Monthly Archive for February, 1998

Page 2 of 3

1 Peter 5:10

Published on February 18, 1998 in 1 Peter. 1 Comment
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory byChrist Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”

 

We now come to the conclusion of 1 Peter (vv.10-14). This is one of the great benedictions of the Bible. Note other great benedictions: Numbers 6:24-26; Romans 15:5,6, 13; 16:25,27; Ephesians 3:20,21; 1 Thessalonians 3:12,13; 2 Thessalonians 2:16,17; 3:12,13; 1 Timothy 1:17; Jude 24,25; Revelation 1:5,6.
 
But may the God of all grace
Peter concludes his epistle with a prayer. This is a prayer in honor of God’s grace.
We now come to one of God’s great names — “the God of all grace.” In 2 Corinthians 1:3 God is called “the God of all comfort.” “All” carries the idea of comprehensiveness and universality. God’s grace is comprehensive and universal for any need of any believer at any time. This means that God has a plan for every situation that you face in life. Every problem you encounter God has a solution for it. He has an asset that you need.
God has cornered the market on grace. God has all kinds of grace for any situation we may face. God has cornered the market on grace and comfort. God is the God of all grace both as far as the quality of it and as far as the quantity of it.
“The God of” means God is the source of all grace.
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).”
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
“But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
‘God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble’” (James 4:6).
In 1 Peter, God’s grace is God’s provision for suffering. God provides for any contingency we may face.
Principle:
God’s grace is comprehensive and universal for any need of any believer at any time.
Application:
Should a catastrophe come upon you, what resource would you draw upon? Would you draw upon yourself?
We are often not aware of our needs. We think we need one thing whereas we need something else. Sometimes we think God must heal us when what we really need is the grace of God to sustain us without being healed (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Healing is not always our highest good. Sometimes the highest good is God’s glory that sustains us in our suffering. We glorify God by making known to others how He sustained us in our predicament.
God is all-sufficient for any contingency that may come our way. God has grace sufficient for any occasion or need (2 Corinthians 1:3; 12:9).
Do you view yourself as respectable? Sooner or later, we all have to come to the place where we recognize that we all fail the Lord. Think of all the sins you have committed just over the last few months. Do you think you have earned or deserved the right of deliverance? Yet, God is the God of all grace. He knows every sin we have committed or ever will commit.
Christians can go right into Heavenly Headquarters for their grace. They go to the manufacturer. They need no middleperson. There is no black market on grace. We have the right to go right to the producer of grace. God’s grace is adequate for us no matter what our dilemma or pain. The manufacturer will give us grace if we ask Him (Hebrews 4:16).
God provides grace for the non-Christian. God offers people salvation through Christ with no strings attached.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8).
Will you accept God’s offer of grace today? Will you believe Jesus paid on the cross all of the suffering you need to pay for your sins?
Share

1 Peter 5:9e

Published on February 17, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

“Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

 

that the same sufferings
 
No Christian suffers alone. Suffering is the universal mark of all true Christians.
are experienced
“Experienced” means to endure. No matter how long suffering may last, the believer is to endure through it all. The real test in golf is not in keeping out of the rough but in getting out of the rough after we get in.
by your brotherhood in the world
Fellow Christians in other places in the world go through the same things we do.
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Misery likes company. When we realize that the Devil puts all of God’s people through similar circumstances, we gain courage.
Principle:
God does not ask us to suffer any more than He asks of other believers anywhere else in the world.
Application:
When we realize that other Christians suffer in other places of the world, this encourages us to move on in the faith. This also unites us in the same experiences.
We can handle anything that life may bring us if we know the principles of the Word.
A gem develops into a gem under great pressure and friction.
A smooth sea never made a skilful sailor. A believer stagnates in still waters.
Share

