SUFFER NOW GLORY LATER 2
Notes
Transcript
MAIN OUTLINE
1.Born Again to a Living Hope
2.Living Resurrection Life
3.Remember Who You Are
4.Following Jesus Far From Home
5.Sharing Christ’s Sufferings, Showing His Glory
6.A Shepherd and a Lion
KEY VERSES
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,
12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,
14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—
16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.
17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.
19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.
20 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;
23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives,
2 when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.
3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—
4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
5 For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands,
6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;
9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.
10 For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
MINI-OUTLINE
A. Our Status (2:11-12)
B. Our Conduct (2:13 - 3:12)
OUR CONDUCT
1) In our Civic Life (2:13-17)
2) In our Professional Life (2:18-25)
3) In our Marital Life (3:1-7)
4) In all Aspects of Life (3:8-12)
For time sake, we will only finish up to verse 12 (Our status) as there is much to speak about these two verses.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE LETTER?
We are in the 1/2 of the middle section
Peter uses Hortatory speeches - commands, advices, followed by encouragements
SOMETHING ABOUT THE LETTER?
1st subsection (2:11-3:12) - do good in social hierarchical relations
2nd subsection (3:8-12) - commands to all believers
SOMETHING ABOUT THE LETTER?
Peter established his authority to give commands
An apostle (1 Peter 1:1)
A witness of Christ’s passion (1 Peter 5:1)
Peter used it in its vocative form - a form that has already died out in the Koine Greek (Modern). We can trace the time Peter wrote the letter to the time when the form is getting phased out of the language as it is already seldomly used in the whole new Testament (83 in particular).
The use of the vocative signifies a transition in the letter’s macro-sectioning. We are now at the middle section of the letter. 1:3 to 2:10 is the body introduction.
I’m recently using the book “Discourse Analysis of the NT Writings” where the Todd Scacewater gives a discourse on how to read each NT books grammatically, and interestingly identifying which section fits together. In his discourse on 1 Peter, we can understand that Peter’s style is using Hortatory speeches - commands, advices, encouragements. That’s why we have encountered a lot of commands in the past verses. But these commands are followed by encouragement to obey them.
*Note that these are encouragements, not inciting fear that one is saved or not.
We cannot also read 1 Peter as a narrative or something similar to the Gospels or the letter of Paul.
Discourse Analysis of the New Testament Writings Mainline and Motivational Material
The mainline of a hortatory text is commands, imperative verbs and other commanding forms.
Commands from Chapter 1 & 2
“gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace” (1:13)
Commands from Chapter 1 & 2
Not to conform to the former lusts, but be holy in your conduct! (1:14-16)
Commands from Chapter 1 & 2
Not to judge others with partiality, but conduct oneself with fear (1:17)
Love one another fervently (1:22)
Commands from Chapter 1 & 2
Lay aside all malice, but desire the pure milk of the word (2:1-3)
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,
2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Peter’s encouragement to obey the commands
We are living stones (2:4-8)
We are a chosen generation… (2:9-10)
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,”
8 and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
This needs to be introduced from hereon since Peter will be barraging us with sequences of commands, which is unlike previous verses.
A. OUR STATUS
OUR STATUS
We are sojourners and pilgrims in this world
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,
OUR STATUS
“Beloved” - this is only 1 of 2 times Peter addressed the readers-believers as “beloved.” The other time is in 1 Peter 4:12
This solidifies the fact that these commands are only for the believers to follow. Whether you obey it or not, you are still a beloved.
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
OUR STATUS
“I beg/urge you” - a “performative verb” - “I beg/urge you” - root: Kaleo (call)
OUR STATUS
“Sojourners” - used 4 times in the NT - a “dweller” in a different land
“Sojourners” - whose real home is in heaven
29 Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.
6 But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.
Why are we foreigners in another land? - Paul says: our citizenship is in Heaven as part of God’s household - children.
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Christians are not citizens of earth trying to get to heaven but citizens of heaven making their way through this world.
