Good evening, Verse by Verse family! I’m Mike Morris...

Welcome back to our study of I Peter...thank you, Tony, for last week’s teaching on the role of elders in the local church...

Goal for tonight is learn how to walk in faith in Christ and resist the devil

Let’s review our theme verse...I Peter 4.19...which is included in tonight’s passage...

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Keep working on it...it takes time and repetition to memorize something...you can do it!

Now we’ll turn to our text for tonight...I Peter 5.6-14...

 let’s stand in honor of God’s word

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. 13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Peter now comes to the close of his letter to the dispersed believers in northern Asia Minor...he has sought to encourage and strengthen them as they anticipate and are beginning to experience suffering for their faith in Christ...he has written to them of God’s great mercy that they should be born again, of the imperishable inheritance that awaits them, and he has reminded them of their identity as the people of God, and their mission to proclaim His excellencies to a lost and unbelieving world...

Peter has given them sound instructions on the difficult topic of submission: that they are to submit to every human institution, even the corrupt Roman empire; to their masters, if they were in servitude, as many of them likely were; for wives to be subject to their own husbands; and for church members to submit to their church elders...

He counsels these believers to prepare for and endure suffering as they follow the example of Jesus Christ, as Peter says in chapter 3 verse 18, perhaps one of the best single verse summaries of the Gospel in all the Bible... For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 

Peter reminds the churches to love each other, to show hospitality with grace, and to use their spiritual gifts to serve one another...

And Peter brings all the themes in the letter together in chapter 4 verse 19... Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Now he closes the letter with instructions and encouragement to both the elders and the youngers of the church, as Tony covered last week...in his final comments, Peter reminds these believers to remain humble, resist the enemy, and stand firm in the true grace of God...let’s see what the Lord would say to us through Peter’s closing words...

Final Instructions                           5.6-8a

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful.

As Peter begins this conclusion to the letter, he starts with some reminders, echoing some of the themes of the book he’s already taught them...humility, faith, and always being on the alert, wary of the enemy’s schemes...

Point 1 Regarding humility, Peter instructed them in chapter 3 verse 8 to have a humble mind. ... he warns them against a grave error, pride...there may be no more dangerous sin than this, that a person would value themselves above the Almighty God...Jesus includes pride in His list of sins that defile a person...and the antidote to the poison of pride is the healing balm of humility...as Peter just said, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” But here, note that the instruction is to “humble yourselves” to bring yourself down, to consider yourself lowly ... always better doing that yourself than the Lord having to humble you...and Peter contrasts this command with the promise that God will exalt you at the proper time...so the idea is for we ourselves to bring ourselves low, resting on the assurance that in due time, God will lift us up...

Point 2 And Peter says we can trust in God, casting our cares, our worries, our anxieties on Him...”casting” here means to throw something forcefully...take those worries and throw them to the Lord as hard and fast as you can... Why can we do that? Because He cares for us, His heart is toward us, His love for us is everlasting...the Great Shepherd watches over His treasured sheep from a heart of grace and mercy... Peter has already told the believers in I Peter 1.5 and 3.12 that God is guarding them, protecting them as they await their salvation, and that the “eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.” ... He sees you, He hears you, and He guards you...place your faith in Him!

Peter’s third admonition is to be sober-minded and watchful...Point 3 this is the third time in this short book Peter has warned the Asia Minor christians to be “sober-minded” ... in I Peter 1.13 and in 4.6 he says, be self-controlled, be sober-minded...the two words, sober-minded and watchful, are related...”sober-minded” means just that, to be sober, to be free of influence from alcohol, and by extension, to be self-controlled, not controlled by other people or other things, outside influences...”watchful” is the Gr “gregoreo” meaning to be fully awake and alert, watching all around you... Paul uses it in I Corinthians 16.13... Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong...in the military, there’s a similar phrase, “check six” meaning to look behind you, continue to watch for threats...be situationally aware of who and what is around you...why? The next passage explains Peter’s reason for this admonition...

Offense and Defense                             8b-9

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

We have an adversary...Point 4 know the enemy...the word means our “accuser,” especially signifying a hostile enemy...who is this enemy? The devil...Satan...the great serpent, the evil one, the god of this world, the father of lies...today, he is a formidable foe, a roaring lion...which is an interesting description, because the roar is meant to frighten and intimidate the prey...but when lions hunt, they’re silent as they approach...Satan will try to scare us, but he’s at his most dangerous in the quiet moments when temptation comes...he is constantly looking for someone to devour, to destroy and consume...he can’t destroy you, but he and his demons can harass and tempt and influence you...remember, the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy...be self-controlled, be watchful, and always resist him...never give in!

