with us, blinding his eyes and understanding to what we're saying. Over the years I've seen many explanations of the gospel spoken out of arrogance. We see it all of the time on today's social media sites. This should not be. A spirit of gentleness and respect will go a long way to win people to Jesus.

Verse 16

"Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame."

In verse 16 Peter told his readers to answer all their opponents' questions with a clear conscience. If we do, then our accusers should be ashamed of themselves. If we do good, the best we can, with a pure motive before Jesus, then the only ones that should experience shame are those who accuse us. If they don't experience the shame now, they will on the Day of Judgment. Many non-believers don't experience this shame because their consciences are fried. It's what Paul told Timothy, as seen in the KJV. 1 Timothy 4:2 reads:

"Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;"

Our English word "conscience" here is translated from the Greek word "syneidesis." This word is made up of two Greek words meaning "with" and "know." This suggests an inner knowing. It suggests being honest with yourself in that place of who you are that no one else but God can see.

Note the words "your good conduct in Christ." Throughout his letter, Peter wrote about doing good and now he qualifies this with the words "in Christ." For the Christian, doing good must be within the boundaries set forth by Jesus. Doing good must come from faith and what the Bible defines as doing good. I'm not saying that humanistic style good is wrong or not effective, because it is both right and can be effective. That being said, Christians do good, not merely from a humanistic perspective, but from a Biblical perspective. They do good to express the love of God.

Concerning our conscience, Paul made an interesting point, as recorded in Titus 1:15.

"To the pure, everything is pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; in fact, both their mind and conscience are defiled."

Again, I quote from 1 Timothy 4:2, in the KJV.

"Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;"

Paul's point is that we can't always trust our conscience. It has been defiled. For some, their conscience has been seared as if a hot iron has totally burned it up. As a Christian, then, my conscience must be in the process of becoming aligned with the Word of God. To the degree this has been implemented into your life, will be the degree to which you can trust your conscience.

We cannot always trust our conscience because it has been heavily influenced by the world around us and many other things as well. Your conscience is born in sin just as the rest of you is.

I have traveled much over my life between Canada and the United States , and in my earlier years when asked all of the important questions by American customs and immigration, I always felt guilty, when in fact I was not guilty. Back then, my conscience was deceiving me. I am no longer deceived because my conscience has been lined up with the truth of the matter, and that is, I have done nothing wrong to feel guilty.

Verse 17

"For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil."

In verse 17 Peter told his readers as well as us, that it is better to suffer for doing good, if it is God’s will, than for doing evil. This tells us that some suffering is God's will and some suffering isn't His will. Obviously, suffering because of our own foolishness, stupidity, and sin, is not God's will. We do have freedom of choice when making our decisions, and, when we make a stupid choice, that's on us. Unjust suffering, however, done against us that is beyond our control, could be seen as God's will. I say this because if you have handed your life over to Jesus; if He is in charge of your life, if He is directing your path, then, what ever comes your way, including unjust suffering, I believe is His will.

This tells me that when suffering comes our way, we should do our best to seek the Lord to see why the suffering is coming our way. This may be easier said than done, but it is important to know why we are suffering. Only then can we respond accordingly. Only then can we learn from suffering, and, I believe we are to learn from all that we suffer or else the whole procedure will have been a complete waste of time.

As I type these words, here in 2022, many are suffering from a variety of sources. It could be the Covid 19 crisis or a financial crisis. If we fail to learn a lesson or two from this suffering, we will be the worse off. Our problem, though, is that we seldom even think of learning a lesson. We spend our time complaining and rebuking the devil, instead of seeking the Lord and each other for the lessons to be learned.

Verses 18, 19 and 20

"For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water."

You might say that the message of the gospel is summed up here in verse 18. Peter said that Jesus suffered human death for sins, and that He did, once for all. The righteous One stood in the place of the unrighteous one in order to bring the unrighteous to God. The sentence begins with the word "for." This connects this sentence to the last sentence. The reason why we should endure unjust suffering is because Jesus died unjustly for us all. He was the righteous One who died for the unrighteous. We are to follow in His steps. So, part of the reason for our unjust suffering is to lead the unrighteous to Jesus, just like Jesus did for us. In this sense of the word, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

The righteous for the unrighteous simply means that the righteous Jesus died for all of unrighteous humanity. This shows the love of God for a lost humanity. It means that Jesus suffered, not just a human death, but the wrath of God. He did so on our behalf. He took the punishment for our sin so we could escape the punishment.

The words "once and for all" are important. In all of history, past, present, and future, there has been only one person who has sacrificed His human life in order to provide us with eternal salvation. There has been, neither ever will be, any other sacrifice. This places Jesus as the only means to God the Father. There is no other way. There is no other sacrifice. Biblically speaking, no human sacrifice could sufficiently satisfy God's justice. That is why, Jesus, who was God in a human body, was the one who had to be sacrificed for our sins. Only God can satisfy His own demands of justice. This is why I say that the only reason why Jesus, the Christ, could be our Saviour is because He is, first and foremost, Jesus the Lord. Jesus had to be the supreme universal Lord before He could become the universal Saviour.

Peter said that Jesus was put to death in the flesh but was made alive by the Spirit. We should know that it was only Jesus’ human body that died. He Himself did not die. His spirit, who He is, did not die, even though there are some who believe His spirit died as well. Jesus did not die spiritually. That would be an impossibility. He is God and God cannot die. It was only His physical human body that suffered death, and by the Holy Spirit, His human body was raised into what we call a glorified body. Some day, those of us who have given our lives to Jesus will have a similar glorified body. As the apostle John put it, we will be like Him. 1 John 3:2 reads:

"Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is."

Verses 19 and 20 are interesting in the sense that many have had differing opinions over the years about the meaning of these verses. They say that Jesus went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah. Many scholars believe this is in reference to those who died in disobedience before the flood, as is recorded in Genesis 6. These Bible teachers believe the spirits of these disobedient people were imprisoned in Hades. The word Hades is used in other passages as a place of the dead. See Acts 2:27 and 31, Romans 10:6 through 8, and, Ephesians 4:8 through 10. Peter said that while Jesus’ body was dead, His spirit preached to these souls. What did He preach? Because the text does not say what He preached, we just don't know. All that we might say would have to be qualified by saying that it is speculation.

As an aside to what I said above about some people believing that Jesus died spiritually, meaning He was no longer God, this verse says differently. If Jesus' spirit preached to these souls, how could He have died spiritually?

When Evangelical Christians see the word "preach" they most likely and often think in terms of preaching the gospel, but that does not necessarily mean that Jesus preached the gospel to these souls. The Greek word "kerysso" is translated as preached here. This word simply means to proclaim something. Jesus might have well proclaimed judgment in this instance and not the gospel. We just don't know what He proclaimed because the text does not say. The Greek word "euaggelizzo" is often translated as preach in the New Testament, but not here. It is where in English we derive the word "evangelize." Again, this word simply means to announce or proclaim. It can be used in a variety of ways, not just preaching the gospel. The context of its usage would determine what was preached.

Further to what I said in the last paragraph, the Greek word "kerysso" was often used in Greek culture as a formal announcement of things. Also, the Greek word "euaggelizzo" is the word the New Testament normally uses for preaching the gospel. Therefore, since Peter does not use the word "euaggelizzo" in this verse, but uses the formal word "kerysso," it is quite possible that Peter is not saying that Jesus preached the gospel to these pre-flood spirits, but still, that is speculation.

There are some who believe that prior to the flood in Noah's day evil spirits somehow impregnated women that produced giants in the land as you will read in Genesis, chapter 6. Some people think it is the spirits of those people that Jesus preached to, but again, that is speculative.

Some people believe what Peter meant here was that the Spirit of Christ preached through Noah to those of his day prior to the flood. I don't see the text saying this.

To be honest, I really do not know, at least not as yet, the full meaning to verses 19 and 20. One thing I do believe, though, is that when Jesus died, and before He was raised from the dead, He descended into Hades and preached to the righteous saints of the Old Testament and frees them from Hades bondage to be with Him in heaven. I get this from Ephesians 4:8 to 10 where Paul wrote that Jesus first descended before He ascended. That being said, this does not seem to be exactly what Peter might have had in mind here.

Peter pointed out that only eight people were saved from the flood in the ark. The water that was a form of judgment and destruction on the wicked provided the reason for the ark which that became the salvation of eight righteous people. This is often the case when it comes to the way God works. The cross of Christ itself was both a demonstration of God's wrath-filled judgment as well as a demonstration of His love, grace and salvation. In the case of Noah, the water that judged the wicked brought salvation to the righteous who were in the ark. This is what is meant by the phrase "through the water" in verse 20,

Before going any farther, I'd like to comment a bit on Romans 6:1 through 5. There, Paul was being criticized because people thought he was promoting sin. That is to say, the more we sin the more we can experience God's grace. He was not saying any such thing, and Romans, chapter 6, is his explanation. In verse 3 he said that all who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. Verse 4 says that we were buried with Jesus through baptism into death. The word "baptism" here and elsewhere is often in relation to death. So, when Jesus died and was buried, in one real sense of the word, He was baptized into death, as I believe Peter was saying here in his letter.

What I see Paul saying in Romans 6:3 and 4 is that because Jesus died on our behalf, from God's viewpoint, He sees us as dying as well. Therefore, in one real sense of the word, we were buried with Jesus in that tomb. This is how God saw the tomb. In this sense of the word, we died to sin. We were in fact baptized into death with Jesus, but it doesn't end there.

Paul went on to say that when Jesus rose from the dead, from God's perspective, we were raised from the dead as well because God sees us as being in Christ. God sees us through the lens of Jesus. When God sees Jesus, either in the tomb or raised to life, He sees the true believer.

This is what water baptism is all about. It's more than as symbolic gesture. It's an acknowledgement of a literal historical fact, that being, in one real sense of the word from God's perspective, when Jesus died; we died, and, when Jesus rose from the dead, so did we.

Verses 21 and 22

"Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him."

Note how verse 21 reads in the NIV.

"... and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,"

The NIV says that "water symbolizes baptism." The CSB, along with other translations say that "baptism that corresponds with this." When comparing these two translations, things seem confusing. From my reading of the Greek text, this is what I believe Peter had in mind when he penned these words. The verse begins with "baptism, which now corresponds to this." What is the word "this" in reference to? It corresponds to the word "were saved through water" in the last verse. In context, the water, which was God's judgment, condemned the disobedient, but in the long run was the thing that caused the ark to be built that saved eight obedient people. Does this mean that baptism, and that assumes Peter was thinking of water baptism here, saves us?

It's debatable in some people's minds just what baptism Peter had in mind, although most see it as water baptism due to the context of the flood of water in Noah's day. Some suggest that Peter was thinking of the ceremonial washings that were Jewish traditions. These washings symbolized the removal of unrighteousness in one's life. This could be the case because Peter, in verse 21 wrote, "it's not the removal of dirt that saves us."

The most common thinking concerning the word "baptism" in this verse is water baptism. Until my mind can be changed, this is my reading of the word "baptism." To help settle this debate I think we can learn how Peter might have understood baptism by looking at the ministry of John the Baptist. If you were one of the thousands of people coming to John to be water baptized, going under the water would have been more than just a symbol. It would have been living proof of your repentance. This was a serious matter for John. He got very upset with those sent by the Pharisees who wanted to be water baptized but had no resemblance of repentance in their lives. He told them to leave and make sure they showed him proof of repentance before coming back to be baptized.

The words "baptism saves us" has been greatly debated over the years as well. The New Testament doesn't teach that any kind of thing we can do saves us. It's a repentant heart and a life entrusted to Jesus that saves a person. I believe this is what Peter was saying here when he wrote of a pledge of a good conscience towards God in verse 21. This pledge is our faith, our pledge to trust Jesus with our lives.

