1Pe 5:1

ELDERS: The leaders of the local congregations. The institution of a group of older and wiser men providing direction and rule goes back to the early days of Israel as a people. This was done both nationally and locally. Thus there were “elders” of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem as well as “elders” of local synagogues. The institution of eldership was adopted by the Jerusalem church (Act 11:30; 21:18), and Paul and Barnabas applied it to the local congregations they founded on their missionary journeys (Act 14:23; 1Ti 3:1-7; Tit 1:5-7). Peter, therefore, addresses the elders because of their vital role in the life of the congregation. Because of suffering and persecution, the need of pastoral leadership was important for the local churches. According to Tit 1:5,7, the words “presbyteros” (“elder”) and “episkopos” (“bishop,” or “overseer”; cp v 2 here) are interchangeable.

FELLOW ELDER: As appointed by Jesus (Joh 21:15-19). Cp 2Jo 1:1; 3Jo 1:1.

“Partakers” / “sharers”: of root and fatness of olive tree (Rom 11:17), of spiritual things (Rom 15:27), of one bread (1Co 10:17), of sufferings and consolation (2Co 1:7), of God’s promise in Christ (Eph 3:6), of inheritance of sts (Col 1:12), of heavenly calling (Heb 3:1), of Christ (Heb 3:14), of the benefit (1Ti 6:2), of the glory (1Pe 5:1), and of the divine nature (2Pe 1:4).

THE GLORY TO BE REVEALED: 1Pe 4:13.

1Pe 5:2

BE SHEPHERDS OF GOD’S FLOCK: Peter’s command is to “shepherd” (poimanate) God’s “flock” (poimnion). The comparison of God’s people to a flock of sheep and the Lord to a shepherd is prominent in Scripture. See, for example, Jacob’s words: “The God who has been my Shepherd all my life” (Gen 48:15); David’s Shepherd Psalm (Psa 23); Psa 100:3; Isa 53:6,7; Luke 15:3-7; John 10:1-16. The verb “poimaino” (“to shepherd”) occurs in Christ’s command to Peter (Joh 21:16) and Paul’s charge to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:28). Its meaning embraces protecting, leading, guiding, and feeding.

GOD’S FLOCK: Peter reminds the elders that the flock is God’s and that they are responsible for its loving care. “Serving as overseers” (“episkopountes”) reveals the interchangeability of the terms “overseer” and “bishop.” Elder (“presbyteros”) denotes the dignity of the office; “bishop” (“episkopos”) denotes its function — “to oversee”.

NOT BECAUSE YOU MUST: Since the responsibilities of the office of elder are great and since elders will be required to give account of their work (Heb 13:17), no one should be forced into this position.

NOT GREEDY FOR MONEY: Not money — but enthusiasm and zeal for God and his work will motivate elders.

EAGER TO SERVE: These words remind us of what Paul wrote to Timothy: “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task” (1Ti 3:1).

1Pe 5:3

EXAMPLES: Gr “tupos”: a stamp or impression or model. See 1Th 1:7; 2Th 3:7-9.

FLOCK: Gr “kleros”: a lot, or an inheritance or portion received by lot.

1Pe 5:4

WHEN THE CHIEF SHEPHERD APPEARS: The glorification will take place at the manifestation of the True Shepherd (Joh 10:11) or Chief Shepherd (Rom 8:17-22; 1Jo 3:2).

THE CROWN OF GLORY: The “crown” could be a “garland” or “wreath” made of leaves or of gold — the victor’s wreath (Rev 3:11; 2Ti 4:8). (In Christ’s suffering it was ironically made of thorns: Mat 27:29.) The unfading “crown of glory” makes a striking contrast to the “use of withered parsley for the crown at the Isthmian games” (NIDNTT).

See Lesson, Olympics — ancient, modern, and “Christian”.

There is a crown of pride (Isa 28:3), which no one should wear. A crown of thorns (Mat 27:29), which no one can wear. And a crown of life (Jam 1:12), which everyone may wear. Also, an incorruptible crown (1Co 9:25), a crown of rejoicing (1Th 2:19), a crown of glory (1Pe 5:4), and a crown to be kept until Christ’s coming (Rev 3:11).

1Pe 5:5

BE SUBMISSIVE: Gr “hupotasso”: lit to be under military rule or order (used in 1Pe 2:13,18; 3:1,5,22; 5:5).

CLOTHE YOURSELVES: Gr “egkombosasthe” is a rare word that refers to a slave putting on an apron before serving. So Christians are to imitate their Lord, who girded himself and served (John 13:4-17). This implies that humility is not a mere passive quality — but is a calling to DO something. It includes performing selflessly any task God assigns, and bringing forth spiritual fruit.

WITH HUMILITY: The reason for humility is based on Pro 3:34 (cf Jam 4:6): God’s provision of grace to the submissive and God’s opposition to the proud.

GOD OPPOSES THE PROUD: Quoting from Pro 3:34. “Pride desires to do great things publicly: love is happy to do little things privately. Man can only do little things. Only God can do great things. Even Christ said, ‘I can of mine own self do nothing.’ Man, if he is wise and faithful, and humbles himself truly (not just pridefully), may be used as an instrument for God’s great things” (GVG).

THE HUMBLE: The humble or “lowly” in the proverb (Pro 3:34) — in this context — is the “son” (Pro 3:1) who does not ‘despise the chastening …’ (Pro 3:11). Thus the “humbling” of this verse is a willingness to accept the chastening hand of the Father in our lives.

“In speaking of humility, it might be helpful to say what humility is not. It is not a false valuation of your talents or abilities. You need not say you are dumb when you are smart or ugly when you are handsome. It is understanding those gifts are from God and therefore cannot be a source of arrogance. Meekness does not mean deferring to everyone on everything. Different people are suited to different tasks. Some do things better than others. Humility allows for an accurate self-assessment and the adeptness to carry out those duties without self-aggrandizement to the benefit of God and others. Humility is also not rejecting all praise. We must accept praise and criticism equally well. If we are humble, we will not love ‘the praise of men more than the praise of God’ (Joh 12:43). We cannot accept the praise of men and also attain the praise of God unless we do so humbly and with a sincere recognition of the source of our abilities” (KT).

1Pe 5:6

HUMBLE YOURSELVES: “Be humble, and then God will not need to humble you. Having to be humbled is very unpleasant (though wholesome). With wisdom, it can largely be avoided, by getting there first voluntarily. Of course, if you are not God’s, He may not bother to humble you, He may just let you run out your animal course in your pride. But if you are His, humbling must come, one way or the other. Christ was humble — ‘Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.’ He towered infinitely above everyone on earth. How then could he be sincerely humble? Because he realized that he was nothing, and God was everything. He did not (like so many) compare himself with those around him, but with God. He knew that all he ever did or was or understood was of God: the gift of God, the love of God. He had no illusions of his own innate strength or goodness or wisdom. He emptied himself — his own natural, fleshly self — and filled himself totally with God: or, rather, he submitted to God totally filling him, to perfectly direct every thought, word and deed. He was the perfect vessel for the Divine use. Let us try to follow him.

“A word of caution: we are not to sit supinely waiting for this to happen to us — and then assume our own fleshly thoughts are God’s. We are expected to strain to the limit to prepare ourselves for divine use by study of the Word and meditation and prayer and constant self-searching. We can be sure that that is the wise and scriptural course that Christ followed. Psa 119, and other psalms, tell us that” (GVG).

UNDER GOD’S MIGHTY HAND: In the OT, God’s hand sym discipline (Exo 3:19; 6:1; Job 30:21; Psa 32:4) and deliverance (Deu 9:26; Eze 20:34). Both meanings are appropriate here.

1Pe 5:7

// Mat 6:25-34.

CAST ALL YOUR ANXIETY ON HIM: “When trouble comes, do not think it is not from God, because it is natural. It may not differ from the trouble of other men in apparent origin and form, but it differs from theirs in being under an invisible supervision which aims at a result, and will say, at a certain point, ‘Thus far and no farther.’ Truth, like the prism, has many sides — all beautiful and consistent one with another. Childlike docility in its study will open up her treasures which are hid from the eyes of the proud. Our affairs are small in the measureless universe; but they are of great consequence, for good or evil, to worms like ourselves, consequently not insignificant in the eyes of Him who invites us to ‘cast all our care upon Him,’ with the assurance that ‘He careth for us’ ” (WP 40).

1Pe 5:8

BE SELF-CONTROLLED AND ALERT: Belief in the sovereignty of God and in his fatherly concern for us (vv 6,7) does not permit us to sit back and do nothing. We are to “work out [our] salvation” because “it is God who works in [us]” (Phi 2:12,13). So here Peter warns his flock of the danger of making the fact of God’s sovereign care an excuse for inactivity. This exhortation reflects Peter’s own experience in which he failed to “watch” (Mat 26:38,40,41 — sw ‘alert’; Mar 14:34). God’s sovereignty does not preclude peril to the Christian life.

ENEMY: “Antidikos” means the adversary in a court case. Hence, in the parable, “agree with thine adversary quickly, lest the judge…” (Mat 5:25; Luk 12:58). And, in another parable, the widow appeals persistently to the unprincipled judge: “Avenge me of mine adversary” (Luk 18:3). But now what about 1Pe 5:8? JWs must explain what court-case the devil might want to prosecute. The word suggests very pointedly the activities of malicious accusers (Jews?) laying information against Christians, hoping to get them thrown to the lions in Nero’s persecution. Read in this way, the word “antidikos” makes sense; otherwise, not.

DEVIL: “Diabolos” = false accuser; the term is applied to men who oppose God: Joh 6:70; 1Ti 3:11; 2Ti 3:3. Peter means human evil-speaking: 1Pe 2;1,12,14; 4:2-4. See Lesson, Devil, who is the?

ROARING: Evil rulers “roar”: Pro 28:15; Act 19:34; Rev 13:11,15; Eze 22:25.

LION: Sym wicked nations (Dan 7:3,4,17; Jer 4:7; 50:17), and/or men speaking lies (Psa 57:4; Psa 22:12,13; Pro 28:15).

SOMEONE TO DEVOUR: Or something! One’s character, property, life, etc. See Mat 23:14; Hab 1:13; Psa 37:12.

1Pe 5:9

RESIST HIM: The same exh is found in Eph 6:11-13 and Jam 4:7.

THE SAME KIND OF SUFFERINGS: All who are in union with Christ may expect suffering (Joh 15:18-20; 16:33), and the whole body is joined together in suffering (1Co 12:26).

1Pe 5:10

Four “callings” in 1Pe: “out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1Pe 2:9); “to suffering for well-doing” (1Pe 2:20,21); “to render blessing for evil” (1Pe 3:9); “to his eternal glory” (1Pe 5:10).

WHO CALLED YOU TO HIS ETERNAL GLORY: To share in Christ’s glory with his Father (Psa 73:23,24; Joh 17:22,24; Rom 8:30 — “called” and “glorified” together).

AFTER YOU HAVE SUFFERED A LITTLE WHILE: The eternal glory contrasts with the temporal trials Christians suffer (2Co 4:16-18).

RESTORE: Gr “katartisei” = “make complete” or “put in order.” The idea of being thoroughly equipped for future work.

MAKE YOU STRONG: Gr “sterixei” = “strengthen one so he can stand fast in persecution.”

FIRM: Gr “sthenosei” is found only once in the NT. The exact difference between “sterixei” and “sthenosei” is difficult to determine.

STEADFAST: Gr “themeliosei” is “to put on a firm foundation”.

1Pe 5:12

SILAS: Silas, or “Silvanus”, is the same person as the one mentioned in Act 15:22-33; 15:40–18:5; 1Th 1:1; 2Th 1:1. One of the leading men in the early ecclesia. What help he gave Peter in writing this letter is uncertain. If he was the amanuensis, it would have been normal for him to have a significant part in writing. Sometimes the amanuensis took shorthand and at other times he used his own words to convey his employer’s message.

1Pe 5:13

SHE WHO IS IN BABYLON: Prob ref to the church, or ecclesia, at that particular place. “Babylon” could be (1) in Mesopotamia, (2) a town in Egypt, or (3) a cryptic reference to Rome. The last view is best because: (a) according to early church tradition Peter was in Rome; (b) there is no evidence for Peter’s having been in Egypt or Mesopotamia; and (c) the reference may be cryptic because of persecution, or it may be an allusion to the “exile” of God’s people on the pattern of the exile of ancient Israel in Babylon (EBC).

Furthermore, the ref to “Babylon” may be intended to recall the experiences of Daniel, who endured “fiery trials” and persecutions in the literal Babylon — and is a pattern, in some measure, for the whole letter.

MY SON: Could be a spiritual designation: my younger bro, my protege: 1Ti 1:2,18; 2Ti 1:2; 2:1; Tit 1:4.

MARK: John Mark (Act 12:12,25; 15:36-39; 2Jo 1:1,13). Strong early tradition links John Mark with Peter and his Gospel.

1Pe 5:14

KISS OF LOVE: The normal form of greeting between friends in apostolic times. Cp the “holy kiss” in Rom 16:16; 1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:13; 1Th 5:26.

1Pe 4:1

THEREFORE: In view of 1Pe 3:18.

ARM YOURSELVES: For a spiritual “warfare”: 2Ti 2:3,4; Eph 6:11; 2Co 10:4.

WITH THE SAME ATTITUDE: The mind of the Spirit: Rom 8:6; the mind of Christ: Phi 2:5.