Vance Houston Havner
OUR STATUS
“Pilgrims” - 3 times in the NT (2/3 in Peter)
to staying for a while in a strange or foreign place, sojourning, residing temporarily
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
OUR STATUS
There is a play on words here by Peter
“parakaleo” (I urge you)
“paroikous” (strangers)
“parepidemous” (pilgrims)
A semantic way to induce active remembering by the readers
In the truest sense, Christian pilgrims have the best of both worlds. We have joy whenever this world reminds us of the next, and we take solace whenever it does not.1289
Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions, and Eternity
Randy Alcorn
We are pilgrims, not picnickers.
Iain M. Duguid
We know that these descriptions are not related to the previous passage because of the “beloved” in vocative - direct addressee.
Artemis II. Who are they? The temporarily left the earth but still their home is earth
Is the world our home? Or the moon?
Artemis II landing
“This world is not our home”
This world is not my home
I'm just a-passing through
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue
“This world is not our home”
Oh Lord, you know
I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home
Then Lord, what will I do?
Resurrection Life in a World of Suffering: 1 Peter 1. Our Status (2:11a)
We’re far from home, yes, but we’re not far from him. It’s true that you’re an alien and a stranger. It’s true that you may have to face cancer or betrayal or the loss of a loved one. You might lose your job or fail an exam. But you will never face the withdrawal of God’s love for you. Your permanent status is “beloved of God.” Your unchangeable identity is “beloved citizen of the city of God.”
OUR STATUS
Peter’s reminder of who we are lays the foundation why we are to conduct ourselves as properly while we’re on earth.
B. OUR CONDUCT
OUR CONDUCT
How we follow Jesus far from home?
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,
12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
OUR CONDUCT (NEGATIVE)
Negative command: “resist evil” (11b)
Positive command: “do good” (12)
What not to do (11)
What to do (12)
16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
OUR CONDUCT (NEGATIVE)
There is only lust in the world. While we are in the world, we will be exposed to it.
OUR CONDUCT (NEGATIVE)
We should not get attached to the world so that we can abstain from its lusts.
“Abstain” (apecho)
to be at some distance from a position, be distant,
to avoid contact w. or use of someth., keep away, abstain, refrain from
James said to flee from the Devil by submitting to God.
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Paul says to walk in the Spirit!
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
These are sins that results from our sinful nature in us. Lusts will make these sins manifest.
Saving the Saved: An Exposition of 1 Peter i. Avoidance of Bad Conduct 2:11
which includes things like anger and jealousy, sins of the psyche, not sins of the body
These lusts wages war against our souls (our life here on earth).
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Saving the Saved: An Exposition of 1 Peter i. Avoidance of Bad Conduct 2:11
This is not a reference to that which goes to heaven or hell when we die, but rather it refers to our lives, our time on earth
12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
OUR CONDUCT (POSITIVE)
Peter’s play on words:
“Having” vs “abstain”
“Echo” vs “apoecho”
“get close” vs “keep your distance”
OUR CONDUCT (POSITIVE)
What are we believers ought to have?
Honorable (kalos) conduct
(way of life)
Good (kalos) works
12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
OUR CONDUCT (POSITIVE)
What is Peter’s purpose for commanding these things?
That the world (Gentiles) may see Jesus through us
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
There are two pictures of the Christian in closing: salt and the light. Salt speaks of inward character that influences a decaying world; light speaks of the outward testimony of good works that points to God. Our task is to keep our lives pure that we might “salt” this earth and hold back corruption so that the Gospel can get out. Our good works must accompany our dedicated lives as we let our lights shine.
Warren W. Wiersbe
Disciples must be salt and light, arresting decay and providing illumination for a lost and dying world.
Craig Blomberg
OUR CONDUCT
Note that Peter doesn’t tell us that if we do these things we prove to ourselves that we’re truly saved
OUR CONDUCT
Instead, Peter is looking outward so that the world (Gentiles) can also glorify God.
OUR CONDUCT
“may glorify God” (subjunctive verb form)
Unbelievers (the world/Gentiles) still has the free will to choose to glorify God or not. Our conduct will only give them an opportunity to glorify God.
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
“When in Rome, do what Romans do”
But Paul said, don’t do what the Romans do, but up to a certain extent that it would not be acceptable to God.
11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.
