72. Final Exhortations to the Chruch Pt 10_The Promise of God

The Promise of God

1Pe 5:1-11  The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:  (2)  Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;  (3)  nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;  (4)  and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.  (5)  Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "GOD RESISTS THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."  (6)  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,  (7)  casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.  (8)  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  (9)  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.  (10)  But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.  (11)  To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Introduction: Through the inspiration of the Spirit it was Peter’s determination that the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia would know three things: 1) all the redemptive grace granted to them presently and in the future. 2) Peter also lays before them all that God requires of them in obedience discharged in the power of God’s grace. 3) Suffering would mark them during the time of their stay upon the earth.

In other words: Right doctrine, right practice, suffering and persecution for both.

There are two points. The first is 1. the God who Promises and the second is 2. the promises of God. This morning we will look at the second point. The Promise of God.

Before we dive in let us review of what we have already seen. In the first point of The God Who Promises we saw there are 3 subpoints.

1. God is the Author and Fulfiller of His promises.

2. He is the God of all grace. God confers to us that grace which we need in salvation and perseverance. He supplies all the abundant grace needed to bring us to glory. He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. In our weakness and frailty, we can cry out increase my faith and He will do it. When we are in despair and sorrow God in His infinite grace will supply all that you need. Believer, you are protected by the power of God and have the river of God’s endless supply of grace for your every need.

3. God in His Activity in His Purpose. He has called us. Past tense. In a point in time in history of God’s appointed day of our salvation. That which he decreed before the foundation of the world comes to pass. He is presently at work in us with the ultimate and sure purpose of bringing us at some point in the future to His eternal glory.

After reviewing the various translations, context of the letter, and looking into the Greek we arrived at the more literal translation of Moreover the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, you having suffered a little, shall Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Seeing even how we translate the word ‘de’ at the beginning of the verse changes the tone of the verse. If we translate it as And – it continues the line of thought from verse 9. If we translate it as But- it shows the contrast between God’s plan for us and the devil’s evil intent for us in verse 8. If we translate it as Moreover – it means beyond what was stated, brings the entire letter into the context, and if we translate it as Now- it gives it the flavor of doxology.

Moreover (meaning that beyond all that has already been said) the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, you having suffered a little, shall Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

‘Having suffered a little’ can be about the time suffered or the degree of suffering. The Spirit of God purposefully leaves this unclear so that it can mean either of both in combination. But it must be understood that neither the degree of suffering or the length of time suffered can be compared to the excellencies of the glories to come so all suffering in light of glory is ‘a little’.

This morning we move to the second point. The Promise of God. There are 2 subpoints. The first is when we can expect to see the promise fulfilled. The second is the substance of the promise.

II. The Promise of God

A. The When of the Promise.

There are several different views of this text concerning the when will this promise be fulfilled.

One is that after periods of suffering in the church God brings relative peace and it is during those times that we can look back and see that God has restored, confirmed, strengthened, and established the church. They support this pointing to Acts 2 day by day people were being added to the church, praising God and having favor with the people. Later Acts 8 after Stephen is martyred Saul and the Jews begin the persecution of the saints and then again in Acts 9 we see relative peace. Act 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. I guess it could be said that Peter, through the Spirit was prophesying the persecution that would be coming upon the church but there is no evidence that was what he was doing.

Another view is that this is promised after all suffering and when we are in glory. There are some promises made by God to His people that will see its ultimate fulfillment when we are in glory. They support this assertion by the future tenses of the verbs. But neither of these fit the context of this letter. What then does Peter mean, what is he saying? When can we see this promise?

Peter is saying that it is not after suffering in periods of peace; he is not saying that it is when we get to glory. The phrase ‘having suffered a little’ refers to the suffering they are presently in. This is supported by the fact that the verbs Peter uses are all verbs expressing the activity of God in believers in this life. This activity is not a one and done. It is the ever present, active working of God in our day to day lives. It is not some future activity of God to which we look forward to as we plug through this life feeling powerless and alone. Rather it is God keeping His promise presently in our constant state of suffering that He preserves us to glory. You may say, are you using hyperbole in saying ‘our constant state of suffering’? And I would say no. Though there may be periods of varying intensity it is constant. Why? Because of the world, the flesh, and the devil. The devil stands as our adversary and accuser, the world tempts us 1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the struggle is real and every day with the power of remaining sin. “do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance… put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander… Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Henry Alford’s Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary was a great help in understanding the structure of this verse. Through the Spirit, using the principles of Bible Study and interpretation from the context of the letter we can put together a right understanding of this verse but men who are experts in the Biblical languages are a great help in confirming and supporting or correcting our conclusions. It is much like physics. Our brains are able to calculate on the fly the trajectory and speed of a ball and make the adjustments necessary to intercept and catch it. Sometimes our bodies do not respond to last second changes the brain sends it and we take one to the face. There are some people who are able to calculate that on paper because they have been trained to do so.

Following is a paraphrase with some explanation of the text mixed in which I hope will make the text more understandable.

10. Moreover (Beyond all that has been written in the previous verses) the God of all grace (Who is the source of all spiritual help for every occasion) who called you (which is the first proof of His grace toward you) to (with a view to or final destination of) His eternal glory (God will not cut off grace till it is perfected in you in glory) in Christ Jesus (He is the element in which calling took place and shows the exclusivity of the calling, salvation, preservation, and security of the saints) you having suffered a little (these words belong to the present suffering of believers, not to past sufferings where the promise would be fulfilled or the future where the promise is yet to be fulfilled. It is the present sufferings of believers that the promise is fulfilled.) shall Himself (God’s own personal determination to fulfill the promise made to His people.) perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Understanding the when of the promise is the present suffering we next move to the substance of the promise.