What Peter said about baptism saving us has many interpretations. It's my thinking at the moment that Peter's idea of water baptism was so intertwined with the fundamentals of salvation that he just simply saw it as an important part of the process of what I call "initial salvation," that is, when one first comes to Jesus and is saved. When thinking in these terms, exercising just one part of the process of salvation saves no one. For example, if one simply has faith, that faith, apart from repentance can't save him. If one repents, but does not proceed to faith, that repentance does not save him. If one is water baptized only, water baptism alone does not save him.

Many believe that water baptism is symbolic of our death to self and our resurrection to a new life in Jesus. I no longer speak of water baptism in terms of being symbolic of something, even death to self and faith to God, although I can certainly understand those who lean towards this thinking. I would put it this way. Water baptism is an outward demonstration of the fact that you in one real sense of the word have died with Jesus when He died on the cross. It's a physical acknowledgement of that historical fact. When God saw Jesus on the cross, because Jesus died in our place, God saw us on the cross as well. In God's eyes, we did die with Jesus on that cross. Acknowledging this fact is what I have come to believe water baptism is all about.

As I said earlier, if you read the first part of Romans, chapter 6, you will clearly see that the death of Jesus is seen as a baptism. Jesus, when He was buried in the tomb was in one real sense of the word "buried into death," and, when He was buried into death, in the sight of God, so were we. So, when we get water baptized, we are acknowledging the fact that we, in one real sense of the word as God views things, died with Jesus. Like Jesus, we were baptized into death. For this reason I know longer use the word "symbolize" in reference to water baptism. I use the word "acknowledge" or something similar.

Again, baptism in itself can't save us. If it could, then infant baptism would save every baby who has ever been baptized, and that doctrine is certainly not New Testament thinking. That being said, we cannot relegate water baptism to some simple symbol that you can take or leave. As far as I am concerned, a disciple of Jesus will be water baptized because his desire is to obey Jesus in all things.

In verse 21 Peter stated the foundation of our salvation, and it is the resurrection of Jesus. We, thus, should understand the statement that baptism saves us in light of what Peter said here. It's the resurrection that forms the basis of our salvation. Our faith is based on the fact the Jesus rose from the dead and now sits on the right hand of God, as Peter wrote in verse 22. If Jesus had not risen from the dead our trust in Him would be futile, because how could we trust someone who was not alive. Jesus did rise from the dead, and even more so, He also ascended into heaven and is at God’s right hand. We cannot speak of the resurrection without speaking of the ascension. The two go hand in hand.

So, to sum up my understanding of water baptism I say this. Water baptism is more than symbolic of death to self and faith in God. It's an outward demonstration, an acknowledgement of the fact that you died on the cross when Jesus died on the cross.

In verse 22 Peter wrote of Jesus sitting at God's right hand. First of all, I believe that this is anthropomorphic language. It's using human terms to help explain something that is spiritual. Does a spirit have a right hand?

The people of Peter's day understood the term "right hand" to be a place of authority. If one sat at the right hand of a king, that one would sit in a place of authority whether he actually sat beside the king or not. This, then, is how the Christians in Peter's day understood the term "right hand of God." Jesus, along with God, was in a place of universal authority. Some day, as the apostle Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 15, Jesus will hand all things over to His Father. All that Jesus has authority over will be handed over to God Himself. I see this taking place with the events we read about at the end of the Book of Revelation when the heaven and earth flees from the presence of God and a new heaven and earth comes into existence. 1 Corinthians 15:24 to 28 read:

"But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. ²⁴Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy to be abolished is death. ²⁷For God has put everything under his feet. Now when it says 'everything' is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception. ²⁸When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all."

Peter closes this chapter by saying that Jesus, who is now in this place of authority, has the angels, authorities, and powers in submission to Him. All the spiritual beings in heaven submit to Jesus. The words, angels, authorities, and powers suggest that there are different levels of submissive authorities in the angelic world. We do know that throughout the Bible there is mention of different types of angelic beings, like cherubim and the beasts we see in the Book of Revelation. Angels appear to have various ranks and responsibilities.

I think these angelic beings mentioned by Peter might well be evil angels as well as good angels, especially because Paul used the same terminology in Ephesians 6 in reference to evil angels. Whatever the case, in one real sense of the word, demons are in subjection to Jesus, and that includes Satan. I don't believe that Satan is allowed to do anything without God giving him the permission. In many respects, as the will of God is worked out on this planet, Satan is simply a tool in the hand of the Almighty God.

1 Peter 4:1 - 6

The Text

1 - Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding—because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin— ²in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God's will.

³For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the Gentiles choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry.

⁴They are surprised that you don't join them in the same flood of wild living—and they slander you.

⁵They will give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.

⁶For this reason the gospel was also preached to those who are now dead, so that, although they might be judged in the flesh according to human standards, they might live in the spirit according to God's standards.

My Commentary

Verses 1 and 2

"Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding—because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin—in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God's will."

In chapter 3, verse19 Peter got a bit side tracked from what he was saying about the cross of Christ. He now returns to this subject, and you can tell this by the up-coming content and also by the word "therefore" that begins verse 1. Remember, when you read the word "therefore" you must know why it is there for.

Peter told his readers, and us as well, that since Jesus suffered in the flesh we all should arm ourselves with the same attitude. What attitude was Peter talking about here? I believe our attitude should be to endure suffering as you trust Jesus, just as Jesus endured suffering as He trusted His life with His Father. We should be able, ready, and even willing to go through times of suffering if need be, because our Lord and Saviour has experienced worse times of suffering to benefit us. Of course, we don't go looking for such suffering as many have done in the past. Christians are not masochists. We are not like Muslims who will kill themselves for the sake of their religion in the hope of having seventy beautiful women waiting for them in heaven. That being said, as time moves on, and, as our western culture becomes more anti-Christ in nature, suffering via persecution will just come our way. We will not stop it, and at that point, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

In some Christian circles, especially in the Hyper Faith and Prosperity Movements, there is the belief that Christians shouldn't really suffer if they really have the faith they claim to have in Jesus. This is simply not the case, and Peter made that perfectly clear throughout his first letter. Christians do suffer, and they suffer for various reasons, and, they probably suffer more than non-Christians because their sinful nature is always in conflict with the Holy Spirit who resides within them.

Peter said that Jesus suffered. Our English verb "suffered" is a Greek aorist active participle. The participle part of this verb means that Jesus, by His very nature, was a suffering one, and by the way, He was that suffering one because His suffering would be to out benefit in the long run. The aorist and active part of this suffering means that He had actually decided before His earthly conception into humanity, to be that suffering one while on earth.

Note the words "arm yourselves" in verse 1. This was a military term in Peter's day. As a soldier would arm himself and get ready for battle, which includes the possibility of suffering, so Christians should arm themselves in like fashion. We should get ready for battle, understanding that Christians do not use weapons such as guns and bombs in the midst of the battle. As the apostle Paul stated in Ephesian 6, our weapons of warfare are spiritual, not material.

Our English verb "arm" in verse 1 is an aorist middle imperative verb. This means that those to whom Peter was writing, and that includes us, must once and for all make up their minds to prepare themselves for what is coming their way. The middle part of this verb is important. A middle voice verb is an action that you do and is also done to you. The arming for battle then, means that with the external help of Jesus, that is, the action done to us, coincides with our action of arming ourselves. In short, we need Jesus' help to arm ourselves. We can't do it alone.

The second half of this verse has differing interpretations. It says that he who has suffered in the body is done with sin. To me, this suggests that if we can endure unjust suffering, and trust Jesus in the midst of it, it shows that sin does not have the rule over us. The trust we have in Jesus is greater than the temptation to sin in the midst of the stress of suffering. We're more concerned about trusting Jesus and enduring than we are about sinning in the time of grief and suffering. For many people, the times of suffering are the times they give up. They get angry at God. They leave the church. They do all sorts of things that destroy their faith in Jesus. They do all of that instead of giving up their sin.

Notice the word "flesh" or the word "body" that other versions use here in verse 1. Our body or flesh here is associated with this suffering that removes sin from our lives. It is physical suffering. That being the case, when our body suffers, it does have an affect on our spirits. We have the choice to learn the lessons of suffering or give into our sinful bodies.

Note also that Peter pointed out that Jesus suffered in His body. The obvious way of suffering in His body was the cross, but He also suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane . You might even say that Jesus, being God in a human body, in the midst of a sinful people, suffered by just being in the sinful atmosphere that surrounded Him. Peter was telling his readers, that like Jesus, they will surely suffer through unjust suffering. They, and we, just need to be ready for it.

Verse 2 is really what being a Christian is all about, but I wonder how many western-world Christians really live what Peter wrote, or even, do they know what Peter wrote?

I think verse 2 helps explain, at least to a degree, what being finished with sin means as we saw in verse 1. Verse 2 begins with the words "in order." So, as a result of enduring suffering and putting away of sin we will live the rest of our lives doing the will of God instead of living for evil desires. You must note that Peter was not speaking of us living a perfect sinless life. He was speaking of not living a life of sin. Occasional sin is not the same as a life of sin. It, thus, appears that suffering is one of many ways in which Jesus uses to help us get rid of sin in our lives in order for us to do His will. I think the point of verse 1 and 2 in regards to sin is that endurance enables us to leave the lifestyle of sin in order to live a righteous lifestyle. Due to the stress of suffering, we push into Jesus even more than ever. This gets our hearts and minds off of sin and onto Jesus, and that is a great help in dealing with our sin. Even then, we do not leave our sinful nature behind. It will be with us until the day we die.

If you think sin threw, committing sinful acts is not really our main problem. Our sinful nature, which causes us to commit sinful acts, is our problem. Our sinful nature is the root of our sin problem, and sense, our sinful nature will not depart us until the next life, we will always struggle with sin. If you do not struggle with sin, that tells me that you have given into sin, and thus, there is no struggle to work through. Allow me to suggest that many Christians do not experience this struggling with sin.

Verse 3

"For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the Gentiles choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry."

Verse 3 says that Peter's readers have spent enough time in the past doing the pagan things that Gentiles do. Then he lists some examples of things that non-believers do. I won't comment on all of the examples Peter listed, except, that is, for the first one because it is the one the causes the rest to be lived out in life. We are born in sin, with a sinful nature. As we are being raised in life as children and youth, the normal procedure, and that is, among all cultures, is to learn how to "restrain" our evil tendencies. Whether it is our education system, church, our parents, or whatever, we should have learned how to restrain the evil that is within us, at least to a degree. I have a friend who has worked in the mental health field for years and she has said that a child who has never learned these restraints in life is basically like an animal. He or she acts out of instincts, and the human instinct is towards evil. We see this in present-day America , with all of the gun violence and mass murders. They say such evil is a mental health problem, but I see something more inherent within us than mental health. Our problem is who we are from conception, and that is, sinful. Mental health problems stem from our sinful nature.

Concerning the above listed sins, we need to understand that these sins were more than private sins. These were openly public sins done in the name of pagan religions in the first-century Greco-Roman world. They were culturally excepted sins. As I said above, they were part of pagan worship. The point here is that these sins were normal cultural activity in the Roman Empire as they are now in our western world.

The word "idolatry" ends verse 3. This puts all of the previously mentions sins into their cultural perspective. They were a form of idol worship, as I've said. Another way the word "idolatry" can be understood here is that paganism is a rejection of the true universal God, and in that sense of the word, is idolatry.

Verse 4

"They are surprised that you don't join them in the same flood of wild living—and they slander you."

In verse 4 Peter went on to say that the people who still live in the lifestyle of sin think it strange that the Christian doesn't plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation. This is why Peter believed so strongly that he is a stranger in this world. He did not plunge or indulge himself in this sinful pagan lifestyle. There was a noticeable difference between Peter and the pagan world around him. There should be such a difference between Christians and the culture around us today, but often this is not the case.

For clarification purposes, the difference that should be seen between the Christian and the non-Christian is in who the Christian is. It's not necessarily how a Christian dresses, what car he drives, or anything like that, as was the case in Evangelical Christian circles in times past. It's in our character. Our godly character should be evident that we are Christians, and if it is not, then we might not be the Christian that we claim to be.

