THURSDAY
Peter’s final imperative to all the believers is to resist the devil by standing firm in the faith.
1 Peter 5:1-11 1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Peter paints a vivid image of the devil—a prowling, roaring lion looking for prey. After portraying Christians as sheep, this is a rather startling image. The devil seeks to devour Christians. This could very well be a picture of the devil using the governing authorities of Rome and their new communities to pressure them into abandoning Jesus. The image of Caesar “roaring” and scattering the church into exile makes sense as the context. It also makes sense as the Romans are trying to “devour” the church by pressuring them to disavow Christ and worship Caesar and the Roman gods.
He reassures them that these same sufferings are being experienced by believers all over the world. These societal pressures to disavow Jesus and give allegiance to idols in society were experienced everywhere and still are today. Again, we need to be aware of the spiritual war we are in.
Also, their suffering is only for a “little while.” Even if it is for a lifetime, it is but a “little while” in comparison to the “eternal” glory we experience in Christ. God is the God of all grace, which he will bestow upon his people in full. He will restore all things. This term refers to making right everything that is wrong. It is used of putting things back in their proper order. What sin has disordered in creation, God will make right. He will also confirm (empower), strengthen and establish the believer. These three are similar ideas reminding us that God is preserving us for a salvation that will be revealed in the end (1:5).
To God belongs dominion forever and ever, not the devil or the rules of this world that he animates to persecute the believers and devour them. So, Christians should live for God’s kingdom and not fear the kingdoms of man.
“Firm” here means “solid in contrast to being soft and viscous.” This is what I’ve been driving at this whole campaign. We need a resilient faith, not a soft faith. A resilient faith resists the devil. A resilient faith resists the pressures of our society that seek to lead us away from the way of Jesus. In the context of this book and our modern day temptations in the church, a resilient faith remains humble in the face of losing influence in our culture. It doesn’t fight fire with fire but humbly trusts our faithful creator and God who judges justly. It is willing to suffer persecution, knowing on the other side of death in the Christian life is resurrection and glory, following in the way of Jesus.
So, people of God, firm up your faith, make your faith resilient, resist the devil and the temptations of this culture that seek to drive you away from the way of Jesus. Put your hope fully in the grace that will be brought to you at the return of Jesus. His is the dominion and power and glory forever and ever. Nothing else can compare.