2. Accepting Difficult Times, Standing Fast, and Trusting God (5:6–11) Peter rounds off the body of his letter with admonitions followed by encouragement. He wants his readers to accept the difficult times they are facing as from God’s hand but yet to be on guard against the devil’s evil desire to take advantage of their circumstances to their own destruction. Peter’s readers are not alone in their plight, which is shared by Christians throughout the world. Because God is sovereign over even the hardships they suffer, they can trust him to put things right, strengthening, empowering, and securing them. a. Accepting difficult times as from God’s hand (5:6–8a) b. Standing fast against the devil (5:8b–9) c. Trusting God to put things right (5:10–11) Exegesis and Exposition 6Be humbled, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, in order that he might exalt you at the appointed time, 7casting upon him your every anxiety, because he cares about you. 8Be clear-minded and on the alert. Your adversary the devil paces around as a roaring lion, seeking [someone] to devour. 9Take your stand against him, firm in faith, knowing that the same type of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow Christians throughout the world. 10But the God of all grace, who called you into his eternal glory in Christ ⌜ ⌝, after you have suffered a little while, will himself put things right, strengthen, empower, [and] secure [you]. 11To him be the dominion forever! Amen! a. Accepting Difficult Times as from God’s Hand (5:6–8a) Three imperatives form Peter’s concluding exhortation: (1) be humbled, therefore, under God’s mighty hand; (2) be clear-minded and on the alert; and (3) take your stand against the devil. Variations of the phrase “the mighty hand of God” (τὴν κραταιὰν χεῖρα τοῦ θεοῦ, tēn krataian cheira tou theou) are used repeatedly in the exodus story to refer to the power that God displayed when he delivered his people from Egypt and brought them into their own land (LXX: Exod. 13:9; Deut. 3:24; 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 9:26; 11:2). First Peter 5:6 is the only occurrence of the phrase in the NT, though “the hand of God” without the adjective is mentioned in the NT to refer to a manifestation of God’s power in other contexts (Luke 1:66; Acts 4:30; 11:21; 13:11). The gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s deliverance from the bondage of sin in this age into his eternal glory, portrayed in biblical theology as a second exodus (Heb. 3:7–4:13; Dillard and Longman 1994: 66–67; Sahlin 1953). Because of their participation in this deliverance of God in Christ, Peter’s readers are experiencing a degree of humiliation that might incite them to retaliate against their critics. The natural human urge to fight back and defend one’s rights is strong. Peter has already explained that (1) persecution comes to faithful Christians and is not apart from God’s will (1 Pet. 3:17), (2) they should recognize painful trials as a normal part of Christian life (4:12), and (3) these experiences are God’s purifying fire of judgment (1:7; 4:17–19). To “be humbled” implies a decision to remain faithful to Christ even knowing that humiliation will result. As Achtemeier (1996: 338) explains, “The point is not that Christians have a choice of whether they humble themselves; that happens to them simply because they are Christians.” The point is how Christians respond when, because of their faith, their social status has suffered and their situation has become difficult. The command to be humbled under God’s mighty hand is a command to accept, though not to seek, difficult circumstances as a part of God’s deliverance, neither railing against God (“Why did this happen to me?” “What did I do to deserve this?”) nor raging against those causing the difficulty, but rather blessing those who insult and injure (3:9). As Achtemeier (1996: 338) explains, “Christians are to acknowledge that such status conforms to God’s will and to accept it for that reason, since it is the path God wishes Christians to take, a path that will lead finally to God’s exaltation of them.” An example of the acceptance of even extreme social humiliation is found in the martyrs who resolutely went to tortured deaths, understanding it as both God’s plan for them and a witness to his redemption before the world. But acceptance of the lowly status of Christians in society is not the end of the matter. Peter continues the thought with a purpose clause introduced by ἵνα (hina, in order that). Their willingness to submit to God’s mighty hand now is purposeful: “that he may exalt you at the appointed time” (5:6). Given Peter’s previous references to the coming glory when Christ is revealed (1:7; 4:13; 5:1, 4), this is probably also a similar reference to the future vindication of Christians who have been demeaned and humiliated by their society because of their faith. Allowing themselves to be humbled in their present situation by adhering to their faith in Christ, they will certainly be exalted when he appears and the whole world sees its