Stand Firm in the True Grace of God

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: 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; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 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.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 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. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. 1 Peter 5:1-14

We have spent the last few weeks pouring over the book of 1 Peter, searching the Scripture to rightly understand Peter’s teaching about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how Christians are to live to the glory of God in a world that does not believe Jesus and, in fact, often despises and persecutes those who follow him as disciples.

Much of Peter’s letter has focused on applying the Gospel to the issue of Christian suffering, demonstrating how we proclaim the good news of Jesus when we share in Christ’s sufferings and how God uses trials and hardships to purify our faith and bring glory to himself when we steadfastly hope in him. Peter brings his letter to a close here with a series of exhortations designed to encourage believers to live according to everything he has taught them about the Gospel.

Peter appears to be making sure that his readers (including you and me!) don’t neglect to see how the good news of what God has done and is doing for us in Jesus revolutionizes every aspect of our existence here on earth. He is not simply striving for good theology; he is striving for good theology that produces strong faith, which in turn magnifies God’s glory in every arena of the Christian’s life.

As children of God, it is vital for us to see that nothing about us is left untouched by the Gospel when we are given new life in Jesus and given his righteousness by faith. Our eyes can no longer be firmly fixed on ourselves, but are lifted to gaze on Jesus, and this means that the focus of all of our personal and inter-personal lives is turned away from us and radically re-oriented toward God.

The teaching that Peter has laid out tells not only of God’s character and work, but also shows that that the Christian life must be by faith in that which God has promised in Jesus if we are to accurately demonstrate the goodness of God to the world as his people. Specifically, Peter’s call here is for Christians to live all of life by faith according to the Gospel because it is the truth of God’s glory and grace to his children and such faithful righteousness honors God. As we will see, taking to heart the good news of the Gospel affects how we relate as a community, how we relate to God, and how we relate to temptation and suffering.

Live by Faith as a Community of God’s People

Peter’s exhortation for elders to lead as Christ-like shepherds is fundamentally linked to the truth that God disciplines those whom he loves to purify their faith (1 Peter 4:17-18). This is why he begins with the word “so” in verse 1, essentially saying that God chastens his people to conform them to the image of Christ, therefore they should be sure to shepherd God’s people well so that they will not encounter such painful correction. For Peter, the reality of God’s discipline is motivation for elders to pursue faithful holiness in their leadership.

Interestingly enough, Peter encourages them 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” (v. 1). Peter exhorts them, then, as one who knows the responsibilities and struggles of leading the church, as one who witnessed for himself Christ’s suffering for his people, and as a fellow heir in the future glory that God’s children have in Christ.

Anyone familiar with the narrative of Christ’s crucifixion, though, would be aware of Peter’s monstrous failure as a witness of Christ’s sufferings. As Matthew 26 recalls, Peter denied Jesus three times during the events leading up to the cross. By referring to himself as a witness of Christ’s sufferings, he consequently reminds his audience that he too is a sinner of epic proportion. But he does not leave it there; rather, he immediately identifies himself as a partaker in the coming glory. In emphasizing both the fact that he witnessed Christ’s servant-like sacrifice for his people and that he is confident of his inheritance in Christ, Peter exalts Jesus not only as the prime example of how a shepherd should lead but also as a gracious redeemer that offers forgiveness to even the most egregious sinners. We can thus more completely understand Peter to be saying, “As one who saw the True Shepherd suffer perfectly for his sheep, and as one who has failed mightily and been redeemed, I plead with you to shepherd well the flock of God.”

In his encouragement to lead well, Peter pinpoints three potential pitfalls for elders and contrasts them with the characteristics of one who leads by faith in the example of Jesus:

1)   Not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you

Elders are not to lead out of a mere sense of obligation or duty, begrudging the people they serve every step of the way. Rather, it is God’s pleasure to see those in charge of his flock sacrifice themselves for the good of the sheep from a sense of delight. Joyful service is built upon faith in the absolute magnificence of the Gospel and a God-given eagerness to build up the church with God’s Word. In John 10:18, Jesus said that “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” In the same way, God would have his elders lay down their lives out of joy.

2)   Not for shameful gain, but eagerly

Another trap for many shepherds is the enticing seduction of money. Too many ministries in the recent past have been revealed as cover-ups for personal profit, and I surmise that too many books have been published for the harvest of a royalty check. But Jesus told us that “no one can serve two masters…You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). If we are truly satisfied with all that God is for us in the Gospel, the sheer joy of ministering the Truth will trump the lusty appeal of financial gain.

