1 Peter 5:5-14, Final Encouragements for Elect Exiles

Introduction

As we now turn our attention to worship together through the preaching of God’s Word I invite you to open your Bible with me to 1 Peter 5. We began studying this wonderful letter in the Spring, several months ago now. I believe it was at the end of March. We have now come to the end of our study this morning. We will be looking at 1 Peter 5:5-14. We covered through the first part of verse 5 last week. We’ll now pick up with the last half of verse 5 this morning.

Please follow along as I read the passage. Then we’ll pray and ask the LORD to bless our time together in His Word.

READ 1 Peter 5:5b-14

[Matthew 4:4 Responsive Reading - “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”]

Pray

It is common for us to admire those who seem to get better or become all the more committed and focused on their task when the going gets tough. When the pressure is on, they seem to get stronger and perform better while others might wilt under the pressure. We’re impressed by those who seem to perform at their best when the pressure is highest. We even have phrases to describe such people.

An older generation might say, “he’s cut from a different cloth.” A younger generation might say “he’s built different.” Just a way of describing someone as being exceptional. There’s something about them that sets them apart from the norm. Oftentimes it may be their work ethic. It may be how they endure or persevere through hardship. The way they demonstrate extraordinary resilience in the face of adversity.

This is common in the sports world. We think of star athletes like Michael Jordan who in his prime thrived when the pressure might have caused others to falter. We think of a baseball player who is getting heckled while at the plate and then he crushes a home run with a grin on his face. In a different sphere, we might think of soldiers who display tremendous bravery in the fiercest battles with danger all around. Examples are endless. No doubt, we all can think of someone we’ve encountered that stood out as exceptional in this way amidst adversity.

More impressive than any of that, however, is when God’s people grow in godliness and commitment to Christ and the church when the going gets tough. When others may be tempted to blink in the face of fear, perhaps turn back and no longer persevere in the faith, God’s people by God’s grace will persevere and even flourish when the going gets tough. We even see examples of this in the Scriptures––God’s people persevering and flourishing amidst difficulty and opposition.

Paul told the Corinthians that he would be staying longer in Ephesus, citing a wide effective door for ministry and there were many adversaries (1 Corinthians 16:8). Persecution in Acts always led to further expansion of the gospel. This entire letter written by Peter is a call to this kind of perseverance while living as exiles this side of eternity. Opposition from the world ought not cause us to wither and withdraw. It calls us to greater faithfulness to Christ. Greater devotion to living for Him, making Him known, and greater love for one another.

If you are in Christ, you are by God’s grace and the power of His Spirit at work in you “built different.” Because of Christ in you, you are able to withstand and even flourish amidst the fiery trials of life in these last days. Peter has been reminding and encouraging us all throughout this letter. Reminding us who we are in Christ. Reminding us of what Christ accomplished for us in His suffering. Reminding us of our eternal hope in Christ that will soon come.

Now, as he wraps up the letter, he has some final encouragement for us in regard to how we should live as the people of God for the glory of God. How should we live in these difficult last days as we seek to persevere and remain faithful to the Lord together?

Main Point––Stay humble, Stay alert, Stand firm, Stay hopeful, and Stick together.

Stay Humble

The first thing we must do as we endure these last days together is stay humble. Peter gives us a couple of categories, or relationships in which we ought to stay humble. First, in relation to one another. Second, in relation to God. We’ll take each of those in turn. First, look at the latter half of verse 5 again with me. Peter says, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Peter does two things here. He gives the command––clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. Then he gives the reason why we are to do this. He reminds us that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” This is a reference to Proverbs 3:34 and it is also cited in James 4:6. God opposes the proud. He sets His face against them.

Just stop and contemplate that for a moment. Don’t gloss over it too quickly. What a terrifying reality that our pride sets God in opposition against us. The living God who spoke everything into existence who sustains your life is opposed to us in our pride. Conversely, what a great joy it is that He gives grace to the humble. He lavishes His favor upon those who consider others as more important than themselves.

