God is a Dragon

My closing charge to the congregation yesterday at Trinity keyed off of the image Peter Leithart used in his sermon of Isaiah as a "fire-breather" (Is. 6). Having touched his lips with a coal from the altar, Isaiah became like one of the seraphim, one of the fire breathers of God who is commissioned to bring the fire of God's judgment on Jerusalem, so that they might be consumed and refined. And this imagery certainly seems to be taken up at Pentecost, coals of fire for every believer, and suddenly everyone is speaking in tongues, declaring the mighty works of God.

But as I was meditating on the "fire-breather" imagery it struck me that James picks up this picture as well only as a warning (Js. 3:5-6). The tongue is able to kindle great fires with only a few little sparks. This means that as image bearers and renewed image bearers, there is some sense in which our mouths are always on fire, we always breathe fire. This goes back to the idea that words are always magical and powerful.

The only question is: Whose fire are we breathing? Whose magic are we speaking? The Devil is a dragon who breathes the fire of division and deception and bitterness, but God is a Dragon who breathes the life-giving fire of the Spirit. Our prayer must be to be filled with that fire, that Spirit of life.

My charge (which was much more succinct than this post!) reminded the congregation that with Christmastime upon us, we will be spending a good bit of time with our families and friends, and there will be many words in the air, we will have much to say to one another. And the charge was to speak the fire of the Spirit, specifically I reminded them of the words of Peter, the original fire-breather at Pentecost:

"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." (1 Pet. 3:8-9)

May our words for our children, our wives and husbands, the neighbors, the grocery clerks, the TSA officials, our cranky and absurd relatives, may our words be seasoned with salt (Col. 4:6) and be filled with the fire of love (Song 8:6).

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The Shepherd and the Lion

My friend and colleague, Joshua Appel, pointed out that 1 Peter 5 actually holds together fairly tightly: moving from exhortation to elders to "shepherd the flock" faithful as those who will give account to the Chief Shepherd ultimately to the exhortation to resist the devil who is a "prowling lion" seeking to devour them.

This is helpful in a couple of ways: First, if the "adversary" and the "the devil" is tied specifically in Peter's mind to the mechanism of persecution (which it seems to be, given 5:9), then the "devil" here would seem to be something similar to the "principalities and powers" spoken of elsewhere which seems to combine demonic beings with earthly, political rulers. The "devil" then is a sort of "ruler" who contrasts with the shepherds of the Chief Shepherd who are called to "rule" in an entirely different sort of way (5:2-3). If the Jews are specifically in Peter's mind, as seems implicit in a number of places in 1 Peter, then Peter is consciously comparing Christian elders to the "shepherds of Israel" who continue to "devour" the flock of God (Ez. 34:2-3).

But secondly the implication is that submission to the Christian elders is submission to protection from these false shepherds, protection from these lions who are seeking to devour the flock of God. Following these elder-shepherds as they follow the example of the Chief Shepherd may very well mean suffering and death, as it did for Jesus, the Chief Shepherd. But after they have suffered a little while, they will be raised up, whether they are delivered from persecution in this life or literally raised from the dead at the end. But notice that this submission is "resistance." The death of Jesus was the death blow of all principalities and powers, the death blow to Satan's project. This means that the suffering and death of Christians is likewise an act of war and resistance. As Revelation puts it: "they overcame [the devil] by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death" (Rev. 12:11).

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Third Sunday after Epiphany: 1 Peter 3:13-22

Introduction
Peter’s exhortations to submit to authorities and to bless all men is unpacking Peter’s conviction that the Church is the new priesthood, called to be the new “spiritual house” of God (2:4-5). This new house necessarily competes with the old one, but Jesus has promised to “visit” them soon (2:12, Lk. 19:44).

Defending the Sanctuary
The apostle has explained that the Church is the new temple of God by battling sin and doing good works (2:11-12). Peter continues explaining this task by asking who will harm “zealots of good” (3:13). Being zealous for good would seem harmless enough, but Peter also knows that zealots are persecuted as trouble makers. But if they suffer for justice, they are “blessed.” Jesus says this kind of treatment is reason for rejoicing because we know our reward is great in heaven and because we join the ranks of the prophets (Mt. 5:10-12 cf. Js. 1:12). Peter says not to fear “their fear” nor be disturbed (3:14). This is a quotation from Isaiah 8:12, and Peter may be urging Christians not to fear the Romans like the Jews do. The opposite of “their fear” is to consecrate the Lord God in their hearts and to be always ready to give a defense to those who ask about their hope (3:15, cf. Mt. 13:10-13). The command to “sanctify” God is strange since almost never do we sanctify God. Rather it is we who need to be sanctified by Him. How do we sanctify God? In the Isaiah passage Peter has already quoted, Yahweh says that not only should they not be afraid of the “fears” of their enemies, they should also “hallow” Yahweh of Hosts, let Him be their fear (Is. 8:13). Given how the OT usually uses this language for sanctuary, people, and furniture, it’s almost not surprising for Isaiah to continue and say that Yahweh “will be as a sanctuary” (Is. 8:14). However, he will be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to the houses of Israel (Is. 8:14, cf. 1 Pet. 2:8, Is. 29:23). Ezekiel uses similar language: “Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore” (Ez. 37:28). Elsewhere, God promises to vindicate His holiness among the nations (Ez. 38:23, 39:27). When we hallow/fear God, He hallows us in the midst of the nations (e.g. Mt. 6:9). As we are faithful to our calling to be and build the house of God, God defends His house, He promises to be our sanctuary.

A Living Hope
This hope is the “living hope” they received when they were begotten again through the resurrection of Jesus (1:3). Elsewhere Paul says that “hope” is the ultimate result of suffering (Rom. 5:1-5). If we are zealous for good, sanctifying God in our hearts, then we may have a good conscience when we are defamed as evil doers (3:16). And this incongruity will ultimately result in shame and conversion (3:16, cf. 2:12, 15, 3:1). Peter repeats that it is better to suffer for doing good because this is what Jesus did (3:17-18, cf. 2:20-25). But even here Peter reminds his audience that Christ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust. Peter makes what may seem like a strange digression here, but the context helps. First, the point is the vindication of Jesus who was made alive by the Spirit. His victory was proclaimed specifically to the disobedient spirits in prison (3:19) who witnessed God’s patience while Noah was building the ark (3:20). Why does Peter think this fits with this context? Here is a situation where God’s reputation was on the line and His faithful servants were severely tested. And not only that, this testing takes place in the context of building a house. And Peter knows that numbers can sometimes seem daunting, but God has saved as few as eight souls before when the whole world had gone mad. Finally, water is the clear and obvious sign of vindication. When did it become clear that God was right? That Noah was right? That the ark was the place to be? When it started raining. And Peter says it’s the same for us. The water is the sign that now saves us, that appeals to God as a good conscience (cf. Heb. 10:22). Here, Peter comes full circle by referencing the resurrection of Jesus. We are to strive for a good conscience before God and man, zealous for good, blessing those who persecute us, but our hope is grounded in the resurrection (1:3, 21). The water appeals to God on the basis of the resurrection.

