Gleaning from the Early Church in 1 Peter Chs 1-3
Why 1 Peter? 1 Peter was written to a Christian people who were scattered throughout the ancient world and found themselves enduring suffering and persecution. Not only were people enduring suffering - but they were enduring suffering for doing good - for upholding the things which God in Christ had called them to uphold. 1 Peter is really a master class on navigating life as a Christian when it seems unfair, when hope seems hard to come by, when good is called evil and failing to participate in evil for the sake of Christ is regarded with scorn. In other words, it’s a letter written to a people suffering greatly about Christian hope. And in the midst of global conflicts, high interest rates, inflation, worrying cultural trends nationally and locally, not to mention all of our own personal struggles and sufferings within ourselves and our communities, I thought it might be wise to offer some hope in Christ.
My hope for our time together this morning is that you would walk a way with a bigger vision of your life and a broader context of everything such that your heart would rightly magnify Christ so that you might be full of genuine hope in the midst of all kinds of temptations to despair. That we might join Christ in fixing our eyes on the joy before us in the cross which brought his death and also gave opportunity for his and our eternal life with God. (Hebrews 12:1-2) We are going to go quickly. Please take these notes and meditate on these passages together with a friend or with your family. 1 Peter is a banquet of hope in troubled times and I don’t want anyone to be malnourished.
Where do we begin? Jesus - our living hope.
Read: 1 Peter 1:1-12
What is the most important thing for us to understand as we encounter suffering? We are hidden in Christ who has overcome Satan, sin and death. Our deepest reality & identity is not in our current circumstances, but is tied to Jesus Christ. We have been born again. Brought into a new life that cannot be shaken or destroyed. Because of the work of Christ on our behalf. He lived the life we could not live in our place. He died the death we should have died. He rose again overcoming sin & death on our behalf so that we could enjoy life, hidden in Christ, forever. THAT is the foundation of your life. THAT is an untouchable hope. THAT is the most true thing affecting you today. THAT reality should be driving your life. Not fear. Not worry.
I am not saying you won’t experience those things. You will. Of course you will. But do not let those realities drive your life. I am prone to bouts of deep depression and I navigate it well, by grace, by clinging to the hope I have in Christ that is more real than every self-doubt, and lie depression could ever throw at me. When life tempts you to despair - collapse into the unshakable arms of Christ. Then when you’ve rested - get up and live out that hope.
So we’re brought into eternal life with Jesus - now what?
Read: 1 Peter 1:13- 1 Peter 2:3
What do we do now? Live holy lives. Christ gave his blood - of inestimable value - to deliver you. He came for you. He died for you. He endured all that he endured for your sake. He reconciled you from enemies of God to sons and daughters - co-heirs WITH Christ.
What is holiness? Becoming like Jesus by the power of the Spirit. Cultivate sincere love for one another. Love deeply - from the heart. Produce fruit that demonstrates your eternal reality. Your love for others should not make sense UNLESS your life is eternal and your inheritance is eternally secure. What does that mean for you? Prayerfully consider.
Peter suggests you begin by working to rid yourself of malice & deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind and like a newborn crave spiritual milk so that you may grow into your salvation. In other words, dedicate time and attention to growing in understanding what it actually means for you to be saved by Christ and united with him eternally. Dwell on that.
We can only lean on and live out a hope we truly understand.
But you’re not saved alone - you’re saved into a body. Why does our holy living matter as a community?
Read: 1 Peter 2:4-18
Together, as we strive to love God and love one another well God is building a spiritual house - a bastion of goodness, truth and beauty in the midst of a lost and dying world from which salvation, truth, blessing, grace, and love pour out until Christ’s return.
We are to live as free people because we are the only free people in the world. Death does not own us. Sin does not enslave us. Governors and Emperors do not dictate our lives, but the law of God and the love of God empowered by the Spirit directs our steps.
The most fundamentally true thing about you and I in Christ is that nothing can shake our foundation. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (see Romans 8.) There is no threat to our security in life or death in Christ. And so we are free.
We are free to uphold what is good even when it’s unpopular. We are free to love those who hate us for upholding the good, to bless them and intercede for them as recipients of blessing and intercession of Christ on our behalf. We are free to respect everyone, pour ourselves out for the sake of one another in Christ, and honor the emperor because we know all are dead in their sins and trespassess apart from the work of Christ just as we were. We were once hopeless and lost. But now we are free and loved. Part of an eternal body because of Christ who saw us in our sin, loved us in it, and now leads us out of it. We are to be a bastion of this message in a lost world.