Humility toward one another is a hallmark characteristic of the Christian life. It is a virtue that we all esteem. Even the unbelieving world around us marvels when they see even a hint of humility in others. It captures our attention. And yet it is one of the hardest things to cultivate in our own lives. It seems easy to be humble, or so we think, until we come face to face with a circumstance that actually requires us to swallow our pride and actually respond in humility.

We find ourselves agreeable, easy going, easy to get along with. Then someone rubs us the wrong way. A remark here. A remark there. A short quip about how we do, or don’t do, something. We find ourselves flexible and tend to go with the flow. That is until someone does something a different way than we might do it or think it should be done. Our personal preferences get in the way of us actually preferring one another.

We make a mistake and we think, well no one’s perfect. But someone else makes a mistake and we can’t believe they did that. There’s all sorts of ways we can fall prey to our own sinful pride in the littlest of ways. It takes effort to truly clothe ourselves in humility. Effort that is only possible by God’s grace and the power of the Spirit at work in us. By God’s grace we can clothe ourselves in humility toward one another. Loved ones, what will help us clothe ourselves in humility toward one another?

A good start is remembering Christ’s own humility for our eternal good. Recognize that, left to ourselves, we are sinners who deserve God’s judgment. But we have experienced the love of God in Christ who humbled Himself by taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man, becoming obedient to the point of death on the cross. In that He freed us from captivity to sin and death. Loved ones, we of all people ought to be characterized by humility toward one another simply because of Christ’s exemplary humility for us.

This kind of humility is what will help us endure these last days together in unity as a church family. Tom Schreiner writes, “Humility is the oil that allows relationships in the church to run smoothly and lovingly.” Without humility toward one another we are doomed to unforgiveness, coldness, indifference, divisiveness, and a whole host of other things that will cause us to stumble and lose sight of the love of God in Christ.

Second, we ought to be humble in relation to God. Look again with me at verse 6 and 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.”

Clearly this exhortation to humility is important. Notice the “therefore.” This second call to humility is a logical inference flowing from the first. Meaning, in light of the reality that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, Peter once again exhorts us to humility all the more in relation to God. He says, “humble yourselves…under the mighty hand of God.” Now that phrase “mighty hand of God” ought to jump out at us. It would have jumped out at Peter’s original readers, especially Jewish Christians who knew their Old Testament well.

Peter is likely picking up this language from God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt during the Exodus. It is used in numerous places to refer to that particular deliverance by the “mighty hand” of God. Like a good pastor/elder, Peter is using biblical language to remind these Christians of who God is and what He has done in the past in order to encourage their trust in Him now in their present circumstances. Just as the Lord was able to deliver Israel by the power of His mighty hand, these Christians can have the same confidence in His deliverance now.

For what purpose are we to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God? “So that at the proper time he may exalt you.” Humility before the Lord is the pathway to exaltation. No doubt Peter is reflecting back on the teachings of Jesus that he had heard many years before. Mathew 23:12––“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” What kind of exaltation is he referring to? Given the focus on end time blessing when Christ returns throughout the letter, I think that is what Peter has in mind here.

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. Walk humbly with your God. Entrust yourself to Him fully, knowing that on the last day, no matter the difficult circumstances you face in this life, you will be exalted in your union with Christ when He comes again. The glory of that final day and the reward that awaits all who are in Christ far outweighs the light momentary affliction of this present evil age.

Now, maybe you’re thinking this all sounds good, but it seems a little abstract. What does it mean, or look like practically to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. Well, wouldn’t you know Peter tells us right here. In what way does Peter want us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God? By casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. That is the means by which we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.

One way we exhibit pride is insisting on doing things our own way and according to our own understanding. We try to take matters into our own hands. We fret and worry about everything. We worry about all the details and when someone does something different we feel like we have to go behind them and “fix” everything. A good friend of mine years ago once said to me that worry is wasted effort with no results. He’s right. What do you ever accomplish with worry and anxiety in your circumstances?

But you have everything to gain by simply casting all your anxieties on the Lord, because He cares for you. He upholds the universe by the power of His Word. Nothing is too big for Him. You humble yourself under the mighty hand of God when you simply cast all your anxieties on Him, knowing that he cares for you. Oh that we would be marked all the more by the kind of humility that goes to the Lord in prayer rather than the kind of pride that says I’ll figure this one out on my own. Key to life and ministry these days is the need to stay humble.