HE WHO HAS SUFFERED… IS DONE WITH SIN: Prob best understood in the sense of Rom 6:7. By union with Christ, the Christian is to understand that his conversion is a death to sin (Gal 5:24; 6:14; Eph 4:22).

1Pe 4:2

HIS EARTHLY LIFE: Better, “his time in the flesh” (AV).

1Pe 4:3

FOR YOU HAVE SPENT ENOUGH TIME IN THE PAST: That is, the time before experiencing the “newness of life” in Christ: Rom 6:4.

Lists of vices such as this were common in the ancient world and also in the NT (Mar 7:21-22; Rom 1:29-31; 13:13; 1Co 5:10; Gal 5:19-20; 2Pe 2:10-14). The common excesses of drink, sex, and wild parties was found among the non-Christians then, as it is now.

1Pe 4:4

A believer’s life of holiness, self-restraint, and chastity is his greatest recommendation to the attention of the outsider.

PLUNGE: “Suntrecho” = to rush, or run together.

FLOOD: “Anachusis”, one time only in NT. An effusion, or overflowing.

DISSIPATION: Gr “asotia”, lit that which is not saved. Similar word for the prodigal son’s (wild living” (Luk 15:13).

THEY HEAP ABUSE ON YOU: The pagan amazement will often turn to hatred and evil speaking (Joh 3:19-21).

1Pe 4:5

THEY: Whereas the AV “who” here is ambiguous, the antecedent of “they” is the unbaptized Gentiles, because the verb (“will have to give account”) is 3rd person plural.

1Pe 4:6

THOSE WHO ARE NOW DEAD: Men in imprisoned “spirits” (1Pe 3:19) are morally “dead” (1Ti 5:6). Or, perh, ref to believers who have by now died — thus they will yet live again, “in the spirit”!

1Pe 4:7

THE END OF ALL THINGS IS NEAR: Jesus taught responsible living, in the light of his return (Luk 12:35-43; 17:26,27).

THEREFORE BE CLEAR MINDED AND SELF-CONTROLLED: Christians are not to give way to “eschatological frenzy”, but to practice self-control. Peter had set a negative example in his failure to watch and pray in the Garden (Mat 26:40,41).

SO THAT YOU CAN PRAY: Sometimes the only, and certainly the best, thing one can do for his brothers and sisters.

1Pe 4:8

LOVE: “Agape” love is capable of being commanded because it is not primarily an emotion but a decision of the will leading to action. (On the necessity of Christians’ loving one another, see Mar 12:30-33; Joh 13:34-38; 15:12-17.)

LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS: This quotation from Pro 10:12 does not mean that our love covers or atones for our sins. In the proverb the meaning is that love does not “stir up” sins or broadcast them. So the major idea is that love suffers in silence and bears all things (1Co 13:5-7). Christians forgive faults in others because they know the forgiving grace of God in their own lives.

1Pe 4:9

OFFER HOSPITALITY TO ONE ANOTHER WITHOUT GRUMBLING: Hospitality (Gr “philoxenos” = the love of strangers) between Christians was an important, concrete expression of love in a world without our modern inns and hotels. This virtue was required of the bishops and widows (1Ti 3:2; 5:10; Tit 1:8) and is commanded for us all (Mat 25:35-45; Rom 12:13; 3Jo 1:5-8). Hospitality is to be “without grumbling” — a phase that suggests the difficulty of carrying out this command. In certain cultures that are strongly family-orientated, the bringing of strangers or foreigners into a house may be somewhat shocking. Yet Christians overcome these conventions because God’s love has made them into a single great family.

1Pe 4:10

WHATEVER GIFT: We all have “gifts” (natural abilities, blessings of material things, etc) from God — not necessarily just HSp “gifts” — and the lessons of Paul apply to both: cp Rom 12:6-8; 1Co 12:12-31. One of the longstanding misconceptions in church practice is the idea that only one person is to “minister” in the local church. The Bible principle is that all can and should minister in one way or another — with whatever capacities or abilities God has bestowed upon them.

1Pe 4:11

IF ANYONE SPEAKS, HE SHOULD DO IT AS ONE SPEAKING THE VERY WORDS OF GOD: We should take care that all we say is in accordance with the Word of God. If we are not sure, then it is not sin — indeed, it is a very good idea — simply to keep quiet!

SO THAT IN ALL THINGS GOD MAY BE PRAISED: The purpose of mutual Christian service is that through Jesus Christ God will be glorified. Serving fellow Christians does glorify God because people will praise Him for His grace — that comes to them through Jesus and through his followers.

TO HIM BE THE GLORY AND THE POWER FOR EVER AND EVER: Peter adds a doxology — something that is not uncommon in Christian letters at various places besides the end (Rom 11:33-36; Eph 3:20-21).

1Pe 4:12

DEAR FRIENDS: “Agapetoi” , “beloved,” as at 1Pe 2:11; also occurs in 2Pe 3:1,8,14,15,17).

THE PAINFUL TRIAL YOU ARE SUFFERING: Suffering is not to be regarded as something foreign to Christian experience but rather as a refining test. Peter has already mentioned the necessity of faith being refined through suffering and testing (1Pe 1:6,7). Here the idea of refining is found in the word “painful” (lit, “burning”, or “fiery”, as in AV), which occurs in the LXX) in the metaphor of the refining of metals. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (Joh 15:18); and John writes, “Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you” (1Jo 3:13). In the light of Jesus’ experience and teaching, his followers should expect troubles, but troubles should only encourage them (Joh 16:33).

1Pe 4:13

REJOICE… IN THE SUFFERINGS: In contrast to the usual response of sorrow and shock to suffering and persecution, the Christian is to rejoice because he is participating in Christ’s sufferings: cp Mat 5:10-12; Rom 8:17; 2Co 1:5-7; Phi 3:10. For illustrations of Christians’ rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name of Christ, see Act 5:41 (of all the apostles) and Act 16:22-25 (of Paul and Silas).

SO THAT YOU MAY BE OVERJOYED WHEN HIS GLORY IS REVEALED: Christian rejoicing rests on the fact that as Christians share in Christ’s suffering, so they will share in his glory with great joy. The prospect of Christ’s full manifestation in all his glory fills the believer with joy and comfort.

“We have the misfortune or happiness (according as we reckon it) to live in an age of corrupt Christianity, when there is neither the bracing vigour that comes with open persecution, nor the helping comfort that ought to come with a universal profession of the name of Christ. The whole community, while professing to be Christian, are away from God’s own book, which they either do not heed at all, or make void by the commandments and traditions of men. We are helpless in the matter. We could accept reprobation if it would bring the world to God. It is not we who have appointed the gospel of the Kingdom as the power of God unto salvation, or who have denounced a curse on those preaching any other. It is not our invention at all. We simply believe and submit, and sorrowfully recognise the position of Christendom. But we may be of good cheer. We are on God’s side, and His words to us by our reading today are, ‘Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy’ ” (RR, Diary of Voyage 171).

1Pe 4:14

YOU ARE BLESSED: Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad” (Mat 5:11,12). Here in 1Pe we have a fulfillment of the Lord’s own promises to his disciples.

FOR THE SPIRIT OF GLORY AND OF GOD RESTS ON YOU: In Mat the cause for happiness is the promised reward. Here it is the possession of the messianic Spirit — which could also occur at the 2nd coming of Christ: 2Ti 2:10-12. (Many ancient mss add “and of power” after “glory.”) This v is based on Isa 11:2 (and perh Psa 89:50-51). One of God’s great characteristics is his glory (Act 7:2; Eph 1:17), and in Jesus that glory is revealed (John 1:14,18) — just as it will be in us one day!

1Pe 4:15

A MURDERER OR THIEF OR ANY OTHER KIND…: “And such were some of you…” (1Co 6:9-11).

MEDDLER: Gr “allotriepiskopos” = lit, one who oversees SOMEONE ELSE’S affairs (instead of his own!). Only once in NT. Cp 2Th 3:11: diff wd, but prob same sig.

1Pe 4:16

DO NOT BE ASHAMED: As Peter had been: Mat 26:69-75; Mar 14:66-72.

1Pe 4:17

An echo of Ezekiel 9:6 — “Slay utterly old and young… and begin at My sanctuary.” Judgment coming first upon the people of God: Zec 13:7-9; Mal 3:1-5.

WHAT WILL THE OUTCOME BE FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT OBEY THE GOSPEL OF GOD?: Citing, generally, Pro 11:31 — in v 18.

1Pe 4:18

Cited from Pro 11:31.

1Pe 4:19

COMMIT THEMSELVES TO THEIR FAITHFUL CREATOR: This their Lord did at his death (Luk 23:46), reflecting Psa 31:5!

“To choose to suffer means that there is something wrong; to choose God’s will even if it means suffering is a very different thing. No healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he chooses God’s will, as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not. Be merciful to God’s reputation. It is easy to blacken God’s character because God never answers back, He never vindicates Himself. Beware of the thought that Jesus needed sympathy in his earthly life; he refused sympathy from others because he knew far too wisely that no one on earth understood what he was going through. Notice God’s ‘waste’ of saints, according to the judgment of the world. God plants His saints in some of the most useless places. We say, ‘God intends me to be here because I am so useful.’ Jesus never estimated his life along the line of the greatest use. God puts His saints where they will glorify Him most, and we are no judges at all of where that is” (Oswald Chambers).

CONTINUE TO DO GOOD: The continuation in good works or action is a concrete sign of the faith that is the essence of being a Christian (1Pe 2:15,20; 3:6,17). This is equivalent to laying up “treasure” in heaven: Luk 12:21; Mat 19:21.

Author: Peter. This epistle claims that the Apostle Peter wrote it (2Pe 1:1). It also claims to follow a former letter by Peter (2Pe 3:1) that certainly appears to be a reference to 1Pe. The author’s reference to the fact that Jesus had predicted a certain kind of death for him (2Pe 1:14) ties in with Jesus’ statement to Peter recorded in Joh 21:18.

The writings of the church fathers contain fewer references to Peter’s authorship of 2Pe than to the authorship of any other NT book. It is easy to see why critics who look for reasons to reject the authority of Scripture have targeted this book for attack. Ironically in this letter Peter warned his readers of heretics who departed from the teaching of the apostles and the OT prophets, which is the very thing these modern critics do.

Regardless of the external evidence, there is strong internal testimony to the fact that Peter wrote the book. The writer claimed to have witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration (2Pe 1:16-18) and to have received information about his own death from Jesus (2Pe 1:13,14; cf John 21:18).

Assuming Peter’s reference to his former letter (2Pe 3:1) is to 1Pe, he seems to have sent this epistle to the same general audience. That audience was primarily Gentile but also Jewish Christians living in northern Asia Minor (cf 1Pe 1:1).

Time: Peter’s reference to his imminent departure from this life (2Pe 1:13-15) suggests that the time of composition may have been just before Peter suffered martyrdom. The writings of church fathers place Peter’s death at 67-68 AD in Rome (the persecutions of Nero began about 64 AD). Consequently a date of composition about that time seems most likely. Early church tradition also says Peter spent the last decade of his life in Rome.

“Second Peter is the swan song of Peter, just as 2Ti is the swan song of Paul. There are striking similarities between the two books. Both epistles put up a warning sign along the pilgrim pathway the church is traveling to identify the awful apostasy that was on the way at the time and which in our time has now arrived. What was then like a cloud the size of a man’s hand today envelops the sky and produces a storm of hurricane proportions. Peter warns of heresy among teachers; Paul warns of heresy among the laity” (McGee).

Summary: Peter encourages the Christians to be sure of salvation by putting true doctrine into practice and dealing with false teachers. The letter is written to encourage Christian growth, while resisting false doctrine.

Key verse: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2Pe 3:9).

Outline

1. How to make one’s salvation sure: 2Pe 1:1-11 2. Peter’s reason for writing: 2Pe 1:12-21 3. False teachers: their behavior and end: 2Pe 2:1-22 4. The day of the Lord: 2Pe 3:1-18

Jam 5:1

YOU RICH PEOPLE: Who can scarcely enter Kingdom: Mat 19:23.

Jam 5:3

AND EAT YOUR FLESH: Strong language, taken from the curses to which Israel agreed: Lev 26:29; Deu 28:53.

Jam 5:4

THE WAGES YOU FAILED TO PAY THE WORKMEN: The attitude of withholding wages draws on the prohibitions of the Law of Moses: Lev 19:13; Deu 24:14.

THE CRIES OF THE HARVESTERS: The cries of those who are oppressed draws on Deu 24:15.

Jam 5:7

BE PATIENT: “I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it” (Charles Swindoll).

“One moment of patience may ward off a great disaster; one moment of impatience may ruin a whole life” (Chinese proverb).

UNTIL: See Lesson, AN, Conditional deferment.

THE LORD’S COMING: See Lesson, “Parousia”.

If I can be sure, when the time finally comes for the Great High Priest to return from the Most Holy Place bringing the final blessing…. that I’ll still be here, waiting at my post, rejoicing in the tribulations which I endure, and having learned patience…. real PATIENCE…… enough for a lifetime, of broken hearts and broken dreams [sounds like a country western song, doesn’t it?], of hurt feelings, of resentments, of disappointments, of bitterness, of ailments and illnesses, of the gradual and insidious decline of all my human powers, and the frustrations of coming short time and again of what I would like to be, but can’t quite be, of asking forgiveness for the 490th time for the same sins, of forgiving others for the same number of times…. without throwing up my hands and walking away from the door of the temple. Out into the howling waste of a wilderness of snakes and scorpions — where there is no hope and no life and no love… the wilderness where Judas went, and Cain, and Saul, and a million others — who could not truly believe that the High Priest was coming to bring them the last great blessing. Yes, if I can only wait… long enough… then “I WILL BE saved” will turn into “I AM saved”! God give me strength enough to wait… that long. And I won’t even care whether that strength should be called the Holy Spirit or something else…

COMING: “Parousia” = a being alongside, demanding a physical presence: 2Th 2:1; 3:13; 2Pe 3:4,12.