The Greek word "asotia" is translated here as flood. This Greek word suggests a lifestyle of wastefulness. The pagan world in Peter's day was caught up in great excesses of all kinds of excesses, including material, sexual, alcoholic, and more. Life was all about one's self, as it is today. Then beyond this, Peter said that these same pagans slander the Christians for their non-conformity. As time goes on, in our western world, and, as Christians become more counter-cultural, those in our pagan world will slander us as well. It is just par for the Christian course of life in an anti-Christ culture. If you were a non-Christian enjoying the excesses of sexual sins, you would consider the Christian to be pretty strange not wanting the same enjoyment.

The Greek word "syntrecho" is translated here as join. I like how the NIV translates this Greek word. It uses the word "plunge." Syntrecho suggests a running wild. Peter was saying that the pagan world finds it completely weird why the Christians don't run wild with them in their flood of hedonistic enjoyment.

Notice the word "slander" in verse 4. The pagans did not only think it strange that the Christians did not plunge with them into hedonistic sin, but they actually heaped abuse, as the NIV puts it, on the Christians. I believe our western culture is in a transition in this respect. Our culture does, and has, thought it strange that we as Christians don't plunge with them into their sinful way of life. Thinking this to be strange is now morphing into abuse. Christians are now suffering verbal abuse from our pagan culture because we do not plunge into their sin. Our lack of participation in gay pride parades, for example, is not only thought of as strange, but we're now hearing the verbal abuse over our lack of involvement in this sin.

Verse 5

"They will give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead."

Concerning these pagan abusers, in verse 5 Peter wrote that their day is coming when they will be judged by God on what the Bible calls the White Throne Judgment, as seen in Revelation 20. Such talk in our modern Christian world is not as prevalent as it once was, but we cannot neglect the Biblical truth that some day, there will be a moment in time when God will bring judgment on all those who have rejected Him. The Lake of Fire is their destiny.

Peter said that God will judge both the living and the dead. When the White Throne Judgment takes place, there will have been people alive at the end of what Prophetic Futurists believe is the thousand year rule of Christ on earth. The non-believer will be judged along with the dead non-believer. For more information on that, you can read my book entitled "The Age Of The Messiah."

The Greek word "logos" is translated as account here in verse 5. This Greek word suggests a speaking forth of words. In the respect of its usage here, the unbeliever will be forced to verbalize his or her reasons for rejecting Jesus and the choice of lifestyle they chose to live. They will stand before the Universal and Eternal Judge over all things material and all things spiritual. When their so-called defense is complete, they will be sentence to eternal death as described in the Lake of Fire in the Book of Revelation. I see this lake as a place where people are in the process of dying, wanting to die so badly, but, being unable to die. It really is eternal death. I also believe, at least at the present time, that the term Lake of Fire is a metaphor for the place of eternal judgment.

Verse 6

"For this reason the gospel was also preached to those who are now dead, so that, although they might be judged in the flesh according to human standards, they might live in the spirit according to God's standards."

Verse 6 is not the easiest verse to figure out. Peter might be referring to what he said in chapter 3, verse 19, concerning the gospel being preached to the spirits in Noah's day. See my commentary on that verse.

Peter said that for this reason the gospel was preached to those who are now dead. Some suggest that the words "are now dead" refer to spiritually dead people who were alive in Peter's day. Martin Luther was one who promoted this view. I have a difficult time believing this view is contextually correct.

Earlier in this commentary I addressed the point that Jesus proclaimed the gospel to those in Hades. Paul seemed to allude to this in Ephesians 4:8 when he wrote about Jesus descending into the lower parts of the earth, which would have been understood as Hades in is day. I tend to think, at least at this present time, that is what Peter wrote here is another reference to that event.

The last part of this verse is just as confusing. It states that the dead might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regards to the spirit. This might well mean that the dead people to whom Jesus preached in Hades; those who believed; though they were dead in a physical sense, would be alive in the spirit with Jesus in paradise. Maybe you recall what Mathew 27:53 says.

"The tombs were also opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And they came out of the tombs after his [Jesus] resurrection, entered the holy city, and appeared to many."

I believe, at least at the moment, that Jesus proclaimed the gospel to the dead in Hades according to Ephesians 4:8. The righteous dead who believed His report rose from the grave and ascended into heaven. As strange as it might be, it seems that as they descended they stopped here on earth for a brief visit.

Some people ask to whom did Jesus preach. One credible theory is that He preached to the righteous dead on the righteous side of Hades, those who had genuine faith in God during Old Testament times. This is my position at present. Hades, the place of the dead, prior to the resurrection of Jesus was divided into two parts. We see this when Jesus spoke of Lazarus and the rich young ruler. Lazarus was on the good side of Hades and the rich man was on the other side. There was a big gulf between the two that could not be crossed. You can read this in Luke 16:19 through 31. When Jesus rose from the dead, those on the good side of Hades rose with Him.

1 Peter 4:7 - 11

The Text

⁷The end of all things is near, therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer.

⁸Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹Be hospitable to one another without complaining.

¹⁰Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

¹¹If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God's words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

My Commentary

Verse 7

"The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer."

Verse 7 says that the end of all things is near. It appears to many of us that most New Testament writers believed that the return of Jesus was very soon, possibly even in their own life time. At that point, the end of this present age would be realized. Their thinking was not unreasonable. They were suffering persecution; something Jesus Himself said marked the end of this age. You might well understand why the first generation Christian, then, would hold to the soon return of Jesus in a demonstration of judgment on the nations of the world.

Centuries have now come and gone without the return of Jesus to earth. One might think that Peter, and really all first-generation Christians, were wrong in their belief. That might even affect your view of the inspiration of Scripture. If Peter was wrong in his thinking on this issue, then you may have a problem with anything he said or wrote. If Peter was indeed wrong in his thinking, why did the Holy Spirit inspire him to write these words, assuming the Holy Spirit did inspire Peter?

Some people have suggested that the Holy Spirit's definition of the word "near" may be different than Peter's definition or our definition of the word "near." That does seem a bit logical, but I'm far from convinced that this answers our question.

One thing we should remember about the doctrine of inspiration is that inspiration is not dictation. The Holy Spirit did not dictate specific words to be written. He inspired men to write in their own words. Inspiration is quite different from dictation. It's quite possible that the Holy Spirit wanted Peter's readers to know that they were to live as though the end of all things were near, and thus, the reason for what Peter said. That also being said, I still believe there is a better explanation that answers our question.

Our verb "is near" in the phrase "the end is near" is a perfect, indicative Greek verb. This, I believe at present, answers our question. A perfect Greek verb is an action that has already been completed in past time. It does not have to be completed again. Of course, this raises another question. Jesus has not yet returned to earth so how can this be a perfect verb, as in, a completed action. Here is my answer.

In the mind of Peter, and really, in the mind of all Christians, whatever Jesus said will happen, will definitely, without any hint of doubt, as the indicative part of this verse means, will happen. Simply put, the return of Jesus is as good as done, even though it has not yet been realized. This is how I answer our question, at least at the moment, concerning the return of Jesus as seen in this verse.

One thing this tells me is that whatever time in history that one lives, we as Christians should be ready for the return of Jesus because His return is as good as done. Peter was obviously ready. Such thinking is meant to motivate us to do the will of the Lord as if He will return this very day.

If you read Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 you will see that Peter was introducing the fact that the last days had now dawned on humanity. He did so by quoting from the prophetic Book of Joel that predicted the time of the end. If you read Joel you will see that he was predicting the very end of this age, which we still await. Peter was commenting and interpreting Joel's prediction as beginning to come to reality with the giving of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost., which I might add, does not seem to be the understanding of the Joel prophecy. Peter was in fact saying that the last days had just begun. For Peter then, the nearness to the end, as he states here in verse 7, had already come. That presupposes his use of the perfect verb tense here in verse 7.

As an aside, it is an interesting study to see how New Testament authors interpreted Old Testament prophecies, like Peter's interpretation of Joel's prophecy, as we read in Acts 2. To be precise, if you study all of Joel's last days prophecy, you will note that the prophecy had the very last couple of years of this age in mind, not the last two thousand plus years that Peter had in mind as he commented on Joel's prophecy. Such a secondary interpretation is often seen in the writings of New Testament authors. I'll let you attempt to figure out these ways of interpretation on your own, and may the Lord help you as you do.

Again, and for the purpose of clarification, there are two ways in which the last days are understood in the New Testament. One way is that the last days refer specifically to the last few years of the age culminating on the very last day of this age, as seen in the Joel prophecy. The other way is that, as Peter said in Acts 2, the age in which we now live is the last days. Again, Peter would have had this second view in mind when he wrote verse 7.

The Greek word "pas" that is translated here in verse 7 as "all things," really does mean all things, nothing excluded. So, when Peter wrote about the end of all things, this was not an exaggeration. All of creation will come to an end when God creates a new heaven and a new earth, as seen in the closing chapters of the Book of Revelation.

According to Peter, in regard to Jesus’ soon return to earth we should be sober minded and self controlled, so that we can pray as we should. This is the stance that we should all take in light of the return of Jesus. Being sober minded speaks of no distractions, something we as western world Christians struggle with these days. There are so many distractions that clutter our mind these days that we have a really hard time being clear minded to pray.

Being clear-minded or sober-minded in prayer suggests to me prayer that is Biblically based. I am sure God hears our prayers, even if they are based on our emotion, but Peter was basically telling us that our prayer life must be intellectually and Biblically accurate. What I notice in many of our prayer meetings is that many of our prayers do not match how the Bible teaches us to pray. It is for that reason Bible study is important.

In Luke 21:36 Jesus told his followers to watch and pray. The context of Jesus' statement concerns the end of this age. We are to watch, I believe, for the events that mark the end of the age, and while we watch, we should pray accordingly. Luke 21:36 reads:

"Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man. "

What Jesus said, as seen in Luke 21:36, is what Peter was saying here in verse 7.

There has been criticism mounted against those who preach the soon return of Jesus. Some say that they have an escapist mentality, that they are just sitting around doing nothing but waiting for Jesus to return. This is not Peter's thinking and I dare say it's not the thinking of most who believe that Jesus could return any day. Most of us who emphasize the return of Jesus to earth want to do His will prior to His return. We don't want to be lazy and sit around and wait. We don't want to be caught sleeping on the day He returns.

Verses 8 and 9

"Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining."

In verse 8 Peter encouraged his readers to love one another, that is, their brothers and sisters in Jesus. The word "love" is translated here from the Greek word "agape." This is a selfless type of love, a love demonstrated through acts of sacrifice. It's not a brotherly type of love; reciprocal love, as the Greek word "philos" expresses.

Agape style love is the most common love we read in the New Testament. The Greek word "agape" went out of use in the first-century Greco-Roman world, probably because, few really liked to sacrifice themselves for another. For this reason, the Christian community took this word and used it for its own to suggest God's selfless, sacrificial love. This is why many Christians understand the Greek word "agape" to be God's love, because God's love, is, one hundred percent sacrificial. It's just who He is.

Concerning Peter's point to love the brothers, he added the idea that love covers a multitude of sins. Once again, we have differing opinions about what this means. I don't believe that Peter was saying that love gets rid of sin. Neither do I believe he was saying that love ignores sin.

I believe that Peter was saying that sacrificial love doesn't ignore the brother or push him away. Like God Himself who loves us despite our sin, we love our brothers and sisters in Jesus despite their sin, and we should remember that we all sin. That being said, I do believe that in one sense of the word we are our brother's keepers when it comes to sin. Paul, in Galatians 6:1 speaks to this issue when he said that we are to gently help such a brother out of his fault, or I'd say, his sin. That's just part of agape love. Some have called this kind of sacrificial love "tough love." It is tough on the one demonstrating this love and tough on the one receiving this love. Whatever the case, love does dictate that we confront some sins. Galatians 6:1 reads:

"Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted."

