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1 Peter 3:8: ‘One another’

“8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” NIV

In a number of places in the New Testament, Christians are exhorted to do a whole variety of things for ‘’one another’’. Here is one of those passages.

I heard the leader of a growing church speak at an event towards the end of last year. He said, ‘’In our fellowship we speak about ‘pastoral share’ rather than ‘pastoral care’.’’ There was a clear expectation from him that the members of the church would look after ‘’one another’’

Now I wish to be understood. I believe in the pastoral gift. I count it a privilege to be a pastor. But the old idea of a ‘One man band’ who does everything is outmoded and should never have been in vogue. In the church, one or two may have a pastoral gift, but everyone should be involved in pastoral care. It is the calling of the whole church.

Especially in this long, drawn-out season, where we can’t be in the same room, we need to think prayerfully and creatively about how we carry on the ‘one anothering’ ministry.

PRAYER: Lord, it is a blessing beyond words to know you, and to be part of your church. Please show me the role you want me to play in serving others.

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1 Peter 3:1-6: True beauty.

“Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.” NIV

In the central section of 1 Peter, which runs from 2:13-3:7, there is an over-arching theme of submission in relationships – relationships to the state, in the workplace and at home. Going hand-in-hand with this, we find a repeated emphasis on the power of goodness.

Not long after I went to Bible College, I heard the testimony of Graham and Treena Kerr, when they spoke one Sunday evening at Guildford Baptist church. At one time, Graham was quite a celebrity, famous for his television cooking show, ‘the Galloping Gourmet.’ But behind the scenes, domestic life was a train-wreck. Their marriage was falling apart. Then something happened to Treena. She became a Christian. As I recall their story, she didn’t preach to her husband. She simply prayed for her him and quietly lived a Christian life. He noticed the difference, and this caused him to seek Christ for himself. He too was converted, and their marriage transformed.

Today, what is regarded as beautiful by many, often looks plastic. There is a cosmetic beauty that is stuck on from the outside. But true beauty flows outwards from the inside (4), and, what is more, age cannot wither it. I don’t think we are to understand Peter as saying that jewellery or make-up or nice clothes should never be worn. But he does want us to understand that these things do not make a person truly beautiful.

Although the direct application here is to wives, I remember that Jesus said, ‘’I am the good shepherd’’ (John 10:11). I understand that the word translated ‘’good’’ can mean ‘beautiful’. There is a beauty about Jesus, and it will be reflected in all who are being changed into His likeness, whether male or female.

PRAYER: ‘Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.’

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1 Peter 2: 18-19: ‘Conscious of God’

“18 Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.” NIV

We are in a section of 1 Peter which is all about submission ‘’for the Lord’s sake to every authority’’ (2:13). In verses 18-25, Peter moves from a citizen’s relationship to the divinely instituted government, to a slave’s relationship to his master. There may be much here, therefore, that we can’t relate to.

However, I felt the need to press the pause button at verse 19, because there is ‘’suffering’’ in the current circumstances. In a lot of cases, it is suffering with a very small ‘s’. But for many people, the suffering is sadly coming with a big fat capital ‘S’. I wouldn’t be surprised if lots of cries are rising up from all corners of the globe saying, ‘It’s not fair!’ What’s happening seems unjust. But there is a way to handle such a situation. It is this: to be aware of God; to live moment by moment with the consciousness of God’s presence. There are hardships we can face with faith and prayer that we could not endure any other way. Knowing God makes all the difference.

PRAYER: Lord, I have found that knowing you does not remove the difficulties from life, but it does make it possible to come through all kinds of struggles with a heart in tact. Thank you for your grace towards me. We pray today for all who are feeling any form of suffering, that they may be conscious of God.

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1 Peter 2:13-17: Good citizens.

“13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honour the emperor.”NIV

In recent days we have seen that declaring ‘’the praises of him’’ who called us ‘’out of darkness into his wonderful light’’ (9) involves living a good life in the world, before men. The idea is reinforced in today’s reading in terms of citizenship (15). How we conduct ourselves as citizens of a nation is governed by this over-riding belief: it is ‘’for the Lord’s sake’’ (13) that we live as we do. God has created the world for government. He has established authorities.

