I Peter 4:1-11

…for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. (vv. 1b-2) I think Peter is saying here that someone who has suffered in the flesh (for Jesus) has become a true believer and with that sure commitment is no longer sinful and no longer sinning, desiring to serve God instead of his/her former human passions.

For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. (v. 6) Here we have another confusing verse. (Maybe I’m too used to Paul’s writing!) Let me try to re-phrase it. First, the “this” (second word in this verse) refers back to verse 5, that we will all have to stand before Jesus and give an account of our earthly lives. So, with that “substitution” the verse now reads: The Gospel is preached with a recognition that we will have to give an account to Jesus for our earthly lives. Even the people who are dead had the Gospel preached to them while they were still alive. And having been found “true”, they now live in the spirit with Jesus. In my understanding the end of this verse is spoken in the positive, about those Christians who have been true to Jesus in their earthly lives. The verse does not say anything about non-believers when they die.

With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you… (v. 4) This verse sheds some light on yesterday’s comments. Christians are maligned because they no longer join their former friends in …doing what the Gentiles want to do… (v. 3b), all the sinfulness mentioned in verse 3. That’s where the suffering (yesterday) takes place, in the jeers and taunts of those with whom we no longer associate.

Peter is difficult – I hope I’m not too far off the mark.

Slava Bohu!

I Peter 3:13-22

Somehow I got distracted and completely forgot to post yesterday – really surprisingly, in fact, because I had already put together some comments in my mind. So, a day late…

…having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (v. 16) I was intrigued by people being “put to shame” by a Christian’s good behavior. It’s similar to what I said a few days ago, that “bystanders are … put to silence as they see you doing good”. But I guess I don’t often see good behavior being much honored (certainly, not enough) in our society. And I certainly don’t see people feeling ashamed when they have railed out against someone. They often seem to just pour it on all the more. But maybe it’s more internal than external. Maybe that “reviler” feels shame inside, yet maintains his/her unchanged external behavior.

For Christ … , being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, … went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison… (vv. 18-19) This verse has always confused me. I’ve thought maybe this verse is referring to what we say in the Nicene Creed every Sunday, “He descended to the dead” (or “into hell”). And that might make sense, but then Peter goes on to talk about Noah and the flood and God’s patience. And I am left more confused!

Finally, For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. (v. 17) It sounds like Peter is saying that our suffering for doing good is God’s will for us. But we regularly pray, “Your will be done”, and not just in the Lord’s prayer, but in our everyday life and in our decisions. And even when this election is over next week, when either Trump or Biden is declared the winner, half of America will cheer and the other half will mourn. And many Christians in that latter half will say that we/they are trusting that our suffering through this outcome for the next four years must be God’s will for our country. And the Christian “winners” will say the same thing, “God has spoken, His will be done!!”

I Peter 3:1-12

I have long imagined that Peter had read some of Paul’s letters and that some of the topics that he covered had come from those letters. We see that today in Peter’s comments directed to wives and husbands (vv. 1-7), with six verses directed to wives and only one verse directed to husbands. Paul had followed a similar pattern in his Ephesians and Colossians letters. And again I suspect that both Paul and Peter were both writing in the context of the times in which they lived, where women were (almost) more like property than family. But I recall (and I could be wrong in this) Debbie saying that much of Paul’s instruction to women back then could be applied to both men and women today. So too with Peter’s words in today’s reading.

There is, however, one item in particular from those first seven verses that caught my eye in today’s reading: Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. (vv. 1-2) The phrase, “without a word” struck me. There is a quote that is popularly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.” No doubt, our actions speak louder than our words! One other item in this first verse that caught my eye was Peter’s focus on evangelism, “…so that…they may be won…”. We don’t read so much about Peter’s evangelistic activity compared to Paul’s, but clearly winning others was always on Peter’s mind!

Slava Bohu!

