**** 1 peter 3:8-9 Live at Peace with Others

1 Peter 3:8–9 (NRSV)

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing.

(3:8–9) Believers—Peace: this is a great passage for believers. It deals with peace. We are to live at peace with other Christian believers. When the world looks at believers, they are to see a most unusual unity, a spirit of oneness that is not found anyplace else on earth. They are to see believers who are so unified and so closely knit together that they are as brothers and sisters—brothers and sisters who stand together, who love and support each through all the trials and temptations of life. The world is not to see believers …

• arguing

• bickering

• biting

• brawling

• grumbling

• griping

• enticing

• complaining

• in division

The world is to see believers unified, standing together through thick and thin regardless of circumstances. How can believers live in unity? How can people with such diverse personalities and backgrounds be closer than earthly brothers and sisters? In the clearest of terms this verse spells out how in six points.

1. Be of one mind, live in harmony (v. 8).

2. Be compassionate (v. 8).

3. Have brotherly love (v. 8).

4. Be tenderhearted (v. 8).

5. Be humble, courteous (v. 8).

6. Do not retaliate, but bless those who do evil against you (v. 9).

1 (3:8) Unity—Brotherhood—Mind: believers must be of one mind (homophrones), live in harmony. The word means to be likeminded; to be of the same mind. Believers must keep their minds on the same things. They must focus their minds upon Jesus Christ and His mission.

1. Believers must keep their minds upon becoming just like Jesus, upon being conformed to the image of Christ.

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Ro. 8:29).

2. Believers must keep their minds upon living holy, righteous, and pure lives.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Ro. 12:1–2).

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Co. 7:1).

“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (He. 12:14).

3. Believers must keep their minds upon developing spiritual character and fruit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Ga. 5:22–23).

4. Believers must keep their minds upon carrying out the ministry and mission of Christ.

“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mt. 20:28).

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lu. 19:10).

“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (Jn. 20:21).

Supporting One Another

UNITY

1 Peter 3:8–9

(POSB, Note 1, point 4)

The great challenge for the believer is to subject his mind to the mind of Christ. It is both unhealthy and unnatural for a body to have more than one mind. But if everyone is thinking alike—focused upon Jesus Christ and His mission—then everyone grows.

The article “What Good is a Tree?” in Reader’s Digest explained that when the roots of trees touch, there is a substance that reduces competition. In fact, this unknown fungus helps link roots of different trees—even of dissimilar species. A whole forest may be linked together. If one tree has access to water, another to nutrients, and a third to sunlight, the trees have the means to share with one another.

Like trees in a forest, Christians in the church need and support one another.92

Having one mind, the mind of Christ, is the only way to achieve peace and unity. It is also the only way to carry out the ministry of Christ.

2 (3:8) Compassion—Sympathy: believers must be compassionate toward one another. The word compassion (sumpatheis) means sympathy; to actually feel with others. It means to feel for others so much that …

• one suffers with those who suffer

• one weeps with those who weep

• one rejoices when others are honored

• one understands the pressure that a leader is under when he has to lead

• one hurts with those who are criticized and attacked

• one grieves with the sorrows of others

Unity cannot exist unless believers feel compassion and sympathy for one another. Believers cannot be selfish and aloof; they cannot be seeking attention and seeking to get their own way if they are to be unified. Unity demands sympathy; unity demands that believers feel for one another—that they feel deeply, so deeply that they actually experience what other believers experience: pain, hurt, abuse, suffering, joy, and rejoicing.

“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep” (Ro. 12:15).

“We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Ro. 15:1).

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Ga. 6:2).

3 (3:8) Love, Brotherly: believers must have brotherly love for one another. Brotherly love (philadelphoi) has already been discussed by Peter (see note, Love—1 Pe. 1:22–25 for discussion).

4 (3:8) Pity—Tenderhearted: believers must have be tenderhearted and have pity for one another. The word pity (eusplagchnoi) means to be sensitive and affectionate toward the needs of others; to be moved with tender feelings over the pain and sufferings of others. We live in a world that desperately needs pity, a world of extreme suffering. So many suffer and continue to suffer without ever having their needs met. The means and resources to meet their needs exist, but so many within the world have become hardened to the sufferings of others. They bank, hoard, and build up asset after asset instead of sacrificing and reaching out to meet the needs of the world. But this is not to be true of the believer. Believers are to have pity upon the sufferings of others. Believers are to feel pity to the point that they are moved to act, moved to sacrifice and to reach out and meet the needs of the suffering.

Again, note how pity leaves no room for selfishness. Pity demands that a person deny himself and help others in their desperate needs and sufferings. Note also how pity draws people together. Helping and ministering to one another binds and knits people together. Having pity—feeling for one another and sacrificing and reaching out to help one another—unites people together. A great bond is created between the believer and those to whom he ministers.

“I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Ac. 20:35).

“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body” (He. 13:3).

5 (3:8) Courteous—Humility: believers must be humble or courteous. The word courteous (tapeinophrones) means to be humble-minded; to be lowly in mind. It means to offer oneself as lowly and submissive; to walk in a spirit of lowliness; to present oneself as lowly; to be of low degree and low rank; not to be highminded, proud, haughty, arrogant, or assertive.

Note: a humble person may have a high position, power, wealth, fame, and much more; but he carries himself in a spirit of lowliness and submission. He denies himself for the sake of Christ and in order to help others.

