1 Peter 5:5-14 - A Brotherhood of Humble Perseverance

Introduction

Over the years, I’ve known a number of US Marines, and I’ve heard all of them greet one another (at some point) with the same phrase – “Semper Fi.” This is short for “Semper Fidelis,” which is a Latin phrase that means Always Faithful.

Marines usually share a brotherhood, a bond of friendship that goes beyond the ordinary relational ties. They have endured the same boot camp, they’ve learned the rich heritage of the US Marine Corps, and they’ve spent at least a few years alongside other Marines in some form of service or another.

For those of us who’ve never been in the military, team sports can sometimes create a similar bond of brotherhood or fraternity. Teams train together, they win together, and they lose together, and this can foster real attachments.

I’ve been in many high school wrestling gyms, and I can remember most of them having a slogan posted somewhere – “Wrestling is the special forces of high school athletics.” Wrestlers know that baseball stars, football monsters, and even the fittest cross-country or track runners will all fold like cheap lawn-chairs under their grueling training regiment. There’s just nothing quite like it. And those who have put in their time on the wrestling mat will often share a kind of bond.

You can see camaraderie among virtually any group with shared hardships and experiences – police officers, fire fighters, ER nurses, school teachers, restaurant wait staff…

Put five moms together, and they will share in each other’s pain and joy as they talk about their kids… and their husbands.

Put five accountants together, and they will all complain about unbalanced spreadsheets, and they’ll compare better and worse programs for tracking numbers.

Put five academics together, and they’ll all criticize the weaknesses of various education philosophies, and they’ll energetically discuss their latest project (usually something obscure that most people will never know anything about).

Shared hardship and experiences, shared interests and goals… these are the stuff of brotherhood and fraternity. Over time, these create bonds of friendship and affection, of trust and appreciation, of humility and love.

The same is true of Christians who walk alongside one another as they travel the Pilgrim Path. When Christians come together, sharing faith and love for Christ, sharing the hardships of following Christ in an often-hostile world, and sharing the joys and comforts of God’s work in and through them… when Christians share this stuff with one another, they become bonded, united, and even strengthened.

Today we are going to complete our study of Peter’s first letter to Christians scattered about in the ancient Roman world, and (as we might expect) Peter concludes his letter with a kind of summary of his teaching and instruction. Peter reminds his readers of the same glorious hope he’s been going on about, and he calls them to the same active perseverance he’s been doing throughout the letter.

What’s been clear throughout the letter, and one of the two main emphases at the conclusion here today is the communal nature and shared brotherhood of Christianity… Peter wants Christians to humbly persevere together.

I pray that God would help us to better understand what and where we are, that He would help us trust Him to bring us fully to our final destination, and that God would help us humbly persevere as brothers and sisters in Christ… encouraging one another to do it… for God’s glory and for our ultimate good.

Scripture Reading

1 Peter 5:5–14 (ESV)

5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. 13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with the kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Main Idea:

The Almighty God is bringing His people into His glory through the path of suffering; therefore, believers must humbly persevere with one another.

Sermon

1. Glory Assured (v10-11)

The Almighty God is bringing His people into His glory.

The God who reigns over all has promised full salvation to those He loves.

You can see Peter’s ultimate encouragement and assurance there in v10. He wants his readers to look primarily to God’s promise and power for their assurance. He says, “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Pet. 5:10)… and this promise is for all Christians.

Let me point out three things here:

Suffering is certain, but so is glory.

We will get more into the certainty of suffering and who is behind it in just a bit, but let’s briefly note here that suffering (in one form or another) is certain for Christians in the world.

Peter earlier reminded us that Christ Himself “suffered” in the world, and His “sufferings” were predicted in the OT (1 Pet. 1:11).

Peter said that God counts it as gracious and noble for Christians to “endure sorrows while suffering unjustly” (1 Pet. 2:19).

Indeed, Peter said that Christ’s own suffering is “an example” for Christians to “follow” (1 Pet. 2:21).

But the path of suffering, for the Christian, leads to glory – God means it to be this way.

Peter said, “even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed” (1 Pet. 3:14).