3)   Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock

Finally, Peter calls elders to lead by example, not by iron-fisted displays of power. In the same way that Christ suffered for us as an example of how to bear persecution to the glory of God (1 Peter 2:21), elders are urged to demonstrate the transforming power of the Gospel to those under them as God conforms them into the holy and obedient image of his Son. Pastors are not instructed to exhibit personal power in the worldly sense; they are instructed to proclaim the power of God in their faithful teaching and righteous living.

And Peter offers a promise to serve as added motivation for Christ-like shepherding: And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Peter provides a glorious foundation for seeking to imitate the example of Christ by pointing elders to the hope of future glory with Jesus in heaven that awaits those who by grace persevere.

After addressing the leaders of the community, Peter speaks to those under leadership, encouraging them to “be subject to the elders” (v. 5). And obedience to such God-ordained authority in the community of believers is honoring to God when we trust his wisdom and mercy in exactly the position where he has placed us.

Peter ends his instructions concerning life by faith as a church community with a quotation to everyone from Proverbs 3:34: Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Why walk in humility? Because it pleases God, and he gives grace (that is, favor) to the humble.

Proud people are called proud because they think too highly of themselves. No one can rightfully call God proud because he simply acknowledges his actual perfection, but we make a practice of calling people proud when their haughty view of themselves does not line up with reality. Proud people have a great tendency to be sinfully independent, refusing to look to God, and destructively vain, refusing to give God glory. The humble, on the other hand, have tasted the goodness of God in Jesus Christ, have seen their sin for what it is, delight in depending upon him to bear their burdens, and give him all the glory for what he has done in their lives. And this completely changes the way we as humans relate to one another: we no longer take pleasure in exalting ourselves, but in serving one another with the same kind of humility that Jesus embodied.

The undeserved favor of God rests on those whom God has made humble—what a precious promise that is! Let each of us in the community of God’s people, then, strive to walk by faith in the pattern of Jesus, laying down our lives in humble service as shepherds and sheep for one another, clinging to God’s promises, and praising him for his free and glorious grace toward us in Christ.

Live by Faith Under the Mighty Hand of God

Verses 6-7: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. The word “therefore” links this exhortation to be humble under God to the same reasoning behind our humility with one another—namely, that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

What we have in verse 5, then, is a truth with many applications. If we know that God opposes pride, then wisdom says that we should do everything we can to fight pride in every relationship. If we see ourselves as the weak and sinful people that we are, we not only gladly humble ourselves before others, but also before God. In fact, it seems that Christ-like humility with other people is impossible unless one first humbly acknowledges his lowly and dependent position under God.

But when we, as recipients of God’s life-giving grace, have experienced a saving vision of God’s glory, it brings us joy to honor God as God and humble ourselves in his presence because we have seen in the Gospel how much more worthy of glory he is than we are. And the knowledge that such humility brings pleasure to God only makes it that much sweeter to bow before him. Faith in God enables humility before God, and faith in God makes this kind of humility a delight.

What does this Godward humility look like in the daily life of a believer, though? I think Peter shows us that humble faith in the Gospel alters our typical ways of handling life in two important ways:

1)   We will not exalt ourselves, but will wait for God to exalt us.

Looking to God as the supremely good and perfect Lord of all things, we will not fight tooth and nail to inflate our egos or “make ourselves look good” in the eyes of others. Rather, we will find fullest satisfaction when we exalt God and wait for him to exalt us with Jesus one day in the final Kingdom of God just as he has said he will.

2)   We will not bear our worries for ourselves, but will cast all our anxieties on him.

Remember, verse 7 is complete with a promise: …casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. God’s love for his children is a wonderfully comforting truth. As sinners who have been purchased by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we can confidently take our burdens to God with the faith that he is strong enough to handle them and loving enough to handle them in exactly the way that is best for us. That, my friends, is a God worth trusting. A God who is strong but not loving is more to be dreaded than hoped in, and a God who is loving but not strong may have the best of intentions, but is likely too weak to take any significant action on behalf of his people. Our God, though, the God of the Bible, is both strong and loving, and that means that we can depend on him to effectively act on our behalf as a beautifully mighty and compassionate Father

You see then, genuine, Gospel-oriented faith not only reshapes our relationships with the community of believers, but it also moves us to live humbly under God, and this is evidenced in our lives when we take joy in God’s glory rather than our own and when we depend on him to care for us.