There are some sins that need to be confronted, especially if they affect a wide range of people, like a local expression of church, or even the church at large. A sin that is committed against a brother or sister in Christ does not have to be publicized for all to hear. In this sense of the word, the sin is dealt with privately and no one else needs to know because of the one offended by the sin loves his offender enough to let the issue drop once repentance is demonstrated and the damaged relationship restored.

Some suggest, and I agree, that the sins Peter wrote about here are sins of weakness. In other words, they are sins due to our frail human existence. They are not necessarily sins that people knowingly commit and want to commit. In this sense of the word, love does cover these sins over without making a big deal over them.

If you read Galatians, chapter 2, you will note that Paul rebuked Peter publically for the sin of distorting the gospel message. He did so by hypocritically separating himself from Gentile Christians when the Jewish leaders came to visit the church at Antioch . This was a sin that was publically committed, and thus, needed to be addressed publically and repented of publically.

In addition to what I have just said, Peter was actually quoting from Proverbs 10:12, that reads:

"Hatred stirs up conflicts, but love covers all offenses."

The first part of this proverb says that hatred stirs up strife and conflict. The verse before speaks of a nasty tongue. The simple fact is that real love will be mindful of what its tongue speaks. Words spoken in haste, anger, and insensitivity, only cause relational problems, and we see this sad fact in church all of the time. Sacrificial love, on the other hand, will control the tongue, and thus, will prevent any conflict and having the sin being clown way out of proportion. In this since of the word, the sin will be covered over.

In verse 9 Peter admonished his readers to be hospitable without any kind of grumbling. The Greek word "philoxenos" is translated as "hospitable" here. You might recognize the Greek word "philos," meaning, brotherly love or reciprocal love in this word. Hospitable, thus, suggests a free flow of love from one another and back again. If you are hospitable to others, they will be hospitable to you. The idea here is to reach out to others in whatever way is needed or works best at any given time. I believe it means more than just inviting others over to your house for a cup of coffee. It speaks to inviting people into your life so they can invite you into their lives.

Verse 10

"Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God."

In verse 10 Peter encouraged his readers to use any gift they have received from God. The Greek word "charisma" is translated as gift here in verse 10. This word finds its roots in the Greek word "charis," meaning grace. The point Peter was making here is that each one of us, as a member in the Body of Christ, has received gifts of grace from God. The word grace has two meanings. One definition is God's unmerited favour given to us who don't deserve anything from God. The other definition of grace is the God given ability to do His will in one's life. I believe both definitions are seen here. God gives each one of us gifts even though we don't deserve them, but, along with these gifts, He gives us the ability to use them as He wishes.

Peter told us exactly how to use these gifts here in verse 10. We are to use them in service to others. These are not self-gratifying gifts. They are service gifts, and, if any gift becomes a means of self-gratification, then we have lost the reason for the gifs in our lives.

When Peter said that we have received these gifts, our English verb "received" is a Greek aorist active indicative verb. This means that we have certainly, without a doubt, received a gift at one particular point in our lives that is active in present, use. For further study on the gifts of grace we receive from God, I suggest you read my commentary on 1 Corinthians 12, entitled, "The Organic Church.'

When we use our gifts to serve others, Peter said that we are faithfully administering our gifts as an expression of God's grace. We are in fact being used by God Himself to extend His grace to someone else. The Greek word "diakoneo" is translated as "steward" here. This word means to serve. In short, anything we receive from God must be given to others in service to our Lord.

The Greek word "poikolos" is translated here as "varied." The first part of this Greek word finds its roots in the Greek word "pix," where we derive the first part of our English word "picture." "Pix" means variegated, as in, variegated colours, and thus, our gifts from God are varied in types of gifts and their usages. I would say that depending on who we are as a person, might well depend on what gifts we receive from God. Two people may have the same gift but because of whom each person is, the gift may be expressed differently. No matter how it is expressed, though, it is meant to extend the grace of God to others.

If you read 1 Corinthians 12:4 through 6 you will note that Jesus gives gifts, which are ministry callings. You will also note that the Holy Spirit gives gifts, which we call the gifts of the Spirit, and, God the Father gives gifts, which are the talents we are born with. 1 Corinthians 12:4 reads:

"Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit."

These are the nine gifts of that the Holy Spirit gives us as He wishes. They are, the gift of tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, healing, miracles, wisdom, knowledge, and discerning of spirits, as seen in 1 Corinthians 12:8 through 10.

1 Corinthians 1:5 reads:

"There are different ministries, but the same Lord."

The words "different ministries" refer to the ministry gifts given by the Lord, that is Jesus, as seen in Ephesians 4:11. They are apostles, evangelists, prophets, pastors/teachers. These are given by Jesus to benefit the church.

1 Corinthians 12:6 reads:

"And there are different activities, but the same God produces each gift in each person."

The "different activities," or, the "energies," as the Greek text states, are given by God, which I believe, are our talents we are born with.

So, in the above three verses, we see that all three members of the triune God has gifts for us to use in His service, and thus, we should be using them.

Verse 11

"If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God's words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen."

In verse 11 Peter gave two examples of gifts of grace that God may give someone. They are speaking and serving. Speaking would include all forms of teaching, or communicating, the Word of the Lord. Those who speak must realize that they are speaking on behalf of God. This is what teaching and serving is all about. This places a great responsibility on the one who teaches and preaches. The gift of speaking, or communicating, is one very serious gift and should always be seen as a gift of service to others. Far too often these days, preachers get caught in the trap of speaking for self-glorification.

The gift of serving would include all varieties of serving others as I noted above. Like the speaking gift, you are representing the Lord as you serve. You are serving on His behalf because He is no longer here in physical form to serve. You are serving for Him. You are extending His grace to others, which is the responsibility of each and every Christian, none excluded.

The goal of distributing God's gifts of grace is to have people praise and glorify God through Jesus Christ, as we read in verse 11. As always, we have to note the connection between God and Jesus in this verse. The God that Christians glorify is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. "To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever," Peter wrote. The Christian God is not a generic god. He is not a one god fits all people. He is a specific God, that is, the God and Father of Jesus.

The point to be made in verse 11 is that whatever gift or gifts we have, when we use them, they must bring glory, honour, and praise to God and not to us. Our problem as western-world Christians is that many have become well known superstar Christians for their gifts of grace. They then use their gifts to bring gratification to themselves and not to the Lord. This is clearly a misuse of the gifts of grace. This should never be.

1 Peter 4:12 - 19

The Text

¹²Dear friends, don't be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you.

¹³Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.

¹⁴If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

¹⁵Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. ¹⁶But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.

¹⁷For the time has come for judgment to begin with God's household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

¹⁸And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

¹⁹So then, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.

My Commentary

Verse 12

"Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you."

Verse 12 begins with the words "dear friends." The Greek word used here incorporates the Greek word "agape" which is selfless love that is demonstrated through some kind of sacrifice. Peter was expecting the believers to be exhibiting selfless love for one another, especially in the difficult times that they were going through from the anti-Christ culture in which they live. That would be a difficult thing to do under the stress of suffering. For the most part, stress brings out the worst in us, but if the Holy Spirit resides within us, that ability to overcome the negative aspects of stress is available in such times.

You can tell that Peter was beginning to feel heartbroken over his suffering brothers and sisters in Jesus who were suffering so much from their anti-Christ culture. I say that because of the words "dear friends" or "beloved" as some versions put it. I think I see a hint of deep emotion coming through in Peter's letter here. The words "dear friends" in the context of the Greek text tell us that Peter was laying down his life for these people.

We should remember that Peter knew what he was talking about. He too was being tested by the same anti-Christ culture. In fact, just a few years later, he would be executed by the same governing authorities that were persecuting his readers.

Peter told his readers not to be surprised at the fiery ordeal they were suffering, as if something strange was happening to them. Peter was saying that persecution, especially in those days, was par for the course for the Christian. It was something to be expected. Becoming a Christian in those days meant much more than getting your ticket to heaven as seems to be the case today. It meant lots of trouble and possibly the giving up of your life. One had to seriously count the cost of becoming a Christian. A quick repeat-after-me prayer would not cut it back then, and really, it won't cut it today. A short inspirational message of ask for forgiveness and get saved would not have cut it either.

Again, Peter knew what he was talking about. Jesus Himself warned that such persecution would com upon His disciples. John 16:33 reads:

"I [Jesus] have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world."

John 15:20 reads:

"Remember the word I spoke to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours."

Note the word "fiery." This was not average, everyday type of suffering. This was hot burning suffering, suffering beyond normal suffering, as the Greek word "pyrosis" implies. The Greek word "pyrosis" literally means to burn, and in some cases, many of these Christians were burned to death by a literal fire. We derive our English word "pyrotechnic" from this Greek word.

Note the pronoun "you" here in verse 12. It is a plural pronoun and not a singular pronoun. Peter was saying that these burning trials would come, not just on the individual, but on the community of believers, and, as he wrote, they would test, not only the individual, but the community.

The word "test" in this verse is an appropriate word. These fiery trials would be a means of testing, or proving, that the communal faith would stay intact. Would they bring the community together or would it split the church apart? This is especially relevant as I type these words in 2022 where much of the Christian world is suffering from divisiveness due from the stress of many things happening in the world around us. We cannot allow such cultural stress to divide the church. Divisiveness defeats the very reason for our existence.

Verse 13

"Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed."

In verse 13 Peter said that those who are suffering should rejoice since they are sharing in the sufferings of Christ. What does that mean? It means that those Christians were suffering just as Jesus suffered and for similar reasons. So, Peter's logic is that if Christ suffered, so they will suffer. As they suffer they should rejoice because they are following in Jesus’ footsteps. First-generation Christians viewed suffering for Jesus as a privilege. That's something that most of us today would have a hard time getting our heads around.

The reason why Peter gave for rejoicing in the midst of suffering was because when Jesus’ glory is revealed, his readers will be overjoyed. Here is another look into the future. Our present struggles have little to no comparison to the glory days that are ahead of us.

The glory days to come begin when Jesus conquers every last enemy, as seen in 1 Corinthians 15:28.

"When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all."

Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus endured the cross because of all the joy He saw in the future. That verse reads:

"... keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

The same mentality that Jesus had in the face of suffering was the same mentality Peter was encouraging his readers to have in the face of their present suffering. There will come a day when all suffering will end, and, as seen in Revelation 7:9 through 17, we will all be overwhelmed with glorious joy as we worship our Lord.

Verse 14

"If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you."

In verse 14 Peter told his readers that if they were ridiculed for the sake of Christ, then, they were blessed because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon them. The Holy Spirit can fill people with His presence when they are being insulted by the non-believer. If not for the Spirit of God, those people would not have survived their suffering. We, thus, see the importance of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, especially during unjust suffering. We shouldn't be complaining about suffering. We should be experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit instead, something you cannot experience when you complain.

All of this tells me that, yes, the glory days do lie ahead of us. That is our hope, a hope that is an absolute assurance of a future reality. We can experience a taste of glory right now in our lives, and that, despite the things we suffer through. If we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us, hints of glory will permeate our lives right now.

Verses 15 and 16

"Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name."

Peter repeats himself in verse 15. As he has said before, we shouldn't be suffering for any evil that we do. One thing he told us not to do is being a meddler. Now isn't that interesting. After giving examples of such possible evil we can commit, such as murder and theft, he includes meddling into other people's business, something that is quite common among us all.

The Greek word "allotriepiskopos" is translated here as meddler, or in some versions, as busybody. You may notice the Greek word "episkopos" in this word that is translated as overseer in the New Testament. The first part of this word means to belong to another person, thus, the meaning to oversee something that belongs to another person, and, to oversee another persons business without being asked is none of your business.

In verse 16 Peter continued by saying that if we suffer for being a Christian, we are not to be ashamed. Instead, we praise God that we bear that name. Again, Peter was repeating himself. Bearing God's name means that we represent God's name to the world. We should view ourselves as God's representatives. Since He is not here on earth in physical form, we are here in His place. We need to properly bear His name.