It is interesting to note that Peter was not writing from within a liberal democracy. He, and his readers, lived under the pagan Roman Empire. It was often harsh, cruel and persecuting. It’s not easy to live under a dictatorship. But Peter saw it as important that believers should be good citizens. This is a key part of our witness. People may throw mud at us, but let the lives we lead speak for themselves.

The message of the whole paragraph, it seems to me, is encapsulated in verse 17. It’s a neat summary.

Of course, there may come a time when followers of Jesus have to say, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’ If the state demands what God forbids then we must follow our consciences. But for the most part we don’t face such choices.

Our government is asking difficult things of all of us in these days of restriction and confinement, but it is clearly for the common good. I believe Christians should be at the forefront of honouring what is being asked of us by the authorities. In so doing we can reflect the ‘’wonderful light’’ we have been brought into. This light is God Himself.

If we ‘Submit’ then, it is ‘’for the Lord’s sake.’’

PRAYER: Lord, you never tell us to do anything without also giving us the strength to do it. Help us please to shine for you in our citizenship. We pray for wisdom and strength today for all in authority, that they may receive your help in the heavy burdens of responsibility they carry.

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1 Peter 2:4-8: ‘What think ye of Christ?’

“4 As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:

‘See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.’

7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,’

8 and,

‘A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.’

They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.” NIV

I was on a return journey from school one day when I saw it through the bus window. In big white letters on a wall in the middle-distance, someone had painted the question, in ‘King James Version’ language, ‘What think ye of Christ?’ (Matthew 22:42). Of course, it could have been an irresponsible, if well-meaning, act of vandalism. It’s not a good idea to graffiti someone else’s wall, if that’s what had been done.But it’s an important question. The New Testament teaches that our personal response to Jesus is a matter of great and eternal significance.

Today’s passage shows that we can have one of two attitudes to Jesus. We can ‘’come’’ to Him (v.4. Note, trusting in Him, v.6b, and believing in Him, v.7a, are two other ways of expressing this same reality), or we can reject Him (v.7b – this is also described as disobeying ‘’the message, v.8). But nothing here encourages us to think that dismissing Christ is a good or wise choice. For someone who comes to ‘’believe’’ in Jesus, they now see Him in the same way God does. He is ‘’precious’’ (see verses 4b and 7a)

Also, our response to Him in no way alters His position as Lord of the church God is building. Jesus is both the ‘’cornerstone’’ and the ‘’capstone’’. He is all-important, and nothing can change the fact.

PRAYER: Lord, we pray that in these momentous days many people will turn from rejecting Jesus to accepting Him, and will taste just how precious he is.

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Peter 1:21: ‘The Window into God’.

“21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” NIV
 
In the New Testament the knowledge of God is unmistakably Christ- centred.
In Jesus we see most clearly what God is like. Canon Michael Green once observed, ‘Jesus is the window into God.’
It is only through Jesus that we can approach God and have a relationship with Him (See e.g.John 14:6/Acts 4:12)
How can we explain the resurrection and ascension of Jesus without taking seriously the Bible’s own explanation that this was a work of God? Although Jesus had the right to both lay down His own life and take it up again (John 10:17, 18), the uniform testimony of the New Testament is that the Father did this.
Therefore Christian ‘’faith’’  is in this very real God who is revealed in Jesus, and our certain ‘’hope’’ is of being with Him and seeing Him for ever. As I write these words on Easter Sunday afternoon, the Word of God shines even brighter than than the brilliant sunshine outside, and it’s warmth reaches my heart. The risen Lord still cause hearts to ‘’burn’’ (Luke 24:32).
 
There is a God, and if you want to know what He is like, take a long, hard look at Jesus. Then trust in this same Jesus to bring you to Him.
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1 Peter 1:17: Our true home