Live by Faith as You Resist the Devil

Peter continues his encouragement, instructing believers to be sober-minded and watchful because the devil prowls like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Armed with information about the nature of our enemy, Christians are naturally to be on the look-out for the devil’s tactics. In a war, an army doesn’t receive intelligence about the enemy and continue fighting without adjusting its strategy; in the same manner, our knowledge of the devil’s ways must make us vigilant as we seek to discern what is evil from what is good.

Having characterized Satan’s work in the world, Peter exhorts believers to resist him by faith. Verses 9-11: Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 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. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. We should at this point focus on two important assurances that Peter offers which, if held by faith, can help believers persevere:

1)   You are not alone in your suffering.

It may seem strange to think that the fact that other people are suffering with us is assuring, but this is not some sadistic notion that “other people’s pain makes mine hurt less” or anything of the sort. The encouragement comes because Peter is reminding us that our suffering is not out of the ordinary. As God’s children, we are sworn enemies of the devil, so it makes sense that he would be seeking to devour us. In the same way that he pleaded with Christians to “not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you” in 1 Peter 4:12, he argues that we can stand firm in faith because attack and persecution are expected by all who belong to God.

2)   Satan does not have the final say in your suffering.

Peter has already taught that suffering is God’s instrument for growing his people in faith and purity and that he is in sovereign control of every hardship we face (cf. 1 Peter 4:12-19). Now he equips us with the promise that our suffering will soon end when God one day restores, confirms, strengthens, and establishes us. Satan may often be responsible for some of the suffering that Christians face, but God is always in ultimate control. And the reality that God will end our suffering once and for all when we are finally with Christ in heaven gives us the kind of hope that we need in order to stay faithful under fire.

The Final Call: Stand Firm in the True Grace of God

Peter has provided us a handful of glorious promises that can, by God’s grace, help us boldly resist temptation and honor God when we cling to them in faith:

• The promise of an unfading crown of glory helps sustain Christ-like leadership
• The promise that God’s favor rests with the lowly helps sustain Christ-exalting humility
• The promise that God will exalt us keeps us from feeling the need to exalt ourselves
• The promise that God cares for us gives us the confidence to cast our burdens on him
• And the promise that God will one day call us home to be with Christ in glory prevents us from growing weary in life’s struggles

Peter’s final exhortation to the church is to stand firm in everything that he has taught them, which he affirms is “the true grace of God.” We too would do well to heed this call to see God’s grace in the Gospel and firmly set our feet upon it in such a way that our whole lives are built atop the foundation of God’s grace in Jesus.

As God’s flock and chosen people, redeemed in Jesus, we must place our hope in the One True God who loves us most and has purchased our salvation. This is what it means to live as a light in the world. And when we believe the Gospel with every fiber of our being in such a way that our whole lives proclaim that Jesus is the captivator of our hearts, the brilliant and eye-opening glory of God will be on display in us for the world to see.

Suffering According to God’s Will

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. 1 Peter 4:12-19

Every generation is faced with some form of false teaching, whether it be some blatantly unbiblical innovation or a slight twisting of Scriptural truth. In our generation, one of the most popular disguises of false teaching is the so-called Prosperity Gospel: the idea that God’s greatest concern is that his children be materially wealthy and free from suffering.

But the bottom line is that the Prosperity Gospel simply is not big enough to account for the Biblical testimony or the reality of the Christian life. When I was in East Asia, a friend of mine believed the Gospel of Christ when I shared it with him. I quickly informed him that, because of the political and social climate in which he lived, he could be ostracized by his family or potentially thrown in jail. The Prosperity Gospel is incapable of making sense of that.

Or maybe we should look closer to home. I have a friend who recently shared the Gospel with a teenage gang-member. This young man believed the Gospel and subsequently notified his gang that he would no longer be a part of their group because of his new love for Jesus. There is now a bounty on his head, and he leaves his home every day in danger of being murdered for getting out of this gang. Again, the Prosperity Gospel can’t explain this. If being a Christian means that God will make life progressively easier for us, then why is this brother encountering such difficulty?

We live in a fallen world, a world that despises Christ, a world in which suffering and persecution are realities for the people of God. And in order to stand firm in faith when trials and hardships come knocking, we must have a view of God and the Bible and the Christian life that is big enough to include the suffering that Christians so often face. This is precisely what Peter is offering in this passage: teaching and exhortation that is designed to help believers understand the origin and purpose of their sufferings.

As we examine this passage, we will see that we as believers are called to glorify God by trusting him in the midst of our suffering because God is in control of our suffering and intentionally uses it for our good. We will look at five pivotal points that Peter makes about suffering and the Christian life, stopping along the way to see how each of these beautiful truths changes the way we normally think about and react to hardship.

1) Suffering should be expected.