My last name is Sweetman. I bear the name Sweetman. I am, then, responsible to not bear the Sweetman name in vain. I am to live a life that gives respect and honour to the Sweetman name. It is the same with the name Jesus. We bear His name, as if it was our last name. We must live in such a way that we do not disgrace the name of Jesus that we bear.

One thing to note here is the word Christian. The word "Christian" is only found three times in the New Testament, once here, and then, also in Acts 11:26 and 17:28. It's my understanding that the name Christian was applied to the believer by the non-believing world. It wasn't a name that Christians applied to themselves. You might say the name Christian was seen as a put down designation.

Verse 17

"For the time has come for judgment to begin with God's household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?"

Peter said an interesting thing in verse 17. He said that it is time for judgment to begin with the household, or family, of God. If, then, it begins with us, the church, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God. If you think judgment of the church is tough, then, judgment on the non-church is really bad. Just read through the Book of Revelation and you will soon see that is true.

Peter appeared to be saying that the time has now come for the family of God, the church, to be judged by God. Some people, who believe that Peter was writing to Jewish Christians believe this judgment concerned Israel , as would have taken place in 70 AD when the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem . That is not my position. I believe the household of God Peter wrote about here is the New Testament family of God, which is, the church.

When thinking of this judgment, I think Peter was still speaking in terms of the nearness to the end of this age as having already arrived as we saw back in verse 7. If this was the case, then, it only makes sense that he would think judgment was being poured out on the family of God, which I believe, is the church. This end time judgment is seen in the Book of Revelation where I believe we see God's people suffering persecution, or judgment, before the wrath of God is poured out on the nations of the world.

We often think of God judging non-Christians, nations, and empires. It's clear from what Peter said here that God judges the church as well. We saw this concerning His Old Testament people Israel , so why would He not judge the church as He did Israel ?

If you believe the church at Laodicea as seen in Revelation 3 portrays the last end time apostate church as many do, then we as the church can expect to suffer judgment. Jesus said that He would vomit that lukewarm church out of His mouth. How would He do that? Obviously, we can't take this literally. I believe Jesus will spit, or vomit, the lukewarm out of His mouth by causing the church to suffer. Those who are lukewarm towards Jesus will leave Him and the church, and in many cases with great negative emotion, which accounts for the word vomit.

Revelation 2:5 clearly shows us as well that God can and will judge His people. That verse reads:

"Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent."

This part of Revelation 2 is directed to the church at Ephesus . Jesus told this community of believers to repent of their loss of first love for Him. If they did not repent, Jesus said He would remove their lampstand. Revelation 1:20 tells us that the lampstand is the church. Simply put, if this church failed to repent, Jesus would remove them from being a real church. There may still be an empty shell of a church, but it would not be a legitimate church. This was a stern warning of judgment by Jesus to the church at Ephesus , and should be for the church today.

I believe one way that God judges His people is through persecution and trials. This is meant to bring purity to a church that has been defiled by the world around it. If we are close to the end of this age as many think, I suggest that western world Christians should be prepared for a coming persecution, judgment, or purifying of the church. It's what I believe the context of verse 17 is all about.

Many people believe that purification of the church comes through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but that is not so. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit as seen in the Charismatic Movement of the 1960's and 1970's, for example, was not intended to purify the church. Like any outpouring of the Spirit, it was meant to empower the church so it would do the will of God. If you read the Book of Acts, any time the Holy Spirit was poured out on people it was for a purpose. It was not to make people feel good. The Holy Spirit was poured out on people because they were to do something in the way of service to the Lord, and they needed the empowerment of the Spirit to facilitate God's will. Purifying comes through suffering, and this is exactly why Peter wrote this letter.

Peter then said in verse 17 that if the house of God is now being judged, how will it be for those who do not obey the gospel of God. They will experience much more suffering than the house of God was to experience in Peter's day, and that suffering was very severe. We see this in the Book of Revelation during the Great Tribulation. Some Prophetic Futurists suggest that the first half of the seven year tribulation period seen in Revelation is God judging His people. Some believe "His people" is in reference to the Jews while other say it is in reference to the church. That is to say, God will judge His people first and then after that He judges the nations of the world in the second half of the 7 years, often called the Great Tribulation.

Concerning the word "judgment" I think there is some misunderstanding. When we speak of God's judgment as seen in Scripture, we are simply speaking of God proclaiming a sentence or a verdict. What He does beyond that is a result of His verdict that could vary from time to time or place to place. We can't confuse the verdict with the sentencing that comes after the verdict.

Verse 18

"And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"

In verse 18 Peter quoted from Proverbs 11:31 which reads:

"If the righteous will be repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and sinful."

The righteous person Peter wrote about here were the Christians who God now views as being righteous. What difficulty was Peter thinking about here? I believe, in context, the difficulty was the suffering these Christians were presently experiencing in their lives. They would suffer much before their complete salvation was realized. Peter was not saying that our salvation depends on us surviving suffering. That would mean that salvation is a matter of works, and we know salvation is not a matter of works.

If things get rough for the Christian, it will certainly be much worse in the long run for the non-Christian. A life spent in eternal misery cannot be compared with present day suffering.

Verse 19

"So then, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good."

Peter, in verse 19, closed this section of his letter by saying that those who suffer according to God's will should trust their lives with their faithful Creator, and as they do, they should continue to do good, despite their trials. Note here that the suffering must be according to God's will. You must not be suffering for any evil or foolishness you have done. We often think that suffering can't be God's will. It must be from the devil. Suffering can be God's will. Peter makes that clear here.

Trusting your life with your Creator is what living as a Christian is all about. Evangelical Christians often view trusting God in terms of their eternal destiny, but there is more to trusting God than that. You trust your whole life with God, each and every moment of your life, despite anything that happens to you. You can be certain that being a Christian does not save you from the trials of life. I would go as far to say that being a Christian actually causes more trials to come your way. It's just a part of the gospel message that does not get preached much these days.

Peter called God the Creator, which He is. This tells us that the very God who created all things can certainly help you through any time of painful suffering. It does not mean He will get you out of the trials. It means that His creative character can create the means whereby you can endure the pain, even if the pain leads to death. This has been the experience of many Christians over the years, and it just might be your experience in the days ahead.

1 Peter 5:1 - 11

The Text

1 - I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed: ²Shepherd God's flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; ³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

⁴And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

⁵In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud
but gives grace to the humble.

⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, ⁷casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.

⁸Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

⁹Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.

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

¹¹To him be dominion. Amen.

My Commentary

Verses 1through 3

"I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed: Shepherd God's flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; ³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."

Peter opened this part of his letter by addressing the elders among the community of believers to whom he is writing. His words are an exhortation, or an appeal as some versions read, to the leaders of the church.

Note the words "fellow elder" here in verse 1. Peter viewed himself as an elder. The Greek word "sympresbyteros" is translated here as fellow elder. This is the only place in the New Testament where this word is used. The Greek word "presbyteros" which you can see in the Greek word "sympresbyteros" is used a number of times in the New Testament without the prefix "sym," which adds the idea of a co-elder. Peter was stressing the point that he too was an elder, and thus, needed his exhortation to be heard. He knew and understood all that he was writing these people about.

One thing we should note here is that Peter was not placing himself above these elders. He was placing himself alongside of these elders. This was not an exhortation based on a chain of authoritative command.

In the first few verses of chapter 5 there are three Greek words Peter used for the same leadership responsibility in the church. I use the term "leadership responsibility" because far too often in today's church, leadership is seen as an office or a career, and it is not that. One may hold an office of a leader, or an elder, but just because one holds that office does not mean he is a valid leader, or elder. The New Testament does not view a church leader in terms of an office that one holds. It views it as a responsibility to which one is called by God to facilitate.

The three Greek words are as follows. The Greek word "presbyteros" is translated as elders in the New Testament. The Greek word "apiskopos" is translated as overseer in the New Testament. It's also translated as "bishop" in the KJV, in 1 Timothy 3:1. The third word, "poimen" is translated as "pastor" or "shepherd" in the New Testament. Peter used all three of these Greek words in these verses to speak to the same responsibility in the church, and, they are all used in the plural, not the singular. The reason for the plural form of these words is because leadership in the local church of any given city was, and always should be, plurality. It is not that a pastor feeds those in the local church. It is pastors that feed God's flock. An elder doesn't care for those in the local church. Elders care for those in the local community of Christ. An overseer does not watch over a church. Overseers are those who oversee the church. Church leadership is all about plurality, not singularity.

One man leadership in the local community of believers did not emerge onto the ecclesiastical scene until near the end of the first century. It was neither the practice, or as I believe, the teaching, of the early church.

The first time we read of one elder rising up into a lead elder position among the elders is seen in Ignatius of Antioch's (35 AD to 107 or 108 AD) writings. By the end of the second century pretty well all churches went this direction concerning the church structure of leadership. In Alexandria , however, as late as 180 AD, we still see plurality of elders existing in the local community of believers.

What I hope to make clear in the following paragraphs is that unlike in today's church, all of the above titles for leaders in the church belong to the same function. That is to say, for example, unlike today, a bishop and an elder were the same function. An overseer, pastor, shepherd, or whatever term you prefer, were just different titles that characterize the duties for the same leadership responsibility.

There is another point I'd like to make before I go any farther. In 1 Timothy 3:1, in the KJV, it says that "anyone who desires the office of a bishop desires a good thing." This should be better translated as, "he who desires to do the work of an overseer desires a good thing," or, "he who desires to oversee desires a good thing." The word "office" in the KJV puts the emphasis on one holding the office of an overseer when in actuality the New Testament sees being an overseer less as an office and more of a responsibility to carry out. Just because one holds an office of an overseer does not mean he is doing the work of an overseer from a Biblical perspective. Being an overseer is not an office one holds, a career choice, or a job. It's a calling from God to function in the Body of Christ. We should not emphasize the office. We should emphasize the functionality of an overseer. Besides all of that, there is no corresponding word for our English word "office" in the Greek text. It was added by the King James translators, and as I believe, because it best fit the unbiblical church structure of the day.

Here are some interesting facts concerning the above mentioned English words. The KJV New Testament never uses the singular word "pastor." It uses the word "pastors," plural, as seen in Ephesians 4:11. It uses the word "bishop" singular 4 times (1 Timothy 3:1 and 2, Titus 1:7, and, 1 Peter 1:26 in reference to Jesus). It uses the word "bishops" plural once and that is in Philippians 1:1.

The NIV New Testament uses the word "pastor" singular zero times while it uses the word "pastors" plural once and that is in Ephesians 4:11. It never uses the words "bishop" or "bishops."

It's interesting to note that the word "elders" is seen 179 times in the KJV New Testament and 192 in the NIV New Testament. In contrast the word "pastors" is only used once in both the KJV and NIV New Testament. The interesting thing for me is that our modern Evangelical church has chosen to popularize the least used word "pastors" over the most used word "elders" when it comes to church leaders. I personally prefer the word "elders" over the word "pastors."

The first time we see the word "elders" in the Bible is found in Numbers 11:16 to 30 where Moses' father told Moses that he needed to find some elders to help him in the ministry of the Lord. From that point on, I believe plurality of elders, plurality of church leaders, is the Biblical mandate.

The simplest meaning of the Greek word "presbyteros," used here in 1 Peter 5, means an older man. This tells us something about who an elder is, or, must be. He must be mature, especially mature in the Lord. I also think that he must be an older man, as the word "elder" implies, which by the way, isn't always seen in today's church. Inherent in the word "presbyteros" or "elder" is the idea of wisdom that comes with age.

I have used the words "older man" because that is what the original Greek text states. In today's world, I believe I can also say, "older woman," although not all would agree with me on this point. I will leave the discussion of women elders for another day. I address the issue of women in church leadership in my book entitled "Confirm Your Call To Lead."