Jam 5:8

COMING: See Lesson, “Parousia”.

Jam 5:10

PATIENCE IN THE FACE OF SUFFERING: “In pursuing our duties in the Truth, we must be actuated by a higher motive than that of present success. Whether men will hear or forbear, through evil report or good report, we must steadily and cheerfully go on. God more frequently than not permits our labors to be fruitless. ‘How few receive with cordial faith the tidings which we bring.’ We think of the labour and expense in our big and little efforts, and the infinitesimal results.

“Our failures, too, are not confined to the alien. How often is the faithful word of warning, of counsel, of reproof, treated with heartless contempt by professors in the household? Yes, there is now but little success; failure is the rule.

“Yet so far as the obedient are concerned, it is not really failure, for by means of it inconceivable good is being evolved. This will be apparent when the day arrives for the manifestation of the sons of God. Even the offense given, the misunderstanding created, the enmity and bitterness evoked, aid in developing the sufferings which teach obedience and bring perfection. Christ’s service calls for the exhibition of patience and long-suffering. These virtues can only be cultivated by turning a deaf ear to the likes and dislikes of man and performing our duties as unto Christ, who is at the head of affairs, manipulating them as His wisdom sees fit. In our trials, let us think of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and all the prophets, who through their patient endurance have earned the praise of God (Jam 5:10). Let us pray with Paul that we may be ‘strengthened with all might, according to His (God’s) glorious power unto all patience and long-suffering and with joyfulness’ (Col 1:11)” (ATJ).

Jam 5:13

IN TROUBLE: “Kakopatheo” = an “affliction” (KJV) or trial or hardship (cp 2Ti 1:8; 2:3,9).

HE SHOULD PRAY: “A business magazine published an account of a most successful salesman who maintained his efficiency by putting himself through a kind of catechism every morning, to impress upon his mind the excellence of his proposition and his determination to be successful. Perhaps his example might, with advantage, be followed on a higher plane of thought. Men may exhort themselves sometimes more effectively than they can be exhorted. There is a very real wisdom in the institution of special evening and morning prayer, for it is at those times that the mind is most plastic, and habits of thought most easily formed. Let a man deliver his evening prayer from the heart, and then, dismissing worldly thoughts woo sleep by thinking about the kingdom of God, and his mind will be in the right condition for the silent night’s work of renovation. It is by the encouragement of such ennobling thoughts that the positive habits are formed and evil habits are excluded” (ConCon 140).

Jam 5:14

SICK: //1Co 11:30; Rom 5:6 (“weak” = asthenes, with no strength). Prob a physical sickness, poss the result of a spiritual illness. Mental, moral sickness are often related to physical sickness.

HE SHOULD CALL: It is alright to seek help! One does not necessarily need to “suffer in silence”.

THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH: The elders at Jerusalem were the apostles, given special powers by Christ (Mar 6:13; Act 9:40).

ANOINT HIM WITH OIL: Only one other NT instance of anointing with oil: Mar 6:13. Cp anointing with clay (Joh 9:11). In OT, ref consecration of Aaron and sons (Exo 29:21; 40:13-15). [The Catholic “extreme unction” is for those who are about to die, not to bring recovery!]

Jam 5:15

SICK: “Kamno” = to toil or labor; thus the weary or faint (cp Heb 12:3). Not sw as in v 14. (Poss, again — but not necessarily — the result of sin.)

IF HE HAS SINNED, HE WILL BE FORGIVEN: Joh 20;22,23.

Jam 5:16

Christ takes our weariness and burdens upon himself: Mat 11:28-30.

THE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN: “Prayer has two main purposes: all else is secondary. (1) Thanksgiving — perpetual moment-to-moment thankfulness for everything: for to the eye of faith and love all is glorious, all is joyful. And (2) Seeking help to know right and think right and do right — in every circumstance, every condition. Get these on track as a fixed way of life, and all else will flow in a mighty, irresistible stream of goodness” (GVG).

Author: Peter

Time: AD 60

Summary: This letter was a general letter written to Christians in Asia Minor to help build a joyful hope in the face of persecution. After confirming the grace of God in giving salvation to the chosen, Peter commands submission to authorities — despite persecution. He also shows that enduring suffering for Christ holds the promise of life forever.

Key verses: “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed… If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” (1Pe 4:14,16).

Outline

1. Introduction: 1Pe 1:1,2

2. The hope of salvation: 1Pe 1:3-12

3. God’s requirements for life: 1Pe 1:13 – 5:11

a) Being holy as God’s people: 1Pe 1:13 – 2:12 b) Submission to authorities: 1Pe 2:13-25 c) Living for God: 1Pe 3:1 – 4:11 d) Suffering for being a Christian: 1Pe 4:12-19 e) Instruction to different groups: 1Pe 5:1-11

4. Final greetings: 1Pe 5:12-14

1Pe 2:1

Lists of vices such as this were common in the ancient world and also in the NT (Mar 7:21-22; Rom 1:29-31; 13:13; 1Co 5:10; Gal 5:19-20; 2Pe 2:10-14).

MALICE: From “kakos”, meaning simply “bad” or “evi”; sig vice of any and every kind.

DECEIT: As in Joh 1:47.

1Pe 2:2

CRAVE PURE SPIRITUAL MILK: “Above all, throw away your toys, and grow up to reality. Pray God that you may develop and mature mentally and spiritually. The vast majority never grow up; it’s always toys and games, under all sorts of rationalized names. But to what end? Look at all the tired, empty-minded, worn-out old people: half-dead, waiting to die — and they never even learned how to live, or what life is all about. It is the world’s greatest tragedy. Such criminally wasted opportunity!

“What is more wonderful than the knowledge of God, and the prospects of eternity? None of us is immune from the toy complex. We can make a toy out of anything. The work of the Truth is especially susceptible to this, because it is the flesh trying to cope with and rise to the things of the Spirit. Never get so immersed in the activity itself that it obscures the purpose and motive. There’s no law against enjoying the work of the Truth. In fact, it’s inevitable. But be sure the joy is of the Spirit and not of the flesh. You are doing it for God and man: not for pride and amusement and the gratification of personal accomplishment. Forget yourself in the joy of service and love” (GVG).

SPIRITUAL MILK: “The time is short. The scene will suddenly be changed in a short time; and all these matters will appear in their true light to everyone. Many will discover that they have been wasting their time and hurting their brethren by bootless and embittering controversy, instead of redeeming the evil days by the consolations of the truth. They will see too late that instead of imbibing the sincere milk of the word, they have been feeding on ashes; that instead of dispensing a portion of meat to the household in due season, they have been giving them gall and vinegar; that instead of strengthening the hands of fellowlabourers, they have been casting stumbling blocks in the paths of the weak, and discouraging the hearts of the strong; that instead of rejoicing in the Lord, they have been fretting their souls with barren contentions; that instead of filling up a good account with works of humility and mercy and faith, they have been sowing a harvest of envy and strife and every evil fruit; that instead of helping to purify a peculiar people, zealous of good works, their influence has been only mischievous, and that continually — obstructing the work of the Lord, pulling down the work already done, and throwing clouds and darkness over the beacon intended to guide the feet of the stranger to life eternal. Let us aim to be out of the ranks of this number, that the Lord at His coming, may approve our faithfulness in small things and give us work to do” (SC 215).

PURE: That is, “without guile”, in ct to v 1. Unmixed with the corrupting influences of erroneous doctrines and philosophies.

MILK: Simple nourishment, esp for “newborns”, in ct to the “meat” of the word (Heb 5:13–6:1).

1Pe 2:3

Citing Psalm 34:8: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” In the psa, the “LORD” is Yahweh. In his writings, Peter applies “kurios” (“Lord”) to Jesus. Once a person has come to taste the graciousness or goodness of the LORD, or Lord, he should have a continuing appetite for spiritual food.

1Pe 2:4

THE LIVING STONE: Now Peter presents Christ not as food but as a rock or a stone. The “rock-stone” imagery is common in Scripture. There is, for example, the stumbling stone of Isa 8:14, the foundation-stone of Isa 28:16, the parental rock of Isa 51:1,2, the rejected but vindicated building-stone of Psa 118:22, the little stone that smites the image of Dan 2:34, and the burdensome stone of Zec 12:3.

REJECTED: The “rejection” of Christ is, first, the valuation of Jesus by the nation (Mat 26:14-15; Act 2:22-24; 3:13-15; 4:10-11) and, second, the current rejection of him by the disobedient in every land.

1Pe 2:5

YOU ALSO… ARE BEING BUILT…: Jesus’ great prophecy to Peter (Mat 16:18,19) concerned Jesus’ building of his church. Peter sees, in the coming of individuals to Jesus the Rock, the building of a new spiritual edifice. Solomon was amazed at the thought of God’s gracious condescension in dwelling among his people and in a house (temple) that Solomon built (1Ki 8:27). Now the localized manifestation of God’s presence on earth is replaced by his indwelling of all believers (1Co 3:17, 6:19). God’s spiritual “temple” is no longer bound either by place nor time.

LIVING STONES: Even the least weighty and most insignificant “stones” are useful in the building up of the wall — and if even the least of them were removed, the strength of the wall would be compromised.

ARE BEING BUILT: As Eve was “built up” from Adam (Gen 2:22), the “bride” or ecclesia is built up from the “Rock” of Christ.

A SPIRITUAL HOUSE: The material sacrifices and temples that were shadows of the reality to come are now superseded. The OT spoke of the offerings of prayer, thanksgiving, praise, and repentance (Psa 50:14; 51:19; 107:22; 141:2) in addition to the material sacrifices and offerings. The NT speaks of the offering of “faith” (Phi 2:17), gifts as “a fragrant offering” (Phi 4:18), “your bodies as living sacrifices” (Rom 12:1), “a sacrifice of praise” (Heb 13:15), the conversion of the Gentiles as “an offering acceptable to God” (Rom 15:16), and Paul’s coming death as “a drink offering” (2Ti 4:6).

A HOLY PRIESTHOOD, OFFERING SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES: Every believer is a member of Christ’s “priesthood” (cp v 9; Heb 5:1,2; Rev 5:9) — having a service to perform and “sacrifices” to offer in God’s temple (Heb 13:10; Rom 12:1).

Think of the priest’s work: it was… dirty, sometimes disgusting, bloody, difficult work. The priest and his garments would become soiled by the sacrifices, and the lepers, and the unclean ones with whom he had to do. The priesthood was about blood, sweat, and tears. The priest was involved in the most desperate difficulties of the lives of sinners. Such was the priest in Israel (cp God’s love for the small baby Israel: Eze 16:3-7). And so it should be with us today: willing to get involved with sinners and their lives, willing to be discomforted and unsettled by their troubles, seeking to change lives for the better, and always… struggling and falling short and being oneself defiled by the associations.

1Pe 2:6

A CHOSEN AND PRECIOUS CORNERSTONE: (1) The quotation of Isa 28:16 refers to God’s foundation stone, carefully chosen and very costly, placed in position in Zion. The picture is from the building of a temple. At great cost and care the corner foundation stone was obtained, moved, and laid. One stone in a quarry was sixty-nine feet by twelve feet by thirteen feet (EBC). Isaiah uses this figure to encourage his people to build on the Lord himself, the one who is immovable and unchangeable, rather than on lies and falsehood. The applications of Peter’s use of the figure are self-evident. God has set Jesus forth in Jerusalem as the foundation of the new temple. Whoever builds on this foundation will be established and will never be ashamed (1Co 3:10; Eph 2:20).

Or… (2) “The unbudgeable rock in the Temple area where Abraham had prepared to sacrifice Isaac, and which later became the foundation stone of the great altar of burnt offering (cp Isa 8:13-15)… To find a place of prominence and glory for the Assyrian altar which he had brought in, Ahaz had removed Solomon’s altar, but had found himself baffled by the grand solidity of its rock foundation. Now, in the more wholesome days of Hezekiah, the former arrangement of the true altar founded on the Eternal Rock had been restored. So, in the impending crisis, let men put confidence in the God whose redemption of His people was symbolized there” (WIsa 288).

Peter’s “precious” things: trials (1Pe 1:7), blood of Christ (1Pe 1:18,19), the cornerstone (of Christ) (1Pe 2:4,6), Christ himself (1Pe 2:7), faith (2Pe 1:1), and the great promises (2Pe 1:4).

TRUSTS IN HIM: Or builds upon him, the Rock (Mat 7:24-27)!

1Pe 2:7

Peter’s “precious” things: trials (1Pe 1:7), blood of Christ (1Pe 1:18,19), the cornerstone (of Christ) (1Pe 2:4,6), Christ himself (1Pe 2:7), faith (2Pe 1:1), and the great promises (2Pe 1:4).

BUT TO THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE…: But for unbelievers two other “stone” citations from the OT (vv 7,8) are strong warnings. The first is from Psa 118:22, where the builders rejected a building block that later turned out to be the final stone in the building (Mar 12:10-12). In the same way, Jesus, who was rejected by men, has been exalted by God.

