As we read 1 Peter, one is amazed in how the Apostle Peter has been transformed from an impetuous young man as portrayed in the 4 Gospels, to a man who has learned to suffer patiently for the cause of Christ. In 1 Peter 4:12-14 we read these words:

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Peter has come a long way from the place where he cut off Malchus’ ear when they came out to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:10).

Living As Servants Of God

Peter’s maturation in the grace of God and in the knowledge of Christ Jesus as Lord, is also seen in the kind of instruction he gives Christians in their attitude to government and employers (1 Peter 2:13-25). Believers are to do good in relation to secular governing authorities. This is God’s will and glorifies God (1 Peter 2:12, 15). It silences the talk of foolish people who have an ax to grind against Jesus’ followers.

We are not to use our freedom in Christ to indulge in sinful desires or arrogant behavior. Instead, we are to: “Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17). I think that this exhortation can be put into practice more consistently by God’s people in North America today. We need to pay more careful attention to God’s Word to us.

Christians are to show forth in their relationships in the world those hidden things that are gloriously true of who they are in Christ: a holy nation and a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Christian employees are to be respectful and hard-working, even when their employers are harsh and inconsiderate (1 Peter 2:18). They are to bear up under the pain of unjust suffering.

This doesn’t mean that Christians are to not fight the injustices of the world. But even the big issues of injustice in life are to be faced with non-violent protest and resistance, if possible. This was Rev. Martin Luther King’s approach in the American civil rights battles of the 1960s, and proved highly effective.

King’s commitment was to adhere to 1 Peter 3:9: “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” Not everyone in the civil rights’ movement agreed with this commitment. But in the end, history and the Lord vindicated King’s approach of non-violent protest and resistance. This is how he was enabled to overcome the fear and intimidation that was thrown at him and his fellow protesters. He was willing to suffer for what was right and just. Consequently, he was not controlled by fear like his opposition was (1 Peter 3:14).

Growing In The Knowledge Of The Lord

In his 2nd Letter, the Apostle Peter urges his flock to grow in their personal knowledge and experience of the Lord in their lives. Right from the opening blessing, Peter’s desire for his fellow Christians is for them to keep growing in God’s grace and peace, by growing in their personal knowledge of the Lord (2 Peter 1:2). This is more than a head knowledge. It is an intimate closeness to God where we have been made partakers of the very nature of God. The Lord has imparted His indwelling Spirit to us through faith in His precious promises (2 Peter 1:3,4).

Peter’s burden is that his flock not become stagnant in their relationship with the Lord, and for them not to fall back into their former carnal lifestyle. He writes this exhortation to them:

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we come to faith in Christ, it is only the beginning of a covenant relationship with the Lord. And just like when a husband and wife enter a marriage covenant, the expectation is that we would come to know our covenant partner in a deeper and deeper way, as we learn to walk together in life. If that doesn’t happen, something has sabotaged the normal maturation of the personal relationship. We don’t experience the full blessings of the covenant relationship, which is our rightful inheritance in the Lord.

One of the sabotagers for Peter’s flock are some false teachers who have infiltrated the congregation (2 Peter 2:1-22). Peter describes what will be the end of these false prophets in 2 Peter 2:20,21:

If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.

Peter wants a better outcome for the believers under his care.  He urges his fellow believers not to fall from their secure position in the Lord, through the error of these false teachers. Instead, he urges them to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:17,18).

QOTD: Are you growing in the grace and personal knowledge of the Lord in your life?