彼得前书

Meditative Reflection
The Mystery of God’s Love

“Even angels long to look into these things.” (1 Pet. 1:12)

Although Peter had not written as many epistles as Paul, I find it rather attractive to read his epistles because of who he was.

Among the twelve disciples, he was part of Jesus’ inner circle. He was privileged enough to see Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain, and he was among those who were closest to Jesus in His struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane, not to mention that he was the one who denied his Lord three times as He was tried in the courtyard of the High Priest.

No wonder he burst into praise to God as he began his exhortation, referring to our new birth in Christ as God’s great mercy. Indeed, he experienced it first-hand. It is a mercy that he did not deserve; it is a mercy bestowed upon us through the sufferings of Christ (v. 11); and it is a mercy that even “angels long to look into these things” (v. 12)

Of all created beings, we would imagine that the angels would be privileged to this plan of salvation from start to finish, after all, some of them were sent to announce part of this plan to the prophets (like Gabriel bearing words of prophecies to Daniel in Dan. 9:22 ff); some of them were sent to announce Christ’s birth to the shepherds (Lk. 2:8 ff) and some were sent to announce Christ’s resurrection to the women (Matt. 28:1 ff). Of course, many angels took part in revealing matters concerning the end-time to the Apostle John (Rev.). In other words, angels have taken a very active part not only in the announcing but also in the bringing about of the salvation work of God through Christ, and yet Peter says, “Even angels long to look into these things” (v. 12).

I believe angels are not like the OT prophets, who sought to “find out the time and circumstances” about “the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow” (v. 11), but rather, even though the angels have known it all along, they still fail to fully understand why God would send His Beloved Son to die for sinners like us:

- Imagine their awe in learning about the plan of God in sending His Son to save the world;

- Imagine their excitement in seeing the birth of Christ as a babe in a manger;

- Imagine their horror in witnessing the death of Christ on the cross; and

- Imagine their elation at the resurrection of Christ defeating both sin and death!

They may know the entire process of God’s plan of salvation, but they can never comprehend “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Eph. 3:18-19), and neither can we!

Meditative Reflection
Girding Our Minds

“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming.” (1 Pet. 1:13)

In urging us to be holy (1:15), and to pass our time of sojourning in reverent fear of the Father (1:17), Peter repeatedly refers to the hope, the “living hope” that marks our new birth in Christ (1:3, 13, 21).

Indeed, where we set our hope in this earthly sojourning dictates whether we can

- become “holy in all we do” (1:15)

- live in reverent fear of the Father  and

- even love one another deeply (1:22).

Our hopes express the deepest longings of our hearts and, consciously or subconsciously, they determine our goals in life. As a result Peter reminds us that before our new birth

- Our hopes were conditioned by our “evil desire” when we lived in ignorance (1:14) and

- Our goals were set on “perishable things”, especially on silver and gold, as if they were able to “redeem” us (1:18).

But, since we are born again into the “living hope” and have our eternal, unperishable inheritance (1:3-4):

- Our hope is now set “on the grace to be brought to us when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming” (1:13). In other words,

• Our lives should be marked by our longing for the soon appearance of Christ’s coming which is the source of our joy even in sufferings (1:6); 
• We should strive to become holy and live in fear of Him, not only because the One who called us is holy (1:15-16), but also because He will judge us impartially when Christ appears (v.17); and thus

- Our goal is not set on anything earthly

• Because our sojourn here is as grass and flowers (1:24); and
• We certainly will not pursue or rely on gold and silver which will perish (1:18), but obey and live on the eternal and living “Word of God” (1:23)

All this is fine, except how can we truly live out his hope? The Apostle Peter gives us two important and practical instructions in 1:13:

1. Gird the loins of our minds (which is translated as “prepare your minds for action” in some NAS versions): We know that in Peter’s time, people wore robes and before they could go out or prepare to work, they needed to gird their loins. But even more importantly, soldiers needed to gird their loins before they could go to battle. In other words, Peter points out that our mind is the first line of defense. What we think is who we are and we need to exercise strict control over our thoughts. Therefore the Apostle Paul exhorts us, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (NIV) (Col. 3:2); and
2. Be fully sober: The picture of a drunkard reminds us not to give into any kind of addiction, not just wine, but lust, greed and pleasure — anything that can make us forget or overlook that we do not belong to this world. We are really sojourning, heading towards death and we will soon face the One who will judge impartially.

Meditative Reflection
The True Temple of God

“Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Pet. 2:10)

Jesus prophesied about the destruction and the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem after His first cleansing of the temple in John 2, and in the process He was foretelling His own death and resurrection. The Apostle John testifies that the disciples did not really understand what Jesus was saying, not until “He was raised from the dead” (Jn. 2:22). While they have come to understand Jesus is the very temple of God through His dwelling among us and the teaching about the church (including all Gentile believers), it was indeed an epoch-breaking truth "that He Himself is the very temple of God and by His dwelling within us, we too become the temple of God." Allow me to share with you Wayne Grudem’s comment in this respect:

“The long history of God’s dwelling place among His people finds New Testament fulfillment in the people of God themselves. The glory of God, the visible evidence of His presence among His people, had led the people out of Egypt as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exod. 13:21-22). God’s glory had filled the tabernacle under Moses (Exod. 33:8-13; 40:34-38), and had later filled Solomon’s temple (1 Ki. 8:10-11). But it had departed from the temple, in the time of Ezekiel, because of the sins of the people (Ezek. 10:4, 18-19; 11:23). Of the temple built after the return from exile God promised that ‘The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former’ (Hag. 2:9), but His glory had never descended to fill it as it had filled the temple under Solomon. The faithful in Israel then waited over 400 years for the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy, ‘The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple’ (Mal. 3:1).