Stay Alert

Second, we must stay alert. Look at verse 8 with me––“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” We are also to be sober-minded and watchful. The Christian life is not a life of ease. We don’t just make a decision to follow Jesus and then life all of a sudden becomes easy to manage. There is never a time this side of eternity as a Christian where we get to be complacent about our walk with Christ and living for Him in this world. We’re to stay alert.

Why? Why must we stay alert? Because, Peter tells us, “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Now there’s a couple of things to note here. He likens the devil to a roaring lion that wants to devour you. Just think about a lion’s roar, if you’ve ever heard it. It’s fierce. It’s terrifying. It’s intimidating. He wants to terrify you. He wants to terrorize you. When it happens, you’ll want to tuck tail and run. That’s the natural reaction. You may even want to take cover in old familiar ground that you used to find comfort in.

That’s what he wants. He wants you to panic. He wants you to lose sight of the end goal. He wants you to get off the path. He wants you to get tripped up. He wants you to stumble and fall. He wants you to take the bait as you give in to temptation and sin. He wants you to go back on your word. He wants you to turn your back on your church family. He wants you to do whatever it will take to make a shipwreck of your faith. He wants you to live in fear, shame, and doubt. He wants you to isolate yourself from the rest of the pack so that you’re easy to pick off.

Loved ones, the devil is going to roar against you as you seek to live faithfully for the glory of Christ. He’s going to roar through the rage of the world against you. It will look like the insults of hardened unbelievers who revile you for what you believe about Christ and following Him. It may even be the more subtle intimidation that comes through gossip and slander about you and maligning your character. And as the roars come you’ll be tempted to turn back. This danger lurks at every turn and can even catch us off guard, if we’re not alert to the danger.

Loved ones, we must stay alert to all these ways and more that the devil will rage against us through the world around us. Seeking to devour us and keep us from finishing the race that is set before us. We must stay alert. We also must stand firm. That’s the next point.

Stand Firm

What are we to do in the face of the devil’s roars? Look at verse 9––“Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” In verse 8 we’re encouraged to stay alert. To be vigilant. Here we are encouraged to actively resist him. He provides the means by which we resist him. The NIV makes it all the more clear. We resist the devil by “standing firm in the faith.” We are to continue trusting God, wholly entrusting ourselves to Him in all of life.

Loved ones, we resist the devil and stand against Him every time we choose to trust God and not ourselves or our own understanding. When trials and persecution come and we’re tempted to think that God doesn’t care about us or that He has abandoned us, we resist the devil by remembering that God does in fact care for us. Humbling ourselves before the Lord knowing that He cares for us and will sustain us to the end.

One thing that will help us to remember this reality is what Peter adds here. He speaks of knowing that the same kind of suffering is being experienced by other Christians throughout the world. There is encouragement to be found in the fellowship of suffering. We share in Christ’s suffering as we follow Him. This is the reality for everyone who seeks to follow Christ faithfully. We will suffer.

Peter wants us to know that our suffering for faith in Christ is not a mark of God abandoning us. It’s not something strange happening to us. It is a mark of our fellowship with Him and His people the world over. And so, because of that, we can actually be encouraged. We can actually stand firm and resist the devil––standing firm in the faith. Continuing to entrust ourselves to our faithful Creator who will sustain us.

Loved ones, when we keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus and the hope that is to be revealed on the last day, all the devil can do is roar at you. Like a lion at the zoo who is restrained by barriers, he cannot ultimately harm you as long as you press on in faithful dependence upon the Lord. That’s how we should respond when the roar of the devil rages against us. We stand firm.

Stay Hopeful

The wonderful reality is that suffering and the devils roar does not have the final word. There is great hope to come. Peter encourages us next to stay hopeful. Look at verses 10 and 11––“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. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

No one enjoys suffering. It’s painful. It’s hard to endure. It often seems to drag on forever and ever. It’s hard to see the end in sight. But notice Peter’s word choice here. It’s instructive for us is it not? He says, “after you have suffered a little while.” In the grand scheme of eternity this present age of affliction is short. It is a blip on the timeline of eternity. It is here today and gone tomorrow. We would do well to remember the brevity of this present evil age in comparison to the glory that is going to be revealed when Christ returns.