Conclusion & Application
We are called to do good and expect persecution in full assurance of faith. This is just a fact we have to get down in our bones. If we follow Jesus, we must expect to suffer.

The way Peter continues to draw off of these Isaiah texts should impress how analogous he sees the first century Church situation to Israel’s context at the end of the era of the kings. The house of Israel was destroyed, but a new house emerged from the ark of exile because God is faithful. The first century church endured great persecution at the hands of unbelieving Jews, but God vindicated His people in 70 AD when the real zealots were revealed.

All of the judgments of God throughout Scripture and down through history all point to the resurrection of Jesus which is our living hope. This hope is living because Jesus is alive. And every baptism is a reminder to us and to God of His promises of resurrection both now and at the end. He is at the right hand of God and all powers have been made subject to Him, including every power in our lives (3:22). If that’s true, hope must be spilling out of us, and we must be always ready to given an answer to those who ask us about the house we’re building. And our answer is baptism: Look, it’s already started raining.

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Second Sunday in Epiphany: 1 Pet. 3:1-12

Introduction
Last week we considered the fact that the Christian community embodies the life of the Trinity through submission. As the Son entrusts Himself to the Father, so we are to entrust ourselves to the Son, and this submission manifests itself in submission to human authorities, just as Jesus did. As we cling to Jesus in this, our submission and suffering is taken up into Christ’s and becomes part of Christ’s reconciliation of all things.

Submissive Wives
Peter continues with the theme of this submission with an exhortation to wives. While Christ is the central example that we are to follow, Peter implies that submissive slaves and wives are models of faith as well. Notice that this means an efficacy is tied to this submission. As Christ’s example accomplishes the replication of His life in us, so too, submissive wives do so with the aim of “winning” their husbands (3:1). Peter says this is true of disobedient husbands (3:1) just as it was true of “harsh masters” (2:18). Notice that this “submission” ought to be done in fear for both slaves and wives (2:18, 3:2). While there may be a faithful sort of fear of human authorities, Peter’s introduction grounds this fear ultimately in God (1:17, 2:17). How much more so ought this pattern to hold true for generally more faithful husbands/masters? Notice that submissive wives strive to imitate Jesus by their actions and without words (3:1, cf. 2:12, 22-23), and all of this is in order to silence the foolishness of ignorant men (even ignorant husbands) (2:12, 15). These actions cannot be merely outward beauty, but must imitate the Trinity in incarnating the “hidden person,” manifesting that “incorruptible” inheritance we have in Christ (1:4), but there is also something efficacious about suffering for others that mimics Christ (cf. 1:18-19, 23). God the judge, who judges righteously, intervenes for those who act commendably, for those who are “precious” in His sight (3:4). This submissive spirit imitates Sarah and the other holy women who trusted in God and did not fear (3:5-6).

Husbands Who Know
Peter urges husbands to dwell with their wives according to knowledge (3:7). Given that we have an exhortation for husbands to “know” their wives, it is difficult not to think of the first marriage and the role of “knowledge.” God planted the “tree of knowledge of good and evil” in the midst of the garden, and this tree tested the loyalty of Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:9). It is the lie of the dragon that when they eat their eyes will be opened, “knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5). After eating, their eyes are opened and they “know” that they are naked (Gen. 3:7), and God recognizes that now they do know good and evil (Gen. 3:22). The very next use of the word “know” occurs when the text describes Adam knowing his wife sexually (Gen. 4:1). Given Adam’s blessing/response to God’s curses, we are to believe that Adam repented (Gen. 3:20-21) and God forgave them (Gen. 3:21). “Knowing” is bound up with loyalty, glory, and God-likeness. And sexual love is no different. Peter says that husbands are to live with their wives like the repentant Adam. Rather than abdicating, they are to honor their wives as “fellow heirs” of the promises of God (1 Pet. 3:7). This kind of love results in answered prayers (3:7, cf. 3:12).

Applications & Conclusions
Peter closes these particular exhortations by calling upon all Christians to be of “one mind,” sharing burdens, loving one another like family (3:8). This all goes back to an imitation of Christ, particularly with our tongues (3:9-10). Full repentance is always a “turning” away from evil and running after what is good (3:11).

Our ability to submit and suffer injustice rests upon knowledge, knowing Jesus and the Judge who vindicated Him. Husbands must know Jesus so that they may know their wives. Wives must prioritize their love and submission with Jesus at the center so that they may submit to their husbands.

Most marital sins are disobedience to the basic gospel. Jesus did not revile when He was reviled (2:23) so neither should we (3:8-9). We are called to bless those who persecute us and run after peace (3:9-11), trusting that God’s ears are open to our prayers and He will judge those who do evil (3:12).

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Magistrates: Servants and Condemned

"Peter does not go as far as Paul does, for the latter argues in Rom. 13:3-4 that public order is God's will and therefore the ruler is in that respect God's 'servant.' In this area our author is far more schematized, simply citing the basics of the tradition. Neither of them, of course, necessarily approves of the methods of the rulers, nor argues that Christians should participate in their activities. According to the OT both the Assyrians and Babylonians were the "servants of God to execute His wrath" and "punished those doing evil," but both in turn were condemned by God for their means and motives in doing it. Jeremiah could argue that one should not resist Babylon; he never argued that one should join her." - Peter Davids, The First Epistle of Peter, 101.

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First Sunday of Epiphany: 1 Peter 2:13-25

Introduction
1 Peter insists that the Christian Church is the new Israel (1:2, 19, 2:9-10), the new temple (1:7, 18, 2:4), the new priesthood (1:16, 2:4, 9), and as such is God’s heavenly colony in the world (1:1, 17, 2:11). They are the new “house” of God, and therefore, they are called to be this priestly people for all.