He wrote, “rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when [Christ’s] glory is revealed” (1 Pet. 4:13).

And right here in our passage this morning, Peter says, “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore [or “complete”], confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Pet. 5:10).

Friends, it is important for us to remember that Christian suffering is not just any hardship we face in life, but those difficulties that specially come upon us for loving and serving and following Christ in a world that neither loves Christ nor respects Christ’s people.

But it is precisely our love for and service to Christ that sets us on a path toward glory!

Just as sure as Christians (for their faithfulness) drink from the cup of suffering in this world, so too we are assured that persevering Christians will drink the cup of glory in the world to come.

God will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish His people.

The point Peter is making in v10 is that God will completely reverse the present Christian experience and status.

All of these words share a good deal of overlap with one another.

Collectively, they describe a completed and settled and dominant status.

In other words,

While Christians in this world may seem weak and scattered, God will “confirm” or “set them fast” and “strengthen” them in the end.

While Christians in this world may be exiles and strangers, God will “restore” or “complete” them in the end… bringing them to a place of highest status.

Friends, Christians can take courage to know that God is working out all things to the good and glory of His people.

Rom. 8:28-30 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

Brothers and sisters, our end is sanctification or holiness (we shall be conformed the the image of Christ) and glory (we shall be glorified, sharing in the glory of God’s brilliance and might).

Whatever apparent weakness or insignificance or outsider status we may feel and experience today, God is at work in and through us to bring us to a glorious end… we may be assured of it!

God will most assuredly do it Himself.

Our passage emphasizes God’s “dominion” (v11) and His “mighty hand” (v6), which both speak of God’s strength, His might, and His power.

Friends, the reality for those who stand against Christ and His people is that they are fighting a losing battle in defiance of omnipotence.

The boss at work and the teacher in the classroom who demands that Christians say or do or experience un-Christian things, he or she may feel powerful over Christian subordinates today, but a day is coming when God will obliterate their illusion.

The politician who legislates ungodly and wicked laws, the police officer who enforces them, and the judge who penalizes disobedience, he or she may feel a sense of dominance over Christian citizens, but one day soon, God will throw back the curtain and reveal the utter foolishness of their ways.

The social and cultural influencers who seem unstoppable in their relentless assault on fundamental Christian beliefs and practices, on the last day, God will put a definite end to their advance, and He will turn the tables such that the very things they tried to destroy will be the standard by which they are judged and condemned.

Brothers and sisters, “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself” do it! He will “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (v10).

The Almighty God is bringing His people into His glory.

The God who reigns over all has promised full salvation to those He loves.

And He deserves praise and honor for it – as Peter says, “To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Pet. 5:11).

But this does not preclude suffering for Christians in the present world.

2. Beware of the Adversary (v8-9)

The Almighty God is bringing His people into His glory through the path of suffering… the adversary is prowling… and his aim and work is suffering.

Peter warns his readers about the adversary and the real danger they face in the world in v8-9. Peter says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Pet. 5:8-9).

Again, let me point out three things here:

There is a real adversary, and he is against you, Christian.

Brothers and sisters, we are often tempted to either ignore the devil or to give him more credit than what he’s due.

I think it’s more likely for us today to ignore the devil by putting down our guard, by playing with the fire of sin, and/or by entertaining thoughts of discontent with the sometimes-difficult circumstances God has given us.

Friends, Peter exhorts us to “Be sober-minded; be watchful” (v8).

We mustn’t fear the devil, but we must also not ignore the fact that there is an “adversary,” a “roaring lion” prowling about who aims for our destruction.

The devil aims and works for the destruction of faith and faithful living.

Many of you will remember the parable Jesus told about “the sower,” who cast seed onto different kinds of “soil” or “ground” (Matt. 13:3-9).

Jesus explained this parable, saying “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path” (Matt. 13:19).

Notice how Jesus blames “the evil one” for “snatching” or “taking” away the “word” that is “sown along the path.”

Similarly, Jesus explained that other seed is “sown on rocky ground,” and “this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matt. 13:20-21).