Loved ones, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will cause you to stand. He will bring you fully and finally to the end. No matter your circumstances this side of eternity, if you are in Christ you have every reason to stay hopeful and keep pressing on. The thing about hope for the Christian is that it is a certain hope. It is not wishful thinking. He is faithful and He will deliver you.

We know for certain that Christ is coming again and he will cause all of His people to stand on the last day with unceasing joy in Him for all eternity. He alone has all dominion and will rule forever and ever.

Stick Together

So what else can we do as we await that day? As we stay humble? As we stay alert? As we stand firm? As we stay hopeful? In all of that, loved ones, we must stick together. Look at Peter’s final greetings beginning with verse 12––

1Peter 5:12-14, “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. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Peter follows the customary pattern of ending letters in that day. He includes a greeting from Silvanus, also known as Silas. It is possible that Silvanus served as a sort of secretary, penning the letter for Peter as he spoke it aloud to him. More likely, Peter wrote the letter himself and sent it to his readers by Silvanus who would have brought it to them for Peter. He was more likely the carrier of the letter. Peter wants to offer his commendation of Silvanus so the church would accept him into their midst.

He then sums the whole contents of the letter up in this way––“this is the true grace of God.” From beginning to end. From God’s work of causing them to be born again as we saw at the beginning to him causing them to persevere and stand firm to the end and everything in between. This is the true grace of God. Grace from beginning to end.

He also mentioned greetings from “she who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen.” This was Peter’s way of referring to what was probably the church in Rome. Babylon was the way of referring biblically to the center of pagan and worldly power that stood in opposition to God. Fellow churches were often referred to with a feminine pronoun and identified as the chosen or elect. John did this as well in 2 John referring to the “elect lady and her children.” The church is referred to in Scripture as the Bride of Christ. Hence we speak of our sister churches today.

Then there’s greetings given on behalf of Mark. This was John Mark, a close companion of Peter who wrote the gospel of Mark. We also know him for his blunder of turning back from the mission in Acts, which caused Barnabas and Paul to split up when Barnabas wanted to take Mark back after his failure. We learn later on that Paul and Mark were reconciled and Mark became very useful to Paul just as he was to Peter.

He exhorts them to greet one another with the kiss of love and finishes with a final blessing of peace. Now, don’t worry, I’m not going to insist that we all start greeting one another with a literal kiss. But what it does certainly point us toward is a warm affection for one another. Do you have a warm affection for your church family? Whether it's shown in a warm hug or the grasp of a handshake that communicates genuine concern and care and warmth. One way or another we should have and demonstrate a warmth and affection for one another.

The kind of warmth and affection that is shown amongst family members who love one another and would do anything for each other. A family that sticks together through all the ups and downs of life. The Christian life is hard, loved ones. It’s even harder to try and go it alone. No need to try and make it harder by going it alone or by turning on one another.

Do you realize that you have been born again into an eternal family that will never fade away? A family that endures all the same trials and difficulties together for following Jesus? A family that has the greatest Father ever known, who cares for you? Who cares for all of us? Making every provision for us in Christ? A family that extends the world over and is represented most visibly for you in your local church? Loved ones, this is a family worth committing to. A family worth sticking together for.

Conclusion

Loved ones, this letter written by the apostle Peter has so much relevance for us in our present time. What was true then is still true today. It will cost you something in this life to follow Jesus. It is not easy. The world rages against the King of kings as well as His subjects. It will be tempting to throw in the towel when the fiery trials come upon us. But the same God who made a way for us to be reconciled to Him through Christ has enabled us to stand firm in these last days, by His grace and for His glory. There is great hope for us as we persevere and remain faithful to Him.

Loved ones, while we await that day that is coming, Stay humble, Stay alert, Stand firm, Stay hopeful, and Stick together.