But he is defeated already, and he knows it...we learn of his fate in Revelation 12.10-11... 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. We read of his final defeat in Revelation 20.10... 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. After all the devil tried to do, his downfall is captured in a single verse...hallelujah! But until then, he has been thrown down to earth, where he now roams about...but how do we defeat him?

Point 5 ... resist the enemy Resist him, firm in your faith...set yourself steadfastly against him and all his lies...remember, the devil is playing offense...he is on the attack, roaming about...the Scriptures don’t instruct us to somehow go and attack the devil...we are to play defense, in the sense that we are to resist him, firm in our trust in God...consider this quote from the Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu... and you must be prepared to take on this enemy, armored up as we live out what Ephesians 6.11 says... 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. The key word in that passage about the full armor of God is repeated three times – the word “stand” – we wrestle against evil spiritual forces, resisting them, but God calls us to plant our feet and stand for the Gospel...and Revelation 12.11 gives us the playbook for defeating the enemy... 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Our trust is in the blood of Jesus...our crucified and risen Saviour is our hope and stay...and our word of testimony to the truth of God will be the last words on our lips, even if we die the death of a martyr, as many did in the first centuries of the church...and then as now, those who suffer for Christ are never alone...they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but they also suffer alongside their brothers and sisters in the fellowship of the redeemed...

The finish line                              10-11

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

Peter now returns to the dominant theme of the book, suffering...it’s the same word we’ve seen throughout the letter, Gr ‘pascho’ – but here Peter describes the duration of the suffering as being “for a little while” ... that word does refer to time, but you could also say “suffered for a bit” or “somewhat” ... the sense is that the suffering doesn’t last long...in this life, it might last a short time, or it might last a long time, but in light of eternity, it is a 

“little while” -- it is but a moment...Paul reminds us of this truth in Romans 8.18... 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. This is not meant to untruthfully minimize the suffering Christians experience, only to understand it in its proper perspective...it doesn’t last forever, and qualitatively our present suffering can’t be compared to the eternal weight of glory we will experience with Christ...

The “God of all grace” will step in and take divine action, even in this life...not only because He is our gracious and merciful God, which He is, but also because of His everlasting commitment to us as His children...He has “called” us...Gr ‘kaleo’ the same word used in Romans 8.29-30, where Paul follows the words “foreknew” and “predestine” with this same word, “call” – just as surely as God has called us to salvation, so He has called us to eternal glory...Philippians 1.6 reminds us, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. This is your destiny, church...eternal glory in Christ!

But until then, what will our gracious God do in us in the midst of suffering and in glory?

He will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. That sounds really encouraging, and it is...let’s examine what God is doing and will continue to do in us...

He will restore us...this Gr word, ‘katartizo’ is an interesting word...it appears in the NT fourteen times, but you probably won’t recognize it, because it can be translated in three main ways...the most common sense is to prepare or make something ready, 9 of the 14 uses...it also means to mend or repair something...it’s used in Matthew and Mark of fishermen mending their nets...and it can be understood as “restore”, as it is here, fixing what is broken so as to make it fit for it’s ultimate use...so think for a moment about that...while we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and given all we need for life and godliness, in this life there is much about us that needs to be mended, restored, repaired, to make us fit for heaven...starting with completely removing our sin nature and perfecting us in holiness and righteousness...God is in the process even now of preparing us for living in His presence...He will fully restore you, preparing you for eternity with Him...

He will “confirm” us...Gr ‘sthenoo’ (long o sound)...this word is used only once in the NT, and is defined as “strengthen” – which didn’t add much to my understanding of this passage, given that “strengthen” is the next word, until I looked at other forms of the root word from which this word is drawn...every other use of the root of this word, ‘sthenoo’ has a prefix that adds a negative meaning to the word...every other use of this word family – and there are 167 other uses – is translated as weakness, sickness, or diseased...so my understanding of this word in the context of the uses of the other closely related words is that the meaning is related to healing and strengthening in both a physical and spiritual sense...the negative prefix words are translated infirmity, disability, illness, ailment, or moral or spiritual weakness...one of those uses is in Matthew 8.16-17, a passage that represents what is being said here in I Peter 5...Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law, and Matthew records this as narrative... 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” ... so to a degree in this life and fully in glory, Jesus heals us of all that is imperfect...it fits with our understanding of the end times...I’m looking forward to my resurrection body and all that God has in store for me...and the suffering that we endure now will be forever gone... Revelation 21.4 is such a word of hope: He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” What we’re experiencing now that is hurtful, damaging, painful, addicting, weak, disabling, deadly...all of that will one day be called “the former things” for our God will confirm us in strength and wholeness and health and glory...hallelujah!

