I Peter 5: 1-14
Therefore,
He is again reminding them of what he has already said in this letter.
I exhort the elders among you,
He is earnestly cautioning the church leaders, all who have authority over others in the church.
as your fellow elder
Peter is putting himself in the same class as these pastors and teachers.
and witness of the sufferings of Christ,
Peter didn't just hear about Jesus later, he actually lived with Him for over three years, and saw Him being executed.
and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,
Peter went with James and John when Jesus took them up the Mountain of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8) where they saw Jesus' glory. And he also knows that our bodies will also be glorified like His was then, when He returns.
shepherd the flock of God among you,
The pastors and teachers are to be like shepherds caring for their sheep.
exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily,
Not because they have to, but because they want to.
according to the will of God;
This is according to the order of authority established by God in Creation and practiced within the Godhead.
and not for sordid gain,
Not to fleece the sheep, for personal gain.
but with eagerness;
But with a willingness and desire to benefit the sheep.
nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge,
None of God's children that He has put in authority over other of His children is any more valuable to Him than every other of His children. This is just how He has chosen to put order into the church. We are all His family.
but proving to be examples to the flock.
The leaders are to be the models who are expected to demonstrate the character qualities of our Lord for the rest to copy in their own attitudes.
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
The Chief Shepherd is the Good Shepherd, who will reward all of His children at the Judgment Seat of Christ for all the works we have done. And if these church leaders perform their tasks in the humility and positive attitudes toward the people that they are urged to do here, then their reward will be glorious!
You younger men , likewise, be subject to your elders;
The younger members are still learning how to think and live their lives among their brothers and sisters in the congregation, and they need to remember that they are still to obey their leaders in following what they're showing as they grow in the Lord.
and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,
Now Peter is talking to everyone, from the grassroots to the upper echelons of power in the church, that we all are to relate to one another in humility, considering one another's needs before ourselves. This is how God is and how He designed us to get along and prosper together.
for,
God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (Isaiah 57:15; 66:2).
God, even in His Majesty and Glory, has demonstrated His own humility in sending His Son to demonstrate His character to us, humbling Himself supremely for our benefit. So when people get a prideful attitude, it is so opposite Him that it rankles Him painfully and He pushes it away.
But when we humble ourselves under His authority, and toward one another, then we are being like Him, and He pulls us closer and wants to be good toward us.
We also, made in His image, after His likeness, like people who are like us, and want to spend time with them; but would rather not socialize with people who will argue with and attack us and our beliefs.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
So we are to submit our thoughts and attitudes and plans to God's thoughts and attitudes and plans. He sees the whole picture, we do not. So we trust Him to have our best benefit in mind for us.
casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
We don't need to worry, because He has us in His hand. He cares what happens to us, and He won't let anything that hurts us to harm us, but to work everything into His Plan, part of which is to reward us!
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.
Seriously, we really need to watch out! Because:
Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whoever he can devour.
The devil is our enemy, he hates us vehemently, because he lost his place, and God has put us in his position, instead! He couldn't die, so there couldn't be any Redemption for him; and we sin, too, but God Redeems us!
We are God's "favorite child" over him, and he resents it and hates God and us, and wants to "get back" at God by destroying us!
So he prowls around all over this Earth looking for everyone who has left the door open to his deceptions; and he eats them up! He has lied to Mankind, twisting all of God's good gifts He has given us, to use them to destroy us. The devil has convinced people that darkness is Light, and death is Life. And what is evil is good for us. And is destroying God's human race.
But resist him, firm in your faith,
We are told to run away from temptation, (I Corinthians 6:18; 10:14; I Timothy 6:11), but here we are told to stand firm in resisting the devil, and he will flee from us (also James 4:7)! The devil knows that we have the authority of Jesus Christ to command him, even if we don't realize it. When we do, and we use that authority, the devil runs away from us in fear.
knowing that the same experiences of suffering are bring accomplished by your brethren who are in the World.
None of this is easy, even though it is simple. We need to be aware of others in our neighborhoods and all over the World who are suffering for the faith, who are being persecuted because they name the Name of Jesus. We are not alone in this, and we can take encouragement from their faithful stance and perseverance.