1Pe 2:8

AND A STONE THAT CAUSES MEN TO STUMBLE…: The second warning quotation is from Isa 8:14, where the disobedient are portrayed as stumbling over the stone. This is also a ref to the foundation stone under the altar in Solomon’s temple: see 2Ki 16n. But the solid rock outcropping on which the great altar had originally stood remained as an “eyesore” (from Ahaz’s point of view) and an obstruction. So here Peter warns that those who refuse to believe in Jesus as Messiah stumble over the great Rock which they cannot cover up or remove!

WHICH ALSO THEY WERE DESTINED FOR: What is “destined”? The unbelief of men or the stumbling that is the result of the unbelief? Prob the latter. Peter seems to say that the appointment of God embraces both the setting forth of Christ and his work and the rejection by men. Peter’s preaching in Act 2:14-40 makes the same emphasis (esp v 23).

1Pe 2:9

The church, or ecclesia, is the “Israel” of God, and terms descriptive of the nation are now used of the ecclesia (Exo 19:5,6; Deu 4:20; 7:6; Isa 43:20,21).

A CHOSEN PEOPLE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION: “During the American Civil War of 1860-61, Dr Thomas rightly claimed that Christadelphians were part of ‘an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession to show forth the excellencies (virtues) of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvellous light.’ Believers tend to forget the nobility of this high and heavenly honour of God’s call, and often overlook the fact that their primary duty in life is to manifest His name and purposes to the people around them. By teaching and example Jesus showed three ways in which it can be done: Resist not evil, love the world as God loved it, and preach the Gospel. He had little time for anything else — and neither have we” (TNL 75,76).

Four “callings” in 1Pe: “out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1Pe 2:9); “to suffering for well-doing” (1Pe 2:20,21); “to render blessing for evil” (1Pe 3:9); “to his eternal glory” (1Pe 5:10).

HIM WHO CALLED YOU: God visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name, or praise (Act 15:14).

OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS WONDERFUL LIGHT: Light/darkness is a common dualism in the Bible to describe God/evil, good/bad, revelation/ignorance, new age/old age (eg, Isa 8:21–9:2; Joh 1:4,8-9; Eph 5:8; 1Jo 1:5–2:2). Christ is the Light of the world (Joh 8:12).

1Pe 2:10

ONCE YOU WERE NOT A PEOPLE, BUT NOW YOU ARE THE PEOPLE OF GOD; ONCE YOU HAD NOT RECEIVED MERCY, BUT NOW YOU HAVE RECEIVED MERCY: Cited from Hos 1:6,9,10; 2:23. In their original context the words of Hosea describe God’s rejection of disobedient Israel, followed by their future restoration to grace. Here Peter applies them to the salvation that has come to the Asian Christians. Cp Rom 9:25.

1Pe 2:11

Vv 11,12: A number of allusions to Lot and his experiences in Sodom (Gen 19): aliens, strangers, sinful desires, living among the pagans, who accuse you of wrongdoing, the day he visits us!

ALIENS AND STRANGERS: Sojourners, with no rights of citizenship. These titles are rich in content, going back to Abraham (Gen 23:4; cp also Psa 39:12; Heb 13:14; 1Pe 1:1,17). Christians may live in the world, but they do not belong to it, and they do not derive their reason for being out of it, for their true destiny is the renewed and redeemed earth in which righteousness will dwell. Therefore, they are not to derive their values from what is transitory. See Lesson, Politics and voting.

SINFUL DESIRES: // Rom 6:13.

1Pe 2:12

THOUGH THEY ACCUSE YOU OF DOING WRONG: What kind of charges did non-Christians make in Peter’s time? Some of the more common were disloyalty to the state or Caesar (Joh 19:12), upsetting trade or divination (Act 16:16-21; 19:23-28), teaching that slaves are “free” (cp 1Co 12:13; Gal 3:28), not participating in festivals because of “hatred of mankind” (cp Col 2:16), holding “antisocial” values, and being “atheists” because they had no idols (cp Act 15:29).

ON THE DAY HE VISITS US: (1) The second coming of Christ(?), or (2) when any particular Gentile, as referred to here, may be “visited” by God and accept the gospel faith.

1Pe 2:13

SUBMIT: Gr “hupotasso”: lit to be under military rule or order (used in 1Pe 2:13,18; 3:1,5,22; 5:5).

KING: The “king” (Gr ‘basileus’) is the title used in the East for the emperor who had the “supreme authority” among people.

1Pe 2:14

GOVERNORS: Gr “hegemones” = the legates, procurators, or proconsuls charged with carrying out the imperial will of punishing the disobedient and rewarding the good.

1Pe 2:16

LIVE AS FREE MEN: Christians are free because they are children of the absolute Ruler of the Universe (Mat 17:25,26), and because the service of God is freedom (Joh 8:32; Rom 6:15; Gal 5:13). It is freedom from bondage to sin and selfish desires.

BUT DO NOT USE YOUR FREEDOM AS A COVER-UP FOR EVIL Christians are not to misuse their freedom in Christ and invoke “freedom” as a covering for wickedness. Christ himself said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (Joh 8:34). Plato asked, “How can a man be happy who is the servant of anything?” The Christian response is that the service of God, who is the source of joy, is indeed perfect freedom, because Christ frees us from the bondage of sin.

SERVANTS OF GOD: Purchased by God: 1Co 7:22.

1Pe 2:17

SHOW PROPER RESPECT TO EVERYONE: The respect or honor is the recognition of the value of each man in his place as the creature of God.

LOVE THE BROTHERHOOD OF BELIEVERS: Special love is due to others within the family of believers because they are brothers and sisters.

FEAR GOD, HONOR THE KING: God is to be feared, but the emperor was only to be honored. Christ taught, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one [ie God] who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Mat 10:28). Normally duties to God and Caesar do not conflict, and Christians can obey both (Mat 22:15-21); but in special cases their higher loyalty is clear: “We must obey God rather than men!” (Act 5:29).

KING: Lest we forget or fail to give due weight to this, let us remember that the “king” Peter had in mind — in the first place — was… Nero, sick, demented, insane, murderous, hateful, calculating, evil, abominable Nero!

1Pe 2:18

1Pe 2:18-25: The exhortations to slaves about serving their masters well (vv 18-20) has as its foundation and rationale… the atonement (vv 21-25)!

“No subject has occasioned more tears, and more rage, than the meaning of the Lord’s sacrifice. Christ died, in love and obedience, for us. Oh, some would hack with semantic knives at every nuance, every syllable of God’s resonating words on this subject. Would God we would struggle, with equal determination, to learn its meaning for our daily living, for how we treat other people. And this, in the end, is the greatest source of heartache for each of us: the multiplicity of ways in which we fail to live the atonement, HIS atonement. Peter writes, with all the hollow-eyed wisdom of a man who has persevered through his own moral frailties, in his first letter, to a demoralized and disoriented brotherhood. He writes of the Lord’s death, knowing he himself will die soon. And he teaches us, this man who denied Jesus as he walked through the valley of death, that the Lord’s dying must be our own, every day…

“I must serve my employer as if I am working for God. And the common injustices and indignities I suffer must be filtered through, and borne in light of, the suffering and death of my Lord. It is not always so with me. What a shock the full force of these words can be for us all. We ‘do the atonement’ in our cubicles, transport trailers, construction sites and executive suites. How intrusive and invasive Scripture is. It leaves no area of our lives unsinged; there are no private matters its searing edge will not cut and wound. These are hard words for people raised in the obsessive privacy of Western life. God does not ‘mind His own business’, but walks right into every locked room in our hearts and looks steadily into our reddened faces. Surely, none of us has escaped that feeling. Your place of labour is an atonement workshop” (DevRam).

1Pe 2:18-20: // Eph 6:5-7; Col 3:22-25; 1Ti 6:1-3; Tit 2:9,10.

SUBMIT: Gr “hupotasso”: lit to be under military rule or order (used in 1Pe 2:13,18; 3:1,5,22; 5:5).

HARSH: “Froward” (AV). Gr “skolion”: crooked or twisted (cp Engl scholiosis); also in Luk 3:5; Act 2:40; Phi 2:15.

1Pe 2:19

See Lesson, Military and police.

COMMENDABLE: Gr “charis” = worthy of grace or favor (from God), an exceptional service. God is pleased with those who patiently suffer wrong treatment (as did Christ: Mat 26:67).

1Pe 2:20

To endure a well-deserved beating is nothing extraordinary. The word “beating” (Gr kolaphizomerloi = “strike with the fist”) is used in Mat 26:67; Mar 14:65 of Christ’s treatment at his trial. However, it is “commendable” (charis) in the sight of God to do good and to endure suffering. The “commendable” thing is not the suffering but being so committed to God’s will (the “good”) that devotion to Him overrides personal comfort.

1Pe 2:21

TO THIS YOU WERE CALLED: The “calling” (Gr ‘kaleo’) is God’s grace that brings them to salvation (cf 1Pe 1:15) and includes the divine ordination in all aspects of their life (Rom 8:28-30).

Four “callings” in 1Pe: “out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1Pe 2:9); “to suffering for well-doing” (1Pe 2:20,21); “to render blessing for evil” (1Pe 3:9); “to his eternal glory” (1Pe 5:10).

EXAMPLE: Gr “hupogrammos”, lit an “underwriting”, a line of script for the student to copy out. Only here in NT. Clement of Alexandria used the wd as the copy-head at the top of a child’s exercise book for the child to imitate, including all the letters of the alphabet (RWP).

THAT YOU SHOULD FOLLOW IN HIS STEPS: Servants are to follow their Master’s tracks (Mat 10:38; Mar 8:34; Joh 13:15; 1Jo 2:6). Christ as the yokefellow (Mat 11:29,30).

1Pe 2:22

Cited from Isa 53:9. Throughout his ministry, Jesus was reviled (Mat 11:19; 26:67; 27:30,39-44; Mar 3:22). In all these situations, he was ever the patient sufferer who was able to control his tongue. At his last trial, Jesus remained silent before the HiPr (Mat 26:62,63) until bound by the HiPr’s oath to speak (Mat 26:64).

1Pe 2:23

“He is not truly patient who will suffer only as much as he pleases or from whom he pleases. A truly patient man gives no heed from whom he suffers, whether from his superior or from his equal or from someone below him” (Thomas a’ Kempis).

1Pe 2:24

HE HIMSELF BORE OUR SINS: The sin-bearer (isa 53:4-6). A ritual bearing of the sins of the community, as done by the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:7-10; cp Heb 9:28). The sins of the community were confessed over the animal, which then bore them away into the wilderness (cp Psa 103:12).

TREE: Gr “xulon”, lit “wood”; Deu 21:23; Gal 3:13; Col 1:22. It was on the cross that God condemned sin in the flesh (Rom 8:3) of a sinless bearer of our nature. A sinless man, made subject to the consequences of sin: 2Co 5:21.

SO THAT WE MIGHT DIE TO SINS AND LIVE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS: The purpose of the death of Christ is to produce new life in the believer. By means of Christ’s death on the cross, whoever comes to him ends his old life and begins a new one devoted to righteousness (Rom 6:1-14,18-19; 2Co 5:14-15; Gal 2:20; 6:14).

“All my life I have only heard this passage expounded to mean that Jesus bare our sin nature and nailed it to the cross, that the sins he bore in his body was but the sin-prone nature of the flesh he shared with us. Although Jesus certainly did share our sin-prone nature, and was tempted through the flesh like all of us, this is not what this verse is telling us. I want to make this clear; Peter is not talking about Jesus bearing sin nature, he is talking about Jesus bearing our SINS. Peter is saying that when Jesus was nailed to the tree, he bore in his body the marks of the sins which we committed against him, the stripes by which he later says ‘we were healed’. It was we sinners who physically abused, brutally tortured and cruelly crucified Jesus.

“Paul warned the Galatians not to trouble him any further, for ‘I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.’ It was in the cities of Galatia that Paul had been stoned and left to die. Paul rose and went back to the city and continued to preach, but his body was now a complete mess. His appearance, says the prophet Isaiah in a passage Paul appropriates for himself, was disfigured more than any man. Paul carried his injuries as marks on his body for the rest of his life. Paul marveled that the Galatians had forgotten his suffering, which he reminded them was as though Jesus had ‘before their very eyes been crucified amongst them.’ Paul appeals to them through his battered body, which they, the Galatians, had brutally stoned. It was the crucified Paul that had converted them by preaching to them in his battered condition, and their sympathy with him was so strong that they would have plucked out their eyes for him if that could have helped him.

“Peter, on the day of Pentecost, cut the conscience of the Jewish hearts when he pointed out that it was they who with wicked hands had taken the Lord’s Messiah and crucified him. This is the great power of Peter’s argument with us; we are responsible, we have killed the Lord’s Messiah, it is our sins that bruised his body, it is our sins that made him suffer. We don’t need to have been there in that day to be guilty; we are guilty because even today we commit the very same sins that lead those men to reject and crucify the Son of God. Every atrocity committed against Jesus was the outworking of normal human sin; selfishness, pride, envy, hatred, wrath, bigotry, deceit, stubbornness, carelessness, arrogance, ignorance, hardness of heart and indifference; all of which are perfectly normal behaviors of the flesh common to all of us. All these sins matured into violence and abuse, which when they were finished brought about his death. Ordinary human sinners, committing the same ordinary sorts of sins that we ordinarily commit against each other inflicted every mark on Jesus’ body. In this sense we can take responsibility for the sins that lead to our Lord’s death because ‘inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of my brethren you have done it unto me.’