Peter was now speaking directly to the elders of the various communities of believers to whom he was writing. He was coming alongside them as one of them, as an elder himself. This tells us that besides being an apostle, Peter considered himself an elder. I would suggest that he would also be a teacher because as the Greek structure of Ephesians 4:11 states, elder and teacher are the same responsibility in the church. It's seems to me, and others as well, that many of these terms for church leadership were quite fluid in the early church. As time went on, positions in the church became much more fixed, hierarchical, and structured, something I don't feel was good for the church, and in my thinking, probably wasn't the will of God.

For a much more detailed explanation of church leadership, you can read my book entitled "Plurality Of Elders." I strongly recommend that you read it so you will better understand what Peter was saying here in chapter 5.

Peter appealed to the elders on the basis of him being a co-elder. It might be possible, and I stress "possible," that Peter might have viewed himself as an elder at large, that is, for the churches he was associated with. I say this because as an apostle, he would have done much traveling. He was not always at home to care for a local community of believers. We should also note that Peter's appeal was not based on any position of authority that he had over these local elders. Translocal authority, as it is often called, was not really something that was clearly defined in the first generation or two church, or so I believe. That being said, I do believe there was a certain measure of apostolic authority in the first century church. Paul spoke of this authority in 2 Corinthians 13:6 to 10. This authority, however, was based on serving those under your authority.

Peter also based his appeal on the fact that he actually saw the suffering of Jesus, and that he will also share in the glory that will be revealed. Of course, the elders will share in this glory as well, but they did not actually see Jesus die on the cross as Peter did. Peter saw the sufferings of Jesus first hand when he saw Jesus hanging on the cross. For this reason, Christians throughout the Roman Empire would have held Peter up with a good measure of special esteem.

It was a common belief in the early church that if you suffered for Jesus; if you suffered as Jesus suffered; then, like Jesus, you will be glorified along with Him. This glorification will take place at the resurrection of the dead. Then, the saints will receive what we often call their glorified bodies, just like Jesus received upon his resurrection or his ascension, depending on when you actually think Jesus received His glorified body.

Peter, like Paul, appealed to his fellow believers based on many things, but not on the basis of a special high ranking position of authority in the church. The very nature of the word "appeal," or the word "exhort," as we read in 1 Peter 5:1, tells us that there are strong emotions in the heart of Peter as he was writing these words.

I suggest that Peter might have been making this exhortation to the elders because of the rough times the people of God were going through due to the conflict and persecution from the anti-Christ Roman world in which they lived. Christians needed to be cared for. They needed daily care from the elders. That is what being an elder is all about. An elder is a care giver. He is like a father as Paul suggests in 1 Timothy 3:4.

"He [the elder] must manage [care for] his own household [family] competently and have his children under control with all dignity."

The Greek word "parakaleo" is translated as "exhort" here in 1 Peter 5:1. This Greek word means "to call to one's side." It gives the suggestion that Peter is calling these elders to his side, and in this case, to give instruction. As I have said, this instruction was not given from a heavy handed authority, but from Peter who considered himself an equal. "Parakaloe" is made up of the word "para," meaning "alongside," and "kaleo," meaning "to call."

The word "witness" is translated from the Greek word "martys" which simply means a witness. I mention this because it is this Greek word from which we derive our English word "martyr."

In verse 2 Peter told these elders to shepherd God's flock that is under their care. In the Greek text, our English verb "shepherd" is an aorist active imperative verb. This means that Peter was telling these elders to make their minds up once and for all to shepherd God's flock. These men were clearly told to care for God's flock. The verb form of the Greek noun "poimen" is translated as "shepherd" here. As a shepherd would care for sheep in every aspect, so a shepherd of God's flock of people would care for God's people. Such tender loving care is more than a twenty minute sermon every Sunday morning. It is serving God's people in whatever way is needed to build them up into mature Christians. I suggest that most of this caring is done outside the confines of regularly scheduled meetings. The fact that the Greek word translated as shepherd here is a verb, and not a noun as some of our English translations puts it, puts the emphasis on the act of shepherding instead of the office of a shepherd.

When you think how a shepherd cares for sheep, in similar fashion God's shepherds or pastors care for His people. This would require feeding, steering in the right direction at the proper time, discipline, and all else that a shepherd of sheep would do in the process of caring for his sheep.

Note also that Peter said that the flock is under the care of the shepherd. He did not say that the flock is under their authority. Too often Christian leaders have seen their position in the church as one of great authority, and there is a measure of authority in their responsibility, but more than the authority, is the caring. Pastors, or shepherds, need to know that the people of God are under their care, not under their heavy handed authority. They also need to know that under their care means that the flock of God's people does not belong to them. The flock belongs to God and God has placed his flock under the care of shepherds since He Himself is not on this planet in physical form to do the manual caring. When a modern day pastor calls those in his congregation his flock or his people, they are in Biblical error.

Peter continued in verse 2 by saying that the shepherds are to serve as overseers. The Greek word "episkopos" is translated as "overseers" here and elsewhere in the New Testament. The word is made up of "epi," meaning "over," and "skopeo," meaning "to see or watch." This word also has the idea of visitation or visit built into its meaning. Thus, the English word "overseer" is a good word to help describe the duty of a shepherd. An overseer is one who watches over God's people, or looks out for them. The thought here is to keep an eye on the flock of God to make sure no wolves devour them and to make sure they are where they aught to be.

An overseer is one who serves willingly, and not because he is forced to serve. He must not serve because he was raised by his parents to believe that a pastor is the best vocation for him, as has often been the case in evangelical church circles. He must serve out of pure motivations, and also, especially not for the money. An overseer is not one who sees himself in a lofty position in the church. He definitely does not see overseeing as a career.

Note the word "overseeing" here in verse 2. In the Greek text, our English word "overseeing" is actually a participle. This emphasizes one being an overseer, not just one doing the job of overseeing, as the CSB translation might suggest.

Peter said that elders, pastors, or overseers, are to serve willingly. There must be am eager, heart-felt, willingness on the part of an elder to serve. If there isn't such an eager willingness, then the elder most likely has not been called by God to lead God's people. With this in mind, it's my personal opinion that there might well be more true pastors seated in pews on any given Sunday morning than there are preaching from church pulpits.

In the context of being a willing elder, Peter said this is what God wants. He wants willingness on our part, and really, this should not just apply to pastors. Our Lord wants each and every Christian to willingly serve Him from his or her heart. I suggest that if God has called you to do something He will help you with the willingness. I believe I am called to be a teacher of the Bible. I don't begrudge teaching the Bible. I thoroughly enjoy it.

Peter went on to say that an elder/overseer must not be greedy for money. I would suggest that the majority of pastors don't become a pastor because of making a huge salary, because they don't. That being said, in some of our larger churches these days, especially the mega churches, some pastors do make an extremely good living, and that can be very tempting for one to seek.

Concerning elders or pastors being paid I refer you to 1 Timothy 5:17 and 18 where Paul said that those elders who do well caring for the church, and especially those who teach and preach, should receive double honor. Verse 18 specifically states the double honor is financial. That text reads:

"The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and the worker is worthy of his wages."

1 Peter 5:3 says that elders, shepherds, or overseers, should not lord it over those who are entrusted to them. National dictators of Peter's day, like Nero, lorded it over the people to whom Peter wrote. They were authoritarian dictators who were out for their own self interest. Elders who care for God's people are not to be such dictators. They are care givers. God has entrusted His people to them. Note the word “entrusted.” This means that the people being cared for belong to God. God has chosen the elders to care for His people. Caring for God's people is a very serious matter. One cannot take it lightly. It is for this reason that many who start out in what we call the ministry don't survive. They never took the responsibility to care for God's people seriously and when the tough times come, they split.

I was raised as a youth in an Evangelical Christian church where it seemed to me that if you wanted to be a real good Christian, then, you train to be a pastor or a missionary. That is far from what the Bible teaches. Pastoring is God's choice on a life, not your choice.

Instead of lording it over God's people elders are to be examples as Peter said in verse 3. This should always be true with any leadership situation. If you are not a good example, then how can you motivate others to follow your leadership? You might as well not be a leader. Being a living example is part of serving the people God has entrusted you with.

Verse 4

"And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory."

Note in verse 4 that Jesus is called the Chief Shepherd, meaning, that all earthly shepherds are under the Chief Shepherd's authority. This goes along with the word "entrusted" that we read in the previous verse. Pastors are simply entrusted with the people the Chief Shepherd has asked him to care fore. This means that the shepherds, the pastors, the elders, the overseers, are all subject to the Chief Shepherd, who is Jesus. This also suggests that those in the shepherd's care have been placed there by the Chief Shepherd. Our problem today is that Christians come and go from one community of believers to another with no concept of God's placement in a local church. They come and go to benefit their selfish desires. Church, in many respects has become a consumer driven organization, and that is not church. This unbiblical mobility is just another way in which church becomes less effective.

It is not only the people in the congregation who feely move from one expression of church to another, pastors do as well. Pastors apply for various ministry positions to work their way up the ecclesiastical ladder, and that, is far from Biblical.

In these first few verses of 1 Peter 5 we see the words elders, shepherds, and overseers. All three of these words are used for the same task in the New Testament. All three of these words are used interchangeably. In our English Bibles the Greek word "presbyteros" is translated as "elder." The Greek word "episkopos" is translated as "overseer," and "bishop" in the KJV. The Greek word "poimen" is translated as "shepherd" or "pastor." If you understand what Peter wrote here, and you understand Acts 20:17 and 28, along with Titus 1:5 and 7, you will see that all three Greek words and all five English words are used for the same responsibility in the church. They are not separate and distinct ministry callings as they are in today's western-world church.

We should also note that all these words are in the plural form throughout the New Testament. I believe in what has been called "plurality of leadership." In the first generation church, a body of elders was appointed to care for God's people. One man was not in charge. Throughout time, this has obviously changed, and, it's my opinion that this change is neither Scriptural nor good for the church. It is simple common sense that a body of men can do what is needed to be done more effectively than one man. Plurality, is in fact, what God Himself is all about. He, in His essence, is a unified plurality, consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This concept of unified plurality, then, is basic to all things Christian.

As I have said, In general terms, by 100 AD one man began to rise up from this body of elders to become a lead elder. Some suggest that the apostle John was one such lead elder. By the end of the second century in many localities this lead elder became God's representative to the flock of God. Roughly by the end of the third century this lead elder became the representative of the flock of God to God, thus destroying what is called the "priesthood of the believer." The church went back to Old Testament traditional style Judaism by thinking it needed a priest as a mediator between God and man. Catholicism, was thus, born. In one real sense of the word, the priest in Catholicism replaced Jesus, who is clearly the only mediator between God and man as seen in the New Testament. The very foundation of Catholicism is unbiblical. I, thus, call Catholicism a religion unto itself, a religion set apart from Christianity.

Some people will disagree with the idea of plurality of elders was the way it was in the first generation church. They point to James who appears to have been the lead elder in the church at Jerusalem . James might have been a lead elder, although that can only be implied in the book of Acts. It's not clearly stated, or so I think. If James was officially the lead elder, then, some suggest his pro Jewish Christian stance might be the reason. On the other hand, people might have seen James as a one man leader because of him being a brother of Jesus. He might not have seen himself as a one man leader. He might have viewed himself as one among equals. Whatever the case, if you or I were a Christian living in Jerusalem back then, we would have esteemed James greatly because he had actually grown up with Jesus.

As verse 4 tells us, those elders who serve well will receive a crown of glory when Jesus is revealed. The word "revealed" is in reference to Jesus' return to earth as King over all things. This speaks to the reward system that the Lord has set in place for those who serve Him. God is just, and as justice demands an accounting of sin, it also demands a rewarding for good works. We see this in

1 Corinthians 3:10 and following. There, you will read that each Christian will be judged by Jesus for what he has done in the service of the Lord. He himself will not be judged because the cross of Christ has taken care of that, but, his works will be judged. Those works that have been performed out of love, faith, and the power of the Holy Spirit, will be rewarded. Those works done in pure human effort or out of wrong motives will burn in the fire of judgment. What these rewards are we don't know. Peter calls them crowns, here in verse 4, as does other Biblical passages. I think there will be a variety of rewards, so much so, that everyone might well have his own personal reward. I also view the word "crown" as being a metaphor.