And then Jesus explains a third kind of soil, one that already has “thorns” (Matt. 13:22). “This,” Jesus said, “is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke out the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matt. 13:22).

In all of these, we can see various ways the devil is typically at work to destroy faith and faithful living.

This does not mean that people aren’t responsible for their response to the gospel – we must hear it and believe.

But this does remind us that there is a spiritual war going on among us – the devil means to destroy faith and faithfulness.

The devil’s method is suffering.

Note especially the soil Jesus called “rocky ground” (Matt. 13:20).

Jesus said there are those who seem to “receive” the “word” with “joy,” but then “fall away” when “tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word” (Matt. 13:20-21).

In our passage today, Peter tells his reader to “resist” the devil, to stand “firm in your faith,” even as they remember that “the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Pet. 5:9).

Friends, God means for Christian suffering to produce maturity and perseverance in His people.

But the devil means for Christian suffering to prevent unbelievers from trusting and following Christ… and the devil means to snuff out the faith of those who seem to be trusting and following Christ.

Brothers and sisters, beware the adversary. God has not promised to keep us from suffering, but He has promised to bring us through it.

3. Humble Perseverance (v5-9, 12)

The Almighty God is bringing His people into His glory through the path of suffering; therefore, believers must humbly persevere.

The God who reigns over all has promised full salvation to those He loves, but this does not preclude suffering, which is why God also calls for humility and perseverance.

Peter concludes his letter with a litany of commands – “be subject to the elders” (v5), “Clothe yourselves… with humility” (v5), “Humble yourselves” (v6), “Be sober-minded” (v8), “be watchful” (v8), “Resist him [i.e., the devil]” (v9), “Stand firm in it [i.e., the grace of God]” (v12), and “Greet one another” (v14).

We might (I think) summarize these by saying that Peter is calling for humble perseverance. Let me take a moment to highlight each of these.

Christians who persevere are humble.

Consider the two ways or the two directions Peter calls for humility to be aimed in our passage today.

First, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Pet. 5:5).

Peter quotes a Proverb here (Prov. 3:34) in a call for humble wisdom in our relationships with other Christians.

The wise person knows that there is a lot that he does not know, and he is ready to listen, eager to learn, and willing to turn away from foolishness toward wisdom.

Friends, if we are going to persevere with Christ, then we are going to need each other to do it.

More on this in just a bit, but let’s note now that we participate in Christian fellowship not merely to have our present beliefs and practices confirmed, but also to have our present beliefs and practices challenged and improved.

There is so much that we do not know.

All of us have areas of our lives that need shoring up.

Brothers and sisters, when was the last time you changed your behavior because a wise Christian came along beside you to tell you that your current practice was unwise or maybe even sinful?

There’s an old saying – “Mature Christians are easy to edify and hard to offend, but immature Christians are hard to edify and easy to offend.”

Let’s all aim for maturity here…

The second way or direction Peter wants us to aim our humility is toward God Himself.

See it there in v6-7. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:6-7).

This reminds us of one of the main emphases Peter has been making in this whole letter – that God is in charge of both the good and bad circumstances… and, therefore, we ought to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, which brings into our lives and moves out of our lives according to His good purposes for us.

Note also that this does not stifle prayer, but it encourages prayer – “cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (v7).

If all we ever pray is for circumstantial change, then we are missing the whole point of prayer – prayer is how we off-load our anxieties and burdens and sorrows and fears.

It is not circumstantial change that we most need… it is greater trust in God and a humbler view of ourselves.

Christians who persevere are humble and they actively strive to persevere.

See that Peter includes at least seven commands toward activity here.

Peter warned at the beginning of his letter that Christian faith would be “tested” by “various trials” (1 Pet. 1:6-7).

But he urged Christians to stay the course in order to “obtain the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (v9).

This has been a theme throughout the letter – Christian living is going to be hard, but be faithful, don’t give up, diligently strive for what is true and right, and you’ll make it!

Peter summarized this theme in v12 – “I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it” (1 Pet. 5:12).

Friends, on the one hand, Christianity centers on the idea of rest or passive reception of the work of another.

God sent Christ to work for sinners.