“Realizing this simple truth is meant to have profound and salvational consequences. We are the guilty men, but when we face our sins and repent, God pours out His grace and appeals to us to change our ways. Thus, says Peter, quoting Isa 53, ‘by his stripes we are healed.’ In Zec 12:10 God says he will pour out the spirit of grace and supplication, ‘and they will look upon me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves bitterly for a firstborn son.’ In this way we are reconciled to God; finally we understand and appreciate how God feels about us, how our attitudes and behavior humiliate God. It is as though God has reached into our heart through the suffering of His Son, and through our heart has revealed the truth about Himself. Through a heartfelt repentance we are reconciled to God because we now understand His suffering, we now share sympathy with Him, and we now care for God’s feelings. This is exactly where God had always wanted us; in His bosom where we are conscious of every nuance of His every breath. It is from the bosom of the Father where God breathes into our nostrils the breath of life. This is the New Covenant, this is the Spiritual creation, this is how God writes His laws into our hearts and into our minds. This is the reconciliation of our relationship with God, the doctrine of the atonement which we have received through the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord” (JP).

1Pe 2:25

Formerly they were straying sheep (Isa 53:6; Luk 15:3-7) but now they “have returned”.

1Pe 3:1

Vv 1-6: Rules for Christian wives: Rules for wives occur in other locations in the NT (Eph 5:22; Col 3:18; 1Ti 2:9-15; Tit 2:4-5). The order for family life in NT times was still clearly patriarchal. Yet in religious matters women are co-heirs with men (v 7) when both come to faith. See Lesson, Sisters, the role of.

“A woman ‘does the atonement’ with her husband in submitting herself to him, as he must do to his employer (1Pe 2:18-20). This is a matter of the individual heart, of the individual mind. It cannot be bullied into existence. No man with any wisdom at all will stand over his wife and demand her subjection. Yet, many do this. God did not do this with Christ. His Son willingly yielded. No sister will fail to see the need to obey these words. They do not rely upon the quality or spirituality of the man, but are done in obedience to God, for God. The man benefits from her example. No men ‘deserve’ their wives’ submission. She yields willingly, beholding her Lord’s yielding in his giving of His life for her sake (1Pe 2:21-25). To strengthen his point, Peter speaks of Sarah, who called the man who uprooted her from the security of home, who endangered her life and honour twice, ‘Lord’ in spite of all his mistakes with her. Sarah ‘did the atonement’; it wasn’t an intellectual puzzle for her but a way of life. Sarah’s daughters are in our ecclesias, ‘doing the atonement’ every time they struggle past the agonizing fraternal battles that erupt to bring a gentle message of hope and encouragement.

“Peter’s words (1Pe 3:1-3), rightly, are taken to refer to a husband who is ‘not in the Truth’, an unbaptized man. But we can draw another exhortational conclusion. Many a wife in the Truth has watched a brother-husband walk down that dark wide road that leads away from God. In desperation many sisters have fallen prey to anxiety, to blinding fear that results in a kind of spiritual paralysis. Perhaps Sarah did not fear. Perhaps she believed God was with her, when Abraham did not. In the days of Abraham’s failure Sarah may have been the one who was spiritually anchored. Today, a sister who sees her husband slipping can do no better than to remain constant and faithful to him and to the Truth, to God and to God’s ecclesia. She can, if possible, continue to do the readings, attend the meeting, even if he will not, and strive to ‘be in subjection’ to him. It could turn him.

“Any man with even a remnant of a conscience will be moved to some action in the face of this kind of example. She will have saved his life by enacting the love of Calvary in her home. Some situations, it is true, cannot be recovered. Yet, if things do not work out, this sister who tries to ‘do the atonement’ will have pleased God, and have placed her feet in her Lord’s footprints. And soon she will be in the kingdom” (DevRam).

IN THE SAME WAY: Ref back to the submission exemplified by Christ in 1Pe 2:18-25.

BE SUBMISSIVE: Gr “hupotasso”: lit to be under military rule or order (used in 1Pe 2:13,18; 3:1,5,22; 5:5).

WON OVER: Gr “kerdaino” = gained. Used of conversion in Mat 18:15; 1Co 9:19-22.

WITHOUT WORDS: Or “without a word” (RSV), ie with no nagging or complaining.

BEHAVIOR: “Anastrophe” (sw 1Pe 1:15).

1Pe 3:3

ADORNMENT: Gr “kosmos” = outward arrangement: cp 1Ti 2:9. Adornments described in Est 2:9,13,15; Psa 45; Rev 19:6,7; Exo 28.

WEARING: Gr “perithesis”: a wrapping around. That is, ‘Don’t be COVERED with…’ Not an absolute prohibition of jewelry, but a warning against excessive use: cp Isa 3:18-24; Jer 2:32; 4:30.

See Lesson, Dress, makeup, jewelry. “Sisters are commanded to dress modestly and to eschew showy and costly apparel. They should be careful not to be led away by the example of the women of the world, who mostly aim at what the Bible forbids. Young sisters are esp prone to temptation in this direction, but a wise mother, whom many of them are privileged to possess, will check their natural weaknesses, and show unto them a more excellent way. The great thing to remember is that fine clothes do not commend us to Christ (nor do they to the bre and sisters who are of a Christ-like mind). He has told us what he looks for in his sisters — the inward adornment of ‘a meek and quiet spirit’ and ‘good works’. Time spent in attending to this kind of adornment is time well spent, and will procure for us beauty everlasting in the day of Christ’s coming” (MF Grant).

1Pe 3:4

// 1Sa 16:7: “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

YOUR INNER SELF: “The hidden man of the heart” (AV), adorned inwardly with Christ (Eph 3:17; 5:24; Rom 12:2 — this is true attractiveness.

UNFADING: Gr “aphthartos” = undecaying: sw used of our inheritance (1Pe 1:4), the seed or word of God (1Pe 1:23), and a woman’s spiritual beauty (here).

A GENTLE AND QUIET SPIRIT: A way of life, not weak, but humble: see 1Pe 5:5; Isa 66:2; 2Co 12:18; Gal 5:16.

GENTLE: See Lesson, Gentleness.

WHICH IS OF GREAT WORTH IN GOD’S SIGHT: An attitude God highly values. Today, when the world’s values governed by materialism, self-assertion, and sex obsession are seeping into the ecclesia, Peter’s words need to be taken seriously.

“Neither Christ or his brethren have any of that ‘beauty’ which the vulgar eye admires, not any of that external glory which ambition courts; and we look forward to the time when man’s renovated taste will recognize what true beauty is, for the regenerated heart will see that it is not looks, nor outward appearance, but thoughts, desires and deeds, that are beautiful in the sight of God. It is moral beauty that is real beauty. External and material beauty is only a transient type, an evanescent shadow of that which is real and enduring forever; therefore to us, Christ will even in his humiliation be altogether lovely, and our All in All. True beauty is all from within and not from without, for under a very fine form there may lurk a very bad heart. It is the inner work that is beautiful. It is the light, radiance and warmth of the inner man shining from the countenance that constitutes true beauty. May the Lord grant us the beauty of holiness and the adorning of a meek and quiet spirit” (Alice Hopkins, ‘Lessons from Nature’).

1Pe 3:5

THE HOLY WOMEN OF THE PAST… USED TO MAKE THEMSELVES BEAUTIFUL: The major characterization of these women who were “holy” because they were set apart to God was their hope in God. They trusted the promises of God and longed for the messianic salvation (1Pe 1:3,13; 3:15; Heb 11:13). In so doing, they were habitually adorning (‘kosmeo’: cp v 3) themselves with an inner beauty.

SUBMISSIVE: Gr “hupotasso”: lit to be under military rule or order (used in 1Pe 2:13,18; 3:1,5,22; 5:5)

1Pe 3:6

SARAH, WHO OBEYED ABRAHAM AND CALLED HIM HER MASTER: The great model of womanly submission is Sarah, whose respect and obedience to Abraham extended to her speech — she “called him her master.” Such terminology was not uncommon in the ancient world (Gen 18:12,15 — at the time when Isaac’s birth was prophesied). Peter does not hesitate to apply Sarah’s example to his readers: “You are her daughters if you do what is right.” The norm for wifely conduct should be submission to God and devotion to the development of Christian character. Moreover, wives are “not [to] give way to fear”; their submissive trust in the living God will keep them from undue apprehension.

YOU ARE HER DAUGHTERS: “Daughters of Sarah” // “sons of Abraham”, as in Joh 8:39; Rom 4:16-24; 9:8; Gal 3:29; 4:23; etc.

1Pe 3:7

“What man can read these words without cringing? Men ‘do the atonement’ by dwelling with their wives according to knowledge. Perhaps this could mean that all our Biblical ‘knowledge’ and understanding is of no value if it is not demonstrated where we dwell, in our homes, in every interaction we have with our wives. The atonement is acted out in married life. We dwell with them and give HONOUR [respect: NIV] to them. This word is used in 1Pe 2:17 in connection with a man’s responsibility to all men and to the king. It means ‘to value with the highest degree of respect, to value as precious, to revere and lift in one’s esteem’. This is how we must treat our wives; this is how we must treat the women around us and our sisters in the ecclesia. How strikingly out of step this principle is with the natural ways of flesh. A man cannot demand submission and honour his wife at the same time. He is not commanded to demand submission of her; this is her responsibility to look after. He is commanded to esteem her highly, to honour her as he would honour the king, all men, and Christ (‘unto you which believe he — Christ — is PRECIOUS (sw translated ‘honour’): 1Pe 2:7). My wife is Christ to me. I do not always treat ‘Christ’ and honour him as I ought to. Do you, brother?” (DevRam).

TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT: “Giving honour” (AV). The sw as used of the honor that should be given to Christ, and the “king” elsewhere!

THE WEAKER PARTNER: The woman is called the “weaker partner”; but this is not to be taken morally, spiritually, or intellectually. It simply means that the woman has less physical strength. The husband must recognize this difference and take it into account.

PARTNER: Gr “skeuos” = “vessel”, or receptacle, ie for holding the gospel message (2Co 4:6,7). Also used metaphorically of believers in Rom 9:21-23; 1Th 4:4; 2Ti 2:20,21.

HEIRS WITH YOU: Women will have an equal share in the new age; and even now in the life of the new age, they experience the grace of God equally with men (Gal 3:28).

YOUR PRAYERS: “Your” is plural: husbands AND wives.

“She is the weaker vessel, implying that we are both vessels (containers for faith, Christlikeness, godliness, and the gospel). And she is not, as some foolish brothers maintain, weaker in spiritual things. Oftentimes, sisters can be far stronger in Spiritual things than the brethren around them. It can only mean that she is not as physically robust as the man, and that he must not overload and overtask her, a thing we are prone to do as Christadelphian men. Do you expect your wife to care for the children unassisted, keep an immaculately clean home, and to be calm and even-tempered at all times? If so, what’s wrong with you, brother? And lest you, in your arrogant stupidity, should ever imagine that Peter was hinting that she is less than you, he hammers the point home to the contrary by reminding you that we are ‘heirs together’, equals in our hope and in our value in God’s sight. She is not inferior to you. Never treat her as if she were otherwise. Never treat a sister as if she is a second-class citizen in the ecclesia. Never treat a woman anywhere as if she is a ‘thing’. The men of this world often view women as toys, pleasure playthings. We imagine ourselves better than those men, until we realize the degree to which chauvinism can indeed live on in our wicked, fleshly hearts. It can demonstrate itself in a callous disregard for the concerns or the suggestions sisters raise in our meetings, suggestions which are as valid and as useful as those offered by any brother. Sisters are our equals. Yes, we must guide and lead. We must teach in the mixed congregation. But we must honour them. They refrain from public teaching — not because they are unable to — but in obedience to Scripture. This differentiation in our roles will be removed in the kingdom entirely, will it not? This order of things is an interim arrangement, the acceptance of which honours God.

“But if we do not honour our wives (and our sisters), God will not listen to our prayers. We must be united with our wives in prayer. Many couples kneel together and pray at day’s end after talking together about things which should be raised to the Almighty. Then the husband offers the prayer, a prayer of concerns, praise and request from them both. This requires unity, and a putting away of pride. Disunity and pride render our prayers invalid. And the brother bears responsibility for this, it seems. A brother ‘does the atonement’ at home, where charity must begin. This continues in the workplace and in the ecclesia, so that we, men and women together can fulfill Peter’s guidance to ‘sanctify, in your hearts, Christ as Lord…’ (1Pe 3:15 RV)” (DevRam).

1Pe 3:8

“The five virtues have many illustrations in the life of Jesus and parallels in the other epistles. They are qualities every person united to Christ should manifest… On ‘harmony’, see Rom 12:16; Phi 1:27; 2:2; on ‘be sympathetic’, Rom 12:15-17; 1Co 12:26; on ‘love as brothers’, 1Th 4:9-10; for ‘be compassionate’, see Christ’s example in Mat 11:29; and concerning ‘humble’, see Christ’s example as set forth in Phi 2:6-8)” (EBC).

HARMONY: Lit “one mind”, because it is the “mind of Christ” (Phi 2:5).

LOVE AS BROTHERS: “Philadelphos”.

1Pe 3:9

1Pe 3:9.

DO NOT REPAY EVIL WITH EVIL OR INSULT WITH INSULT: Here Peter turns to Christ as the pattern for relating to a hostile pagan society. The natural response to hostility is retaliation. But Jesus in his teaching (Mat 5:44) and in his practice responded to hostility with grace, even under the most extreme provocation (Luk 23:34; 1Pe 2:21,22).