“17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.” NIV
 
Here is a further thought on being ‘’strangers here’’. In another ‘coincidence’, I just happened to read this extract from C.S.Lewis’s ‘The problem of pain’ on the same day I arrived at this text. In it, Lewis is writing about the effect crises have on us, and once again it seems so relevant to the present time:
‘My own experience is something like this. I am progressing along the path of life in my ordinary contentedly fallen and godless condition, absorbed in a merry meeting with my friends for the morrow or a bit of work that tickles my vanity today, a holiday or a new book, when suddenly a stab of abdominal pain that threatens a serious disease, or a headline in the newspapers that threatens us all with destruction, sends this whole pack of cards tumbling down. At first I am overwhelmed, and all my little happinesses look like broken toys. Then slowly and reluctantly, bit by bit, I try to bring myself into the frame of mind that I should be in at all times. I remind myself that all these toys were never intended to possess my heart, that my true good is in another world and my only real treasure is Christ.’
However, Lewis goes on to describe the human tendency to ‘backslide’ when everything returns to normal:
‘God has had me for but forty-eight hours and then only by dint of taking everything else away from me. Let Him but sheathe that sword for a moment and I behave like a puppy when the hated bath is over – I shake myself as dry as I can and race off to reacquire my comfortable dirtiness, if not in the nearest manure heap, at least in the nearest flower bed.’
That is so insightful.
But I pray that when we return to ‘normal’ – whatever that ‘normal’ may look like – we will not return to being the same, where during this time we have realised we need to be different. God gives all kinds of insights in uncomfortable situations. Let’s hold tightly to these ‘treasures’.
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1 Peter 1:18-20: ‘Rum thing…’

“18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.”NIV
 
During the Lent period, I have been reading a book of extracts from the writings of C.S. Lewis. In his autobiography, ‘Surprised by Joy’, Lewis writes engagingly about his conversion, and also about the time leading up to it, when, you might say, his armour was being pierced. This is what I read on the morning of writing today’s thought:
‘’Early in 1926 the hardest boiled of all the atheists I ever knew sat in my room on the other side of the fire and remarked that the evidence for the historicity of the gospels was really surprisingly good. ‘Rum thing,’ he went on. ‘All this stuff of Frazer’s about the Dying God. Rum thing. It almost looks as if it really happened once.’ To understand the shattering impact of it, you would need to know the man (who has certainly never since shown any interest in Christianity). If he, the cynic of cynics, the toughest of toughs, were not – as I would still have put it – ‘safe’, where could I turn? Was there then no escape?’’
Peter, here, affirms that it really did happen once (recently, in fact, when he wrote) although it had been long planned. Jesus died, as the perfect fulfilment of the Old Testament sacrificial system, and in that dying He paid the price to buy people out of an ‘’empty way of life. That is what is so ‘good’ about Good Friday.
We are again reminded that ‘’silver’’ and ‘’gold’’ are ‘’perishable’’ (18). The ‘’precious’’ blood of Jesus, however, is of supreme and abiding value. By His blood we can be ‘’redeemed’’ – that is bought out of the slavery of sin.
Today’s passage is so clearly and helpfully rendered in ‘The Message:
‘’It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you.’’
THOUGHT: ‘When I survey the wondrous Cross, on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.
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1 Peter 1: 17: ‘Strangers’

“17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.” NIV
Somebody once described the contemporary church as ‘the best disguised set of pilgrims the world has ever seen.’ In the whirl of ordinary life, with its many demands and distractions, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that we don’t belong here and we won’t be long here. As the gospel song says, ‘This world is not my home…’
We are living through remarkable days, when much of the world’s machinery has been completely shut down. I think God is wanting – maybe among other things – to get our attention and wake us up to the realisation that life is short and fragile, and we are not in control. He is! How easily we forget that there is an eternal dimension. Life is brief; eternity is long. One day we must give an account to God for what we have done with the lives, resources, opportunities etc He has entrusted to us.
I was thinking, one of the institutions to take a battering in the Coronavirus storm is the entertainment industry. I’m not saying it’s all bad, but so much of what it pumps out has to do with that ‘’empty way of life’’ (v.18) which Jesus came to rescue us from. How often do we go back there for refreshment, only to find what deep inside we always know to be true: the well is empty and it does not satisfy? Our true home is in the ‘Father’s’ company. When we call on Him we are at home.
At the moment, Jilly and I are using ‘A Diary of Private Prayer’ – an updated version of a devotional classic by Scottish theologian John Baillie. When I read this morning’s prayer, I thought it so relevant. Here is an extract from it:
‘Here I stand, weak and mortal amid the immensities of nature…
Let me remember that my mortal body is only the servant of my immortal soul;
Let me remember how uncertain my hold is on my own physical life;
Let me remember that here I have no continuing city, but only a place for a brief stay, and a time for testing and training;
Let me use this world without abusing it;
Let me be in this world but not of it;
Let me be as though I have nothing, and yet possess everything;
Let me understand the vanity of what is time bound and the glory of the eternal;
Let my world be centred not in myself, but in you.’
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