folly in rejecting his gospel. This thought is Peter’s exposition of Prov. 3:34, “God . . . gives grace to the humble,” which he quotes in 1 Pet. 5:5. Those who allow themselves to be humbled under God’s mighty hand are those who will find grace when Jesus Christ appears. Although their exaltation is yet future, God does not leave his people unsupported as they face humbling circumstances now. The adverbial participle ἐπιρίψαντες (epiripsantes, casting upon, 5:7) is an attendant circumstance to the imperative “be humbled.” Be humbled and cast upon him all your anxiety, because he cares about you. Many anxieties result from professing faith in Christ in a polytheistic society that is hostile to the exclusive claims of the gospel. The loss of status and respect, loss of family standing, loss of friends, perhaps even loss of one’s livelihood and, in extreme cases, of one’s life—these are real possibilities for the Christians of Asia Minor. Peter instructs his readers to cast these anxieties on God (5:7), another way of saying they must entrust themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good (4:19). Jesus taught that anxiety about life is one of the impediments that can choke out God’s word (Mark 4:19). For God’s word to be fruitful, there must be a self-forgetfulness that is based on trust in God regardless of circumstances. “Worry, anxiety for oneself and striving to secure one’s own life, which are marked by fear, is lifted from those who are called to faith,” lifted by knowledge of God’s personal care and concern for them (Goppelt 1993: 359). God is neither unaware nor unconcerned about what his people are going through in order to remain faithful to Christ. Peter’s second and third imperatives come in rapid succession, and both pertain to one’s mental state, so they can be considered as one unit of thought: “Be clear-minded and on the alert” (1 Pet. 5:8). Twice Peter has already used the first of the two verbs, νήϕω (nēphō, be self-controlled, 1:13; 4:7). It is an antonym for the state of mind caused by drunkenness and is used more broadly in 1 Peter to refer to spiritual sobriety, a clear-minded and self-controlled mental state that is free from confusion and driving passions. The second verb, γρηγορέω (grēgoreō, be on the alert) presupposes the state of mind of the first, for one cannot be alert in a mental state that resembles drunkenness. This verb occurs often in the NT, referring both to readiness for the Lord’s return (e.g., Matt. 24:42–43; 25:13; Mark 13:35, 37; Rev. 3:3; 16:15) and to watchfulness that avoids moral jeopardy (e.g., Matt. 26:41; Mark 14:38; Acts 20:31; 1 Thess. 5:6; Rev. 3:3). b. Standing Fast against the Devil (5:8b–9) The only reference in the epistle to spiritual powers of darkness is found here in 5:8 with a reference to the devil (διάβολος, diabolos), portrayed as a pacing lion looking for prey. Peter states these two imperatives with no conjunction joining them to his thought about the devil. Later scribes made the implied logical connection explicit by joining the clauses with ὅτι (hoti, because). Spiritual sobriety and alertness are necessary because the threat of destruction is real and the devil is a true adversary. Fierce animal imagery is also used in Daniel and Revelation to symbolize world systems deformed by the powers of darkness and sin. Peter may be implying with the lion imagery that satanic powers are at work in the sociopolitical system of the Roman Empire, under which his readers are suffering. The roar of a lion would scatter a flock of sheep in panic, so this threatening image coheres well with the shepherd-flock motif in 5:1–5. When a lion is on the prowl, neither the shepherd nor the sheep sleep, but both are alert and watchful. Peter’s readers are to understand that the persecution they feel is “not only individual deceit and malice, but also a supra-individual orientation in society, which is called into question by Christians and is, thereby, provoked” (Goppelt 1993: 362). The goal of the devil is to devour, a graphic depiction of his desire to annihilate the Christian and, collectively, the church by assimilating them back to the evil ways of the world. The connection between the devil as a pacing, roaring lion and the persecution faced by the Asian Christians is only implied. This introduces a mysterious tension into Peter’s thinking. He has previously said that the difficult circumstances his readers are experiencing are to be understood as God’s judgment beginning with God’s house (4:16–19), the intrusion of the eschatological sorting of the sheep from the goats. Such persecution and difficulty are therefore an unavoidable part of God’s redemptive work in the world. But here Peter brings the devil into the picture as the immediate threat. This implies that, in Peter’s understanding of their suffering, God is using the threat that Satan presents through the hostility of society and government to prove those who are truly God’s (cf. Job 1:6–12). Although at first glance this concurrence of God’s purposes with Satan’s devices may seem incongruous, it