BUT WITH BLESSING: What does it mean to “bless” our enemies? “Bless” translates “eulogountes” , which lit means “to speak well [of someone].” The word occurs over four hundred times in the LXX, often in opposition to cursing. May ref to active prayer and intercession (ie, Act 7:60; 1Co 4:12). The great desire of Christians must not be revenge but for God to grant the gift of repentance to those who do not know him.

TO THIS YOU WERE CALLED: Believers are called to: liberty (Gal 5:13); blessing (1Pe 3:9); peace (1Co 7:15); and glory (2Pe 1:3).

Four “callings” in 1Pe: “out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1Pe 2:9); “to suffering for well-doing” (1Pe 2:20,21); “to render blessing for evil” (1Pe 3:9); “to his eternal glory” (1Pe 5:10).

1Pe 3:10

WHOEVER WOULD LOVE LIFE: …And who wishes to inherit eternal life…

MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL…: As did Christ (1Pe 2:21-25), and in ct Peter at denial of Christ (Mat 26:69-74).

1Pe 3:11

TURN FROM EVIL: // Rom 12:21. “Hate evil we must. But we must hate it most in ourselves. Evil in ourselves can do two terrible things to us: it can rob us of the peace of God now, and it can banish us forever from His love and presence at the last great day of account” (GVG).

1Pe 3:12

See Lesson, Peter’s use of Psa 34.

1Pe 3:13

“While suffering and unjust treatment have been in the background (1Pe 1:6,7; 2:12,15,19-25; 3:9), now they come to the fore. In the Greek, v 13 begins with ‘and’ (kai), which shows the connection with the preceding section. If Christians have the zeal for good that Psa 34 speaks of, who will do them harm? The ‘harm’ Peter alludes to must be understood in the light of Paul’s rhetorical question, ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ (Rom 8:31) and his ref to Christians as being like ‘sheep to be slaughtered’ and yet being ‘more than conquerors’ (Rom 8:36-37)’ ” (EBC).

When men speak ill of you, live so that no one will believe them.

1Pe 3:14

YOU ARE BLESSED: Ref the Beatitudes, esp vv Mat 5:10-12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Such a person realizes the purpose of patient endurance: to prepare one to receive the crown of life (Jam 1:12; 1Pe 1:7; Act 5:41; Rom 5:3).

V 14b and v 15a are a quotation of Isa 8:12,13.

1Pe 3:15

AV has “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.” The TR has support for “theos” here, but many mss have “Christos”. The passage is citing Isa 8:13: “The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy.”

SET APART: “Sanctify”, by constant remembrance and prayer.

“How am I to sanctify Jesus Christ? It is the same word used in the Lord’s Prayer as ‘hallowed.’ We sanctify or hallow one who is holy already when we recognize the holiness and honor what we recognize. So the plain meaning of the commandment here is: ‘Set Christ in your hearts on the pedestal and pinnacle that belongs to him, and then bow down before him with all reverence and submission. Be sure you give him all that is his due, and in the love of your hearts, as well as in the thoughts of your mind, recognize him for what he is — the Lord. Many of us only see a part of the whole Christ. He is our Creator [true enough in the sense of the “New Creation” in Christ: GB] as well as our Redeemer, our Judge as well as our Savior. Forgetting that, some do not hallow him enough in their hearts as Lord. Embrace the whole Christ, and see to it that you do not dethrone him from his rightful place or take from him the glory due his name” (MacL).

TO GIVE AN ANSWER… FOR THE HOPE: One of the distinguishing marks of Christians is their possession of hope (“elpidos”, cf 1Pe 1:3,21; Rom 4:18; Eph 2:12; Tit 2:13). Christian hope is so real and distinctive that non-Christians are puzzled about it and ask for a “reason” (logos , “account”). The type of questioning could be either official interrogations by the governmental authorities — the word for “answer” (apologia) can relate to a formal court inquiry (Act 25:16; 26:2; 2Ti 4:16) — or informal questioning.

GENTLENESS: Christians should respond with care. “Gentleness” (or “meekness”) is the quality that trusts God to do the work of changing attitudes (2Ti 2:24-25; cf also Pro 15:1: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”). See Lesson, Gentleness.

RESPECT: Gr “phobos” = fear. Here, reverential awe of God (1Pe 1:17; 2:17; 3:2).

1Pe 3:16

CLEAR CONSCIENCE: Relates to the liberty and boldness that come from living before God in purity (Act 24:16; 1Ti 1:19). So in the case in which non-Christians slander believers the statement of the truth may shame them into silence (Luk 13:17).

SLANDER: Gr “epereazontes”: used by classical writers of false accusations. Also occurs Luk 6:28. What was done to Christ will be done to his followers (Mat 10:24,25; Joh 15:20).

1Pe 3:18

FOR CHRIST DIED FOR SINS ONCE FOR ALL: Stresses the definitive and final work of Jesus in salvation (Rom 6:10).

FOR SINS: A phrase describing the reason for his death (Rom 4:25; 1Co 15:3; Gal 1:4; Heb 10:12), to declare the righteousness of God (Rom 3:23-26).

THE RIGHTEOUS FOR THE UNRIGHTEOUS: Jesus as the Righteous Servant of Isa 53 (Acts 3:13-16; cp Act 7:52), who suffers for the sinners (Isa 53:5,6,11-12).

TO BRING YOU TO GOD: For the verb “bring” (prosagage), see Luk 9:41; Act 16:20. The noun form (prosagoge ) is used by Paul of Christ’s work of opening the way to God (Rom 5:2). Christ as the mediator: Eph 2:14-18; Heb 4:15,16.

MADE ALIVE BY THE SPIRIT: Given new life, eternal life, in a body of Spirit: Rom 6:4; 8:11.

1Pe 3:19

THROUGH WHOM: It was the “spirit of Christ” in the prophets — ie, the teachings about the coming Messiah — that led them to proclaim his coming, and his victory over sin and death. Cp the preaching of Noah: 2Pe 2:5; Heb 11:7; Gen 6:3.

SPIRITS IN PRISON: Man’s “spirit” (mind, etc — Mar 2:8; Luk 1:47,80; 2Co 7:1) is imprisoned (cp 1Ti 4:1; 1Jo 4:1-3), not just his body! Or, alternatively, “to those who were alive (then), but are now long dead [cp 1Pe 4:6] — ie, in the prison of death” (Isa 42:6,7; 49:9; 61:1; 9:2; Psa 68:18; Zec 9:11,12). See Lesson, Enoch and the spirits in prison.

1Pe 3:20

WHO DISOBEYED LONG AGO: That is, in the days of Noah (Gen 6:3; Mat 24:37).

EIGHT: The number of circumcision (Luk 1:59; Gen 17:12; 21:3,4; Lev 12:3). Circumcision: a cutting off of the flesh, a new birth, a new beginning. Cp Col 2:11; Rom 2:29; Phi 3:3.

SAVED THROUGH WATER: Notice: not just saved “from” water, but saved “through” water: the point of baptism!

1Pe 3:21

THAT NOW SAVES YOU: What saves us? Grace (Eph 2:8,9). Hope (Rom 8:24). Belief (Mar 16:15). Baptism (1Pe 3:21). Gospel, and its memory (1Co 15:1,2). Blood of Christ (1Jo 1:7). Faith (Rom 5:1). Works (Jam 2:24). Ourselves (Act 2:40). Endurance (Mat 10:22). What saved the “drowning man”? The rock, the rope, another man, himself…or all of them?

NOT THE REMOVAL OF DIRT FROM THE BODY: Baptism is not for physical cleansing, but for the cleansing of the heart and mind and conscience and spirit!

PLEDGE: Not “answer”, as KJV.

1Pe 3:22

GONE INTO HEAVEN AND IS AT GOD’S RIGHT HAND: Psa 110:1; Rom 8:34.

WITH ANGELS, AUTHORITIES AND POWERS IN SUBMISSION TO HIM: Therefore the believer need not fear harm from any human authorities or rulers!

IN SUBMISSION: Gr “hupotasso”: lit to be under military rule or order (used in 1Pe 2:13,18; 3:1,5,22; 5:5).

1Pe 1:1

Peter’s readers, not necessarily literal Jews (1Pe 1:14; 4:3).

PETER: Simon (Mat 4:18; 10:2), renamed by Jesus (Mat 16:16). His name in Hebrew was probably “Simeon”, the Greek equivalent of which was “Simon” (Mat 4:18; 10:2; Act 15:14; 2Pe 1:1). He also had the Aramaic nickname of “Cephas” (Joh 1:42, Gal 2:11). “Peter” is the Gr translation of “Cephas” or “rock”.

AN APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST: Indicates the dignity and authority as one selected by Jesus and given unique responsibilities of ministry in the establishment of the ecclesia (Mat 16:18,19; Mar 3:16; Joh 1:42; Joh 21:15-19).

TO GOD’S ELECT: A central theme and the foundation of spiritual blessing (cf Deu 4:37; 7:6; 14:2; Psa 105:6,43; Isa 45:4; Eph 1:4-5).

STRANGERS: “Sojourners” (RV), or pilgrims: Heb 11:13; 13:14; Eph 2:19; Phi 3:20.

SCATTERED: Gr “diaspora”. From rt “to sow” (a seed), the dispersion — scattered abroad by persecution, as the early believers were scattered from Jerusalem (Act 8:4).

PONTUS, GALATIA, CAPPADOCIA, ASIA AND BITHYNIA: These were the Roman provinces north of the Taurus Mountains, in what is today Turkey.

ASIA: Asia in the NT is always the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and sw end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia.

1Pe 1:2

CHOSEN: “Elect” (AV). See Act 15:14: “God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself.” Cp Mat 24:24-31.

FOREKNOWLEDGE: Known beforehand by God, and predestined (or marked out beforehand): Eph 1:4; Rom 8:29,33.

THROUGH THE SANCTIFYING WORK OF THE SPIRIT: The human spirit: Spiritual Israel was to be sanctified morally, as national Israel had been set apart physically.

SPRINKLING: A Mosaic ritual, of sacrificial death (Heb 9:19; 10:22; 12:24). Why “sprinkling”? Becs the blood belongs to Christ, the Passover lamb (vv 18,19).

IN ABUNDANCE: “In full measure” (NET).

“God elects saints for His kingdom, not by foregone conclusions which are irreversible; but men are ‘elect through sanctification of spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ’ (1Pe 1:2). This reveals to us the means, and design of the election in relation to the present time. ‘Sanctification of spirit’ is the means; ‘obedience and sprinkling of Christ’s blood,’ the end. How this is brought about is explained in these words — ‘Ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit’ (1Pe 1:22). The manner in which men are brought to obedience, and purification by the sprinkled blood, through the spirit, is practically explained in the use of the keys by Peter on the day of Pentecost, and at the house of Cornelius. The spirit through the apostle ‘convinced men of sin, and righteousness, and judgment to come;’ and confirmed his words by the signs which accompanied them. They believed and obeyed the truth; and ‘in obeying it’ were purified from all past sins by faith in the blood of sprinkling. Thus, they were ‘washed, sanctified, and justified by the name of the Lord, and by the spirit of God;’ and after this manner elected according to His foreknowledge and predetermination” (Elp 236).

1Pe 1:3

A LIVING HOPE: The “blessed hope”, or “the hope of the blessing”: Tit 2:13.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD: For Peter, this was the central feature of his faith. And so it should be for us. If we are to make it thru sufferings and difficulties, turmoil in our lives and in our families and in our ecclesias, then we must hold on to the Atonement — as something which is meaningful to us in our daily lives.

1Pe 1:4

INHERITANCE: “To be unto him a people of inheritance” (Deu 4:20, etc). The inheritance = the Kingdom (Mat 25:34), the earth (Mat 5:5), and eternal life (Mat 19:29), by promise (Gal 3:18,29; cp 1Pe 3:9) thru the Word of God (Act 20:32).

THAT CAN NEVER PERISH: Ref change in nature (Heb 9:15; 1Co 9:25; 15:52-54). The sw (“aphthartos”) has been used to suggest the ravages, the despoiling, brought upon a land by an invading army: our spiritual lives can never be taken away from us by the worst of trials and troubles, even by persecution or death.

NEVER… SPOIL: “Amianton”. Ref change in character: Rev 21:8,27. Sig to defile, to find a defect or flaw in the title; in NT only here, Jam 1:27; Heb 13:4.

OR FADE: Gr “amaranton”. “From ‘marainoo’ (to dry up, to wither, as in Jam 1:11), late and rare word in several inscriptions on tombs, here only in NT. These inscriptions will fade away, but not this inheritance in Christ. It will not be like a faded rose” (RWP).

KEPT: Guarded, preserved: Psa 31:19; Mat 6:25-29; Joh 14:2; 2Ti 4:8.

1Pe 1:5

THROUGH FAITH: Necessary to please God (Heb 11:6); comes by hearing (Rom 10:17). Faith is knowledge (2Ti 3:15) and conviction that God cannot lie (Heb 6:18), and will fulfill His promises (Rom 4:20,21).

SHIELDED BY GOD’S POWER: // “peace of God”, which guards us (Phi 4:7). “Peace” = atonement, properly understood (cp Rom 5:1-3). Shielded by angels: Psa 34:6,7; Rom 8:35-39; Heb 1:14.

SHIELDED: ” ‘Phroureo’: to garrison; from an old verb (related to ‘sentinel’), a military term (Act 9:24; 2Co 11:32), used of God’s love (Phi 4:7) as here. ‘The inheritance is kept; the heirs are guarded’ (Bengel)” (RWP).

1Pe 1:6

FOR A LITTLE WHILE: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2Co 4:17,18).