Men have always looked upon humility as a vice. A lowly man is often looked upon as a coward, a cringing, despicable, slavish type of person. Men fear humility. They feel humility is a sign of weakness and will make them the object of contempt and abuse and cause them to be shunned and overlooked.

Because of all this, men ignore and shun the teaching of Christ on humility. This is tragic:

⇒ for a humble spirit is necessary for salvation (Mt. 18:3–4).

⇒ for God’s idea of humility is not weakness and cowardice.

God makes people strong, the strongest they can possibly be. By humility God does not mean what men mean. God infuses a new and strong spirit within a person and causes that person to conquer all throughout life. He just does not want the person walking around in pride. He wants the person to do what the definition says: to offer himself in a spirit of submissiveness and lowliness; not to act highminded, proud, haughty, arrogant, or assertive.

Humility is to be developed. Scripture tells us how:

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Mt. 11:29).

“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 18:3–4).

“And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Mt. 23:12).

“Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits” (Ro. 12:16).

“Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love” (Ep. 4:1–2).

“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others” (Ph. 2:3–4).

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Col. 3:12–13).

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (1 Pe. 5:6).

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Putting Others First

HUMILITY

1 Peter 3:8–9

(POSB, Note 5)

Walking in humility is a most endearing quality, as told in this story.

There is a legend of a man so much beloved of the angels for his saintliness that they asked God to bestow upon him some new power. They were permitted to ask him to make the choice of a gift. He said he was content and wanted nothing. But on being urged to make some request, he asked for the power to do a great deal of good in the world without [ever] knowing it.

And so, ever afterward his shadow, when it fell behind him where he could not see it, had wondrous healing power; but when it was cast before him where he could see it, it had no such power.39

What an example of humility! When given the opportunity to choose some great power, this man chose one that would only benefit others with no credit to himself!

6 (3:9) Believers, Life and Walk: do not retaliate, but bless those who do evil against you. This point refers to both believers and unbelievers. As tragic as it is, some believers do evil and rail against other believers. Nevertheless, no matter the source of the evil and railing, true believers are not to retaliate. What are they to do when someone does evil against them?

a. The believer is not to react; he is not to return evil for evil to anyone. In the world and in the course of behavior between men, everyone is mistreated and reacted against at one time or another. Therefore, the believer suffers evil and mistreatment just as everyone else does—just in the course of behavior as a man. However, the genuine believer suffers additional evil: he suffers evil and mistreatment because he is a follower of Jesus Christ. As a follower of Christ …

• the believer is living a life of righteousness and purity, honesty and truthfulness; and such behavior is often opposed by the world. Therefore, the worldly person often opposes and abuses the believer.

• the believer is bearing testimony to the corruption of the world and to God’s salvation; to man’s need to escape the corruption by turning to Jesus Christ and His righteousness. Again, the worldly person often opposes the message of Jesus Christ and His righteousness.

The point is this: the believer is not to react against a person who mistreats and does evil against him. There are at least two reasons why he is not to react.

1) Reaction will most likely lose the friendship of the person and lose all hope of ever reaching the person for Jesus Christ. The evil doer will be able to say, “A Christian did that to me.” The believer will have made Christ an unappealing Savior. On the other hand, if the believer returns good for evil, he opens the door for eventual friendship and bears testimony to the love of God for all men, even for those who do evil.

2) Reaction is not the way of God or of Christ.

“But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.… That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt. 5:39, 45).

“Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing” (1 Pe. 3:9).

“See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men” (1 Th. 5:15).

“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD” (Le. 19:18).

“Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee” (Pr. 20:22).

“Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work” (Pr. 24:29).

b. The believer is to bless those who do evil against him. The word bless (eulogountes) means to speak well of.

1) It means to speak well to our persecutors. We do not react against them by cursing, speaking harshly, or striking out at them. We do not try to hurt them either verbally or physically. On the contrary, we seek to find something that is commendable about them and we commend them for it.

“Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing” (1 Pe. 3:9).

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ep. 4:31–32).

2) It means to speak well about our persecutors. When speaking to others, we do not down the persecutor, but we mention some commendable trait. We praise some good thing about the person; we do not tear him down.

3) It means to pray for our persecutors. We must do as Jesus said and did.

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Mt. 5:44).

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots” (Lu. 23:34).

Thought 1. Think of the impact upon persecutors when an attitude of love and blessing is demonstrated toward them. Every persecutor would not be won to Christ, but every persecutor would have a strong witness that could be used by the Holy Spirit in the persecutor’s quiet, thoughtful moments; and some persecutors would be won to Christ. This is what God is after.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).

4) It means to do good to our persecutors.

“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you” (Lu. 6:27).

“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Lu. 6:35).

“Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head” (Ro. 12:20).

“See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men” (1 Th. 5:15).

“If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him” (Ex. 23:5).

“If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink” (Pr. 25:21).

c. The believer who blesses those who do evil against him will be greatly rewarded. Note: the believer is actually called to receive a blessing. The Amplified New Testament states it well:

“For know that to this you have been called, that you may yourselves inherit a blessing [from God]—obtain a blessing as heirs, bringing welfare and happiness and protection” (v. 9).

The idea is that believers shall inherit eternal life. If they forgive others, God will forgive them. God will forgive them and give them the inheritance of heaven, of eternal life itself.

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven” (Mt. 5:44–45).

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Mt. 6:14–15).

“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mk. 11:25).

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ep. 4:32).

“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Col. 3:13).