Throughout the New Testament, Christians are not only told that suffering might come, but that it is absolutely guaranteed as a disciple of Jesus.

1 Peter 4:12-Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

John 15:20-Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

Matthew 9:16, 18- Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves…and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake…

Philippians 1:29-For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake…

If we believe what the Bible says about the certainty of suffering for Christians, we will not walk around blindly, expecting comfort and ease. Rather, we will take Jesus and Paul and Peter at their word and understand that when a world that hates Jesus collides with a saint that loves him deeply, conflict and persecution are bound to happen.

American life is by and large very comfortable. Our culture has made everything easily accessible and has elevated convenience to the status of virtue. Many Christians have taken a cue from the world in this area, expecting God to conform to the customs of the West and make life a cake-walk for the faithful. When suffering arrives, they question, “Where is God now?” and act as if God must have turned his back.

However, if we are armed with a Biblical perspective, we will have the strength and resolve to resist the temptation to rashly cry out in unbelief or panic as if this were never supposed to happen because we know that God has graciously told us exactly what to expect. God has prepared us to be faithful in the midst of suffering by assuring us that, when it arrives, it is no accident.

2) Suffering is an opportunity to rejoice, for we share in Christ’s sufferings.

Earlier in this letter, Peter demonstrated that Jesus himself suffered for righteousness’ sake, stating that “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:22-23). And in verse 13, he shows us that our suffering is grounds for joy because we take part in the same kind of suffering that Jesus bore: But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

When we suffer for righteousness’ sake as Jesus did, Peter says we “share Christ’s sufferings,” identifying with our Savior as those who are united with him. For you see, when we are given the gift of salvation, we are united with Christ. We are given his holiness and right standing before God, and we are given life in him. But when we are made children of God through Jesus, we are also united to him in his suffering, for the world treats those who bear his name in the same manner that they treated Christ. Our call isn’t to suffer as murderers or thieves or meddlers (v. 15), for this does nothing to magnify the glory of Christ; our call is to suffer for righteousness as those who walk in the pattern of Jesus.

Why is this reason to rejoice? Because suffering for Christ is evidence that we are his and will one day know him completely and experience fullness of joy. This is what Peter means when he says to rejoice as we share Christ’s sufferings, so that we “may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” He means that if we suffer as Jesus suffered, we have proof that we do in fact belong to him.

The knee-jerk reaction of many suffering Christians is to immediately wallow in self-pity, doubt, anxiety, and anger. This is natural, and lashing out validates our feelings that we don’t deserve what we are getting. As God’s people, however, we are to rejoice that we share Christ’s sufferings and will one day dwell with him and have even greater joy when we see him face-to-face.

3) God abides with us when we suffer for the name of Christ.

Peter continues to unfold his teaching on suffering in verse 14: If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. Here we have precisely the kind of glorious promise necessary to drive out the fear that so often accompanies suffering, the kind of glorious promise that Jesus makes when he tells his disciples in Matthew 9 that, though they will be delivered over to authorities, the Spirit of God will be with them and give them words (vv. 19-20).

Christians, then, have cause for joy—not fear—when insulted for the name of Christ, for God himself is with us and will provide the grace and strength to endure.

Many, when faced with difficulties or unjust persecution, fall into the trap of thinking that “God has abandoned me” and turn inward to search for independent resilience within themselves. As Christians, though, we must cling to the unshakable truth that we never stand alone, and even in the hardest of trials, the Holy Spirit rests upon us.

Henry Scougal, who died in 1657 at the age of 27, wrote a small book entitled The Life of God in the Soul of Man, and in it, he beautifully describes the God-centered joy that Christians possess as a result of knowing fellowship with God in suffering: “But oh! how happy are those who have placed their love on him who can never be absent from them! They need but open their eyes, and they shall everywhere behold the traces of his presence and glory, and converse with him whom their soul loveth, and this makes the darkest prison or wildest desert not only supportable, but delightful to them.” Friends, we can take heart in the midst of persecution because the God who purchased us with his Son is with us all the way.

4) Suffering is part of God’s purifying work in believers.

Verses 17-18: For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” At first glance, we may have a hard time understanding what Peter means when he talks about the “judgment” that begins “at the household of God” or the “righteous” being “scarcely saved.” The language of 1 Peter 1:6-7 and 4:12, however, help clarify what Peter is teaching about suffering in verses 17-18.

Remember, in verse 12, Peter instructs believers to “not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you,” and if we look back to chapter 1, we will see that Peter explains that “you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (vv. 6-7).