After you have suffered for a little while,
It's only a little while that we will need to suffer, it will end soon.
the God of all grace,
No one is gracious like our God is gracious!
who called you into His eternal glory in Christ,
God the Father calls us into faith in Jesus Christ to believe He died for us, then He gives us that New Life in putting His own Holy Spirit into our spirits, making them Alive.
will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
And God is working in us to transform us into
the very character that Jesus demonstrated, to grow us into the princes and
princesses who will rule forever with King Jesus as He rules with His
Father over all Creation.
To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.
King Jesus dominates, holds sovereign authority, He has the right and power to govern and control everything God makes, all Creation that is now, has ever been, and will ever be in existence. He alone is God! Amen and Amen!
Now Peter is giving his ending, his final thoughts in concluding the letter.
Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for I so regard him),
Silvanus was Peter's secretary who took his dictation to write this letter. He may not have known him well, but what he did know impressed him that he was a good Christian.
I have written to you briefly,
He considers this just a letter, not a whole book.
exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God.
He is encouraging them to take to heart Peter's eye-witness testimony, as this is how gracious our God is to all of us.
Stand firm in it!
Have confidence in your faith, as standing on the foundation Rock.
She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark.
Here are some personal notes, mentioning mutual friends.
Greet one another with a kiss of love.
The custom of that day was to give a kiss on the cheek in greeting someone you consider to be a faithful friend (Luke 22:48).
Peace be to you all who are in Christ.
His final admonition to end the letter.
Peter wrote this whole letter to share how God's Grace to us gives us security, prompts our submission to Him and to one another, strengthens us in the suffering we experience, and encourages us in our service to one another in the church. It's all God's grace.
G.R.A.C.E. = God's Riches At Christ's Expense. We cannot earn it or deserve it. God gives it to us because He determines that we are worth it to Him. He values us with the highest valuation, even higher than His Angels!
Paul wanted to make sure that we would realize the eternal value God places on us, so that we would respond to Him in the appreciation and gratitude that would teach us to live our lives in the order and Love that God put into His Creation. So that we would have purposeful and joy-filled lives here and enjoy His glory and presence forever and ever.
O my Father, You are more than we could ever imagine! Higher and greater and kinder and powerful and mighty and good and sweet and beautiful! Father, You are everything, the source of all that exists. We all live and move and have our being inside You because we are Your imagination!
O Father, teach us who You are, we want to know You. Teach us how You see us, for that is who we are.
Teach us how great is Your graciousness toward us, that You Redeem us from where we were into where we are now, and where we will be for all eternity.
And every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I Peter 4: 12-19
Beloved,
Remember that it is because you are so greatly loved by God, and Peter wanted to remind the recipients of this letter that he loved them, too. That's why he is telling them these hard things to hear.
And I care for you, too.
do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you,
We should not be surprised when we undergo hard times, as these people were at the time; and as God's people have been throughout all times.
which comes upon you for your testing,
This is another test, because this life is our school.
as though some strange thing were happening to you;
Don't see it as something unexpected or unusual. Schooling always includes tests as a teaching method.
but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing,
Let it encourage us that we are considered by God to be worth His attention when the World tries to push Christ away and we are caught in the fire.
so that also at the Revelation of His Glory you may rejoice with exultation.
Then when Jesus returns in Glory, we also will participate in His honor and authority, and tremendously enjoy being with Him in His presence.
If you are reviled for the Name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of Glory and of God rests on you.
As long as the reactions of our persecutors are against the goodness and character of Christ they see in us, and we respond positively, then we will be rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or a thief, or evildoer, or troublesome meddler;
We must watch our own attitudes so that we won't do any of these evil acts, or even offend by our words; so don't think they're reacting to Christ in you if you have done something of yourself they are reacting to.
but if anyone suffers as a Christian,
If they really are reacting to Christ in us.
he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.
We need not be beat down, but lift our heads high, giving God the honor that we could be called "Christian," "little Christ."
For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God;
Discipline and punishment always starts in the family, the parents teaching and training their own children how to behave as members of their particular family.
and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the Gospel of God?
And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? (Proverbs 11:31).
We are the children, we have obeyed the Good News that Jesus paid our debt for us, and let Him be our Personal Sacrifice. And that is only possible because the Father has drawn us to this decision.
When He drew us, we responded by turning toward Him. So what will happen to those who turn away from Him?
Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God
We who weather all the testings and learn all the teachings and respond to negative circumstances and situations positively and bless those who persecute us and pray for our enemies and treat them in love; then the sufferings we suffer will be what God intends for us, to refine us as His gold and diamonds.
shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
And we will put our lives and ourselves in His tender, loving hands, to do with us as He wants; because we trust Him to be the good and faithful and gracious and generous and just God and Father that He is.
O my Father, please help us all to look at our own thoughts and attitudes to see that they correspond to Your thoughts and attitudes toward us, and not our own, fleshly thinking. Father, our own hearts lie to us, we can't rely on our own feelings to be True. Help us to learn Your ways, to think Your thoughts so we can direct our hearts to feel how You feel.
Break our hearts for what breaks Yours, Father. Teach us how to love others as You love them, seeing them the way You see them.
And when Satan attacks us because he hates You, and his minions try to make life hard for us as Your children, then help us to remember that You are using that pressure on us to make us into Your diamonds.
You have purpose for everything and everyone You made, even the evil and wicked who are against everything You are. You are using even them to further Your great Plan of the Ages. And when the End of this Age comes, all will see how You have worked everything out together for the destruction of the wicked and the good for Your family.
And as Your sons and daughters, we will shine like the Sun in the Kingdom of Your Son; we will reign with Him in His authority, as He reigns as Sovereign King over All Creation in Your authority, Father God.
And every eye shall see, and understand how it all fits together.
And every knee will bow in subservience and obeisance to our Lord Jesus, King of the Universe.
And every tongue in every language will shout out loud the glory and honor and authority of Jesus of Nazareth, the lowly itinerant preacher, who is Lord God Almighty, Sovereign King over all Creation--to the glory of Almighty God The Father!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I Peter 4: 7-11
The End of all Things is near;
Peter knew that we are in the Last Days. How much nearer the End is now!
therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
So, noting that we haven't much time left, let's be serious, reasonable, and logical, according to God's reasons, so that we can pray accurately. Prayer is very important, especially now, at the End of all Things.
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
Most important here now is that we love one another fervently. When we're loving one another, then their annoying little quirks won't bother us, they'll slide off of us like water off a duck's back. And it's our love for one another that proves that Jesus really did come.
Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
Be ready to offer hospitality openly, not being concerned for any extra it may add to your already full schedule. Be generous, and it will all work out.
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
God has given different spiritual gifts and abilities to each one of us, a great variety of colors and sizes in the gifts we each have. We need to recognize which gifts we each have, develop them, and use them to benefit one another.
For instance:
Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God;
If your gift is speaking or teaching, then depend on the Lord to teach you what to say, not just your own opinions.
Or:
Whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies;
If your gift is serving, then do so graciously, not tiring in your service, but relying on God's strength to keep you going.
No matter what your particular gift is, use it faithfully to help others. We haven't much time left to finish the course laid out before us, before it comes to the End. Let's get busy.
so that in all things God may be glorified
God planned out how all these things work out, and we are working at His direction and in His strength, so He gets all the credit, all the honor, all the Glory.
through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
It is because of Christ Jesus that any of this is even possible. He participated in Creating it all, He dealt with Mankind all through each season Man has lived so far, and He took on Himself the full responsibility of Redeeming us back into the purpose for which He did it all. So God has given Him full Authority to rule over it all.
So every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess in every language that Jesus of Nazareth is our Lord God Almighty, our Sovereign King, and Owner and Master over all Creation; to the Glory of God the Father!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I Peter 4: 1-6
Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh,
Christ Jesus has suffered death for us when He didn't deserve it.
arm yourselves also with the same purpose,
We must also be willing to suffer when we don't deserve it. Have the same mind-set and thinking processes Jesus had, submitting His will to the Father's.
because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
Someone who is willing to face opposition and persecution for his faith is not likely to fall back into a sinful lifestyle.
so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
This person will live the rest of his life seeking God's will for him, not looking for how to gratify fleshly desires.
For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles,
These hearers have been saved out of sensuous lifestyles, and have already done all they could do in living worldly. That is all past now.
having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.
These are all the facets of the lifestyle they have left to follow Christ.
In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;
Now all their old friends don't understand this change, and they just want them to do what they always did before. They don't want to admit that this change is really possible, so they mis-characterize it by accusing and slandering.
But they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
Those "friends" that are not willing to see this change honestly and turn to the Lord themselves, also; but push against the good, choosing to destroy themselves; they will be judged for that, too.
For the Gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.
This is a difficult verse to understand. So we must go to scriptures we do understand to shed some light on this.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians to deal with some situations that were going on there.