1Pe 1:7

Peter’s “precious” things: trials (1Pe 1:7), blood of Christ (1Pe 1:18,19), the corner stone (of Christ) (1Pe 2:4,6), Christ himself (1Pe 2:7), faith (2Pe 1:1), and the great promises (2Pe 1:4).

Gold is one of man’s most prized objects. When it is refined, its impurities are removed by a fiery process. Though extremely durable, gold belongs to the perishing world-order. Faith, which is more valuable than gold because it lasts longer and reaches beyond this temporal order, is purified in the tests of life. Gold, not faith, is presently valued by men. But God will set His stamp of approval on faith that has been tested, and He will show this when Christ is revealed. Then the believer will openly share in the praise, glory, and honor of God. Cp ideas, Lam 4:2; Job 23:10; Pro 25:4.

“Our heavenly Father sends us frequent troubles to try our faith. If our faith be worth anything, it will stand the test. Gilt is afraid of fire, but gold is not [1Pe 1:7]: the paste gem dreads to be touched by the diamond, but the true jewel fears no test. It is a poor faith which can only trust God when friends are true, the body full of health, and the business profitable; but that is true faith which holds by the Lord’s faithfulness when friends are gone, when the body is sick, when spirits are depressed, and the light of our Father’s countenance is hidden. A faith which can say, in the direst trouble, ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him’ [Job 13:15], is heaven-born faith. The Lord afflicts His servants to glorify Himself, for He is greatly glorified in the graces of His people, which are His own handiwork. When ‘tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope’ [Rom 5:3,4], the Lord is honoured by these growing virtues. We should never know the music of the harp if the strings were left untouched; nor enjoy the juice of the grape if it were not trodden in the winepress; nor discover the sweet perfume of cinnamon if it were not pressed and beaten; nor feel the warmth of fire if the coals were not utterly consumed. The wisdom and power of the great Workman are discovered by the trials through which His vessels of mercy are permitted to pass. Present afflictions tend also to heighten future joy. There must be shades in the picture to bring out the beauty of the lights” (CHS).

“Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth, and let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock, and her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her desired haven. No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God’s strength had you not been supported amid the water-floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too” (CHS).

“A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials” (Chinese proverb).

“It is the wounded oyster that mends its shell with pearl” (Ralph Waldo Emerson).

Trials help develop diamonds from coal.

WHEN JESUS CHRIST IS REVEALED: “Revealed” = Gr “apokalupsis”, from which Apocalypse (or Revelation) comes. The return of Christ: the true Christian hope: 1Co 4:5; 11:26; 1Th 4:16; Tit 2:13; Heb 9:28; Psa 110.

1Pe 1:8

THOUGH YOU HAVE NOT SEEN HIM: Cp 2Co 4:18; 5:7.

YOU LOVE HIM: This is not a natural thing. We love him because he first loved us: 1Jo 4:19.

INEXPRESSIBLE: “That which cannot be uttered”: cp 2Co 9:15; 12:4 (different wds); Rom 8:26 (same rt wd).

1Pe 1:9

YOU ARE RECEIVING: In middle voice, hence that which you are doing for yourself: ie, ‘you are getting, acquiring’.

1Pe 1:10

THE PROPHETS… SEARCHED INTENTLY: Even the prophets themselves did not always fully understand the messages they received, and passed along to others: consider Dan 8:27; 9:2…; 12:8; Luk 10:24).

1Pe 1:11

THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST: God’s One Spirit (Eph 4:4), telling OT prophets of Jesus Christ (Neh 9:20; 2Pe 1:21).

SUFFERINGS… GLORY: The content of the prophecies embraced both the “sufferings” and the “glories” of Christ (cf Luke 24:26). Both words are plural. The gospels list various aspects of the predicted sufferings of Christ — eg, hatred by his people, betrayal by his friend, being forsaken by his flock, his scourging and crucifixion (Isa 53:2; Psa 22:1), etc. His glories include his transfiguration (2Pe 1:17), his resurrection (2Pe 1:21), his glorious return, and his millennial reign (Isa 53:12; Psa 22:27).

1Pe 1:12

PREACHED THE GOSPEL TO YOU BY THE HOLY SPIRIT SENT FROM HEAVEN: The Comforter: Joh 14:26.

EVEN ANGELS LONG…: Angel: “Who is worthy to open book?” (Rev 5:2,11). The Scriptures reveal that the angels have intense interest in human salvation. They rejoice at the conversion of a sinner (Luk 15:10); they closely observed and ministered to Jesus (1Ti 3:16); they will rejoice in songs of praise at the completion of redemption (Rev 5:11-14) .”Yet by ct with this hvnly excitement many a modern ‘saint’ can hardly bring himself to a cursory reading of the gospels twice a year” (WGos 267).

TO LOOK INTO: Sig ‘to stoop over to look.” It implies willingness to exert or inconvenience oneself to obtain a better perspective. Here the present tense gives it a continuous aspect. The verb is also used in Luk 24:12; Joh 20:5,11; and Jam 1:25. It means a continuous regard rather than a quick look. Cp Exo 25:20: cherubim continually looking into the ark of covt. Thus cherubim = angels here!

1Pe 1:13

Vv 13-16: See Article, Be ye holy (1Pe 1:13-16).

PREPARE YOUR MINDS FOR ACTION: Replaces KJV’s literal translation “Gird up the loins of your mind.” The figure is of a man gathering the folds of his long garment and tucking it into his belt so that he can move freely and quickly (cf 1Ki 18:46; Jer 1:17; Luk 17:8). This was esp true at Passover (Exo 12:11). Related uses of the figure occur in Luk 12:35 and Eph 6:14. “Pull yourselves together” is a comparable English idiom.

“Discipline yourself. Keep bringing yourself back very frequently to the basic purpose of your life. As far as practical, pause very briefly every hour on the hour for reorientation of your thoughts and activities. Put aside all passing problems for a moment alone with God and with His eternal peace. Our greatest problem is distraction and forgetfulness. The whole weight of the natural mind is toward low and present things. We must keep pulling the mind upward. It is not merely for man’s convenience that God has caused the day to be divided into hours. They should be points of reference, compass settings, memory markers. Like the year and the month and the day and the seven-day cycle, they are measuring milestones to remind us to pause, review and refresh ourselves. We mean well, we plan well, and we determine well: but remembering and staying consistently on course are our besetting problems. Set yourself up periodic memory points, course-checking points. Of course the ideal is constant unwavering awareness; a perfect, undeviating, arrow-straight course toward the eternal goal. But we are weak creatures. Life is an endless, painful (though joyful and glorious) struggle to keep bringing ourselves back to being what we ought to be and doing what we ought to do” (GVG).

“Well done is better than well said” (New England proverb). “You’ll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind” (Irish proverb).

BE SELF-CONTROLLED: The Gr present participle is “nephontes” and implies another figure. The original meaning of “nepho” related to abstaining from excessive use of wine. In the NT its sense broadens to “live soberly” — a meaning that embraces sound judgment in all areas of life.

SET YOUR HOPE FULLY ON THE GRACE TO BE GIVEN YOU WHEN JESUS CHRIST IS REVEALED: Now we are God’s children, John wrote, but when Christ returns, we will be like him (1Jo 3:2,3). This longing for the Second Coming permeates the NT writings (cf Act 1:11; Rom 11:26; 1Co 15:51; 1Th 4:13-17; Heb 9:28; Jam 5:8; 2Pe 3:12,13; Rev 1:7; 19:11; 22:7-20).

1Pe 1:14

DO NOT CONFORM TO THE EVIL DESIRES: The sw occurs also in Rom 12:2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world.” Peter exhorts Christians to control their desires rather than to be controlled by them. Formerly Christians were in ignorance; now they have come to know God and his will. They are to be “children of obedience” — a Semitic expression describing not only their quality but also their nature.

1Pe 1:15

Vv 15,16: Holiness embraces purity and moral integrity. Those called to be God’s children are to be like him. Peter reinforces this command by citing the LM (Lev 11:44,45; 19:2; 20:7). The basic idea of holiness in the Bible is that of separation from all that is profane. The developed sense of holiness includes various meanings translated into English as “purify”, “sanctify”, “separate from”, “dedicate”, etc. The simplest understanding of holiness is that of loving conformity to God’s commands and to his Son (cf 1Jo 2:4-6). Cp also Joh 17:17; 1Pe 2:9; Jam 4:4; 2Co 7:1; Phi 2:15,16.

IN ALL YOU DO: Translated in KJV “all manner of conversation” — an old English wd whose meaning has changed. The Gr, “anastrophe”, is based on a rt wd meaning “to turn”; thus, lit, “wherever you turn…”: it occurs similarly in Gal 1:13; Eph 4:22; 1Ti 4:12; Heb 13:7; Jam 3:13; etc.

1Pe 1:16

Vv 16-19: “There is no motive for holiness so great as that which streams from the veins of Jesus [v 19]” (CHS). See Lesson, Be ye holy (1Pe 1:13-16).

1Pe 1:17

WHO JUDGES EACH MAN’S WORK IMPARTIALLY: Peter had finally learned this lesson: Act 10:34.

LIVE YOUR LIVES… HERE IN REVERENT FEAR: Simply because some people call themselves Christians does not mean that all will be well for them in the Judgment. Justified persons are persons changed by grace and they must walk in good works as the evidence of grace (Eph 2:10). Since judgment is certain, Christians are to live in reverential awe of God (Rom 11:20; 2Co 7:1; Heb 12:28) — yet not in terror, for peace is one of their prerogatives (1Pe 1:2).

1Pe 1:18

SILVER: The half-shekel of silver was paid at census (Exo 30:12-17), as a redemption price.

REDEEMED: The Gr “lutroo” (“redeem”) goes back to the institution of slavery in ancient Rome. Any representative first-century ecclesia would have three kinds of members: slaves, freemen, and freed men. People became slaves in various ways — thru war, bankruptcy, sale by themselves, sale by parents, or by birth. Slaves normally could look forward to freedom after a certain period of service and often after the payment of a price. Money to buy his freedom could be earned by the slave in his spare time or by doing more than his owner required. Often the price could be provided by someone else. By the payment of a price (“lutron” or “antilutron”), a person could be set free from his bondage or servitude. A freed man was a person who formerly had been a slave but was now redeemed. Jesus described his ministry in Mar 10:45: “The Son of Man… [came] to serve, and to give his life as a ransom [Iutron] for [anti , ‘in the place of’] many.” See Lesson, Redemption.

THE EMPTY WAY OF LIFE: The redemption of Christians is from the “empty” (Gr “mataios”) lifestyle of their ancestors. This implies a pagan lifestyle rather than a Jewish one because the NT stresses the emptiness of paganism (cf Rom 1:21; Eph 4:17).

FOREFATHERS: Could be Jew (Mar 7:13) or Gentile (Col 2:8).

1Pe 1:19

THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, A LAMB…: This stresses the value of the purchase price of redemption and at the same time identifies the blood as that of a spotless lamb — the Messiah (Joh 1:29). When Israel was in bondage in Egypt, the Passover lamb was killed and the blood provided release from bondage and judgment. Because Jesus is without sin, he is unique and his life is of infinite value as the Sacrificial Lamb of the Passover (cf Exo 12:46; Joh 19:36; 1Co 5:7).

BLOOD: There is no virtue inherent in the literal blood itself, but only in that it represents a completely dedicated and obedient life. Blood = life in Lev 17:11 — in this case, a perfectly sinless life.

A LAMB WITHOUT BLEMISH OR DEFECT: “The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats” (Exo 12:5).

Peter’s “precious” things: trials (1Pe 1:7), blood of Christ (1Pe 1:18,19), the cornerstone (of Christ) (1Pe 2:4,6), Christ himself (1Pe 2:7), faith (2Pe 1:1), and the great promises (2Pe 1:4).

1Pe 1:20

CHOSEN BEFORE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD: Known and designated or marked out beforehand: Gen 3:15; Rev 13:18. Not literally existing before his birth, because the same language is used of sts: 1Pe 1:2; Rom 8:29.

THE CREATION OF THE WORLD: “Creation” here is, rather uniquely, “katabole”, lit a casting down, or laying of a foundation. It refers to the new order of things (“world” = Gr “kosmos”, the arrangement of things), after the Fall in the Garden of Eden… when Adam and Eve were “cast down” into mortality and death.

1Pe 1:21

See VL, Christ’s resurrection, reality.

GOD, WHO RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD: Their faith in God comes thru the work of Jesus because he is the one who reveals the Father (Joh 1:18) and because he is the means of reconciliation (2Co 5:19). Peter identifies the Father (v 17) as the God who raised Jesus and glorified him, with the result that believers have faith and hope in God. Jesus’ resurrection is the foundation of our faith, and his glorification is the pledge of the hope of our new future (Rom 8:17-30; 1Co 15:1-11; Heb 2:10).

YOUR FAITH AND HOPE ARE IN GOD: Not in things, ambitions, intelligence, education, houses and possessions…

1Pe 1:22

SINCERE: Gr “anupokritos” = lit, without hypocrisy. Used Rom 12:9; 2Co 6:6; 1Ti 1:5; 2Ti 1:5; Jam 3:17; 1Pe 1:22.