is really the continuation of the dynamics in the garden of Eden. God had given Adam and Eve his word in the form of a command not to eat the fruit of a certain tree. Satan in the form of the serpent confronted Eve and Adam not with a threat but with a temptation—“You will be like God” (Gen. 3:5 NIV). In that moment, Adam and Eve were presented the opportunity to be clear-minded and alert and thus to stand firm against the devil, who slithered about like a venomous snake, looking for someone to poison. But they were not alert and firm, and consequently they succumbed to the spiritual death of bondage to sin. The dynamics between God, the devil, and God’s people remain the same until the Lord returns, but in Christ believers have regained the power to take their stand against the prowling lion, despite the consequences, and to show themselves to be the true and faithful people of God. Peter’s third and final imperative exhorts his readers to take a stand against the devil by standing firm in their faith. As Achtemeier (1996: 341) explains: The opposition the Christians face from their non-Christian contemporaries is not something they can avoid by modifying their behavior or adapting their beliefs in such a way as to escape such opposition. Only by completely abandoning the gospel and the community shaped by it, only by submitting to the satanic forces that stand in total opposition to God, can they escape the persecutions they otherwise face. If the gospel is to survive in Asia Minor, these beleaguered Christians must not allow themselves to be scattered by the threat but must take their stand against the devil by holding fast to the gospel and their place in the Christian community. Moreover, because the threat they perceive and the persecution they experience are caused by their very presence as Christians in the world, the same type of adversity is suffered by Christians throughout the “world.” Robinson (1976: 160) argues that the phrase ἐν κόσμῳ (en kosmō, 1 Pet. 5:9) is a Latinism that was used in Rome to refer to all regions of the empire outside the imperial city. But it is doubtful that the apostle wishes to distinguish believers in Asia Minor from those in Rome. Rather, Peter wishes his readers to see themselves not as isolated, scattered individuals but as part of God’s holy nation wherever they may reside and to draw encouragement and strength from their solidarity with believers around the empire. Resistance to some degree is to be expected wherever a Christian community takes seriously its commitment to God, because the Christian church is the emergence of God’s victory over the powers of darkness. Until Christ returns, the battle between good and evil will persist, and suffering for faith in Christ will be the norm for the Christian calling. The believer shares in what is the common experience of all Christians and is not alone in this. c. Trusting God to Put Things Right (5:10–11) Peter concludes the body of his letter with a strong note of hope and doxology (5:10–11) that echoes the opening in 1:1–7. God is described as the God of “all grace,” reminding readers that there is no other source of mercy in life. This all-gracious God has called Christians into eternal glory in Christ. Throughout the letter Peter uses the word “glory” to refer to the state of being that was accomplished by the sufferings and resurrection of Christ (1:11), yet to be fully revealed at his return (4:13), and of which new life in Christ is even now a part (1:3). That new realm of being is eternal, making the adversities of this present age comparatively fleeting (cf. 1:24–25). Although Peter acknowledges the inevitability of Christian suffering according to God’s will (1:6; 2:21; 3:9, 14, 17; 4:12), he also affirms the relative brevity of it: “after you have suffered a little [ὀλίγον, oligon]” (5:10). Although oligon here could be a reference to the severity of suffering, it is probably meant to be construed as temporal, especially in comparison with 1:6 and in contrast to the “eternal glory” of 5:10a (Achtemeier 1996: 336; Davids 1990: 188; J. H. Elliott 2000: 845). Moreover, the references to suffering are general, and the extent and severity would likely have varied from place to place and in different situations. At first glance, this phrase may seem to say that the times when a believer is aware of suffering for Christ will be sporadic and brief. But this statement is probably to be read from an eschatological, not an existential, perspective. If the cause of Christian suffering cannot be avoided without renouncing Christ, then the threat of suffering is always present throughout the entirety of the Christian’s life. And the threat of potential suffering that can at any time erupt into overt suffering is, in itself, a burden that Christians must carry. Therefore, Peter is more likely saying here that in the light of the eternal (αἰώνιον, aiōnion) glory, which believers have in Christ, a lifetime in this body is but a little while (oligon). Peter uses four nearly synonymous verbs to describe what God himself will do