One thing was that there was a member of their congregation who was committing incest with his father's wife, and they were "puffed up" in tolerating this situation rather than disciplining this man (I Corinthians 5:1-2). Paul told them to kick him out of the local church, delivering him unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus (I Corinthians 5:5). This man could have died.
This assumes that the offender here is a Christian. And it turns out that he was, because he did forsake that relationship and repented and asked them to take him back. In his second letter to them, Paul says to forgive him and take him back: sufficient to such a man is this punishment, ... confirm your love toward him, ... this is why I wrote to you (II Corinthians 2:6-9). So that man didn't die, he returned.
Another issue Paul addressed to the church at Corinth was how they observed the Lord's Supper, or Communion. He said that they should examine themselves so that they wouldn't partake "unworthily"; and because they were not doing this, For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (I Corinthians 11:30). This means that, because they did not take seriously the import of this ordinance, God was causing some of them to fail in their physical health, and some had even died.
This did not mean that they didn't have faith, but God wants us to have a good witness to the World, so if His child is straying and refusing to come back, or is causing God's reputation to be tarnished, then He is not beyond taking that child out of the Earthly picture; but he will still enter into the Kingdom as His child.
So I would understand this verse in I Peter 4:6 as those who responded to the Gospel and were saved, but died by reason of judgment for fleshly sins, having returned to their former lifestyles. But they would not lose their Salvation, they would also be raised to Life at the Resurrection.
Let's see how this works out.
Paul says that we will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ in Romans 14:10, and in II Corinthians 5:10 he says, For we must all appear before the
Judgment Seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in
his body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad.
Paul explains what will happen at this Judgment of the saints:
No man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each man's work will become evident; for the Day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire (I Corinthians 3:11-15).
So we must take care how we live our lives. If we want to honor our Lord and promote His Kingdom, then what we do will withstand the fire and we will get a reward.
But if all we've done is to enjoy God's blessings and spend all His resources on ourselves; or we have done great things to help people, but for our own fame, then those works will be burned up, and we will suffer the loss of any rewards we might have otherwise gotten.
The very next verses here, I Corinthians 3:16-17, say that we are God's Temple here in this life, because the Spirit of God lives in us; so, if any man destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him, for the Temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
That is why some Christians die. They have fallen back into those unhealthy lifestyles that detract from our physical health, and have "destroyed the Temple of God."
But that is not for us to judge. God is the judge, and we are not to be condemning any brother or sister, but encouraging them to follow our Lord in His footsteps.
If we "love them back" then they may return in repentance, as that Corinthian brother did. But even if they don't, then it still is not for us to judge if they were believers or not.
In any wise, we who have been born into His family will not ever be "unborn" to be lost again. Some will have great rewards, some few, and some may not have hardly any at all.
But we all will enjoy our great Prize, our Lord Jesus Christ! He is our Bridegroom, our Brother, our King; and we will live with Him forever!
O my Father,, thank You for all the wonderful plans You have made for all of Your Creation! You have purpose for everything You have made, and every detail will add to the great Story, the Tapestry of Time, the Great Symphony of the Ages!
You have told us everything we need to know to come to You, to learn who You are and how You see us, and how we are to respond to You and live for You. Your encouragement and promises are precious! You have told us that You will reward us just for letting You work through us by Your Holy Spirit living in us! You are doing the work, yet we are rewarded for it! You are Amazing!
Father, please help all of Your children to understand how important it is for us to avoid all of the seductions of the enemy to "live on the edge" instead of seeking You and Your ways with all our hearts. The enemy only wants to destroy our testimonies, to nullify our efforts to grow Your Kingdom.
And You are very serious about fulfilling Your Plan of the Ages. If you tell one of Your children to put themself out in the line of fire, and they don't realize that You will sustain them through it and they back out, then You will have someone else do it (See Esther 4:14).
Or when one of Your children spoils the picture of Your character, You are very serious about how we understand who You are, so they will also suffer a major loss, as Moses did, by striking the Rock instead of speaking to it, and was not allowed to enter the Promised Land after all that 40 years. That Rock was a picture of Jesus, who only died once (I Corinthians 10:14).
O Father, help your children to take You seriously! To realize how important it is to submit our wills to Yours every time we are tempted to take matters into our own hands. Father, whenever we do that, we get into trouble and mess things up. And we must suffer the consequences.