“The fulfillment of this prophecy was witnessed by righteous Simeon and Anna when Mary and Joseph brought to the Jerusalem temple the infant Jesus (Lk. 2:22-38), the Savior who was ‘the Messiah, the Lord’ (Lk. 2:11, NASB mg. and NIV mg.). His presence was the greater glory of that temple (Lk. 19:47-48), but He also brought its judgment and word of its destruction (Jn. 2:13-17; Lk. 21:5-6), for His own body was the greater and more perfect temple of God (Jn. 2:19-21), the one in whom ‘all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell’ (Col. 1:19). Thus, John could say of Jesus’ life, ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt [literally, ‘tented or ‘tabernacled’] among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father' (Jn. 1:14). In the New Testament Jesus Himself is the new and better temple of God, the dwelling place of men.

"However, after Pentecost, the dwelling place of God is not only Jesus Himself, but also his people. He promises to be in the midst of them (Matt. 18:20), to be with them always (Matt. 28.20) and says that He Himself, together with the Father and Holy Spirit, will dwell within His people (Jn. 14:17, 23). So now in in the church age the people of God are the true temple of God, the place where God dwells.”
(TNCT, 1 Peter, 102-3)

Meditative Reflection
Good Deeds Bring Glory to God

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.” (1 Pet. 2:12)

There were several brothers and sisters from the same family who left their home and pursued their education in North America. I was privileged to have come across them during a door-to-door visitation. Since then we were able to begin a Bible study small group for them and some neighboring believers, and eventually one by one they came to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Their parents were not believers and, from time to time, would come and visit them. After these siblings came to Christ, the parents were not very happy about them being Christians, fearing that they would not do well in school with all the church activities and that they would not respect and honor them as parents. The father, in particular, had some harsh words about their beliefs. However, not only did they continue to get involved in church ministries, but they also continued to show respect and honor to the parents, and do their best in their studies.

After some years, one day the father of these children asked to see me, and when he approached me, he reached out his hand to me and said, “Pastor, I want to thank you for teaching my kids.” Of course, I could not take any credit at all, but I could really see that the good behavior of his children had caused their father to give glory to God.

This reminds me about what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16)

Meditative Reflection
Hindrance to Prayers

“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”(1 Pet. 3:7)

In instructing husbands to treat their wives with understanding and respect, Peter prefaces his words by saying, “in the same way” which likely refers to “for the sake of the Lord” (2:13).

In a marital relationship, there are times that we will find it difficult or even impossible to love, but the command that we do so “for the sake of the Lord” (not to mention the thought of the sacrificial example of our Lord Jesus) will give us the strength to love (2:21ff).

However, Peter also points out one other important truth, and that is the “oneness” of a married couple by reminding us that as we have become one flesh in marriage (Gen. 2:24), we are forever partners and heirs of the gracious gift of life (3:7). In other words, if we wish to continue to receive grace pertaining to our lives before God, we have to receive it as inseparable partners. If we emotionally or physically cut our spouse off from us, we are unable to receive anything we pray for from the Lord.

As we all know, prayers are the vital channel through which we maintain our relationship with the Lord and to praise, to give thanks and to petition our needs and those of others to Him. If we fail to love and respect our spouse, this vital channel will be hindered!

Did you find your prayers hindered of late?

Meditative Reflection
Be Prepared to Witness

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet. 3:15).

1 Peter 3:15 is a verse that most of us know very well in which we are told to be prepared to given an answer to explain our hope in Christ. However, several things are worth noting:

1. This is an exhortation by Peter for doing good for Christ's sake within the context of sufferings. It is during such a time that we can easily get anxious or agitated, and turn our sharing of the gospel into an argument. However, Peter admonishes us that this is a time we need to maintain our cool, to share still in gentleness and with respect. “A gentle answer turns away wrath” (Prov. 15:1).
2. We are giving the reason for our hope: As a result, it is not a theological discussion only, but something personally genuine. If our eternal hope is genuine, it will be reflected in our joy, gratitude and confidence, not in anger, fear or a troubled heart.
3. We have to be prepared always. That does not only mean we should learn to present our testimony and the gospel well (which in itself is important), but also that we should always be on the lookout for souls that are seeking. According to my observation, God normally would send seekers to those whose hearts are always prepared to give the reason for the hope they have.

Meditative Reflection
The Good of Suffering

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin.” (1 Pet. 4:1)

I find that suffering is often a turning point in one’s life. However, it could be a turn for the worse or a turn for the better, even for Christians.

I find that some Christians face their suffering with fear, anger, numbness and depression which eventually push them farther and farther away from God.

However, others would experience the truth in these words of Peter, “whoever suffers in the body is done with sin” (4:1). It does not mean that we will sin no more; it does mean that because of suffering:

- We are often reminded of human frailty and brevity of life, so that we learn not to value earthly gains or losses as much;

- Although our suffering may not necessarily be a direct result of some specific sin of ours, it does help us to feel our sinfulness more deeply like Job (Job 42:6);

- The experience of suffering also dampens, if not put a stop to our desire for sensual pleasures and vain conceit; and

- More often than not, it arouses our desire for the soon return of our Lord.

And of course, for those who allow suffering to be a turn for the better, they would not only allow it to deepen their understanding of the suffering of Christ for them, but also deepen their love for Him.