for the benefit of the faithful Christians after that little while has passed: God “will himself put things right, strengthen, empower, and secure you.” Peter probably uses these four as a rhetorical crescendo to refer to the complete act of God at the consummation of all things. God will put things right (καταρτίσει, katartisei). A world where Christians can expect to suffer simply because of their faith in God is not a world as God created it. In the time and place of eternal glory, there will be no suffering, for God will put things right, eliminating its source. God himself will strengthen (στηρίξει, stērixei) you, in the sense of causing one to become “more firm and unchanging in attitude or belief” (BDAG 945). Certainly, when Christ is revealed and faith becomes sight, the Christian’s belief in the gospel will reach its full certainty. In the meanwhile, God’s grace enables believers to remain firm and unchanging. “Although you have not seen him, you love him; although you do not see him now, you believe in him” (1:8). God himself will empower (σθενώσει, sthenōsei) you. In any society that gets away with persecuting Christ’s followers, Christians are truly in a position of weakness. But the time will come when Christ is revealed as the true Lord of the earth, and the believer’s faith in him will be vindicated. At that time Christians will be the empowered people. Finally, God himself will secure (θεμελιώσει, themeliōsei) you. This verb alludes back to the spiritual house metaphor, as it refers to securing a foundation for a building as well as providing a basis for a belief (BDAG 449). By virtue of their faith in Christ, Christians are being built into a spiritual house whose cornerstone is the Living Stone (2:4–5). The foundation of that spiritual house will be found secure when Christ is revealed. In these ways God is already working in the lives of those who through faith are being kept until salvation is revealed (1:5). All four verbs are intended to strengthen, empower, and secure Peter’s readers in this present life as they continue to face their fiery trials for a little while; Peter is assuring them of what God himself is doing that will be completed in the end. Resources for living life today are found in the knowledge of the ultimate end. Although God himself will do these things in the ultimate sense when Christ is revealed at the parousia, Peter reminds his readers of them because their new lives in Christ (1:3) partake of that future glory in the here and now. Although Christians may face unjust circumstances that are never put right in this life, those circumstances can be given up to God with the confidence that he will indeed make all things right. Despite appearances, God’s Spirit indeed strengthens, empowers, and secures Christians, imparting the courage and confidence to live well through this “little while” of suffering. Because what we believe about our future shapes how we live today, Peter concludes the body of his letter with an eschatological statement that puts all of today’s realities into the perspective of eternity. Peter’s final word in this closing unit is a doxology, “To him be the dominion forever! Amen!” At the time Peter wrote these words, to all human appearances it must have seemed that to Rome instead belonged the dominion forever. Roman rule had brought the pax Romana (Roman peace) that ended regional wars and unified the empire, generally improving life around the Mediterranean. But the price of that “peace” was the iron-fisted power of Roman might that tolerated not even the suspicion of a threat to its glory. The supernatural nature of the Christian church is perhaps best revealed by the historical fact that until the conversion of Constantine, all of the might of Rome stood against the infant church. Annihilating power stood ready to come against any whose allegiance to the kingdom of God and to his Christ took priority over the kingdom of Caesar. Just the threat of Roman power would have been sufficient to annihilate Christianity had it been based on anything other than or less than the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the face of Roman might, Peter ends his epistle by confessing that to God alone belongs eternal might (κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, kratos eis tous aiōnas), which makes Roman glory look like a withered flower (1:24). God’s eternal might constitutes his eternal dominion, for no other power can conquer or thwart his sovereign purposes. This is the second occurrence of kratos (κράτος, dominion), previously used in Peter’s doxology of 4:11, where God’s eternal glory and dominion are identified with Jesus Christ. Its adjectival form, κραταιάν (krataian, mighty), describes God’s hand, his manifestations of power in history that deliver his people from the oppression of persecution (5:6). To call Christ Lord and proclaim God to be King is to be humbled under God’s mighty display of eternal power rather than to cower before the pale might of any earthly ruler.
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