What does this look like in our individual roles in society? How do I live a holy life where I am?
Read: 1 Peter 2:18 - 3:7
Some thoughts on slaves: Peter is here addressing people who find themselves as slaves. When we think of slaves we can think of our past in this nation, but that situation is likely not what was going on here. Likely these people chose indentured servitude or found themselves in a situation where that was the only means possible to repay a debt or to secure a better future for their family.
Yet, Peter is encouraging slaves - even in harsh environments - to “submit yourselves to your masters.” But the motivation there is really important. Remember, we are free. Even the most harshly treated slave is free in Christ. So WHAT does Peter want him to do? Fear God. Submit. Live in such a way that your kindness and love towards your harsh master demonstrates that you serve someone higher and far better than your harsh master. But what if yous suffer for doing good? You join Christ in his suffering - he left you an example - follow in his footsteps. Do not sin.
Peter then shows how we crucified Christ and YET we are now together hidden in Christ. To the slave of even a harsh master Peter’s encouragement is not immediate freedom (though there was legal justification for a slave to escape and be given his freedom if a master was heinously harsh) but to live out an eternal freedom so that, perhaps, the slaves master might be freed from his shackles of sin and harshness that enslave his soul.
Come back to this passage and sit with it when you have some time. Imagine how free you would have to be to love an actively oppressing enemy who you’re utterly dependent on for life in the material sense?
Family dynamics…
Wherever there is opportunity to sin in an understandable way - there is opportunity to put the glory of God on display. Peter also addresses the common household of his day. How we conduct our households matters. They are mini societies which are declaring some truth about the world we inhabit and the God who made it. How we conduct ourselves as husbands and wives matters. Christian marriages are a signpost pointing to the relationship between Christ and the Church. Your conduct in your marriage matters - immensely. This is the most immediate and one of the most pressing areas in our modern day where the gospel is most needed and where we are most under attack. Our culture worships comfort. Worships self. Worships self-fulfillment which is defined as satisfying the desires you have. It pits men against women. Husbands against wives. Parents against children. And children against parents.
Yet we are free. How we conduct ourselves as families should flow out of that freedom in Christ. Our love to them should be a genuine response to our having been loved by God.
Some final thoughts on suffering and resting in Christ our Lord.
Read: 1 Peter 3:8-18
Be like-minded. Sympathetic. Love one another in Christ. Be compassionate and humble. Don’t repay evil with evil or insult for insult - instead work to sow blessing in the fields of your enemy’s insults. You’re free - remember?
Who will harm you for living this way? But even if someone does. You are blessed in that too.
If you are counted as worthy to join in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of others that is a blessing. Don’t seek suffering. Don’t walk around waiting to be martyred. Love the person in front of you in truth and compassion. But if suffering comes, like it came for Jesus, know that you are blessed. It was by Christ’s suffering in just this same way that you and I were united with God through his sacrificial life, death and glorious resurrection. To suffer for doing what is good is to join Christ’s suffering. To join him in his death because you are sure that you will join him in his eternal life. It is to join God in the work of redeeming lost souls.
Destroying sin always comes with death. If you are married or have children, or are single and are working hard to tear down generational curses you know exactly what I am saying. To have a good marriage, one or sometimes both spouses must die. To raise children who love God and his word, parents must engage in many small deaths of discipline and correction. To destroy generational curses sometimes we must avoid things other people don’t have to avoid and suffer so that the fruit of that suffering would be life to the generations to come.
Christians. As we suffer, and we will all suffer, be encouraged that if we suffer for doing good. If we suffer for righteousness sake, we will be blessed. Not only will we be blessed, but know this - we are joining Christ in his work. We - the once enemies of God -have been called by God, sustained by God, and empowered by God to tread the ground with the Son of God to bring about life to the praise and Glory of God.
This is the context by which we should see all of life. Everything we see and do should be infused with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We should live lives of freedom - which for us looks like following in the footsteps of Jesus - regardless of what may happen to us and regardless of what is happening in the world.
When we do this, rest assured people WILL ask: “What is the reason for the HOPE that is in you.” When we suffer and count it a joy because we know we’re in Christ and sharing in the very suffering of Christ, people will be curious. No one else is free like we are in Christ. The more that we see that the stronger our hope will be and the more righteous our lives will be.
Nothing can happen today which will make you any less free in Christ. Nothing can happen to you today which can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Nothing can happen to you today which can shake the kingdom of God. Nothing can happen today which can in any way jeopardize your eternal hope. Do you know that? Do you believe that? Will you live that out?