Submission for the Lord’s Sake
Peter says that Christians ought to submit to “every human creature” (2:13). These “creatures” may include kings (like Caesar Augustus or Nero) and governors (like Pilot) who render “justice” (2:13-14) as well as masters (2:18), and husbands (3:1), and ultimately this submissive honor applies to everyone (2:17, 3:8). The center of this section is the example of Christ (2:21-25) with particularly weak members of society highlighted as role models (slaves and wives). Peter says that we ought to submit “because of the Lord” (2:13, cf. Mt. 17:26). This is the will of God so that we might be free “servants of God” (2:15-16). Priests are the servants of God (cf. 2:5, 9), and therefore disobedience is a form of slavery to some Pharaoh. Thus, this kind of submission is also subversive. Obedience to the Lord, as slaves of God implies that all human authorities are not absolute. They are “creatures,” and Peter says that “doing good” is a kind of weapon. It silences foolish men (2:15, cf. 2:12). Therefore, we seek to honor all people with the love of the brothers and the fear of God at the center (2:17).

Submission for Christ’s Sake
This means that household servants should submit to their masters, and Peter says that this requirement holds whether the master is good or harsh (2:18). The closest analogy we have to this in our day is the employer/employee relationship, parents and kids would also fit here. So how much more so ought we to submit? We are to submit because our obedience is before God, and this means that we may also resist with a good conscience when the Lord requires it (2:19). But this is different than disobeying because we disagree or feel mistreated. Suffering for faults is not special, but suffering for doing good commends you to the Master of all masters (2:20). And Peter says that we are called to suffer for doing good (2:21).

The Example of Christ
Peter says this calling is grounded in the person and work of Christ (2:21). He left us an example, an example that accomplishes its own replication in us. Notice the parallels: His submissive suffering (and silence) for doing good (before Pilot, cf. 2:14) and bearing our sins in His body (2:22-24) accomplishes our dying to sin and living to righteousness (2:24). What is living to righteousness? Suffering for doing good; for by His stripes we are healed (2:24). “His stripes” heal us in two ways: they heal us by taking our sins away at the cross, but the implication is also that as we suffer for doing good, our wounds are identified with His wounds (2 Cor. 1:5, Col. 1:24). This is how suffering for doing good is a weapon. In the care of our Shepherd and Overseer, the Judge who judges justly, our Christ-like silence silences fools (2:23, 25, cf. 2:12). And notice Peter’s qualification of the notion of justice (compare 2:22-25 with 2:14).

Conclusion and Applications
We frequently want an evangelism that is sexy. Maybe we don’t go in for movie screens and strobe lights and whatever else is hip and trendy, but we can wish for our own form of cool with robes or kneeling or by simple negation (we’re so not like that). But Peter says our Master is the Lord Jesus and to Him we must answer. Do our lives manifest that kind of freedom and confidence? Do our families? Does our church? Jesus was able to submit because he came not to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. The submissiveness that Peter calls us to is for the fulfillment of the mission of Jesus.

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1 Peter 2:11-12

Opening Prayer: Gracious Father, we thank you that have bestowed your love upon us. And we thank you that your love is most evident in the fact that you have made us your sons in your Son and by your Spirit. Teach us as a faithful Father now that we might be your faithful sons in the Spirit. Through Jesus the righteous Son, Amen.

Introduction
These two verses serve to summarize the ground we have covered to this point and introduce what follows. If the first half of 1 Peter is about God’s people from the inside, the later half is concerned with God’s people from the outside. And when we say God’s people, we mean God’s house.

Beloved Sojourners and Pilgrims
Peter addresses his audience as “beloved,” as those who are loved. This fits with the family theme we’ve already noted, but it’s also the title that God the Father gives to Jesus (Mt. 3:17, 17:5, cf. 1 Pet. 1:3, 17). Given the covenantal context, we should recognize that Peter means they are loved by God (e.g. 2:9-10). Again, we find Peter addressing his audience with these “transitory” terms. We saw this in 1:1 and again in 1:17. It’s also been assumed in all the Exodus imagery. They are the covenant people of God somewhere between redemption from Egypt (1:18-19) and the established house of God in the land (2:4-10). But remember that Israel is the army of Yahweh, and therefore these “sojourners” are to wage war against the “fleshly lusts” (2:11). Many in Peter’s audience were probably literal refugees from Jerusalem (Acts 8:1, 4, 11:19), and this relates to the revelation/visitation language we see throughout the book along with the expectation of immanent judgment (1:7, 1:13, 2:12, 4:5, 4:7, 12, 17, 5:1).

Day of Visitation
Peter urges them to have their conduct be honorable such that those who accuse them falsely may turn and glorify God in the “day of visitation” (2:12). There are two keys to understanding Peter’s exhortation. First, we are dealing with the scattered Jews and believing gentiles who have joined them, and we know from Acts that some of the most intense persecutions were being instigated by the Jews (e.g. Acts 9:23, 13:50, 14:2, 19, 17:5, 21:27, 23:12, 24:5). Based on this evidence, the pattern is fairly clear that the unbelieving Jews frequently stirred up crowds and political authorities against the Christians. This is most likely what Peter is responding to particularly in light of his reference to the “day of visitation” which only occurs with similar meaning in Luke 19:44. There Jesus is describing the destruction of Jerusalem, and He is most likely alluding to a prophecy in Jeremiah 6 which is likewise foretelling the coming destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (cf. Is. 10:3). The message in both Luke and Jeremiah is to flee the city of Jerusalem (Jer. 6:1, Lk. 21:20-21). We should also note that the theme of “visitations” in the OT frequently refers to God’s blessing (e.g. Ex. 4:31, Ruth 1:6, 1 Sam. 2:21, Lk. 1:68).

Putting it Together
Looking back, we can see other parts of Peter’s argument falling into place. Christians have been given that which is indestructible (1:4), it’s better than gold and withstands fire (1:7), and those who have come to Jesus are the elect, covenant people of God (1:1, 2:4, 9). They are the new Israel, the new house of God, the tabernacle/temple of the Spirit which is better than a building that can be surrounded by armies and burned to the ground. Unlike Jerusalem, they may be tested “by fire” (1:6-7, cf. 4:12, 17), but they will be delivered through the fire and proven to be God’s people by their faithfulness. To put it plainly, the Jewish zealots who are falsely accusing the Christians will be exposed as the real revolutionaries in the Jewish rebellion, and the gentiles will glorify God for Christian obedience. The day of visitation will be for their blessing and God’s glory.