LOVE: This “love” is “phileo” — a love born of liking, a companionship, a lowering of social barriers; “fraternal affection”. The first step in divine love: Joh 21:15-19.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER DEEPLY: This “love” is “agape”, not found in classical Greek, but appropriated and/or “invented” by NT writers to express the absolute self-sacrificing love of God shown by Christ (1Jo 3:16), demonstrating God’s relationship with us (1Jo 4:9), and with His Son (Joh 15:10; 17:26; Col 1:13). It is the prevailing quality of the Christian life (Rom 5:5; Gal 5:22). Love for non-believers is not in view here, but of course it is also part of Christians’ obligations (Mat 5:44; Luk 6:27,35).

1Pe 1:23

FOR YOU HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN: The second reason for Christians to love others. This verb is in the perfect tense and stresses the state into which Christians come at conversion.

NOT OF PERISHABLE SEED, BUT OF IMPERISHABLE: Cp Christ’s parable, Luk 8:11: “The seed is the word of God” — the life-giving message about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Peter explains that the new birth comes through the living and abiding word of God. By the “word” (logos), he prob means “God’s self-revelation”, which would include both his spoken message and his written one. God’s word is living because it imparts life (Psa 33:9; Isa 55:10,11; Heb 4:12). His word endures because the God who speaks it is the eternal, faithful, powerful one who keeps His promises.

WORD OF GOD: Christ IS the word of God: Joh 1:1; 1Jo 1:1; Rev 19:13; Heb 4:12.

1Pe 1:24

ALL MEN ARE LIKE GRASS: Citing Isa 40:6-8. Flesh is empty compared to God’s word of promise. Man is mortal — whether he be the “grass” of the field (2Ki 19:26; Isa 37:27; Psa 129:6; Mat 6:30), or even the lovely “wildflower” (Mat 6:28; Luk 12:27; Jam 1:10), he is destined to perish!

1Pe 1:25

// Deu 32:2; Isa 55:10,11; Jer 23:29; Psa 119:105,144,152; Joh 10:35.

Jam 4:3

What hinders our prayers? Asking amiss (James 4:3); Sin (Isa 59:1,2); Ignoring others (Pro 21:13); Failure to forgive others (Mark 11:25); Faulty family relationships (1Pe 3:7); Doubt (James 5:7).

BECAUSE YOU ASK WITH WRONG MOTIVES: “We create our own unhappiness by desiring what it would not be good for us to have, or what God in His love and wisdom does not see fit to give. If we truly believed that ‘all things work together for good to them that love God’, we could not be unhappy. Happiness is contentment with reality, and harmony with God” (GVG).

Jam 4:4

Separateness from world: 2Co 6:14-18; 1Pe 2:11,12; 1Jo 2:15-17; 3:1; 4:5; 5:19; Jam 1:27; Heb 13:14: Phi 3:20; Gal 6:14; Joh 17:6,9; Rev 2:20; 9:20.

“The fact is that in all companionship there is a tendency to conform. We cannot remain for long in genuine companionship with those whose tastes are totally different from our own. Difference of temperament may be an advantage to friendship but difference of taste is an obstacle. If there is a fundamental difference in the most important matters of life, true friendship cannot be long sustained, and that is why the call of the Gospel has separated families and often caused bitterness. Friendship may continue if the difference of taste or conviction can be progressively diminished. One who has been called by the Gospel often tries to continue in friendship with one who only hears the call of the world, but inevitably there is either a progressive loosening of the friendly tie or a change in the individuals. The worldly man may be transformed for Christ or the disciple of Christ may be conformed to the world. Possibly there will be a change on both sides, resulting in a lukewarm compromise of no value from either point of view. It is a terrible truth that ‘the friendship of the world is enmity with God’ ” (PrPr)

Jam 4:7

RESIST THE DEVIL: By parallelism, = “wash your hands” and “purify your hearts” of v 8.

DEVIL: By parallelism, = “sin”, to be resisted (Rom 6:13).

Jam 4:8

COME NEAR TO GOD AND HE WILL COME NEAR TO YOU: “Realize the urgent importance of constant closeness to God. The power of the attraction of gravity is in inverse proportion to the distance, and the attraction increases, not just simply but exponentially, with closeness. This is true both naturally and spiritually. There are always powerful, almost irresistible forces pulling us away — forces of the flesh and of the world. There is no safety or stability except in closely clasped contact with the Eternal Father, the Source and Power of holiness and life and light. Neglect or loosen or forget the urgency of that contact, and you soon will be swept helplessly away into eternal darkness and oblivion” (GVG).

Jam 4:9

// Mat 5:4; Luk 6:21,25.

Jam 4:10

“Keep constantly before your mind your total helplessness and total dependence upon God. Never slip into the folly of feeling self-confident or self-sufficient. This is the only wisdom. We are nothing. Our highest ‘knowledge’ is foolishness: our greatest achievements are meaningless and puny. Only as willing and faithful instruments in the hands of God can we do anything worthwhile, or anything right. Maintain the direct and continuous contact, or you lose all power of truth and holiness” (GVG).

“In speaking of humility, it might be helpful to say what humility is not. It is not a false valuation of your talents or abilities. You need not say you are dumb when you are smart or ugly when you are handsome. It is understanding those gifts are from God and therefore cannot be a source of arrogance. Meekness does not mean deferring to everyone on everything. Different people are suited to different tasks. Some do things better than others. Humility allows for an accurate self-assessment and the adeptness to carry out those duties without self-aggrandizement to the benefit of God and others. Humility is also not rejecting all praise. We must accept praise and criticism equally well. If we are humble, we will not love ‘the praise of men more than the praise of God’ (Joh 12:43). We cannot accept the praise of men and also attain the praise of God unless we do so humbly and with a sincere recognition of the source of our abilities” (KT).

Jam 4:11

SPEAKS AGAINST THE LAW: Which requires that we go directly to those with whom we have issues (Mat 18:15).

Jam 4:12

WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE YOUR NEIGHBOR?: “Don’t criticize: help! Leave the judging to God, where it belongs. Anybody can criticize, and most do. It takes no brains, ability, preparation or effort: just a small mind and a loose tongue. Critics are always in oversupply. Helpers and doers and builders are always scarce, for that takes effort and self-sacrifice and intelligence and patience and love, which are not natural, animal, human characteristics, like criticism is. Criticism comes built-in and ready-made: part of the universal diabolos. Every unnecessary critical word is a mark against us at the judgment seat. We may be thoughtlessly compiling quite a formidable record for that dread day” (GVG).

Jam 4:13

“If you want to hear God laugh, just tell him your plans” (old Jewish proverb).

Jam 4:14

A MIST…: Cp Ecc 1:2; Psa 144:4.

Jam 4:15

IF IT IS THE LORD’S WILL: See 1Co 16:7; 4:19; Act 18:21. Life is so full of uncertainties that there are no guarantees; failure is as possible as success; indifferent health as fitness; tomorrow’s plans can be brutally overthrown by untimely death, so much so that the wise man as he looks ahead seeks for divine guidance in the spirit of “Thy will be done” and then prepares to accept the offering of each day as it comes.

Jam 2:5

Ct Mar 10:17-27: the rich young man.

The real measure of a person’s wealth is how much he would be worth if he lost all his money.

One day a very wealthy man took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing him what poverty is like. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad,” the little boy replied. “Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked. “Oh, yes!” said the son. Curious to see what he had observed, the father asked his son, “So what did you learn from the trip?”

The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, and they have a creek that has no end. We have fancy lanterns in our garden, and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard, and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on, and they have fields that stretch beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”

With this, the boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”

Jam 2:7

HIM TO WHOM YOU BELONG: That is, the one by whose name you are called: cp Jacob in Gen 48:16.

Jam 2:9

FAVORITISM: “That we should show ‘no respect of persons’ draws on the Law of Moses and is seen extensively in Scripture… Lev 19:15; Deu 1:17; 16:19; 2Sa 14:14; 2Ch 19:7; Pro 24:23; 28:21; Rom 2:11; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25; 1Pe 1:17. No matter how one dresses up the prejudice against the poor and favour toward the well-dressed, it is a violation of the Divine law. Actually it manifests pride. We like to identify with the rich in this world rather than the poor” (PF).

Jam 2:13

MERCY TRIUMPHS OVER JUDGMENT: Confidence on the day of judgment: 1Jo 4:17.

Jam 2:18

“Do the best you can, where you are, with what you have.”

“It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem” (Coretta King)

“Use your gifts faithfully, and they shall be enlarged; practice what you know, and you shall attain to higher knowledge” (Edwin Arnold).

Jam 2:19

YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE IS ONE GOD. GOOD! EVEN THE DEMONS BELIEVE THAT — AND SHUDDER: This alludes to the sick often trembling at the time of their cures. It may refer to the many incidents of curing of “demoniacs” (those possessed by “demons”) in the Gospels (cp Mat 8:29, where “demons” express fear). More significantly, James is referring to the fact that many people during Christ’s ministry had had the faith to be cured (ie, they believed and trembled), but only a handful had responded with the works which a word-based faith should have produced — as opposed to the intense hope and belief in personal betterment which the people had (DH).

Or, alternatively, a reference to the idols — sometimes called “demons” (1Co 10:20; Rev 9:20; cp Deu 32:17; Psa 96:5; 106:37) — who, figuratively, “tremble” when in the presence of the One True God. Examples: (1) the God of Israel showing His plain superiority to all the “gods” of Egypt with the outpouring of various plagues through Moses — until even Pharaoh (himself a “god”, or “demon”) had to acknowledge Yahweh’s power; (2) Samson bringing down the great temple at Gaza (Jdg 16:23-31); and (3) Dagon, the Philistine idol, falling down broken before the ark of the Yahweh (1Sa 5:1-4). These idols, or “demons”, tremble and fall before the face of the One True God, but they — and their devoted followers — cannot go on to truly believe in Him.

SHUDDER: “Trembling”, or “toppling”, or “tottering”, is a real problem for idols! see Isa 40:20; 41:7; Jer 10:4.

“Shudder” is Gr “phrisso”, only once in NT. Occurs 3 times in LXX: Job 4:15; Dan 7:15; and esp Jer 2:11,12: ” ‘Has a nation ever changed its gods? But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O heavens, and SHUDDER with great horror,’ declares the LORD.”

The two ideas are very naturally connected — along these lines: Those who believe in “demons” (that is, all the little “devils” who do all sorts of mean and hurtful things, under the direction of the BIG “Devil”) are — in effect — believing in false “gods”. And the belief in such “little gods” is basically incompatible with a meaningful belief in the One True God: hence Jer 2:11,12.

So, when Jesus and the apostles set out to cure folks of the diseases which they (the sufferers) attribute to “demons”, they are actually mounting a two-pronged attack: (1) they are, first of all, simply curing diseases and disorders, called “demons”, and (2) in a more complex or subtle vein, they are demonstrating that such “demons” (ie, false gods) are not real or powerful — this is similar to what Moses and Aaron did in Egypt with the whole Egyptian pantheon.

So the “demons” (meaning, here, the “demoniacs”, or the ones suffering from what they imagine to be “demons”) tremble when they encounter a greater power… because they imagine, at first, these little “demons” (meaning, to their minds, the “gods” or “devils” afflicting them) are now trembling in fear at a greater power!

And then, finally, as (or when) they understand what has actually happened, they realize that these “demons” (meaning the “false gods”) do not exist at all — they are what Paul calls “no-gods”… nothing at all (1Co 8:4; Acts 19:26)!

So, in Jam 2:19, the question is: Does the initial “trembling” of the “demons”, when confronted with a greater Power, lead (a) to the sufferer’s recognition that the God of Israel, or of Jesus, is simply greater than the little “demons”? OR does it lead (b) to a greater and more lasting realization, by the one cured or by witnesses, that such “demons” do not exist at all, and therefore that Yahweh is — truly and absolutely — the one and only LORD and God?

The above comments blend together two related ideas: (a) that “demons” may mean those who suffer otherwise unexplained illnesses, as well as (b) those demonic “gods” whom they acknowledge or worship. The close connection between these two concepts is verified by certain Bible passages, which draw close parallels between idols and those who worship them: “But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them” (Psa 115:4-8; cp Psa 135:15-18; Jer 10:8).

Jam 2:22

“An old Scotsman operated a little rowboat for transporting passengers. One day a passenger noticed that the good old man had carved on one oar the word ‘Faith’, and on the other oar the word ‘Works’. Curiosity led him to ask the meaning of this. The old man, being a well-balanced believer in Christ, and glad of the opportunity for testimony, said, ‘I will show you.’ So saying, he dropped one oar and plied the other called Works, and they just went around in circles. Then he dropped that oar and began to use the oar called Faith, and the little boat just went around in circles again — this time the other way around, but still in a circle. After this demonstration the old man picked up Faith and Works and wielding both oars together, sped swiftly over the water, explaining to his inquiring passenger, ‘You see, that is the way it is in the believer’s life. Works without faith are useless, and faith without works is dead also, getting you nowhere. But faith and works pulling together make for safety, progress, and blessing’ ” (MT).

Jam 2:24

What saves us? Grace (Eph 2:8,9). Hope (Rom 8:24). Belief (Mar 16:15). Baptism (1Pe 3:21). Gospel, and its memory (1Co 15:1,2). Blood of Christ (1Jo 1:7). Faith (Rom 5:1). Works (Jam 2:24). Ourselves (Act 2:40). Endurance (Mat 10:22). What saved the “drowning man”? The rock, the rope, another man, himself…or all of them?

Jam 2:25

SPIES: “Aggelos”, translated “messengers” in KJV, RSV, ASV, etc. Mortal “angels”!

Jam 2:26

Adam, when first created, is an example: Gen 2:7. And when we acknowledge Christ in confession and baptism, we are made “alive” by his “spirit”: Rom 6:1-4.