Verse 5

"In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud
but gives grace to the humble."

In verse 5 Peter began to speak to young men. He told them to be submissive to those who are older as some versions put it, or, to the elders as the CSB puts it. There are a couple of points to be made here. One point concerns the word "submissive." It is translated from the Greek word "hypotaso" as we have seen before in Peter's letter. Hypotaso means to "rank or arrange under." Simply put, Peter was telling the younger men to arrange themselves under the older men, or again, the elders. This looks very much like the concept of discipleship to me, where, older men are seen as mentors to younger men.

Hypotasso was a military word in the Greco-Roman world of Peter's day. That being said, we know that Jesus told us that the dictators of this world lord it over those under their authority. Jesus then said that this should not be the case in the Christian community. Luke 22:25 reads:

"But he said to them, 'The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and those who have authority over them have themselves called Benefactors.'"

With this understanding, the submissive relationship that the young men have with the older men was not an authoritarian, heavy handed, dictatorial style relationship. It was to be a respect that young men have for older men so they can learn what older men had to offer them. As with the word "submit" as seen in Ephesians 5 where wives are to submit to husbands, the New Testament softens the Greek word "hypotaso" to mean a submission based on mutual love and respect. It's not based on authoritarian dictatorship. As a matter of fact, Paul, in Ephesians 5:21 told us all to have a submissive attitude towards one another in the church. Ephesians 5:21 reads:

"... submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."

The Greek word "presbyteros" that was translated as elder in the first few verses of this chapter is translated here in verse 5 as "older men" in the NIV and other versions of the New Testament. You do not read older men in the CSB. You read elders, as in, the leaders of the local church. This presents us with a bit of a problem. There is a distinct difference between a man being an elder in the church from a man simply being an older man. So, what version is correct here? The answer is a debatable issue. It is a matter of interpretation and how the Greek word "presbyteros" fits into the context of this passage. I lean towards seeing the men that younger men were to submit to as being the elders of the local church. I lean this way because, in context, this is how the Greek word "presbyteros" was used in the previous verses.

Peter then said that everyone should live humbly towards one another because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. This is a direct quote from Proverbs 3:34. We note again, even though Peter was a so-called unlearned man, he still knew the Scriptures. As I've said earlier, Peter wasn't really unlearned in the Scriptures, especially at this age in his life. What he was unlearned about was all the legal details of Jewish Rabbinical Law.

We should note again that God does oppose people. In this case, He opposes the proud. I believe He opposes both the proud individual and the proud nation. The idea that God opposes anyone is foreign to our New Age generation and secular thinking, but He does and He will continue to oppose the proud. That being said, I do believe there is such a thing as righteous pride. I am proud of my Lord and I am proud that I belong to Him.

The word "clothe" is obviously a metaphor for becoming humble. Humility is not necessarily part of the human condition. It is something that we grow into, or, clothe ourselves with. As Christians, we are to become humble, especially in times of stress that these people were experiencing. Unrighteous pride destroys relationships and destroyed relationships destroy the church.

Note the words "humility" and "submission" are in the same verse. Christian submission is a matter of humbling one's self before another. Christian submission isn't cold, harsh, or dictatorial. It's soft, humble, and loving. It prefers others over one's self. When it comes to submission to church leadership, we submit to those who serve us from a position of love, respect, and humility.

Verse 5 tells us that God gives grace to the humble. The simple Biblical truth is that if you want God's grace to be affective in your life, then you must be a humble person. Pride is a wall that separates us from our Lord, and really, separates us from others. It's a wall the prevents God's goodness from reaching our lives. Unrighteous pride, then, is one reason why the church is not as effective today as it is meant to be.

Repentance is fundamental to salvation, whether it is initial salvation or the process of salvation during the span of our lives. Repentance takes humility, making humility important. I would, thus, say that humility is the prerequisite to repentance.

We should not view humility as being weak. It is actually a proof of strength. It takes a strong person to be humble. The Greek word "tapeinnoo" is the word translated as "humble" in the New Testament. It means to "bring low" as in bowing low to someone.

Verses 6 and 7

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you."

In verse 6 Peter said that if you indeed humble yourself before the mighty hand of God, He will lift you up or exalt you in due time. To humble one's self is to simply bow down to another in submission. In this instance, we bow down before God and submit to Him. In due time, He will raise us back up. He will exalt us. Jesus humbled Himself by becoming human but eventually He was exalted to the right hand of God. In like manner, at some future date, which I believe is the return of Jesus to earth, He will exalt us. During the thousand year rule of Jesus on earth those of us who have humbled ourselves in this age will rule with Jesus in that age.

Our English verb "humble" in verse 6 is an aorist passive imperative Greek verb. The imperative part of this verb means this is a command, not a suggestion. An aorist verb is a one time action verb. It is not a continuous action, so, I suggest the action to humble one's self is to decide once and for all time, to humble yourself before God. The passive part of this verb suggests the action of humbling is actually being done to you. That sounds strange, but, I think it suggests that we need God's help in the process of humbling ourselves before Him. Like everything in our life as a Christian we need to allow His help to influence our lives.

Pride is the original sin that Satan tempted Eve with, or so most say. Pride is basic and central to our human nature. Pride should have no place in the life of the Christian or the church, but it certainly exists. God will surely deal with us over this matter.

Note the word "hand" in the phrase "mighty hand of God" in verse 6. I view the word "hand" as anthropomorphic in nature. It is a human type of word that is meant to help explain God who is not human. Nevertheless, God is mighty. There is no doubt about that, so pride should be a serious issue for us to think about.

In verse 7 Peter quoted Psalm 55:22. We are to cast all of our cares and anxieties on God, the One with the almighty hand because He cares for us. One who is so almighty might not be so caring, but the God that we serve is both almighty and caring at the same time, and, that is to our benefit. If someone who cares for you has no means to work that caring out into your daily life, the caring heart doesn't get much accomplished. This is not the way it is with God. He cares for us and He has the ability to have His care realized in our lives. It is something we can never forget, especially in time of suffering as Peter's readers were living out in their lives.

Verse 7 is one of those Bible verses you find in those old-fashion Bible promise boxes. These boxes contained all sorts of promises to which Christians cling. One thing we often miss concerning any Biblical promise is that they all have conditions, and the promise of casting our cares on God because He cares for us is no exception to this rule. In context, Peter was telling his readers, and us too, that if we actually humble ourselves before God, then, and only then, can we cast our cares on Him because He cares for us. If, then, we want to benefit from God's caring heart, we bow before Him in submission.

Verse 8

"Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour."

In verse 8 Peter told us to be sober-minded and alert. The Greek word "nepho" is translated here as sober-minded. Literally, the Greek text says to be sober-spirited. Maybe you might think being sober-minded is being sober-spirited, but I don't see them being exactly the same. Sober-spirited seems a bit deeper than sober-minded because I believe my mind and my spirit are two separate, yet intertwined, aspects of who I am. So, I would say that both my mind and my spirit need to be in proper Biblical balance, and, proper Biblical balance is something we continue to struggle with. This is especially true in our Biblically illiterate Christian world where we should, but don't, find this balance through the study of the Bible.

Being alert in this context suggest not being sleepy or lazy. It means to be keenly aware of what is going on around you, especially in the anti-Christ culture in which you live. Many Christians know little, or even care to know, about their surrounding anti-Christ culture and how it affects them. For this reason, they will have a difficult time resisting the devil's involvement in the anti-Christ world that is luring them away from Jesus. We need to understand how the devil uses culture to lure us away from God's will in our lives.

The reason why we should be alert and in charge of our situation is because the enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. The Greek word translated as "adversary" here is a legal word used back in Peter's day. One way in which the devil can trip us up is to confuse us with his legal arguments. You may disobey a command of God, for example, and he will point out your legal failure in the hope of condemning you. Of course, if you know Romans 8:1, you will know that God does not condemn you. It's the knowledge of that Scripture that will defeat the devil in his attempt to get you down. This is where Biblical knowledge becomes so important. This is why he is called the accuser of the brethren in Revelation 12:10.

The Greek word "katapino" is translated here as "devour." It literally means to "drink down." The devil wants to drink us down like a thirsty man in the desert would drink down a mug of water. He wants to literally consume us.

The Greek word "diabolos" is translated into English as "devil." Dia means cross, through, or over. Bolos means to throw. This would suggest the job of the devil is to throw something across our path to get us sidetracked from the will of God. He wants to get us sidetracked, onto another path that leads us away from the Lord and His will for our lives. He is prowling around like a hungry lion. At just the right moment, a time of weakness, he will pounce on us and show us another way to live.

This is how it works. You're minding your own business. The devil throws something across your path. You probably don't even realize it's from the devil. It gets your attention. You get fixated on it, and while you're sidetracked with what has been thrown in front of you, the devil attacks you from behind. The devil works this way on an individual level as well as a church level. He is always throwing things of interest in front of us to get our minds off our real purpose in life. Once our attention is moved away from the Lord, the devil attacks us and devours us. This can also be true on a national level. The devil works in every aspect of life and from every conceivable angle.

Peter was very much aware of the devil. Some people don't believe in the devil's existence. Others believe in his existence and they give way too much credit to him. Again, we need to find the Biblical balance here. Peter believed the devil is real and he warned us to pay attention to him and understand how he works. Yes, the devil is real, but so is our sinful nature, and it is our sinful nature that is the real problem. The devil can only attack that part of us that he can grab hold of. If we are greedy by nature, he will take advantage of that greed. If we are not greedy, he has nothing in us in this respect to take hold of. Our sinfulness actually lures him to us. That being said, I also believe that the devil is a tool in the hand of God. We saw this on the cross of Christ. The devil was one tool God used to get Jesus to the cross. In the end, the cross was God's will for Jesus that brings us salvation in all of its varying aspects.

We see Satan being involved in Jesus' execution. Satan first temped Judas, as seen in John 13:2, that reads:

"Now when it was time for supper, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot's son, to betray him."

Then, once tempted by Satan, Judas gave into him and Satan entered his heart. John 13:27 reads:

"After Judas ate the piece of bread, Satan entered him [Judas]. So Jesus told him, 'What you're doing, do quickly.'"

With all of this in mind, we need to realize that the devil is a created being. He is not like God. He can't do anything against your will. He is not omnipresent, meaning he is not in all places at all times like God. He is simply a created being, a fallen angel. So, what we call the devil bugging us, might not actually be the devil. It might be one of his agents. With this also in mind, I also do not believe a Christian can be possessed by a demon or have a demon residing within him. Yes, a demon might bug a Christian, but I do not see any Biblical support that the Holy Spirit and a demon can live within the same person.

Verse 9

"Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world."

In verse 9 Peter told his readers, and us as well, to resist the devil. Resisting the devil, as seen in the Greek text, which includes the verb tense, suggests to decide right now to stand up against the devil. Make that decision once and for all and stick with it. Resisting is more of a defensive posture, not an offensive posture. It is exactly what Paul told his readers in Ephesians 6 when he lists our weapons of warfare. If you look closely, those weapons are all defensive weapons, not offensive ones. We cannot kill the devil. He will be bugging us until the day comes when he is thrown into the Lake of Fire for good. Of course, we resist with the aid of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We certainly cannot resist in our own futile strength.

Those who attempt to bind the devil, can't bind him. With our spiritual offenses in tact, we can cause him to flee from us. That, and that only, is the way to overcome the devil.

Peter told us to be firm in the faith. This means to stand firm in our trust in Jesus. Faith means trust. If we have faith in Jesus, that means we trust Him with our very lives. Then, in the midst of life's battles, whether with ourselves, the world, or Satan, we trust Jesus to help us win the battle. Faith has nothing to do with us mustering up what we call faith. Faith is not a commodity that we can get more of. It is not something that we can muster up within us. Faith is trust. We don't need more faith. We can't get more trust. We simply need to trust more.