Conclusions & Applications
Notice that Peter addresses the “beloved” as those who must resist “fleshly lusts” which war against the soul. This means that God’s favorite people are not above the fray; they are smack dab in the middle of it. This all goes back to faith in God and His grace and mercy toward us in Jesus Christ (1:4-9, 20-21, 2:9-10).

Although Peter was writing to a specific historical context, the principles remain the same for us. Jesus is in heaven, and He visits us. He visits us through judgments in history; He visits us in Lord’s Day worship. And when He visits, He exalts the humble and weak, and He puts down the proud and mighty. Therefore we are called upon to wage war faithfully, trusting that God will display His grace that the world might see and glorify Him.

Finally, we must not forget that there will be a great and final visitation of the Lord Jesus, and we are rushing forward to meet it. Our lives are short, and we do not know the day or the hour in which Jesus will visit us and take us from this life. And one day every one of us will stand before the throne of the King.

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen!

Closing Prayer: O God we ask that you would enable us to see all the ways in which you have drawn near to us and visited us. Help us to see how you have sought us out in our lives, how you continue to pursue us, and grant us the ability to also see that we shall all one day stand before you. Visit us that we might display your grace, that your mercy and truth might be exalted in our land. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray, singing..

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1 Peter 2:1-10

Introduction
We have noted numerous times that Peter is applying the Exodus story to his audience, the new Israel of God, and this becomes even more explicit here in chapter 2.

Children and Family
Running through the beginning of 1 Peter has been this notion of being “begotten again” (1:3), “children” (1:14), God as their “Father” (1:17), “love of the brethren” (1:22), and “born again” (1:23). And Peter picks this up again by exhorting his people to be “newborn babes” (2:2). Salvation is not merely an individual reality; it means being born again into the family of God, the household of faith (e.g. Gal. 6:10). This is where Jesus promises to be and where He promises to meet with His people. Notice that this is the second time Peter has exhorted his audience to be children (cf. 1:14), and notice that in both places it means putting away sin. One of the marks of a child-like faith is repentance, and here Peter particularly stresses being true and genuine (2:1-2).

A Living Stone
Peter says that they have begun to “drawn near” to the Lord as a “living stone” (2:4) and this is likely yet another allusion to the Exodus. Peter ties this “stone” to the Isaiah 8 prophesy regarding the “rock of offense” (2:8) and Paul quotes the same passage in Romans 9. The prophecy in Isaiah 8 comes on the heels of the prophecy of Assyria coming up over the land of Israel like a flood (Is. 7:17, 8:7). Isaiah is warned by the Lord that things are going to get pretty rough when this happens, but the Lord promises to be Isaiah’s “sanctuary” while becoming a “stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” to Israel (Is. 8:14). Likewise, Paul seems to have this image in mind when he warns the Corinthians about being faithful (1 Cor. 10:4). Notice also that Jesus has been rejected by men but chosen by God (2:4), chosen just like they were (1:1). And because He is chosen, He is “precious” (2:6-7) just like their faith (1:7). This is why Peter can say that they are “living stones.” They are being built up into a “sanctuary,” a house of the Spirit (2:5). Thus the central question that divides all humanity is between belief and unbelief (2:7).

People for Praise
Peter calls his audience a “priesthood” twice (2:5, 9), and this word is only used one other place in the Scriptures, in Exodus 19:6 where Yahweh declares that if Israel will be His covenant people they shall be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Peter blends this image into the first 2 chapters of Hosea where Israel is denounced for her harlotries, and Hosea’s children are named prophetically. Peter picks up on these prophesies, declaring them true for the Church. They are the new creation, the new light from darkness, and the mercy and love of God are the basis for their sacrifices of praise (2:5, 9-10).

Conclusion & Applications
We need to remember that the Church is our first family (Mk. 3:33-34, Lk. 14:26). It is only in this family that our biological family is remade and renewed.

True repentance of sin results in heartfelt worship and praise. Putting off the sin (2:1), guzzling the milk of the word (2:2), and tasting the wonderful mercy and goodness of God must necessarily burst in praise. And if there is no praise, we have to wonder if we are stumbling on the rock of offense.

Finally, this building project that we call the Church is built out of people who need mercy, who need light, who need a family. This means that evangelism is central, and our delight in the goodness of God is all about filling the Church with more voices (cf. 2:12).

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Tasting God's Goodness

Peter says that we ought to desire the pure milk of the word like newborn babes that we may grow thereby, “if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” Peter is probably paraphrasing Ps. 34 which we commonly sing a metrical version of which says, “O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him. O fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” On either side of this confident declaration of the Lord’s provision is David’s declaration that the Lord saves those who cry out to Him, the declaration that His angel constantly encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them. The Lord delivers out of all troubles and is near to those with broken hearts and saves those who are sad and hurting. He guards even our bones and promises that no one who trusts in Him will ever be condemned. Now this Psalm is hard to read when we have had difficult things happen in our lives. When we have been mistreated or falsely accused. When we have suffered from an illness or when have seen a dear loved one suffer greatly or die. And we read that the Angel of the Lord constantly encamps around those who fear Him. Where is God’s justice? Where is His goodness? David and Peter both say that we have tasted it. They say that the reason we know that God is good, the way we know that He will judge righteously, that He will have mercy on the broken hearted and save those who fear Him and destroy those who act falsely and do evil, the way we know that is seen in the fact that God feeds us. Young lions may lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! And so Peter calls us to taste and see that the Lord is good and gracious. And what are we tasting and seeing? We are tasting and seeing that the gospel, the declaration that our sins are forgiven in Christ, that we have been raised to new life in His resurrection, and that we have been adopted into a new family in the church, the family that God loves, the family that God leads, the family that God feeds. So come eat and drink, come taste and remember, come see and remember, that the Lord is good.

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1 Peter 1:13-25

Opening Prayer: Our Father, we come to you as your people at Trinity Reformed Church, and we ask for you to direct us, to lead us by your Word and Spirit. Purify us, cleanse us, and teach us to walk with You. Through Christ our Lord, Amen!