And He will “strengthen” us...the original word is Gr. ‘sterizo’ also used 14 times, almost equally translated “strengthen” and “establish” – it carries the meaning of resoluteness, determination to endure under adversity, to fix firmly in place, to strengthen or make more capable, to increase ability, to cause to be inwardly firm or committed...it’s used in Luke 22.32 when Jesus speaks to Peter and tells him that after he is restored, he must “strengthen your brothers” and Paul uses it in II Thessalonians 3.3 when he writes “He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” It’s a powerful word – God will Himself make us resolute, cause us to be firm and fully committed in our heart, mind, and soul...and it will be all to His glory, as He transforms us into the image of Christ, our strong and resolute Redeemer...

And finally, our God will “establish” us...this is an architectural term...it’s used of laying a foundation stone, establishing a foundation, strengthening or making firm a foundation...it’s used in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7 to describe the man who built his life on the rock when the text says the house “was founded” on the rock...the Gr word is ‘themelioo’ (long o sound) – it’s used five times and translated five different ways...establish, founded, stable, grounded, and foundation...you can watch foundations of new buildings being poured all over the city, and we all understand how important it is that a new building have a solid and well-made foundation...that’s the point Peter is making here...God is going to ensure that we are grounded, established, with a solid foundation...for our cornerstone is Jesus Himself, and the foundation is the apostles and the prophets, in other words, the Scriptures...if we remain solidly rooted to that foundation and cornerstone, we will abide in Him no matter what circumstances come our way...

Peter closes this section with an appropriate doxology: 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Amen, sovereign Lord! 

These final teaching words of Peter should be in our memory and bookmarked in our Bibles...not only do they challenge us but they give us hope that our faithful God will never abandon us, but will instead complete in us all that He purposes to do...

Farewell                                     12-14

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

Now Peter concludes with a brief farewell, authenticating his apostolic authorship...he identifies his courier, Silvanus, likely the same man as Silas, mentioned at least a dozen times in Acts 15 through 18...Silas, along with Judas Barsabbas, was a courier carrying the letter with the results of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, and was a close colleague of both Paul and Timothy...by his name “Silvanus” he is mentioned by Paul at the beginning of I Corinthians and both letters to the Thessalonians...it makes sense that Peter would have regarded him as a “faithful brother”

Peter also summarizes the content and purpose of his brief letter in verse 12...his intention is to exhort and encourage the believers, affirming for them that what he has written is the true grace of God, and would be a solid ground for them to stand firm in both the grace of God and the instruction Peter has written to them, an admonition the Spirit recorded for us, too... Final Words stand firm

The cryptic comment in verse 13 almost surely refers, as we noted in the introduction, to the church in Rome...the identification of Rome as Babylon was also used by the apostle John four times in Revelation, particularly 17.9...so Peter, writing from Rome, sends his readers greetings from the church in his city...and from his assistant at that moment, Mark, also known as John Mark from the book of Acts...this close association explains why we believe that the gospel of Mark is largely drawn from Peter’s experience...

Peter closes the letter was a final instruction, one intended to endorse a warm and growing fellowship within the church to whom he is writing... Greet one another with the kiss of love. Through church history, some have taken this more literally than others, depending on culture...the main point is that believers are to regard other believers as close family, brothers and sisters in Christ, and treat each other with genuine affection...whether it’s a kiss or a hug or a handshake or a pandemic fist bump, the point is that we love one another, and we are not afraid to show it...

Peter’s last word to us is fitting: peace. Promised by God to all those in Christ Jesus, and the product of our justification by faith, the peace of God passes all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus...and it is the perfect benediction to a church both enduring and facing persecution and suffering, both in the first century, and the twenty-first century.

May the Lord bless His Word to His people.