B. The Substance of the promise – shall Himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

Those these words have aspects of commonality in them yet each is distinct in their contribution to the full rich meaning of the promise of God to His people. So let us take these verbs in the order they appear.

1. Perfect – the Greek word translated as perfect can also be translated as repair, mend, and restore (make complete) It is used in the gospels where John and James were mending their nets. Gal 6:1 to the brother who has a fallen restore him in a spirit of gentleness. The sense of the word is that of repairing what is damaged or supplying what is needed for its intended use.

Heb 10:5  Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;

Heb 11:3  By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. The word translated created is the same Greek word.

Heb 13:20-21  Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,  (21)  equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Equip is the same Greek word used in our text.

1Th 3:10  as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?

Now consider this in context of verse 8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (9) But resist him, firm in your faith. Consider this in context of suffering in this world, and the spiritual warfare we have to wage within ourselves against ourselves and our remaining sin.

There are times in our spiritual warfare that we are deeply wounded and feel we have lost that armor which has been supplied to us, the full armor of God of Eph 6:11, the weapons of our warfare of 2 Cor. 10. Based on this promise of God we can cry out in great expectation Revive me, O God, heal and restore me, equip me for that battle which I now find myself in. And the God of all grace who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ will keep the word which He promised.

2. Confirm – the Greek word is translated in other versions as establish. It literally means to set fast. The same word is used of Jesus as He was drawing near the end of His earthly ministry. Luk 9:51  When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. The word is used when Jesus exhorts Peter to strengthen his brothers. Luk 22:31-32  “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,  (32)  but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Paul uses it in Rom 1:11 concerning his desire to strengthen the church.

God not only repairs and prepares us, but He also sets us fast with fresh determination to move forward in this fight. The God of all grace confers to us fresh determination of will to overcome.

3. Strengthen – is unique in that the Greek word is only seen here. But from classical texts it has been determined to mean strengthened, to impart strength or infuse with strength. Dean Karnazes is an ultra-marathon runner. Part of his accomplishment is that he ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. As part of an experiment he ran 35 miles in 90+ degree heat without food or water. A doctor friend who was part of the experiment said he had never seen Karnazes look so bad ever. But after having 250cc of a solution of water and salt infused he felt instantly better and ran another 15 miles. This God does. He infuses us with strength according to His glorious might. Remember the same power God used when He raised Christ Jesus from the dead is the same power He uses in us. Eph 1:18-20  having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,  (19)  and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might  (20)  that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

The God of all grace, from the hymn ‘How Firm a Foundation’ Fear not, I am with you; O be not dismayed, for I am your God, and will still give you aid. I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

4. Establish – shall ground, or settle you. Giving you a firm foundation. We see it used in the following verses.

Mat_7:25  "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.

Eph_3:17  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Col_1:23  if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

Heb_1:10  And, "YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;

The importance of a firm foundation cannot be understated. Homes built on poor foundations in earthquake zones fall apart. The house built upon the sand is washed away in the flood. God Himself will establish, settle you. This foundation is not man made but God supplied. When the difficult times come in whatever manner they may come God Himself, the God of all grace establishes you. He is the foundation, He is the giver of very good and perfect gift, it is He who has caused you to be born again and it is He who keeps by His power that does not fade, it does not weaken over time but is eternal and infinite. Though the dark clouds may role in God sustains. And as He has predestined us to adoption, called us, justified us, He will also glorify us. And it is His joy to do so. Heb 12:2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

What is His joy, was it returning to His glory? Was it being seated at His Father’s right hand? I believe it is the securing once and for all time His people to Himself and that means not only in their initial salvation but also their preservation to the end. It was His exceeding great joy that endured the cross for His people conversely when He returns to judge the earth it will not be in joy but in fierceness of His great wrath.

And as the point of application I would ask this: How do we know? First We know because the Word of God tells us so. How can we neglect so great a means as the Word of God? How would we know of the goodness, kindness, and mercy of God toward us who believe unless we first pick up our Bibles and read and study them for ourselves. How can we know without having the Word preached in truth from our pulpits? And in the midst of our trials not having verses hidden in our hearts to bring them to our mind and be comforted by them; where can we find peace. We will not have it if our confidence is in this world, we will not.

Second, we have the testimony that God has given us in our hearts. What is our only hope for heaven? It is Christ Jesus. What is our only hope for making it one more day in the faith? It is the powerful working of the Holy Spirit in our lives moment by moment. Consider our enemies. What enemies? The world, the flesh, and the devil. Could we ever hope to stand against even one in and of our own power? No! The prophet Daniel was accused by those who wanted him destroyed. He was put in the lions den. And in the great working of the power of God, Daniel was saved. Daily brethren we are in the lion’s den, daily the Lord saves us from that triumvirate of evil of the world the flesh and the devil that would rend our souls and lions rend flesh.

The words God spoke to Joshua are just as true for us as for him. Joshua 1:5 I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 

When the dark clouds of depression or discouragement set in. When past sins which have all been covered in the blood of Jesus come to mind bringing the enormous weight of guilt that wants to crush the very breath out of us. Cry out in the weakness and frailty of our faith to our God who is there. He Himself has promised to perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you until that day He brings us home to glory. Amen!