Introduction
Peter writes to the scattered seed of Israel who are the elect, covenant people of God. They have been raised from the dead in Jesus’ resurrection, and therefore their inheritance is secure, guarded in heaven. This inheritance is chiefly the restoration of man to fellowship with God, to the rest of humanity, and to creation. This glory has been revealed in the gift of the Spirit, surpassing even the glory of angels.

Therefore
Peter says that since this is the case, they must gird themselves for war (1:13, cf. Jdg. 18:16, 1 Sam. 25:13, Neh. 4:12). They must prepare themselves like those who have a mission, a duty to perform (2 Kgs. 4:29, 9:1, Jer. 1:17), like priests dressed for action (Ex. 29:9, Lev. 8:7, 13). Jesus also exhorted his disciples to this (Lk. 12:35). Paul uses similar language to describe the armor which Christians must wear (Eph. 6:14). Peter particularly urges his readers to mental and intellectual readiness. Notice that Paul again grounds this in hope (cf. 1:3, 1:21, 3:15), and this hope is grounded in the event of the resurrection and all of the acts of new creation that follow in its wake (i.e. salvation). We will come back to this, but notice that Peter keeps bringing up the “revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:5, 1:7, 1:12). The “revelation of Jesus” is the “sufferings and glories that would follow” (1:11).

Children of Obedience
This warfare/ministry must be waged through obedience, putting off the flesh and putting on holiness (1:14-16). This is once again covenantal language explicitly from God’s word to Israel (Lev. 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7), and here Peter again applies the covenantal status to these Christian churches (cf. 1:2). They need to be “children of obedience.” This refers back to the fact that they have been reborn in the resurrection of Jesus (1:3), but this also reaffirms their genealogy as children of the Obedient Son (cf. Rom. 5:19). Peter uses this word similarly in 1:2. The word for “obedience” is also related to the word “to hear.” Hearing rightly means obedience (cf. Js. 1:222ff). The call to holiness is not merely a matter of moral purity. Holiness has to do with the presence and glory of God (Is. 6:3). Israel was required to be holy like Yahweh because He was in their presence. Holiness is access to the glory of God (Heb. 12:14).

During Their Sojourn
Peter exhorts his audience to conduct themselves in “fear” because if they call on God as their Father, they must know that He will evaluate them as His children (1:17). We shouldn’t miss how Peter sees fatherly love and justice bound together and not at odds. Peter particularly emphasizes the call to obedience “throughout the time of their stay,” literally during the time of their “sojourn.” This reminds us of Peter’s greeting where he call them the “diaspora,” the scattered people of God. This is frequently misunderstood along with unbiblical notions of heaven: e.g. “We’re just visiting this world, and it doesn’t really matter.” Our treasure is in heaven, but our mission and prayer is seeing that glory established and “revealed” here “as it is in heaven.” Our “sojourn” is a colonization mission, and so while this is not yet our home, the church is a prototype of the Kingdom which is coming down out of heaven (Rev. 21:2). And worship is access to the control room.

Resurrected Israel
Peter draws his exhortations from a recounting of the history of Israel from the command to be holy and obedient to their sojourn to their “redemption” through the “blood of Christ,” their “lamb without blemish and without spot” (1:18-19). This is all Sinai-Exodus-Passover imagery. Peter says that they have been redeemed from Egypt through the blood of a new Passover Lamb. Jesus was the Son who died in the place of all the firstborn sons. Notice again the reference to “silver and gold” (1:18, cf. 1:7). These scattered Jewish Christians and believing Gentiles may have been tempted by the semblance of beauty and stability found in temples with gold and silver, but those things perish in fire (1:7) and cannot compare with the “precious blood of Christ” (cf. 1:7).

Conclusions & Applications
All of this goes back again to the resurrection (1:20-21). And it’s the same for us. Our inheritance is incorruptible because God’s word is incorruptible and endures forever (1:22-25). And this word is the gospel preached, the same word that beckoned light from the darkness, and life from the dead.

We are strangers, but we are strangers with a mission. We are called to be a holy people which means that we are called to be a point of access to the Father. We are a Passover community, constantly offering and displaying the blood of the lamb and the way of redemption from “aimless conduct.”

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen!

Closing Prayer: O God we give you praise and thanks for the new life you have bestowed upon us. Thank you for forgiveness, thank you for grace and mercy, thank you for Jesus whose blood is more precious to than anything we might desire. Grant us grace to love you that we might be life and light to those around us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray, singing…

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Redemption from Slavery

We pointed out this morning that Peter appeals to Jesus as our Passover lamb, who redeemed us with His precious blood. It’s worth pointing out that in the Passover and Exodus event, Israel was redeemed from Egypt. But the Passover itself was more specifically a salvation from the angel of death. We might remember that early in the plague narratives, there was a distinction made between Egypt and Israel in the land of Goshen. But this did not hold for all of the plagues, and in the tenth plague in particular, Israel was just as vulnerable as Egypt. And this suggests that redemption from Egypt was not merely a matter of slaves being freed. We know from Joshua’s exhortations to the elders of Isreal that many of the Israelites worshipped idols in Egypt and brought them along into the Promised Land. We sometimes think that the Israelites were minding their own business, being good neighbors and the new Pharaoh was just a psychopathic tyrant. But there are a number of indicators that the children of Israel embraced idolatry, forgot the Lord their God, and were sold into slavery for a whole host of sins. Redemption from Egypt included being granted freedom, but it was also a cataclysmic forgiveness as well. The sons of Israel, no less than the sons of Egypt deserved death for their sins. But God in His grace provided redemption, providing the blood of a lamb without blemish. But this explains why Peter describes redemption as being saved from an “aimless life.” Paul says something similar in Titus 2:14 where he says that were redeemed from every lawless deed. To be redeemed in the Old Testament was to be delivered from slavery. But biblically speaking, slavery is more than merely being owned or ruled by another person. Slavery is a way of life, a complex tangle of habits, attitudes, and first and foremost sin. This is why Jesus has given us this table. Here we celebrate redemption. Here we display the Lord’s death until He comes. We display the precious blood of Jesus and we remind God and one another that we are freed. But we also enact this freedom. We begin to live like redeemed people. We do that as bless one another in passing of the peace. We do that as we hear the Word read and declared. But centrally, we serve one another in this meal. We give ourselves to and for one another. As we take in that great sacrifice of Jesus, we turn and offer our bodies to God and to one another as living sacrifices. And that is what it means to be redeemed. That is what it means to be the armies of the Lord. So come, eat, drink, and rejoice.