Peter then said that those who are reading this letter should not think that they are the only ones that need to watch out for the devil's traps in the midst of suffering. All Christians throughout the Roman Empire were facing the same difficulties. Peter appears to have viewed this period of persecution as being from the devil and Satan did not like how the gospel was having an important effect on people's lives.

Many Christians are hoping and praying for another great revival these days. Some are even prophesying a coming revival. What many fail to understand is that when a real, valid revival comes, persecution will soon follow. So, if revival is what you want throughout our anti-Christ culture, then get ready for a battle. Things will probably get pretty rough.

We see that this persecution was a satanic attack. We also note that this was a form of judgment from God, and, a means to test the faith of the believers. This means that God was using the devil as a tool to accomplish His purposes, and sometimes His purpose is judgment. The devil, or so I believe, is more of a tool in the hand of God than most think. For those who believe in a literal end-time anti-Christ, you should know that he, too, is a tool in God's hand that helps bring this present age to an end.

Verse 10

"The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while."

Peter pointed out that God is the God of all grace. Among all of the so-called pagan gods who knew little to nothing about grace, the God of the Bible is the originator of grace. The pagan gods were seen to be very possessive and demanding, something the Biblical God is not.

There are two aspects to Biblical grace. One is well known, and that is God's unmerited favour towards us. He extends love and grace towards us even though we don't deserve it. This grace is extended to us when we genuinely repent and hand our lives over to Jesus. This grace was demonstrated to humanity on the cross of Christ. The other definition isn't so well known. It's the ability that God gives the believer to properly do His will.

Before Peter makes his closing statement, he reminded his readers of their eternal calling to God's glory through the Lord Jesus Christ. Once again we note the thought of a future glory in the midst of a suffering, stressful situation. This is not an escapist mentality that he is promoting. It's what Biblical hope is all about, that is, the certain assurance of a future reality, and that assurance, if living within us, will surely be realized in our daily lives in a positive way. Peter used the term "living hope" back in chapter 1.

Note that this future glory is available through the Lord Jesus Christ. This distinguishes Christianity from all other world religions. Christians believe in the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. This provides the basis for the foundational difference between Christianity and all other religions or philosophies.

Note the word "called" here in verse 10. We see this word throughout the Bible to designate God's invitation to Himself and all that He offers. The word call, in my thinking, is linked to the word "chosen" as we read back in 1 Peter 1:1. Those God has chosen are those He calls.

Peter told his readers that there present day suffering from their anti-Christ culture was temporary. The suffering those Christians had to endure was a product of Caesar Nero. His rule of the Roman Empire would end in a few short years after Peter penned this letter. Maybe that is why Peter said that the suffering these people were enduring was temporary. The persecution did settle down for a while but within the first three hundred years of Christian history, there were ten major times of persecution from the governing officials.

We must realize that some of those to whom Peter was writing there time of suffering was temporary, because their persecution ended in their death, which, in turn led to their glory in the presence of Jesus. For those who did survive the persecution, Jesus would strengthen them and give them all of the support they needed, support that was needed to live and proclaim the gospel of Christ. This same support is available for us today. There is no need, then, to complain about any present-day times of suffering.

Verse 11

"To him be dominion. Amen."

For some reason, probably manuscript differences, the CSB version of the New Testament leaves out the words "for ever and ever," as other versions read. The term "forever and ever" needs a bit of attention. The Greek word translated as forever in this verse is "ies," which means, unto the end and beyond. The Greek word translated as "ever" is "ion," which means, "an age." It's the same Greek word that is translated as "eternal" in verse 10 and throughout the New Testament. Ion is a set period of time, as in, an age. The Greek language didn't really have a word specifically that would correspond to our concept of eternal. This has caused much theological difficulty in some doctrinal issues over the years. The best way that the Koine Greek could express the concept of eternal is to say ion upon ion, meaning, age upon age. To be clear, the Greek word "ion" is not an endless period of time. It has an end point in time.

Because of the precise meaning of "ion" there are some who believe what most call eternal punishment is not really eternal. There is a set end to the punishment and after the end comes, those who have been punished will be restored and live alongside the believers. I do not believe this doctrine, but it would be nice if I am wrong on this point. If you want to understand eternal punishment having and end, then, your logic fails when it comes to God. The Bible teaches that God is eternal. In other words He is "ion upon ion." If you believe that eternal punishment is not eternal but has a set time limit, then, you must carry that thinking over to God. You must conclude that God is not eternal, but has a beginning and an end. His duration is limited, and of course, no Christian believes that. We have to be consistent here in how we understand the word "ion." We can't have it meaning one thing when we think of God and another way when we think of punishment.

1 Peter 5:12 - 14

The Text

¹²Through Silvanus, a faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you briefly in order to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!

¹³She who is in Babylon , chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does Mark, my son.

¹⁴Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

My Commentary

Verse 12

"Through Silvanus, a faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you briefly in order to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!"

In verse 12 we learn that Silvanus, also called Silas in some other versions of the New Testament, helped Peter write this letter. Obviously Silvanus had good writing skills and knew Greek. Silvanus was also a good friend of Paul's and helped Paul write some of his letters. See 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and 2 Thessalonians 1:1.

You can see Paul's influence in this letter of Peter's, and that is probably due to Silvanus. There are some people who believe that Peter didn't really write this letter, but it was Paul through Silvanus who wrote the first letter of Peter. I don't believe that to be the case. That would have made Paul kind of deceptive, and I can't see Paul being deceptive.

Acts 16:37 implies that Silvanus was arrested illegally. That being the case, he would have been a Roman citizen, a Hellenistic Jew. He would have been born and raised somewhere in Asia Minor, modern Turkey , like the apostle Paul. Silas seems to be an Aramaic name while Silvanus appears to be a Greco-Roman name, who by the way, was the name of a Roman god.

As a side note, 1 Peter was written in a very good Greek style. On the other hand, 2 Peter was written in a very poor Greek style. This is most likely due to the fact that Silas penned 1 Peter for Peter, but he did not pen Peter's second letter. Peter might have written his second letter by himself.

It has been recently discovered that a writing style that has been called "Asianism" was the writing style of the ordinary person of the day in the area of the empire where Peter wrote his letter. Many scholars over the years have disregarded second Peter as being canonical because of its writing style, but now we know that the writing style might well have been a common form of regional writing in Peter's day. This is just another historical fact that we have discovered that helps validate the authenticity of the Bible.

Many people have questioned the New Testament because of its writing style, but we have now learned that its writing style was the common, everyday, language in the first-century Greco-Roman world. As time goes on, historical and even scientific study continues to validate the Bible as being a valid historical document.

The Greek writing style which most of the New Testament was written was in ordinary street level Greek, and we just discovered this in the twentieth century. This style of Greek has been named "Koine Greek". "Koine" means common. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 and beyond makes what I have just said true. Even now, seventy fives years after their discovery, scholars are still learning from what they read in these scrolls.

Peter's intent in writing was to show the true grace of God and to encourage his readers to stand steadfast in His grace, and that, in the midst of great suffering from an anti-Christ culture. By using the word "stand," Peter was saying that his readers should not fall under the pressure of their present trials. Standing denotes strength, that is, strength that is not human in origin, but originates from God through His Spirit.

If Peter were alive today, he might well remind us about what he wrote back then to his readers. We may think we suffer at times, but we suffer nothing in comparison to those to whom Peter wrote. If they could stand strong, there is absolutely no excuse why we can't stand strong today.

Verses 13 and 14

"She who is in Babylon , chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does Mark, my son. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ."

Note the words "she who is in Babylon " In verse 13. These words have caused much debate over the centuries. What does Peter mean by Babylon ? There was a Babylon in Egypt that was a Roman military outpost which is not likely what Peter had in mind. There is no hint in the letter that he was writing to anyone in Egypt . There was also another military outpost in old Babylon , in present day Iraq . We know that, but no one really thinks Peter was writing to Christians in a Roman military outpost in a city that had lost its world-wide influence centuries earlier.

Many early Christians felt that Peter was using the word Babylon symbolically for the city of Rome . That is my opinion, and, it makes Biblical sense. Babylon is used metaphorically throughout the Bible as an evil city. The thinking here is that Peter did not want to make it known where he was writing this letter from. Rome was like Babylon of old. It was rich, luxurious, and filled with pleasurable and worldly things to do. Besides that, it was the capital of the Roman Empire where Nero, one of the most evil leaders of the empire lived. Babylon was probably a Christian code name for Rome . Peter most likely did not want any non-Christian to know that he was residing in Rome at the time of the writing of this letter. It was a dangerous place for a Christian to live. It was the city in which he was eventually executed.

The word "she" in verse 13, then, might well have been in reference to the community of believers in Rome . They were sending greetings to those to whom Peter was writing. Christians in Peter's day would have recognized what Peter meant, but the non-Christian would not have known what he was writing about if they had gotten a hold of this letter. If you were a Christian in places like Iran today, you would be using certain code words just like Peter used way back when.

The odd scholar actually believes the pronoun "she" refers to Peter's wife, but I don't see that to be the case. As I have written, I believe "she" refers to the community of believers in Rome .

Mark, who Peter mentions here, was seen as a son in the Lord to Peter, just as Timothy was a son in the Lord to Paul. This Mark is the same Mark that wrote the gospel of Mark, and therefore, many scholars believe that the gospel of Mark was actually written from the eye witness of Peter as he would have taught it to Mark. In one real sense of the word, the gospel of Mark might well be the gospel of Peter. This would be the case because Mark was probably not around and walking the streets and roads with Jesus as was Peter.

Peter wrote that Mark sends his greetings. He does not say that Silvanus sends his greetings, even though he helped Peter pen this letter. This is most likely due to the fact that Silvanus probably delivered this letter to these suffering saints in person.

Christians often greeted each other in those days with a kiss. So it is not unusual for Peter to exhort his readers to greet one another with a kiss of love. This sentiment changed over the years. By the fourth century people got carried away with kissing. That which God meant to be good, the church messed up. Sometimes kissing led to other things that were certainly not Biblically moral. The church in the fourth century tried to fix this problem by saying only men could kiss men and only women could kiss women.

Peter ended his letter by saying, "peace to all of you who are in Christ." These people were not experiencing outward peace in their lives. Jesus never promised outward peace. He promised inner peace. These people surely needed that inner peace in Jesus if they were going to survive their outward conflict. They lived in torment. Many died at the hands of Roman soldiers with the peace of Jesus found in their hearts and souls. Peter himself was one of those who were executed for his trust in Jesus. The Romans hung him on a cross in and around 64 to 66 A D.

Peter's first letter is very relevant to our Christian world today. As the world, and especially the western world, moves away from any Christian influence it might have had, an anti-Christ mentality prevails. This anti-Christ culture will create, and is presently creating, the same conflict for Christians in our day as was seen in Peter's day. As time goes on; as this anti-Christ culture develops and spreads into all aspects of society, Christians can expect to be persecuted. We need to seriously take what Peter says to heart. Our day of trials is not far off. Peter may have spoken to believers in what is now western Turkey hundred of years ago, but he speaks to you and I today through this letter as well.

As I rewrite this commentary, here in 2022, Christians are being divided over many issues, some political, and some due to the present Covid 19 pandemic. We are allowing the stress of our present situation to separate us and that is exactly what Peter was warning his readers about. Peter's first letter, then, is very relevant to the Christian church today. We would do ourselves a great favour to read this letter, to study this letter, and to have its contents written in our minds and burned into our souls whereby it will become the conviction by which we live. That will insure that we, the present-day Community of Christ will not fail in our mandate to be the prophetic voice to an anti-Christ world.

I hope and pray that what I have written in this commentary will be of some benefit to all who have read it. May Jesus bless you all in whatever way He sees fit.

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Saints Under Stress

My commentary on 1 Peter

Introduction

Saints
Under Stress

My commentary on
1 Peter