You are Holy! You are God! You have ultimate Authority! You will receive all the Glory, all the Accolades and Applause, all the Credit for all You have done!
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord over all, to the glory of God the Father!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I Peter 3: 13-22
Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?
If you are doing what is right, who would complain?
But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed.
Sometimes people feel threatened by your good deeds, because it shows that what they are doing is not good. We suffer, then we are blessed with rewards.
And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled (Isaiah 8:12).
Peter quotes Isaiah here to encourage his readers, that we don't need to pay attention to detractors, to let them have any negative affect on our own sensibilities.
But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts,
Set aside our Lord to have first place in your thinking.
always being ready to make a defense
This means we need to be studied up, to be ready.
to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you,
Whenever anyone asks you why you're so happy, or calm, or otherwise grounded while in the middle of the turmoil that sets them on their ear.
yet with gentleness and reverence;
We need to pay attention to our own attitude and tone of voice while we're talking with them. Remember that they bear God's image, and He loves them, too; even if they have done their best to obscure that beauty.
and to keep a good conscience
Always endeavor to have the right attitudes and feelings behind everything you say, because a bad attitude or feelings of not liking the person will come through in our tone of voice, and may offend the hearer.
so that in the thing in which you are slandered,
So that whatever it is that they've made up about you will appear to not be consistent with the character you have displayed.
those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.
Whatever it is that they've said about you will be found to be false, reflecting badly on the one who propagated it.
For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.
This is a World in which we must suffer something sometime. The choice is whether we will decide to do what is right anyway, and be rewarded, or if we'll do wrong and suffer the consequences.
For Christ also died for sins once for all,
Jesus only died once. That was sufficient. Being God, the Eternal Person, He could pay our Eternal debt we owe that we could never pay ourselves. One death for all sinfulness for all time. Finished. Done.
the just for the unjust,
Even Jesus, who never did
anything wrong, had to suffer. He was perfectly just, without even a
suggestion of sin. So He qualified to die for us, who deserve it. Each one of us is a criminal, an enemy of God, and each of us deserves the execution death Jesus died. That's why He gave the Levites to teach the people to offer the personal sacrifice first, in the first chapter of Leviticus. Because that's the one He fulfilled for each one of us individually to save us.
so that He might bring us to God,
We could never face God in any sinfulness. Even the least shadow of a stain of sin would render us vulnerable to be destroyed by the holiness of His Person. Jesus had to die, to splatter His Blood on the sides of the Cross, His altar, to wash us totally clean, pristine, as though we'd never sinned. Now He can bring us to God safely, and we can live with Him where He lives.
having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit;
When Jesus died, His body had to be taken down from the Cross and buried; it was a dead body, a corpse.
But Life is spirit, and His Spirit was still Alive, and made His body Alive again, too, when He was Resurrected.
in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison
This is what Jesus was doing while His body laid in the grave. He went down into Sheol, the Place of the Dead, which He had described in His story about the Rich Man and Lazarus, as having two sides, the fire side and the Paradise side (Luke 16:19-31). He went into Paradise and proclaimed to all those in the Hell side that He had cleansed all the saints in the Paradise side, who could now go to Heaven. And He organized the saints into a triumphal procession in full view of all the demons and lost people who had rejected God's offer. (See also Ephesians 4: 8-9 and Colossians 2:15.)
Who were these people?
who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the Ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
Most of the lost souls there were those whose wickedness was great in the Earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of [their] heart[s] was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). Noah here is spoken of as a real person, because that Flood really did happen in our History. God really did wipe out that whole civilization from the face of the Earth and He started over with Noah. The eight persons were: Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives. All the Nations today came from these three sons of Noah, everyone else died.
Corresponding to that,
Noah and his family survived by being able to float on top of the water of the Deluge, so they are said to have been saved by the water, by being in the Ark.
Baptism now saves you--
Baptism is the picture we act out using water: being "buried" under the water because we died with Christ, and rising up out of the water to show publicly that we are now living a new life, different than before (See Colossians 2:12).
--not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--
The water itself doesn't do anything, nothing physical has any affect on spiritual realities (John 6:63, Jesus said, The Spirit quickens, the flesh profits nothing...Life is spiritual, flesh is physical and can do nothing).