The “judgment” for Christians that Peter mentions, then, is not God’s wrath or condemnation; Jesus bore that on the cross so that we would never have to. Rather, the “judgment” Christians experience is God’s purifying discipline that tests and strengthens faith. Like gold that is purified in a fire, our faith is purified in the “fiery trials” of suffering, and it is in this kind of fire that God often strips away some of the sinful and earthly allegiances that tarnish our faith. And it is a very precious truth indeed that our suffering is not simply pointless difficulty; it is the work of God (“according to his will” as verse 19 says) by which he causes us to lean on him in faith more completely.

Many of those who do not have Christ fear condemnation, and with good reason, for Peter shows that this is exactly what they will reap, arguing that if God’s own people often go through such painful purification as God forms them into the image of Christ, then those who are not children of God will surely face far worse: if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

But some Christians make the treacherous mistake of perceiving their suffering as condemnation, and they slip into despair, thinking that they must please God in order to get back into his good graces and love. This is a radical misunderstanding of God’s work in our suffering as believers. Peter assures us that we who are in Christ can confidently hope and look to God in suffering because our trials are used by God for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). He graciously uses the fires of suffering to purify our faith and make us more like Jesus.

5) Christians glorify God by trusting him in their sufferings.

In 1 Peter 2:12, Peter gives an over-arching command to believers concerning how we live in a fallen world: Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. The whole purpose of living holy and righteous lives is to exalt Jesus as the greatest treasure in the world, and in verse 16, Peter shows that the goal of suffering is to magnify the goodness of God as well: Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

Peter tells us not to be ashamed when we suffer for Christ because shame belittles God. Shame makes God look to the world as if he is insufficient to meet all our needs as Father and Provider in the midst of trials. But how do we glorify God as Christians who are suffering for the name of Christ?

Verse 19 serves to summarize Peter’s basic teaching on Christian suffering and helps us see how we, as God’s children, glorify God in persecution: Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. God is glorified not when we stand ashamed of the Savior who bought us, but when we entrust ourselves to his grace and strength and sovereignty while we are scorned on account of Jesus. We glorify God in our suffering when we bear the name of Christ boldly and trust God in all his faithfulness to work for our good and perfectly keep every single one of his promises.

When people who profess Christ do not understand God’s purposes and promises about Christian suffering, the result is a community that is unprepared, angry, doubting, and depressed when trials arrive, and God is not exalted when his people do not look to him for hope in suffering.

But when the people of God cling to his Word and ground their lives in God’s promises for suffering as revealed in the Bible, the result is a church that is prepared, joyful, and confident that God will work for their purity as he builds them up by faith into the character of Christ. And when God’s children depend on him and cherish everything that he is and has done while they suffer at the hands of those who despise Jesus, God is glorified as the most magnificent and satisfying person in the entire universe.

This is why it is so important to take seriously what the Bible says about suffering, because when we stray away from God’s Word, we fail to show the world how precious he truly is. But when we build our faith and hope on the promise that God is in control of our suffering and will most certainly use it for our good, God is exalted in our hearts and in our lives as more glorious than anything else.

My prayer for us is that, when we are insulted and condemned because we bear the name of Jesus, we will glorify God as sinners redeemed by the blood of the cross who turn to God in faith, hold on to the truth of his Word, and place all of our hope in him as the One who will sustain us and give us the strength to live or die in a way that demonstrates that Jesus is our treasure.

The Blessed Promise of Fullness of Joy

The Word of God minces no words and spares no candor in its testimony about the heart condition of those still dead in their sins (as Paul reminds us we once were). Those that have not been awakened by the life-giving grace of God to faith in Jesus are incapable of finding any real joy or peace in the things of God. And since God is without question the highest, most-satisfying, and deepest-joy-producing being in the universe, we may safely conclude that the non-believer, if he remains such, is bound to never know the greatest soul-sustaining delight imaginable – delight in God himself.

The Apostle Paul tells us that “no one is righteous, no, not one…no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless…Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3: 10-12, 15-18). He tells the church at Ephesus that those untouched by God’s grace are “following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air…among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body” (Ephesians 2:2-3). Before God makes us new in Christ, we care nothing of God, we walk in ruin, we cannot know the way of peace, we follow the world and the devil, and we are slaves to the twisted and mediocre desires of the flesh. Joy in God is nowhere to be found.