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Repentance: Saying No and Saying Yes

Peter exhorts us to gird up the loins of our minds, to be sober, to hope in the grace of Jesus Christ as obedient children, not conforming ourselves to the former lusts as in our ignorance. Notice that Peter exhorts us to both put on and to put off. The exhortation is to put off the former lusts and ignorance and to put on hope and sobriety and alertness. This is what repentance always does. Repentance turns. It turns from one action and turns to another. Put off sin, and put on righteousness. Stop disobeying, and start obeying. Frequently when we find ourselves sinning and frequently when it’s a sin that seems to reappear and afflict us, we tend to think we just need to try harder. We just need to concentrate on saying ‘no.’ And of course we do need to learn to say ‘no,’ but the call of the gospel and the pattern of repentance is always simultaneously learning to say ‘yes.’ Jesus is not the great miser up in heaven. Discipleship is not becoming children of some kind of cranky nanny. We are called to say ‘no’ to the lusts of the flesh and to say ‘yes’ to Jesus, to say ‘yes’ to selfless service, to say ‘yes’ to girding up the loins of our minds and hoping in the grace of Jesus. If you are fighting the sin of angry outbursts, you need to put sinful anger off and put love and kindness and tender-mercies on. If you are battling lust, then you need to put off those desires, but you must also put on biblical love, joy, peace, and patience. Lastly, we should note that Peter emphasizes the mind here. He exhorts us to put off ignorance which characterizes those who are enslaved to the flesh, and instead, he calls us to gird up the loins of our minds. While righteousness is not the same thing as being smart, there is a connection. Fighting sin takes mental alertness, sobriety, and as Peter says, a great deal of hope. But we cannot be surprised when lazy minds drift into the former lusts. But God gives more grace.

“Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (Js. 4:6-7)

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Slaves and Wives

Mary Schertz points out in an article in Word & World that 1 Peter is structured around a central chiasm in 2:11-3:12. At the center is a hymn, celebrating the cross of Jesus, but on either side are words to slaves and wives. Schertz points out that "these slaves and wives were given the highest moral authority (after Jesus) in the internal life of the believing communities." Those with the least protections, those most vulnerable to mistreatment and abuse are singled out by the apostle because they, like Christ, must commit themselves to Him who judges righteously (2:23).

With Christ at the center, explicitly labeled our "example," wives of unbelieving husbands and slaves of harsh masters are encouraged in faithfulness but also pointed out as examples for the Christian community. If we want to see examples of faithfulness we have to look to the weak, to the vulnerable, to the unprotected who commit themselves to the Judge who judges righteously.

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1 Peter 1:3-12

Opening Prayer: Gracious Father, we thank you for your Word, for our Lord Jesus, and for the promise of the Spirit to empower these words. Speak to us now, challenge us, change us, grow us up, and comfort us that we might be your people. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Introduction
We noted last week that Peter is writing to Christians in Asia Minor who have been scattered to their places, chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, lead by the sanctifying Spirit, in order to be the covenant people of God in the Son (1:2).

Begotten Again
Continuing the Trinitarian theme, following the greeting, Peter launches into a Trinitarian “berekah” – the traditional Jewish blessing-prayer which continues through verse 12. The theme of the prayer is a new and lasting life through the mercy of God the Father in the resurrection of Jesus, revealed through the Holy Spirit. This means that we have been granted the status of the Son (1:3). Specifically, Peter says that we were “begotten again” in the resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus was “born again,” we were born again (cf. 2 Cor. 5:14-17, Col. 2:20, 3:3).

Salvation Inheritance
Frequently, popular misconceptions cloud out our ability to read Peter carefully. This salvation-inheritance is not “going to heaven when you die.” This truncated gospel misplaces what salvation is all about. Salvation is nothing less than the renewal of all creation (2 Cor. 5:17, Gal. 6:15, Rev. 21:5). Peter says this inheritance is guarded in heaven (1:4) and ready to be “revealed in the last time” (1:5). We should note here that Peter later says that Jesus was manifested in the “last times” (1:20). So the “last time” begins with the incarnation. This “faith unto salvation” will be tested and revealed as “praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:7), and this is why they rejoice, believing that they are receiving this salvation (1:8-9). It was this “salvation” that the prophets searched after, and the Spirit of Christ testified to them concerning. What is this salvation inheritance? It is Christ’s sufferings and glory (1:10-11). And it is this gospel that has been preached which even the angels longed to look into (1:12, cf. Ps. 8, Heb. 1). Our salvation is the revelation of the sufferings and glory of Jesus. It is that inheritance which now belongs to us, and it is guarded in heaven by Jesus. This is why it cannot fade away. It is as indestructible as Jesus is. And it was revealed in Jesus’ first advent, it is revealed when He acts in history to deliver His people, and it will be revealed at the end of all things, at the resurrection.

More Precious than Gold
This faith unto salvation is “more precious than gold that perishes” (1:7), and its genuineness is confirmed by a long history of looking forward to this salvation through the work of the Holy Spirit (1:9-12). This “praise, honor, and glory” was prefigured in the tabernacle and temple and kingdom of Israel. Gold and all kinds of precious metals covered those garden-palaces signifying a return to Eden, a new creation, a return to fellowship with God, and restoration of man’s place in the world. But those places of worship were only dim shadows of the reality of man being restored to fellowship with God and ruling the world in wisdom. Jesus is the reality because Jesus rules at the Father’s right hand.

Conclusion & Applications
We should remember that this section is a hymn of praise. Worship is the foundation of Peter’s letter, and it is the foundation of our identity/salvation in the Father, Son, and Spirit. In worship we draw near to God, God draws near to us, and the world is reconciled in the Son through the Spirit. This is the new creation. We are the worshiping people of God, His new creation.

Last, believe the gospel that you have been begotten again to a living hope. You have been rescued from Egypt. You are kept by the power of God, and your salvation is as secure and glorious as Jesus at the right hand of the Father. And this new birth and living hope is for the world.

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen!

