A Final Word

3. God equips and strengthens Christians to endure persecution. (5:10–11, Romans 5:3–4, 8:16–19; 1 Corinthians 3:14–15; Ephesians 2:10, James 1:4; Ephesians 4:11–15)

This book has been full of the high demands of Christian living. It comes to a church in the middle of persecution and with even greater persecution on the horizon. The church is about to endure a horrific time and are still commanded to live righteously and submissively with their brothers and sisters and the world.

But in light of all of this, we have a final message of hope and encouragement. Peter reminds them that the God they serve is the God of all grace. He will equip them to do what they must if they only humble themselves before Him.

God does not have barely enough grace. He has all grace. He is the source of all grace and is overflowing with grace.

Romans 5:3–5 KJV

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

This is a major source of hope. Persecution is hard. Living righteously is hard. But our God is the God of all grace. He has grace for when we fall, grace for when we succeed, grace to help us endure and grace to make us into the image of His Son.

We see grace at work elsewhere in the book also.

1 Peter 1:2 KJV

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

1 Peter 1:10 KJV

Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

1 Peter 2:3 KJV

If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

1 Peter 4:10 KJV

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

I was having trouble taking the awesomeness of this title and putting into words, but I think John Phillips comes about as close as anyone could.

Exploring the Epistles of Peter: An Expository Commentary C. Winning over the Roaring Lion (5:10–11)

God’s grace provides strength enough for every situation—grace for living and grace for dying, grace to deal with the penalty of sin and grace to overcome the power of sin, grace to face persecution and grace to forgive the persecutor, grace to see us through and grace to get us home. God’s grace guarantees us a share in God’s eternal glory. God’s grace is sufficient to translate that into a living reality in our lives. Satan cannot win. God’s grace cannot fail, and it is ours because of Christ Jesus our Lord.

A part of that grace is that He has called us to share in His eternal glory. This is another huge, encouraging statement and source of hope. God wants us to be part of the eternal glory He will have in the new creation. He has called us there to rule and reign with Him. We will be joint-heirs with Christ, sharing His inheritance and glory.

The face that God wants us to be part of His glory is impossible to comprehend. Only the God of all grace could prepare such a destiny for us. We were once the enemies of God, rebelling against Him in a feeble attempt to establish our own kingdoms. And for some reason, in His great love, God pardoned those offenses, replaced them with Christ’s own righteousness, and brought us into His palace as not only an ally, not only a friend, but a son. A full, joint-heir of Jesus’ own glory and inheritance.

Romans 8:16–19 KJV

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

An important qualification is present here—this is only gained by Christ Jesus. It is not gained because we are so impressive. It is gained because God is the God of all grace and sees His Son when He looks at us.

Now, all of this is wonderful and true, but the sentence isn’t over yet. There’s a second part to this call. The glory only comes after you have suffered a while.

This suffering is a necessary prerequisite to enter into God’s glory. Is this to say that, if a Christian does not suffer, he will not share this glory? It seems so. Suffering is not a prerequisite to eternal life, but to glory and reward. We know that there will be some in Heaven who “suffer loss.”

1 Corinthians 3:14–15 KJV

If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

It seemed that those who do not suffer will similarly lose out on some rewards in heaven. This is not to say that everyone must be burned at the stake to have rewards. It is not that if you're born in time of history, where Christians are not killed, that you will not enter into this glory. We know that all will suffer persecution if they live godly. If you look at history, people like Charles Spurgeon, Living in a more civilized time where people weren't executed for their faith, still endured persecution. He had to put up with mockery from some people.

So if nothing else, this should give us the encouragement to endure. If we know that only those who suffer will enter into glory, then gives us a major motivation to endure that suffering when it comes. If we fold under the pressure, then this glory will not be for us.

This is a sobering fact, but after that phrase we return to more encouragement and hope. We see that even in the midst of persecution and destruction of Christians, God is still perfecting and working on his people. He is still sanctifying the church, ready to present her a glorious church without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. Peter writes a prayer with an implied promise. He is asking that God do this, but with the implication that He will.

in Ephesians, we see that we were created for good works. But sometimes the first part of that verse is skipped over.

Ephesians 2:10 KJV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The verse says that we are God's workmanship. This literally means we are his project, his creation. You can just imagine a potter at a table carefully fashioning a vessel, smoothing out every flaw and perfecting every detail. God is working on us. He is making us into the image of His Son every day, and especially when trials come into our lives. He will not rest until His purpose in us is accomplished, no matter how many times we may wander away and resist His work.

First, He is making us perfect. This does not mean without flaw, but rather, complete. The word can also mean prepare or repair. He will equip us with everything we need to accomplish His will. There will never come a time that He has a job it is impossible to complete. This comes in the form of sanctifying us and also putting people, opportunities, or things in our life that we need.

James 1:4 KJV

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

As we are patient under pressure, we will gain patience and every other virtue God wants us to have.

God in His grace will also stablish us. He will make us firm. Of our own will, we either cannot stand against Satan’s attacks or do so in an unproductive way. Similarly, the next word is strengthen. God will make you more able to endure. He will increase your ability to do right and give you the courage to stand against Satan. He will strengthen your arms to show charity to others and to submit in the roles we naturally chafe against.

