I Peter 3: 8-22
8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
**19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
**20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
(** Note- there is some uncertainty regarding the spirits in prison referenced to here so I decided to focus on what was being accomplished as part of the theme and not figuring out what these are- I consulted several commentaries with differing opinions)
Our greatest example is Christ and Peter concludes this in this chapter. He was mocked by Jewish leaders and family members for His beliefs and actions. He was thought to be a menace to society. He was completely defeated according to human standards- he was sentenced to the most degrading death possible in Roman society- the cross. By all accounts, He was a fraud. But it says that he was "quickened by the Spirit" and has resurrected, is in heaven and rules over all! He was supremely victorious in His sacrifice. He was tortured and suffered emotionally and spiritually beyond any trauma we could understand. The weight of the entire sin's world was on His shoulders! But He won the victory and is in Heaven now interceding in our lives personally!
This is our Lord and Savior. This is who we are to be like. Peter lays our 5 specific characteristics that should shine forth in the church-
1. "Be ye all of one mind"- Unity with brethren
How many times have we seen church splits? How many times
have we seen one church berate another because they have drums
or they dress up too much? Paul mentions the important things that
must be agreed upon to unify with another body of believers in
Eph. 4: 4-6 (Please see previous post "Unity of the Body
Explained")
2. "having compassion one of another"-sympathy and empathy for
others; do you seek out the needs of others and work to meet
those with what God has given you? Do you truly rejoice and mourn along with your brother or sister that is mourning or rejoicing?
(Rom. 12:15)
3. "love as brethren"- Need we bring up I Corinthians 13? God is love.
I Cor. 13:1-3 " Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."
Do you truly love like Jesus loves your brothers and sisters in Christ?
4. "pitiful" sensitive towards others
Are you kind in general to others? Are your words constantly critical
of your brothers and sisters? Are you perceptive to know when
someone is hurting?
5. "courteous" Are you humble and do you uplift your brothers and
sisters? Are you ready to encourage them and rejoice with them
even when you feel jealous?
Peter goes on to state that you should give blessing to those who persecute and work against you (v. 9) He also speaks about ensuring your words are holy and uplifting and do not contain hate or contempt (v. 10). He then states to resist evil and do only good and then to seek and pursue peace- it is a state of action. You pursue to resolve conflict immediately and heal wounds (v.11). The Lord then promises that he hears the prayers of the righteous (v.12).
I would like to conclude with the reasoning behind all this. In v. 15-17 the Bible says, "but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation [behavior] in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing."
What is the purpose behind our conversation or behavior? It is to be ready to give an answer to those who are not saved why we have the hope we have, and why we act the way we do. Sadly, our lives do not always reflect these character qualities which the Lord commands- I know I don't. May we live in such a way that even government officials see our actions for the glory of God even in the face of direct persecution from that person. We are to respond in gentleness and respect for that person (v.15- "meekness" and "fear") which is an aspect we forget many times. Shouting at someone never made them want to listen.
Have you not nailed the Lord to the cross with your sin? How can you not then, give your all to your Lord, and be ready to even suffer to proclaim His name and bring Him glory! God saved us from death and eternal separation from Him in a place of eternal torment. We don't deserve grace any more than our persecutors. Pray that the Lord would help you to see others from His perspective- but more importantly, pray that you would see yourself from God's perspective without His grace. Only then will you understand the significance of your testimony to others. You may be the only glimpse of the Lord others will ever see. An eternal soul hangs in the balance . . .
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