--through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ,
What saves us is the reality of Christ's Resurrection that works in us that New Life He gives us when we're "born again." That is the picture we act out using the water of Baptism.
who is at the right hand of God, having gone into Heaven,
Now that Jesus has completed His work of Saving us, His Sacrifice is finished, and He sat down at the right hand of God, which means He shares the Authority God the Father has over Creation.
after Angels and Authorities and Powers had been subjected to Him.
He
"earned" the right to rule over Angels and Authorities and Powers because He sacrificed Himself to purchase all of Creation with the endless value of His Blood. He suffered, then received the Reward. So He is also our
Owner, our Master, and our Lord. He is the rightful Ruler and Judge over every being in all Creation.
O my Father, help us as Your children to live our lives here according to Your ways, thinking Your thoughts and feeling Your attitudes about stuff.
Strengthen us to be steadfast in being faithful to You, and to love others as You have Loved us. Continually. Even when they don't appreciate it. Teach us how to be prepared to give an answer when we're asked, and to share Your Truth accurately. And to be prepared to suffer if need be, for doing what is right.
Thank You so much, Father, for all that You do. You have thought of everything, and You are always just in Time for us every time. You have already provided all the resources we need to do all the works You planned for us to accomplish. We just haven't seen it yet. But it's there, waiting for when we need it.
And when we have finished the works You wanted us to do, and every person in all the Nations of the World have heard Your Good News and had an opportunity to choose or reject Your wonderful offer; then King Jesus will return to claim this Earth as His possession, and set up His Kingdom to rule.
And every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess in every language that Jesus of Nazareth is Lord God Almighty and King and Judge, to the glory of Almighty God the Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I Peter 3: 8-12
Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love one another as brothers, being kindhearted, courteous and humble in spirit;
not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you should inherit a blessing.
For,
He that will love life, and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil (Psalm 34:12-16).
Peter is saying that we are to live together as a family. You may wrestle with your brother, but if anyone says anything against him, you spring to his defense. It is this family affection that we are to have for one another in Christ.
And if someone slanders you or insults you, don't react in kind, but consider how to give them a blessing instead, how you can do something that will benefit them, or show them God's Love for them.
God sent His Son to Redeem us so that He could bless us. So our lives should be lives of blessing others.
Then Peter quotes the Psalm to show that God always did want us to live good lives of prosperity and blessing, and when we appreciate the life God gives us and enjoy the good things He gives us, then we also should watch our words.
We need to keep a guard on our tongue, so that we won't say what is negative or detrimental to or about someone else, even if they have spoken evil of us.
Words are very powerful. God spoke and created. We speak, and we can build up or destroy. This is a very heavy responsibility God has placed on our shoulders, that we should not take lightly. Jesus said that He will call to account every careless word we utter (Matthew 12:36-37).
We are to seek peace: not just the cessation of hostilities, but genuine friendship, and to pursue this, go after it. God goes after us when we're running away from Him, and He wants us to go after those who are harming themselves by their words and lifestyles.
God is watching all that we're doing, because He wants to reward us for all the things He enables us to do and say, and He delights in answering our prayers.
And He also sees all the things people do against us, against Him. They can't see Him to push, so they push against us instead, because we are His.
O Father, please help Your children to watch our words. You know how easy it is to let out an unsavory expression, or to repeat something unfavorable about someone else. There is a perverse pleasure in tearing down another person in order to build ourselves up, but deliver Your children from this dangerous precipice. We ought to do better, and You have given us Your Spirit to teach us how.
Father, show us how to call out the evil that others are doing without condemning the people who are doing them. Show us how to love these people into Your Kingdom, and Your Name will be exalted in them.
And those who refuse to acknowledge You and persist in their rebellion, You will allow to have their own will, away from all Light and Love and Goodness, which is You. Away from all comfort and well-being and pleasantness. It's not what You want for them, for you are not willing that any should perish, but You will not force Yourself on them, You don't want puppets.
And Father, You will make up for everything they have taken from or done to Your children, ten times and more. No matter what we suffer now, no matter what we need to give up, it will mean nothing in comparison to what You have prepared for us to enjoy.
And the real Prize we look toward is being able to live with Jesus, our King and our Brother and our Bridegroom. That everlasting Honeymoon will be Heaven for each of us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I Peter 3: 1-7
In the same way, you wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the Word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives,
as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.
Your adornment must not be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;
but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands;
just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.
You husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the Grace of Life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
Paul also wrote about the relationship between husbands and wives, in Ephesians 6:22-33 which I talked about last month.
Both Paul and Peter had a good understanding of the marital relationships, so we are to learn from both of them.
Here Peter tackles the problem of a Christian wife who is married to a lost husband. Peter says he's disobedient to the Word which simply means he's not realized yet that Jesus is his personal Sacrifice.
If the wife has the habit of throwing Scripture in his face, she will only drive him farther from the Lord. A better method is to work on herself, in developing a gentle and quiet spirit within herself, which is precious in the sight of God and will also go a long way toward tranquility in the home, and draw (not push) her husband toward the Lord.
Our example is the Old Testament women, who let their husbands have authority over them, Sarah calling her husband, Abraham, her boss (lord).
We wives should not be afraid of submitting to our own husbands, but to let the Lord steady us in our responses, considering the order of authority God has placed us under. Fear makes people do stuff they would not otherwise, negative and harmful stuff. So trust the Lord's order and do right.
Then Peter turns to the husbands. In the same way both wives and husbands, and slaves and masters and all the other relationships we have with one another, are to be lived out according to the principle of Love that God based all the Law and precepts and rules and ordinances on. We all are to love one another.
This is how husbands can do that.
My late husband was studying these verses one morning, and he received an understanding that the weaker vessel that the woman is, didn't mean she is inferior or less than the man, but that she is a delicate china cup compared to his unbreakable tin cup. He was to see me as fragile, and take gentle care of me as his wife.
This is a good attitude to take. China cups have a high value, and must be handled with care, not banged around like a tin cup.
I don't think that husbands should be banged around, or that their worth is less than the wife, but for a husband to take this view of his wife will help him to care for her with the respect and gentleness that she will respond to. And, Husband, if you have ever found that your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling, then look at how you've been treating your wife.
The husband has the greater responsibility to God as the head over his wife and household, and the wife has the responsibility to set the tone, the temperature of the household under him. She is the thermostat that determines if the home will be a sanctuary or a battleground.
It's the husband who provides the home, and the wife who brings order in the home. They must work together. Even if their roles overlap, they still both need to remember God's ways in their household doings. And if there are children, they will also benefit.
O my Father, You are so great. Your Love is so immense. You have Loved Your creation in giving it order, and You have Loved us so much that You have sacrificed Your very Best for us to be able to live with You!
Father, help us all to learn Your ways to put order into the chaos that our families are experiencing today. Father, the enemy has been working relentlessly for so long to destroy the order in our families. He has complicated Your beautiful simplicity, and members of these families are suffering, having lost the stability that home life is to provide.
O Father, please help us! Our society has run so far from Your ideal. And the members of our society are foundering in this morass of confusion, entangled in the snares of the enemy's lies. They are so deceived that they have turned the World upside down, calling darkness light, evil good, and complicated easy.
Father, help Your children who know You and Your ways, to be strengthened in our society. As a vocal minority, help us to correct these wrongs, straighten these crooked paths, and bring a little order to the great confusion we face. Protect Your children from the enemy's attacks as we go about untangling the complexities he has tangled us up in as a Nation.
And, Father, show us how to live in our families. Teach us Your ways of relating to one another especially in the most intimate of our lives, in our homes with our husband or wife and our children.
You have designed it all to work and operate smoothly, as Your Universe runs so faithfully. When Your Law is obeyed, it all goes so well for us, too. No one complains about having to obey Your Natural Laws, like Gravity. It's just understood, because to disobey brings immediate consequences.
Your Moral Laws are just as immutable as Your Natural Laws. They are all Your Laws. None of them can be broken, only transgressed. Our problem is that, because the consequences are not as immediately obvious, we have believed the lie that it's all right to disobey Your Moral Laws, it will work itself out. So we have persisted in our error, sliding ever deeper into the swamp of deception.
O Father, when I see this World careening out-of-control, I know that it is still on Your string, and at the right Time, Father, You will just flick Your finger and bring it all back to Yourself like a yo-yo.
King Jesus will return, call out His own, and destroy all the wicked Nations at the Battle of Armageddon, and set up His Kingdom. And all the knots will be untied, all the tangles will be combed out, and all the confusion will be banished. The simplicity of Your Law will finally prevail. To our benefit and prosperity, and Your glory.
And every eye will see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will proclaim that King Jesus is Lord over all Creation, to the glory of God the Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