It is Jesus’s obedient life and sacrificial death that earns the believer a seat at God’s family table.

We are passive beneficiaries of Christ’s work on our behalf – we simply trust or rest in what He has done.

But on the other hand, Christian living centers on active striving for perseverance.

We must persevere!

God’s call to sinners is to active belief, diligent faith, and persevering trust.

All of the imperatives of the New Testament place a heavy weight on believers to live consistently with their professed belief – Christians not only trust in Christ, but they also aim to obey Him… thereby displaying the genuineness of their trust/faith/belief.

The Almighty God is bringing His people into His glory through the path of suffering; therefore, believers must humbly persevere.

4. A Brotherhood of Humble Perseverance (v5-9, 12-14)

Friends, believers must humbly persevere with one another.

The God who reigns over all has promised full salvation to those He loves, but this does not preclude suffering, which is why God also calls for humility and perseverance in the context of Christian fellowship.

Throughout the entire letter and especially here at the end, Peter is calling for a brotherhood of humble perseverance. He wants his reader to understand the necessity and to embody the mutual dependence of Christian brotherhood.

Peter calls for “humility toward one another” (v5). Peter reminds them that Christian “suffering” is “experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (v9). Peter wants his reader to know that “Silvanus” is “a faithful brother” (v12). He wants them to know that “Mark” and whoever the “She” is “at Babylon” also “sends you greetings” (v13). And Peter wants his readers to “Greet one another” with genuine affection (v14).

All of this speaks to the communal and interdependent relationships (both far and near) that Christians need in order to persevere in this world.

We are spurred on to humble perseverance by watching others.

The author of Hebrews gives a similar but more explicit call when he wrote, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24-25).

Brothers and sisters, we are around non-Christians at work, at school, in our communities… and we are bombarded with unChristian messaging from every direction (marketing, news stories, popular music, TV and movies)… and we are in desperate need of regularly being around other Christians who humbly strive for perseverance.

We need to see older women humbly clinging to Christ’s promises.

We need to see older men continuing to humbly give away their time and energy to Christian service.

We need to see younger women coming alive to humble faith in Jesus and making it their ambition to serve the Lord.

We need to see younger men aspiring to humble diligence as they aim their future at Christian virtue and discipleship.

At every stage of life and in every circumstance, we need to regularly be around other Christians who are humbly hanging in there… so that we will be able to take courage to hang in there too.

We are recovered and corrected and helped to humbly persevere by others.

If we will think of the Christian life as something like a long hike over difficult and unknown terrain, then we will begin to understand our need for other Christians to make this trip alongside us.

There may be times when we wander from the group – we may become “ensnared” by sin (Gal. 6:1), or we may “love” too much the stuff of “this present world” (2 Tim. 4:10), or we may “neglect” to do the “good” that we know we ought (Heb. 13:16).

When this happens, we need someone to correct and recover us.

We need someone to love us enough to pull us back from the brink and bring us back among the community of repenting and believing ones.

So too, there may be times on this dangerous journey when we suffer some injury, when we become confused about which is the right direction, or when we become so discouraged that it is hard to carry on.

As Christians we can be injured when someone sins against us, we can become confused when we start to believe false and deceptive things, and we can become discouraged for all sorts of reasons.

When this happens, we need someone to help us – someone to tend our wounds, someone to clear up our confusion, someone to lean on when we cannot walk alone.

Brothers and sisters, we are a bonded bunch here.

Our brotherhood with one another is deep because we share the deepest and most fundamental beliefs and affections – we believe Jesus and we love and trust Him together.

And our brotherhood with one another can grow all the more as we continue together – we share our sorrows and griefs, we celebrate our victories and progress, and we find faithfulness among us when we are met in our time of need.

Conclusion

Friends, the Almighty God is bringing His people into His glory through the path of suffering; therefore, believers must humbly persevere with one another.

This difficult path is as God has designed and intended, and there is a devil out there who means to dissuade us, but we can make it – God Himself is faithful, and He has promised to bring us safely home… and God has given us a brotherhood, a family of believers who share this journey with us.

May God grant us all humble perseverance together.