But when we are seized by God’s grace and given all the gifts of salvation in Jesus Christ, we are in a very real sense opened up to joy in God. We are made alive to him in the new birth; we are reconciled to him in justification; we are reckoned as his children in our adoption as sons and daughters in Christ; and the list of blessings goes on. When you and I, as new creations in Jesus, look to God, we no longer react as dead men, repulsed and disinterested, but we are able to see God’s work and character and say with David, “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup” (Psalm 16:5). Obeying Paul’s exhortation to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4) is no longer an impossible burden, but an affectionate reflex built upon true knowledge and intimacy with the Living God.

And yet, I suppose every believer struggles with the paradox of Christian joy. We have God because of Christ’s work even as we walk on this earth, and we may thus live each day in the magnificent, promise-laden joy of the Gospel, but we are always left wanting to know this joy in a greater sense. I have God, and I simultaneously still long for him more. A. W. Tozer understood this well when he quoted St. Bernard:

We taste Thee, O Thou Living Bread,

And long to feast upon Thee still:

We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead

And thirst our souls from Thee to fill.

Tozer finishes with a prayer that reveals this necessary connectedness between knowing God and desiring him more: O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more…O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee…Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. My heart resonates with Tozer’s, for I know what it means to have joy in God, and yet I want to see him more clearly and walk with him more closely, that I may savor him more completely.

The experience in Christ of having joy and yet always longing for more, however, gives great appeal to the glorious truth that in the presence of the Lord, “there is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11). Praise the Lord that the joy which we have tasted in this life, tempered with further anticipation, will one day be made full in the kingdom of heaven. There will come an hour when we will no longer drink of grace and thirst for more, but will drink to our fill with total satisfaction in God when “he who began a good work in [us brings] it to completion” (Philippians 1:6).

And what do you know, but that the promise of full joy in God’s presence serves to increase my delight and hope in Christ today as I remain an alien and stranger in the world (1 Peter 2:11). In Jesus, we have God, and so we rejoice. We thirst for more, so we pray earnestly for grace. And we have the promise of heaven, where our souls will be filled to bursting with joy in the presence of the Lord, so we rest in him and look forward in hopeful assurance.

Husbands and Wives: Love One Another as God has Ordained

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. 1 Peter 3:1-7 

One need not look far in 21^st-century society for examples of the rampant discarding of Biblically-defined gender roles. In the wider culture, this is evidenced in the fact that any mention of male leadership or female submission is immediately and disdainfully labeled as chauvinism and oppression. Even in the visible church, we see this radical gender role-reversal with the ordination of female pastors and bishops in various denominations.

When it comes to marriage, the loss of a Biblical vision of God’s design for men and women can be particularly destructive. Ignorance of how joy in God’s purposes for marriage fosters Christ-exalting love between spouses can manifest itself in two detrimental ways:

1)   Spouses may simply refuse to love one another, begrudging their God-given differences rather than embracing them, or

2)   Spouses may show one another a kind of love that does not find its basis in God’s will and does not exalt God’s truth or point to the glory of Christ in the Gospel.

Both of these errors—the absence of love in marriage or the presence of a love that does not honor God—fail to give God the glory due his name and are bound to miss the fulfilling joy that accompanies glad obedience to God’s Word.

In the context of 1 Peter, the apostle is instructing believers on how to live according to the Gospel in the midst of a society that does not believe. Having encouraged Christ-exalting, faithful submission to authority in the political and economic realms (even when faced with unjust suffering), he now begins to teach how Christians are to depend on God and glorify him among the Gentiles (1 Peter 2:12) in the way they relate to one another as husbands and wives.

Peter’s main point is that wives and husbands are to honor God by loving one another in specific ways: wives in their hopeful submission and husbands in their understanding leadership. As we look carefully at verses 1-7, we will highlight Peter’s particular instructions to wives and then to husbands, stopping along the way to clarify what it means to submit and lead as believers who hope in God and are satisfied with his sovereign will. To conclude, we will examine how Peter’s teaching on the proper relational dynamic in marriage addresses mutual concerns—concerns that affect both men and women—not only for married peoples, but also for those of us who know the gracious and freeing gift of singleness.

Wives, Love Your Husbands with Hopeful Submission 

It is no coincidence that Peter immediately emphasizes how a wife’s submission and conduct in line with the Gospel can be used by God to open the eyes of a non-believing husband. Verses 1-2: Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. The command for wives to be subject to their husbands so that non-believers might come to faith and repentance when they observe the life-transforming power of the Gospel in their wives’ purity and holiness perfectly fits with the flow of Peter’s over-arching instruction to live honorably among the Gentiles so that they might glorify God (1 Peter 2:12).