Finally, God will settle us. Being settled means you will not move. God will settle Christians to keep them from backing down when persecution comes, like the man with his house built on a rock. The focus of that parable is that we should build our lives on the doing of God’s words, but another aspect is that God’s Word is a rock. A life based on it will be settled and no storm will be able to shake that life.

Ephesians 4:14 KJV

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

God will keep us firm on His word and keep us from wavering by attacks, temptation, or false doctrine. He will keep us safe.

I find these verses so uplifting because much of this letter has been filled with things to do. Many of them are hard to do. Things opposed to our nature and things that may lead us to loss of friendship and physical pain. But God knows this is the case, and He hasn’t left us to cultivate these attitudes and actions on our own. He has put upon Himself the duty of constantly working on us and making us into the image of Christ.

We may think some of these reactions to persecution—patience, submission, rejoicing—are beyond us, only for super-Christians, but God disagrees. He says these reactions are for everyone who will just humble themselves before Him.

Finally, we see the suitable reaction to this information in the next verse. We should heap praise and glory on God for His care of us. He is more than worthy of it. We should also give God the dominion in our lives and accept that He already has it in the world at large.

VI. Conclusion (5:12–14)

I. Customary Salutation (1:1–2)

A. Identification of the author (1:1a)

B. Identification of those addressed (1:1b–2)

II. Chosen for New Birth (1:3–2:10)

A. The new birth’s living hope (1:3–12)

1. The future inheritance (1:3–5)

2. The present joy (1:6–9)

3. The past revelation (1:10–12)

B. The new birth’s holiness (1:13–2:10)

1. The preparation (1:13–16)

2. The price (1:17–21)

3. The purification (1:22–2:3)

4. The practice (2:4–10)

III. Challenged to New Behavior (2:11–3:7)

A. New behavior before the world (2:11–25)

1. Christian conduct as witnesses (2:11–12)

2. Christian conduct as citizens (2:13–17)

3. Christian conduct as slaves (2:18–25)

B. New behavior in the family (3:1–7)

1. Christian conduct as wives (3:1–6)

2. Christian conduct as husbands (3:7)

IV. Cautioned for New Persecution (3:8–4:19)

A. Overcoming injustice (3:8–22)

1. A compassionate conduct (3:8–12)

2. A clear conscience (3:13–22)

B. Enduring suffering (chap. 4)

1. Christlike attitude (4:1–6)

2. Christlike service (4:7–11)

3. Christlike faith (4:12–19)

V. Charged with New Responsibility (5:1–11)

A. Elders are to shepherd (5:1–4)

B. Young men are to submit (5:5–7)

C. All are to stand firm (5:8–11)

VI. Conclusion (5:12–14)

Some brief notes on the final verses:

“As I suppose” means “as I count” or “as I consider.” He counted Silas as a faithful brother to them but perhaps did not know their relationship firsthand.

“I have written briefly.” Might be a statement of modesty common in speeches and letters at this time, or it could be literal. The letter is fairly short, especially compared to the greatness of the doctrines he is covering.

“Exhorting and testifying...” Exhorting with specific instructions, testifying with all the encouragement and doctrine sprinkled throughout. He was reminding them of the grace of God and commanding them to stand in it.

“The church at Babylon.” Some say this means Rome, others say it means Babylon. I tend to think it means Babylon but there is compelling evidence for it to mean Rome. Whichever it is, the more general meaning is clear. Peter wanted to encourage them by letting them know their fellow Christians in this church were thinking of and praying for them, as was John Mark, who was also there.

“Kiss of charity.” Comparable to a warm handshake today. A sign of brotherly affection.

“Peace be with you all.” We come full circle. Grace and peace were Peter prayers at the beginning of the letter, and we have seen those things given. Grace comes through God’s work in us, and peace through the knowledge of His ultimate purpose. All those who are in Christ may have complete peace.

It’s hard to wrap up something as magnificent as this book. There’s so much to say, so much more than I have said in all these lessons, and so much more even than I came across in studying. But I think the words of Reginald Heber in one of his hymns are an appropriate conclusion.

The Son of God goes forth to war, a kingly crown to gain; His blood-red banner streams afar! Who follows in his train? Who best can drink His cup of woe, triumphant over pain, who patient bears his cross below, he follows in His train.

The martyr first, whose eagle eye could pierce beyond the grave; who saw his Master in the sky and called on Him to save. Like Him, with pardon on His tongue in midst of mortal pain, he prayed for them that did the wrong! Who follows in His train?

A glorious band, the chosen few on whom the Spirit came, twelve valiant saints, their hope they knew, and mocked the cross and flame. They met the tyrant's brandished steel, the lion's gory mane; they bowed their necks the death to feel: who follows in their train?

A noble army, men and boys, the matron and the maid, around the Savior's throne rejoice in robes of light arrayed. They climbed the steep ascent of heav'n through peril, toil and pain; O God, to us may grace be giv'n to follow in their train.

We have such a rich heritage behind us of Christians who suffered and died for the faith. Let us be found worthy of their sacrifices.