I Peter 2:18-25

I had mentioned a few days ago that Peter often discusses persecution in this epistle. And true to form, in today’s reading the word “suffer” is mentioned four times, twice with respect to Christians suffering and twice recalling Jesus’ sufferings. But that’s a nice connection for Peter to make. Many (most?) scholars believe that Peter was martyred during Nero’s reign. His persecution of Christians is legend! So Peter, himself, may have been suffering persecution while he is writing this letter. And if so, he is connecting himself to Jesus’ sufferings and offering his own connection to Jesus’ sufferings to other Christians. By association, we 21^st-century Christians in the USA are hardly “suffering”. However, there are troubles that do befall us – frustrations, disappointments, hurts. I can well remember the nuns in grade school telling us to “offer it up” when troubles came our way. They were probably helping us to connect with Jesus’ sufferings, not unlike Peter’s writing today. They were teaching us more than we could ever have imagined back then!

Servants… not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. (v. 18) This verse is another take on the servant-master relationship that Paul has already visited. But Peter is adding something new here, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. He is covering all bases. In Paul’s letter to Philemon he was trying to connect a Christian servant to his Christian master. Peter is suggesting that the master may not be a Christian at all and may, in fact, be a harsh, even cruel master. And what is to be the servant’s response? To be subject to your masters with all respect… It may not get the servant any positive return, but also that master may possibly be won to Jesus over time – as we saw two days ago, …on the day of visitation… (v. 12b), whenever that is!

Slava Bohu!

I Peter 2:11-17

Peter makes a number of comments in today’s reading about Christian behavior. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. (v. 12) Here’s a second, related verse: …by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. (v. 15b) Although related, these two verses are quite different. In verse 12 Peter uses the definite pronoun “they” twice: “they” speak against you and “they” see your good deeds. Here the same group of people is the “they” in their speaking and in their seeing. In addition, it looks to me like the change in perspective for the “they” people comes later, whenever that day of visitation occurs. Verse 15 is different; here’s how I see it: Person A is a Christian, Person/Group B is/are the “foolish people”, and there is a Group C of bystanders not mentioned in the text who observe both the Christian and the “foolish people”. These bystanders are themselves put to silence as they see you doing good, both they (unmentioned) and the “foolish people”.

Finally, Peter also tells us to be law-abiding citizens: Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution… (v. 13a) Peter’s bottom line is that our behavior is important. Not only must we serve as good citizens, but the verses above tell us that we make an impression on anyone who would otherwise speak against us, both those who speak harshly and those who speak foolishly.

Slava Bohu!

I Peter 2:1-10

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk… (v. 2a) Carol and I are fortunate to have a “newborn infant” living just across the driveway from our house. We see Rachel and Audra together quite often. It is absolutely clear to Rachel (and to us) when that newborn infant is longing for mother’s milk. She wails until she is finally offered that mother’s milk. What a great picture of where we should be – longing for, desiring that “pure spiritual milk”. I’m clearly not as hungry as I need to be!

A lot of talk about stones today – living stones, cornerstones… I had mentioned some time ago that in another life I had been in partnership as a concrete contractor and that we had named our company “Cornerstone Construction”. Our business was poured-wall concrete foundations: dig a hole, pour footings, set metal forms to form the sides of the walls, and pour concrete into the metal forms. No cornerstone as such, but everything together formed the foundation for the house. The hole had to be dug well – exact dimensions, proper depth, good side walls. Then the footing that would hold the forms that form the walls – again, exact dimensions and all according to local building codes. Finally setting the forms and pouring the wall – if our diagonals were more than a half-inch “out of square” (you may recall that diagonals on a rectangle are equal) we adjusted the forms to get it exact. When the foundation is good, the rest of the house goes up nicely. Pour concrete into walls that are two or three inches “out of square” and the builders are forever making adjustments to try to get the house to sit well.

Whenever Isaiah (Isa 28:16) or the Psalmist (Ps 118:22) or Jesus (parable of the vine-growers) or Paul (Ephesians 2:20) or Peter (I Pet 2:6,7) mentioned a cornerstone, I’m sure they had the Temple in mind. No doubt, the Temple had a definite cornerstone that was perfect in shape, set on a rock foundation, and exact in its direction so that its main gate faced due east. But Jesus told the parable of the vine-growers toward the end of his life (see Luke 20:1-18). In that parable He was (do doubt) referring to Himself as the stone that the builders had rejected, essentially linking Himself to the cornerstone of the Temple. He is, today, our cornerstone, our sure foundation! And we are His …living stones … being built up as a spiritual house, … a holy priesthood… (v. 5a). Living stones that continue to build on that sure foundation – what a high calling!!

Slava Bohu!