Closing Prayer: O God, we praise you and worship you, we bless your name. You are good, you are merciful to pitiful sinners, slaves and beggars who are so often ungrateful for your salvation. And frequently we are ungrateful in our unbelief. You offer us grace, and we don’t believe that you will really forgive us. You offer us salvation, and we aren’t sure you really mean it or we fear that we will lose it or that you will turn your back on us. Grant us grace to look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our father. And it’s in His name that we pray, praying as He taught us to pray….

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1 Peter 1:1-2

Opening Prayer: Gracious Lord, guard our hearts and minds with your peace by your Holy Spirit that we might walk in your mercy all the days of our life. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Introduction
Today we begin working through 1 Peter. Consider this series as a “you are here” map, specifically concerned with reviewing what it means to be the church, our mission in the world, and your role here.

Sent to Gather
Peter identifies himself as “an apostle of Jesus Christ.” He is one of the twelve “sent out” to gather the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt. 10:6). This is Simon Peter, and he addresses the “pilgrims of the diaspora” which is Peter’s way of calling believing Jews and Gentiles the new Israel of God. More literally, they are “elect strangers of the diaspora” (1:1, cf. Js. 1:1). “Diaspora” literally means “scattering of seed.” In the Septuagint, the word is used to describe what will become of Israel if they break covenant (Dt. 28:25), but God also promises to gather Israel back up after they are scattered (Dt. 30:4, cf. Neh. 1:9). Remember also the theme of promised “seed” from Adam and Abraham and Israel. Those who went into exile and then return are called the “holy seed” (Is. 6:13, cf. Zech 10:9).

Elect Strangers
The label of “elect” originally applied to the old Israel over against the gentiles; they were a holy people, a chosen nation, a special treasure to God (Dt. 4:37, 7:6, 14:2, cf. Is. 45:4, 66:22). Furthermore, the terms “sanctification” and “sprinkling of the blood” are covenantal terms. Israel was the holy nation of God, and this was sealed by the literal sprinkling of blood on them (Ex. 24:8). This covenant ceremony is probably explicitly in view by Peter and explains why he says that their sanctification by the Spirit is “for obedience and sprinkling of the blood” (1:2). First, Israel was brought out of Egypt by the Spirit, then they made covenant at Sinai and got sprinkled with blood. These Christians scattered through Asia Minor are the new Israel. They are scattered strangers and simultaneously, the elect, holy, and the covenant people of God. Notice that Peter returns to these themes of election and exile at the end of his letter (5:13). Notice too that this identity is bound up with the Father, Son, and Spirit.

Grace and Peace
The actual greeting from Peter is a blessing, a benediction. As apparently became common in the early church, a form of the common Greek greeting was joined with the common Hebrew greeting: “grace and peace” [“chairein” and “shalom”]. Peter’s variation on Paul’s greeting (“grace to you and peace from God our Father…”) may simply be a different style (e.g. 2 Pet. 1:2, Jud. 1:2), but it is also striking that the same expression is used in letters in Daniel from Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:37) and Darius (6:25) in Babylon. This suggests something of an imperial greeting to the new kingdom of God, the scattered colonies growing throughout the world.

Conclusions & Applications
Peter writes as an ambassador of the King of the world to pilgrims in a foreign land. The Christian Church is the seed scattered throughout the world, but this time under the covenant blessing of the Lord (Mt. 28:18-19, Acts 1:8). This scattered seed will die and rise again, producing fruit out of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. The Church family is the headquarters of the kingdom. Here is where grace and peace is multiplied for the world until it fills the world.

Are you living like colonists? Are you taking the patterns, the speech, the communion, the mercy that you find here and pushing into the corners of your lives?

Do you have the hope and faith of a kingdom that is growing and cannot be stopped? Do you have this hope and faith when the kids are out of sorts? When your wife is late coming home?

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen!

Closing Prayer: Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace and peace to us. We thank you that you have established your kingdom in this world through your church, and that you have scattered us throughout the world that we might be planted in the nations in order to bear much fruit for your glory and honor. Grant that we might always remember this, and joyfully partake in it. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray singing…

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1 Peter 1:3

1 Peter 1:3 says:

Blessed be the God and Father
>Of our Lord Jesus Christ
>>Who according to His abundant mercy
>>>Has begotten us again
>>To a living hope
>Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
From the dead.

This structure highlights the great reversal that God the Father has accomplished "from the dead." It also centers the point of our being "begotten again." The parallels of "Jesus Christ" suggest that the Sonship of Christ is in view in Christ's resurrection. He is declared to be the Son of God with power in the resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4). And the glorious thing is that we are the ones being "begotten again." Our status is the status of sons, the status of the Son raised from the dead.

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Triune Blessing

John Elliott points out that the blessing in 1 Pet. 1:3-12 is tripartite and corresponds fairly closely to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: a. "Blessed be the God and Father our Lord Jesus Christ..." (1:3-5) b. "that the genuineness of your faith... may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him..." (1:6-9) c. "Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully... searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them...through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven..." (1:10-12).

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Second Sunday in Lent: 1 Pet. 3:1-6: Wife as Priest

Introduction
We’ve now looked at the priestly calling of a husband to be a ministry of grace to his wife. We turn to the wife today and her priestly role toward her husband.

Without a Word Like Jesus
Peter begins by saying “likewise,” and that’s important because he has just come off several verses about Christ’s suffering and submission (2:21-25). He was sinless and had every reason to defend himself and didn’t (2:22). He returned not a word to his persecutors (2:23), but committed himself to God who judges righteously (2:23). But this example also includes a ministry of healing and reconciliation (2:24-25). Wives are called to this ministry toward their husbands. Wives should behave in such a way that even if they have a husband who does “not obey the word,” he should be won over without a word in imitation of Christ (3:1). Instead of words, Peter calls the Christian woman to embrace a beautiful conduct that is “incorruptible” and winsome.

Incorruptible Beauty
The language of “incorruptible” and “corruptible” has been used frequently in 1 Peter. Peter opens his epistle tying our “incorruptible inheritance” to the resurrection of Jesus (1:3). It is the reality of that incorruptible inheritance that is being revealed (1:5). And the proof of that inheritance is seen in faith that withstands trials, revealing our faith to be more “precious than gold.” Therefore Peter calls us to holiness (1:13-17) because we were not redeemed with “corruptible things” like silver or gold but with the “precious blood of Christ” (1:18-19). Jesus is our reason for faith and hope in God because he has been raised from the dead (1:21). And therefore we know that our new life in him is just as “incorruptible” as his word (1:23ff). Therefore, we are being built up into a house that cannot be destroyed, a house of living stones that are “precious” to God (2:4). And therefore, wives are to adorn themselves as “living stones,” as members of the new temple of God. Gold is perishable (3:3), but a gentle and quiet spirit is “incorruptible” and it is “precious” before God (3:4). The point is not an internal/external dichotomy; the point is that the Spirit always makes or breaks a house of God.