In verses 3-4, he clarifies that this Gospel-proclaiming beauty is not outward ornamentation, but an inward spirit that hopes in God: Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. His point here is that ostentatious and excessive adornment in dress and attire exalt money and possessions and oneself. As children of God, though, Christian wives are called to hope in God (as verse 5 clarifies) in such a way that submission in marriage according to God’s will and trust in God’s good wisdom are a delight to their souls.

And the result of such steadfast hope in God is a gentle and quiet spirit that rests in the Lord, values his purposes, and looks with confidence to his promises above all else. This pleases God (verse 4) and adorns a wife with a greater Christ-exalting beauty than any cosmetic or expensive fabric.

Looking to the past, we see that the hope in God that sustained the holy women of earlier generations produced in them this kind of internal adornment that overflowed into respectful submission to their husbands. Verses 5-6: For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

Here, Sarah is offered as an illustration of one whose whole life’s testimony demonstrates how faith in God produces obedient, God-honoring submission. And, in what may be a more cryptic phrase, Peter assures Christian wives that they are indeed her children if they walk in righteousness (“do good”) and do not live in fear. Two important questions, however, need to be answered: 1) What does it mean to be a child of Sarah? And 2) What is the relationship between a wife’s conduct and fearlessness and her status as a child of Sarah?

1)   Just as Jesus and Paul referred to God’s people as “children of Abraham,” Peter calls those who are members of God’s people in Christ Jesus (believers) as “children of Sarah.”

2)   The “if” can be ambiguous in English. If we are not careful to see what exactly Peter means here, we may be in danger of letting a form of works-righteousness slip in, as if doing good or not being afraid somehow makes one a child of Sarah. The way the Greek is structured suggests that this verse can be rightly understood as saying that wives have become Sarah’s children if they do good and do not give way to fear as a consistent pattern of life. We can thus understand Peter to be saying that a wife’s status as a member of God’s people is evidenced in her good deeds and fearlessness.

Indeed, women are shown to be children of God and members of his covenant people when their hope in God produces God-glorifying righteous conduct and the sort of assurance in his power and provision that casts out any fear. It is fruitful hope like this, which takes joy in God’s purposes in marriage, that gives rise to a gentle and submissive spirit that is precious in his sight.

Clarifying Submission as Wives Who Hope in God

In a culture such as ours, however, it may be a temptation to take popular notions of submission and conclude that this is in fact what the Bible advocates. Instead of contenting ourselves with the often-times twisted conceptions of wider society, we would be well-served to establish our understanding of submission from the Bible itself.

Is this submission a total surrender of independence that mindlessly follows a husband? Does submission give up all possibility of positive influence on the husband? Does submission cower under male leadership, characterized by timidity? Is the call to submission based somehow on the fact that women are less competent? These are the types of caricatures that we frequently imagine when we think of submission, but the Bible’s portrait of hopeful submission is very different:

1) Submission in marriage according to the Gospel does not mean a wife gives up all independent thinking to witlessly follow a man. Peter’s instructions in verse 1 are given to a wife that believes the Gospel even when her husband does not.

2) Submission does not mean a wife never tries to have a positive influence on her husband. Verses 1-2 establish that, in a home where the husband does not believe, the wife’s respectful and pure conduct is aimed at winning her husband to the Gospel.

3) Submission does not mean cowering in fear, but confidently stands on the purposes and promises of God. Verse 6 makes clear that the hope in God that produces a gentle spirit leaves no room for fear.

4) The call to submit is not based on any kind of diminished competence in women. In Peter’s teaching, it is the wife who knows the truth of Christ and the husband who is blind. This in no way suggests that her submission is because of lesser intelligence.

The kind of submission the Bible calls for is a spirit of gentleness that recognizes and affirms a husband’s God-ordained leadership role and is sustained by faith in God. Just as all believers submit to authority “for the Lord’s sake” (1 Peter 2:13), the Christian wife is to walk in humble obedience, when the leadership of the husband does not contradict the headship of Christ and the will of God, so that her husband might see the Spirit’s transforming power and God’s glorious value when her obedient life demonstrates that God is the most important and satisfying thing in the world. Submission will surely seem a pointless burden unless it is grounded in God’s goodness and purposes. But when the pleasures of God with his wisdom and design become our pleasures by faith, hopeful submission becomes a delight.

Husbands, Love Your Wives with Understanding Leadership

Verse 7: Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. In the Greek, Peter’s initial command to Christian husbands is actually to “live with your wives according to knowledge.” Though what type of knowledge is not specified, it is probable that he means that husbands should live with their wives according to a general knowledge of God’s purposes in marriage, the truth of the Gospel, and the needs of their wives. In light of this, the accepted translation, which says that husbands should live in an understanding way, seems to capture the main idea that Peter had in mind. 