1 Peter 5:9d

Published on February 16, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

“Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

 

knowing
The word “knowing” is a key word in many passages of Scripture.
“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance” (Romans 5:3).
“Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Romans 6:6).
“So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6).
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified” (Galatians 2:16).
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20).
The tense in the word “knowing” carries the idea of truth settled in the soul that can be called into use when necessary. “Knowing” gives us something to use under pressure.
“I have written to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
And you have overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:14).
Before we can apply truth, we must know truth. Again, before we can apply truth we must form truth into a principle for life. We must know something about how God wants us to deal with the problems of life.
Christians need to know something before they can use what they know. If we do not know the Word before suffering comes, we will not be able to use it in the time of duress. We cannot say if a wild rhinoceros is charging down on us, “Just a minute, Mr. Rhinoceros, I do not have my gun loaded. Wait while I load it.”
Principle:
Christians must study the Word and extract its principles for living before suffering comes his way.
Application:
A Christian must get the principles of the Word in their mind in so that they can apply it to whatever they may face. The only effectual gun is a loaded gun. Keep the gun of your mind loaded with the principles of the Word. How would you like to go to war in the Gulf with no ammunition in your gun?
We load our gun in prosperity, not in adversity.
Share

1 Peter 5:9c

Published on February 15, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

“Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

 

in the faith
 
Satan aimed at the faith of the Asia Minor believers. He sought to destroy their faith by making them disillusioned by suffering. Peter now says that their faith will sustain them against the assault of disillusionment.
Making a phalanx of our faith means that we make the whole body of truth found in the Word of God be our phalanx to orient to suffering. We stand, but we stand in the faith.
“For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ” (Colossians 2:5).
The word “faith” here means the whole realm of truth as taught in Scriptures. The basis of the believer’s resistance to the Devil is the Word of God. Application of the principles of the Word to experience is the foundation for dealing with the Devil.
We resist the Devil in the faith, not in the flesh.
“If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister” (Colossians 1:23).
“For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:5-7).
Principle:
We fight disillusionment by the whole body of truth found in the Word of God.
Application:
The purpose of trial is not to weaken our faith but to strengthen it. One of two things will happen in suffering: we will either collapse or develop character.
God has a prescribed means for defeating the Devil – the Word of God. Three times the Lord defeated the Devil on the mount of temptation by saying “It is written.” The Savior quoted three verses to the Devil and that sent him scurrying.
Be resolute in your faith for Satan wants to destroy your faith. He wants to draw us into apostasy. He does this by making us disillusioned by suffering. Be grounded in your faith. The way to win the war with Satan is with our faith in the principles of God’s Word (Ephesians 6:16).
The Christian must maintain his ranks with his faith or he will be vulnerable to attack from the Devil. He needs to be solid as granite in his faith. He should stand in formation even though he is under attack by his enemy, the Devil. He continues to function even under fire because he has, in the Word of God, the resources to fight.
Share

1 Peter 5:9b

Published on February 14, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

“Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

 

steadfast
 
“Steadfast” means to make firm and solid. It is a military term meaning hold your order or keep a solid front. Secular Greek used “steadfast” for a close phalanx. The Greek phalanx was a body of heavily-armed infantry soldiers who formed ranks and files close and deep. The word carries the idea of solidity in mass and body. Soldiers had to maintain their ranks and formation or the enemy would attack them from the side or from behind.
 
The Greek infantry divided into two main branches: the hoplitai and psiloi. The hoplitai were heavily armed troops arranged in phalanx. They were a body of 4,000 men drawn up in lines from eight to twenty-five deep. The psiloi were lightly armed troops, who carried out the skirmishing duties of the army, harassed the enemy, and hung around the flanks and rear of the phalanx with the cavalry in time of battle.
Principle:
The Christian should not break and run but hold his ground in the faith as a mighty phalanx of faith.
Application:
Steadfast comes to mean unbending. Christians should not bend their faith. They should deepen and strengthen their faith. Christians are to maintain their ranks in their faith. If they keep formation even though they undergo attack, together they will do something that they could not do alone.
Christians should not break and run. They should hold their ground. Their solid front and phalanx is the Word of God applied to their experiences.
Share

