73. Final Exhortations-Doxology

Final Exhortations to the Church: A Closing Doxology

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.

We are coming to the end of this letter to the churches in Asia Minor. It’s interesting to me that the pattern of letter writing then is different than what we find in the western world. When you first read the letter the author identifies himself right away. When we write a letter we identify ourselves at the end. We usually begin with salutations from those to close to us to the recipient and in many of the epistles it is not until the end that salutations from others are included. We see in verses 12-14 the closing salutations of the letter making verse 11 the logical end. Peter ends his epistle with a doxology and it this doxology that we will open up this morning. There are two points: 1. A Doxology of Affirmation 2. The Amen of Conviction.

Textual issues

If you are reading from the ESV or the NASB the verse will simply read To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Why is there a difference and how important is it? The difference comes from the different Greek texts that are used. The Textus Receptus is used in the KJV and NKJV translations and the Nestle-Aland is used in the NASB/ESV/and NIV. I will not spend time going into the history of translations. There is no doctrine gained or lost in the differences in your translations. There are some texts that the ESV and NASB are better translations and vice-versa. I try to point of those differences and why I like the translation. But the primary point to take away is that regardless which translation you use you can be confident that you have the Word of God in your hand.

I. A Doxology of Affirmation

What does doxology mean? Strictly speaking it is defined as a hymn of praise to God. But let’s expand that definition. It is a spontaneous eruption of emotional praise to for the glorious truth of God meaning doctrine or to God Himself. There are at least 13 doxologies given in the NT. Romans 11 speaks of the disobedience of Israel and the Gentiles being ingrafted in and of God’s election. In speaking of God’s mercy Paul breaks out Rom 11:33-36  Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!  (34)  "FOR WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD? OR WHO HAS BECOME HIS COUNSELOR?"  (35)  "OR WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM AND IT SHALL BE REPAID TO HIM?"  (36)  For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. You cannot read this passage and not see Paul being overcome by the riches and wisdom of the knowledge of God displayed.

Rev 5:1-14  And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.  (2)  Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?"  (3)  And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.  (4)  So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.  (5)  But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."  (6)  And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.  (7)  Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.  (8)  Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.  (9)  And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,  (10)  And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."  (11)  Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,  (12)  saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!"  (13)  And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"  (14)  Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

You see brethren, doxologies are not chanted in some monotone, emotionless voice, but by redeemed souls full of awe and wonder and worship when exposed to the Living God. The plenary inspiration of Scripture does not mean the Spirit dictates that which is spoken apart from the writer. The authors of the old and New Testament are not like court reporters dispassionately transcribing everything said in the court room. Rather, there is an engagement with the letter writers so that their personality and style can be differentiated from one another. They are not automatons. As Peter is writing this letter he was engaged just as we would be writing a letter to a loved one, though each of his words inspired by God. How do we know this? 1Pe 5:1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:

From beginning to end Peter is filled to the fullest measure of awe and wonder and worship. He cannot get past the opening lines of his letter without breaking out in eulogy to God in 1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

The Greek word translated as blessed is the same word we get our word eulogy, meaning to speak well of another. Peter does this in response to the Triune God’s work of salvation of verse 2:elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. God the Father’s election to salvation, God the Son’s procuring our salvation and the God the Spirit applying our salvation, sprinkling the blood of Jesus, cleansing us of our sin, bringing us into the New Covenant, and anointing us as priests in the service and worship of God.

And he ends this letter in doxology. We have defined what doxology us let us now look at why.

The previous verse gives us the explanation. 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. The word ‘moreover’ we understand to mean that Peter was not referencing the last couple of verses but the entirety of his letter. The same God who saved us is the God who actively participates in the bringing into glory those whom He elected before the foundation of the world, called and saved at His appointed time in history. And in the midst of our suffering is Himself working to perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. There is no amount of suffering the devil can employ that would defeat the divine purposes of God for you His sons and daughters. There is nothing that can separate us from God’s decree and His fulfillment of it. And as the words flowed through from pen to paper Peter exalted God in his heart knowing that all of his sins and failures were washed away by the precious blood of Christ. That all his sufferings at the hands of Jews and Gentiles were in accordance with the purposes of God and in the midst of them knew the very help of God in the same way he was writing to the brethren of those churches. You see traditionally it is held this letter was written around 64 AD it is also traditionally believed that Peter died around 67 AD. The very hope, through the inspiration of the Spirit given to the churches was the very hope he himself had.

Three questions are answered in this doxology. To whom is it directed? It is directed to Him Who is active in our salvation and preservation and future glorification. What is the focus of the doxology? The focus is God’s glory and dominion. The Greek is His power made manifest, the strength of His might. What is the duration? It literally means ages upon ages. It is the closest thing to the English word eternity.

In the original there is no verb ‘be’ It simply reads “to Him glory and dominion ages upon ages. But in 1Pet 4:11 in the doxology Peter uses the Greek word eimi for ‘is’ or ‘belong’. It is reasonable to assume the same translation here. To Him IS or BELONG glory and dominion forever and ever. His doxology is affirming the truth God rules and reigns supreme and in the strength of His might can never have that which He has decreed and willed be usurped or thwarted.

How do we flesh that out? In some Christian denominations there is a belief that there is a struggle between God and Satan for the souls of men and man must choose one or the other. This is contrary to what the Scriptures teach. 1 Peter 1:1,2 plainly teaches they were elect according to the foreknowledge of God. Verse 3 plainly states that it is God the Father who has begotten or caused us to be born again. It is God’s activity not man’s and as a result there is nothing that Satan can do though he prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Is spiritual warfare real? It absolutely is but Satan’s attack on the people of God is limited by our God and Father. Why? Because though Satan’s intent is to steal, kill, and destroy, God’s will and decree is to bring you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus. Peter uses the phrase ‘will of God’ 4x times in this letter. Two of those are in reference to suffering.

1Pe 3:17  For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

1Pe 4:19  Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

II. The Amen of Conviction

The Greek word amen is transliterated from the Hebrew Amen. It literally means ‘let it be so’, truly, or ‘so it is’ Amen is included in all of the doxologies. The use of ‘Amen’ is not liturgical, it is not a transitionary word indicating a change in thought. But it is the declaration of personal conviction and agreement with the truth revealed about God in the doxology. And though it is the personal conviction and agreement of the writer, we must not forget as it is included in the word of God it is also in the inspiration of God. The Spirit Himself saying this.

There are several applications.

1. How do we respond in our inward being to what the Scriptures reveal about God? How we respond is revelatory of the warmth and affection of the things of God or the lack thereof. Hearing of His great mercy and love with which He loved us, mining the deep truths of verse 10, does it move us to spontaneous worship and praise. Does it move our emotions?

2. We see here the proper motivation to doxology is not the mindless repetition found in contemporary worship songs and prayers that seek to whip up a frenzy of emotion. Rather it is Biblically rich, doctrinal, and theological truths of the Lord our God that engages the mind and the heart.

3. Having a rich and vibrant love of God and the faith does not have to be lost with the passage of time but cultivating it in the Word and prayer through the Spirit we can be as Peter. Nearing the end of his life and the fulfillment of the Word of Christ in Joh 21:18, 19  Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) We too can glory in God with expectant hope that the God of all glory, who has called us into His eternal glory in Christ Jesus will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

4. As the ‘Amen’ of the congregation is an agreement to what is preached and prayed those who lead in these areas must be sure that prayers offered are Biblically rich and theologically true to engage the mind and hearts of those hearing so that at the Amen the congregation can enter in with full faith and conviction.