I Peter 1:17-25

…knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers… (v. 18a, ESV, NASB) Scholars have argued back and forth as to whom this letter from Peter was addressed – specifically as to whether the recipients were primarily Gentile Christians or Jewish Christians. The NKJV was the translation that I read first. It has “from your aimless conduct”, which really struck me. I had this mental picture of the Jews offering their daily, weekly, monthly, annual animal sacrifices, while the true Lamb of God had already gone to the cross. In that regard their offerings really were “futile” and “aimless”. But from our “other side of The Cross” we have to be careful not to be haughty or self-satisfied. All we have to do is look back on where we’ve been, where we’ve come from, and our arrogance easily disappears!

Slava Bohu!

I Peter 1:10-16

At some point in my reading today I began to realize that Peter was getting really personal with his readers. Then I counted how many times “you” and its derivatives were used in these seven verses: Twelve times! Plus eleven times in yesterday’s nine verses and eleven more times in tomorrow’s nine verses…!! Peter is getting really personal in this letter! My Study Bible pointed out that we will see a large number of imperatives, exhortations, and encouragements that Peter is offering his readers. Watch for them!

Of all the “you” references in today’s reading, none were more touching to me than what we read in verse 12: It was revealed to them [the prophets] that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. The Old Testament prophets did not know when, how, or where their words would be applied, but it turns out that their words were spoken for US – hundreds, even thousands of years later! They had seen …through a glass dimly…, but Jesus’ followers back then and we in time future will see …face to face…!! (I Corinthians 13:12)

Two other items in verse 12 that I just quoted above… First, Peter acknowledges that someone – likely someone else, not him – was responsible for preaching the good news. He may well have had Paul in mind, along with dozens or hundreds of other first-century evangelists who were carrying Jesus’ message throughout the Mediterranean world, and beyond. We thank God today for what they started and the benefits that this entire civilization has received from their travels (and travails!). Second, …things into which angels long to look. This phrase is a bit confusing, mostly because it is written in the present tense. A past tense “longed to look” would have been more clear. So I wonder if angels in heaven were not allowed (or are not allowed) to look on some activities that took place (or are taking place) on earth. Strange that we might be seeing things that angels would love to see but which are hidden from them! Wondering…

Slava Bohu!

I Peter 1:1-9

So today we leave Paul’s letters and move on to Peter. We are still working chronologically, according to The Chronological Study Bible authors. You may be imagining (as did I) that we covered Acts, then began with Paul’s letters. In fact, however, we had both Galatians and James interspersed with Acts back in March, during chapter 15, in conjunction with the Jerusalem Council. Then we read a number of Paul’s other letters in conjunction with stops on his missionary trips. But, now we leave Paul completely and have only two letters from Peter, three from John, Jude, and Hebrews to finish out the year.

If you read introductory remarks about I Peter, most of the commentators talk about I Peter as being a letter about persecution and our Christian response to those trials. Already in today’s first nine verses Peter focuses twice on that topic: …you have been grieved by various trials… (v. 7b) and …[you] are being guarded through faith… (v. 5b) We’ll see many more mentions of these difficulties as we move on.

…[God the Father] He has caused us to be born again to … an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, (vv. 3b-4a) Our inheritance cannot be destroyed or taken away from us; it is free from any and all vestiges of sin; and it is our forever guarantee. That’s what we can look forward to, folks! It’s pure, inconceivable GLORY!!

Slava Bohu!

II Timothy 4:16-22

So today we end Paul’s letters (according to The Chronological Study Bible). I found myself with a solemn spirit as I read those last written words. I’ve already been “mourning” Paul’s time in prison – alone, dark, damp, cold. And yet still full of faith, as he reports to Timothy: At my first defense no one came to stand by me… But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. (vv. 16-17) Paul is on trial for his life, but for him the trial is simply another opportunity to proclaim Jesus! He never forgets his calling!

We met Prisca and Aquila, Onesiphorus, Erastus, and Trophimus in Acts and in Paul’s earlier letters. However, the last four names – Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia – are all new to us. I’m guessing they are members of the Roman church.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. (v. 18a) I daresay we have no doubt but that Jesus welcomed Paul with open arms, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” So we end Paul’s letters with Paul’s own closing to Timothy: To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (v. 18b)

Slava Bohu!