Holy Women
Peter points to the “holy women” who “hoped in God” in the Old Testament, and therefore they submitted to their own husbands. Sarah obeyed Abraham, and Peter calls Christian women to the freedom of “doing good” and not fearing “any terror” (3:6). Like Paul in Gal. 4:22, Peter says we need to see Sarah’s submission and obedience as the way of freedom. But this takes wisdom; it takes the Holy Spirit to enable us to be that royal priesthood, to make us “precious” and “incorruptible,” to make Christian wives virtuous and excellent (Pr. 3:15, 8:11, 31:10). And this consists in hoping in God, doing good, and banishing fear (3:5-6). As Paul insists, wives are called to picture the Church, revealing her glory and beauty (Eph. 5:24). You are a picture of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, a bride adorned for her husband (Rev. 21:2), and this means that you must first love and fear your first Husband.

Conclusions & Applications
Two extremes are refusing to see weaknesses and only seeing weaknesses. Neither are faithful, and both ignore the opportunity to serve and bestow grace. You are one of the key ministries of grace and healing to him.

Bestowing honor and respect, calling him ‘lord’ is a ministry of grace and healing, and God calls wives to this specific ministry. You are his wife; you have been called to this. And giving is the means to receiving. If you want to find your life, you must lose it.

The point is always Jesus. Submission and faith in the Lord, means hoping in the God of the resurrection, the God who makes everything right. That means believing that God has begun something incorruptible in you and believing that he will see it to completion.

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

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First Sunday in Lent: 1 Pet. 3:7: Husband as Priest

Opening Prayer: Gracious God and Father, you have called us by name. You have claimed us and established us as your royal priesthood. You have anointed us with your Spirit and called us to guard your house, to offer sacrifices of praise, and to bring glory to your name. Teach us to do that in our families, and this morning particularly as husbands. Through Jesus Christ our Lord who died that we might live, Amen!

Introduction
Last week we considered the ministry of a husband as a priestly calling, the duty to be a living sacrifice and to minister to his wife such that she becomes a living sacrifice too. Today we meditate on the role of husbands again, focusing on Peter’s teaching, and we should note that the context for Peter’s teaching is like Paul’s (1 Pet. 2:4-10).

According to Knowledge
The apostle exhorts husbands to dwell with their wives “according to knowledge.” “Dwelling with” is used several times in the Old Testament and means to be married and includes sexual love (Gen. 20:3, Dt. 22:13, 24:1, Is. 62:5). Dwelling “according to knowledge” is also reminiscent of the way sexual love is described elsewhere (Gen. 4:1, 17, 25, 1 Sam. 1:19). Knowledge is not just in your head. Knowledge is closely related to wisdom in Scripture (Pr. 2:6, 8:12), and wisdom is a skill particularly associated with building the house of God (e.g. Ex. 28:3, 36:1). It’s not an accident that the love of God is evidenced in his “dwelling with” his people in the tabernacle and temple. Knowledge is also associated with being a priest of God (Hos. 4:6-9, Mal. 2:7-8). In the New Testament, knowledge is frequently associated with salvation and knowing Christ (Lk. 1:77, 2 Cor. 4:6, Eph. 3:19, Phil. 3:8, 2 Pet. 3:18). This is the knowledge that a husband is to have toward his wife, a priestly love that builds and guards the house of God.

As a Weaker Vessel
The exhortation here is to bestow honor on the “weaker vessel.” The word for “weak” is frequently used to describe those in need of God’s grace and help: David prays for God’s mercy because he is weak (Ps. 6:2). Jesus sent his disciples out to heal the weak (Lk. 10:9). When we were weak, Christ died for the ungodly (Rom. 5:6). “Vessels” in the Old Testament are the furniture and utensils found in the house of God (e.g. Ex. 25:9, 39, 1 Kgs. 7:45). Paul picks up on this when he tells Timothy that there are different sorts of vessels in the house of God (2 Tim. 2:20-21). Peter insists that a husband is to bestow honor upon this vessel, and this is because God has chosen the weak things of this world to put to shame the things which are mighty (1 Cor. 1:27).

Heirs Together For Prayer
The reasons given for this exhortation are twofold. First, Peter reminds husbands that they are co-heirs with their wives. Paul uses this description insisting that as many as have been given the Spirit are “sons of God” and therefore heirs and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:14-17). While some modern translations want to flatten out the language of “sons,” this is a serious mistake. Finally, Peter warns that mistreatment of a wife can cause prayers to be hindered. This is the same teaching of Jesus who said that unless we forgive others we will not be forgiven (Mt. 6:15), unless we minister to those in need he will turn us away (Mt. 25:43), if a brother has something against us we ought to leave our gift at the altar and be reconciled first (Mt. 5:23-24). Our love of God is directly related to our love of neighbors (1 Jn. 4:20).

Conclusions & Applications
Marriage (and family) is designed by God to be a place of ministry. Husbands are called to minister grace to their wives. Are you ministering the “grace of life?”

Jesus says that when we love and care for the “weak,” we love and care for him (Mt. 25:43). And this applies to your wife and children as much as anyone else. How many husbands will hear those terrible words, ‘depart from me,’ on account of their treatment of their wife and children. Husbands, love your wives, as though you were loving Jesus. Because you are.

God rejoices over his bride (Is. 62:5), and therefore husbands must rejoice over theirs. Dwelling with them according to knowledge means recognizing the kind of gift and grace they are to you. That is a sanctifying grace.

Jesus went to the cross for the joy set before Him (Heb. 12:2), and that joy includes his bride.

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen!

Closing Prayer: Almighty God, give us grace to repent of our sins. Give us grace to look in faith to you, the author and perfecter of our faith. Give us grace to know you, and the power of your grace, that we may face every obstacle with joy and assurance. Grant that our marriages would be stunning pictures of the gospel. That your glory may be known in all the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord who taught us to pray, singing…

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