1 Peter 5:9

Published on February 13, 1998 in 1 Peter. 2 Comments
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

“Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

 

Resist him
 
The “him” here is the Devil (v.8).
“Resist” means withstand (James 4:7). This word comes from two Greek words: against and to stand. The Christian is to stand against the assault of the Devil. This is a term of defense, not offense. The Christian must build fortifications against the Devil. The Christian is at war. We should establish bulwarks of faith against our enemy.
We resist by obeying the commands of verse eight. We would do well to remember that we cannot fight the Devil in ourselves.
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
People who believe that the Devil is red believe a religious fairy tale. James chapter 4 makes it plain that the Devil is yellow!! The Devil is not afraid of us but of our faith. By depending on the Lord the weakest Christian can not only check the Devil but he can vanquish him.
Principle:
The Christian must set for himself a fortress of his faith against the Devil.
Application:
It is amazing that God gave Christians the power to resist the greatest creature ever made. Satan was the most powerful and wise creature God ever created.
The Devil is not omnipresent. His well-trained troops (demons) disperse throughout the world seeking to sway people for his cause. His power is through the dispersion of these troops throughout the world. Therefore, his power is very extensive but not endless. The Devil is mighty but not invincible. Some people act as if the Devil is almighty. This is a sad mistake because it defers to him too much.
The Christian cannot take the offence against the Devil but he can stand his ground in the faith. In the face of Satanic attack, he can appropriate God’s Word to the situation.
Why does the Devil have us on the run? We should have him on the run by our faith. He says “Boo” to some people and they collapse right on the spot.
Share

1 Peter 5:8f

Published on February 12, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

 

seeking whom he may devour
 
The Devil “seeks.” That is what the Lord Jesus came to do,
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
“Devour” comes from two words to drink and down coming to mean to gulp or swallow down. “Devour” means to cause something to pass through the mouth and into the stomach–to gulp down.
The Devil not only wants to nibble on Christians, he seeks to devour them completely. He wants to consume them completely. He wants to devour Christians by destroying their faith so completely that they wholly cease from walking dynamically with God. He wants to ruin their testimony. The Bible presents the Devil as a ferocious beast of prey.
Principle:
The Devil seeks to destroy our testimony totally.
Application:
The Devil wants to swallow Christians whole. He is interested in their total destruction.
“Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11).
Jesus came seeking sinners; now the Devil seeks saints. He looks for Christians with their guard down. He could not keep Christians from becoming Christians, now he wants to make them ineffective Christians. He will do everything in his diabolical power to render them ineffective. He wants an impotent Christian and an impotent church. He will slander, hinder and handicap you. He will do everything in his power to keep you from sharing Christ with a non-Christian. He lost you but now he seeks to make sure that no one around you will come to Christ.
The Devil is not interested in nibbling on us, he seeks to gulp us down. He looks for those who play into his clutches. He lurks in the spiritual bushes waiting for the Christian to come along. Do you have a spiritual mine detector? If we do not stay on the path, he will have a booby trap waiting to deform us for life.
“And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).
The Devil seeks to destroy the testimony of the Christian and to delude the non-Christian (Colossians 2:8). He wants to blind them to the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age [the Devil] has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Corinthians 4:3- 4).
Share

1 Peter 5:8e

Published on February 11, 1998 in 1 Peter. 1 Comment
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

 

like a roaring lion
 
The word “like” introduces an analogy. Peter draws an analogy between the Devil and a lion. The Devil is like a lion that stalks his prey. The Christian life is like jungle war.
Peter presents the Devil as a roaring lion. This lion produces a howling or roaring sound. They have extremely powerful voices.The lion uses his roar to frighten his game. By his roar, he immobilizes his victims. His roar is a weapon. What the Devil cannot accomplish through allurement he tries to achieve through dread.
Lions usually range near six hundred pounds, standing four feet high. They run at twenty feet per bound and at about a hundred yards in five seconds. They are totally unpredictable. They will attack for no apparent reason.
Principle:
Fear will blunt an aggressive Christian life.
Application:
A roaring lion intimidates by his roar. The Devil intimidates by fear. He casts fear into weak Christians because that will intimidate them from a life of faith. As a lion in the wild chases a herd of gazelles and runs down the weak of the herd, so the Devil usually catches weak Christians first because he freezes them in fear. Fear incapacitates us from moving ahead with our Christian walk,
“He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap” (Ecclesiastes 11:4).
But why should the Devil intimidate Christians when he has already been defeated?
“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down‘” (Revelation 12:9-10).
Share

1 Peter 5:8d

Published on February 10, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

 

walks about
"Walks about" means goes about as a course of life. The Devil’s course of life is to destroy the dynamics of every Christian life. He ranges far and wide in search of prey.
The Devil stalked Job,
 
"And the LORD said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ So Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it’" (Job 1:7).
"And the LORD said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ So Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it’" (Job 2:2).
Principle:
The Devil’s range can reach into our lives.
Application:
The Devil uses stealth. He stalks every Christian. He is now on the loose. He is on the prowl looking to trap you in his devices. The Devil always seeks opportunities to undermine our Christian walk. He is constantly on the prowl. He is not omnipresent for he can only be in one place at a time. However, he has a massive infrastructure of emissaries (demons) who do his bidding. They seek to seduce every one of us.
The Devil says, "I am looking for the spiritually naive. I’m patrolling the earth for simple souls who think that I am not real." The idea that the Devil walks about in a red union suit, having a forked tail and cloven hoofs and carries a pitch fork is a religious fairy tale. He camouflages himself with this idea.
Share

1 Peter 5:8c

Published on February 9, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

 

because your adversary the devil
 
The word “devil” is not a proper name but a functional title. It comes from two words through and to throw. This conveys the idea to strike through. Therefore, “devil” comes to mean to thrust through, as thrusting a sword through the body of someone. The Devil is one who traduces, calumniates, slanders, accuses and defames.
 
The word “devil” also means adversary. The idea “adversary” meant an opponent in a lawsuit (Matthew 5:25; Luke 12:58; 18:3). The idea then is to accept a complaint against someone for a legal review. The Devil–who is actively and continuously hostile toward us legally accuses us before God.
The Devil would place cancerous thoughts in the minds of people about us. If he can make us disillusioned by these personal attacks on us, he might draw us into apostasy.
The word “Devil” occurs thirty-eight times in the New Testament. The word does not occur in the Old Testament; it is strictly a New Testament word. The Devil is in the Old Testament but under a different name.
Principle:
Christian need to grasp their legal rights before God.
Application:
We can laugh at the Devil and not take him seriously. However, he takes us very seriously. The Devil is just as real as Jesus Christ is. If you do not believe in the Devil, it is because you probably do not believe in Jesus Christ. The Devil is not like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. He is a real person.
The Devil launches litigation against our souls. He accuses us before God Himself. As our antagonist, the Devil maligns, slanders and falsely accuses us. Occasionally he mentions our name in a very unfavorable light to God. He accuses us and slanders us (Revelation 12:9,10). However, the Devil is a disbarred accuser. Every time he mentions our name before God the Lord Jesus steps forward and appeals to His blood (Hebrews 2:14,15; 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2). Justification means we are legally right before God forever. Case dismissed.
We have three enemies: the world, the flesh and the Devil (1 Corinthians 16:9). The world is our external foe, the flesh is our internal foe and the Devil is our infernal foe. God expects us to come off the field of battle victorious over all three foes (1 John 5:4). Do not become broken and old before your time. These three foes will take their pound of flesh if we allow them.
Share