The second part of verse 7 elucidates what it means to love a wife with understanding leadership. Peter explains that an integral part of living according to knowledge is honoring one’s wife as the weaker vessel. For many today, this kind of language can seem offensive or prejudicial, but in the most specific sense, Peter is likely referring to the fact that most women are physically weaker than most men, and in a general sense, that women are called to submit to a husband’s headship in marriage.

A husband’s understanding leadership, then, does not lord over a wife his authority or power, taking advantage of her. Rather, his understanding leadership embraces the way God has intentionally created his wife and strives to protect her from abuses that prey on God’s good design. Godly male leadership honors, shelters, and defends a wife, recognizing how God has specially crafted her as a woman.

Moving on in verse 7, Peter offers a reason why husbands should live in an understanding way with their wives that again helps shed light on what exactly it means to live according to knowledge: since they are heirs with you of the grace of life. Interestingly enough, the fact of woman’s spiritual equality as recipients of God’s grace in Jesus is side-by-side with the truth that she may as well be physically weaker and, more generally, called to submit to her husband’s leadership.

But just as a husband is to honor his wife in just the way that God has designed her, he is to build her up in the Gospel and show her the character of Christ because she is a child of God, a spiritual equal, saved by God’s grace in Jesus and promised the same glorious inheritance as her husband with Christ. She is a member of the body of Christ, worthy of the same respect as every other member, sustained by the same God-given promises, and encouraged by the same Gospel.

Living with and loving her in an understanding way (that is, according to knowledge) thus embraces God’s wisdom in how he created her and seeks to lead her in the truth and grace of the Gospel as a fellow heir in Christ. This kind of Christ-exalting, humble leadership simultaneously keeps in mind the differences between man and woman that God ordained at creation and the equality that a wife enjoys as an heir of Christ, and seeks to encourage her accordingly with God’s magnificent truth. This understanding leadership is built on joy in God’s purposeful design and faith that the Gospel is what she has and needs most, and this faith-driven leadership glorifies God in the presence of her and all those around.

This is integral enough to the Christian life that Peter warns that disobedience will be met with God’s restorative, Fatherly discipline when prayers are hindered. This is not to be misconstrued as some sort of wrathful condemnation for the sinning believer, for Christ has borne that condemnation once and for all (Romans 8:1). This kind of discipline, which is meant to lead God’s people to repentance, is however a sobering incentive for husbands to keep a careful watch on how they are leading their wives, lest God be dishonored and their wives poorly led in the Gospel.

Clarifying Understanding Leadership as Husbands Who Hope in God

Some will invariably raise their voices in protest, arguing that any trace of male leadership in the relationship between husband and wife necessarily stinks of the sorts of belittling domination or meticulous micro-management that often lead to abuse. But the Biblical portrait of a husband’s loving leadership is quite different:

1) Understanding leadership is not domination. Peter makes clear that it shows honor to the wife for all the uniquely feminine aspects of her being and seeks her good as a child of God. Leadership that constantly plays the trump card of husbandly authority or diminishes a wife’s personal worth is not godly leadership at all.

2) Understanding leadership does not micro-manage a wife’s affairs, but acknowledges her competence as a woman created by God and seeks her edification as an equal partaker in the grace of the Gospel.

3) The notion that male leadership in marriage promotes abuse fails to comprehend the character of the leadership for which the Bible calls. A leadership that honors a wife as the good creation of God and a fellow heir in the promises of Jesus is characterized by humble, self-sacrificing service that makes her growth in faith a priority and displays the preciousness of the Gospel to her and the world. If anything, understanding leadership that is rooted in God’s design for marriage protects a husband’s wife from abuse.

Marriage, Divorce, and Exhortation for Singles

In the hard times of marriage, when finances are lacking and stress is in abundant supply, texts like these are a gracious gift. They give us necessary instruction concerning the right relationship between husband and wife that will best promote harmony and mutual benefit. And they remind us that in the midst of real life, the Spirit can work on our hearts to give us a confident faith in God’s purposes and promises that helps us love one another just as men and women of God—either with understanding leadership or hopeful submission.

Texts like these show us that divorce is not the easy way to get out of a bad situation. They show us that packing our bags and hitting the road isn’t the way to “get back in God’s will” if we are married to one who does not share our faith in Christ. Of course, there are extraordinary circumstances of abuse, abandonment, or adultery that make the decision to stay or leave one that requires much wisdom and prayer, but the testimony of the Bible is that divorce should always be the last resort even when there are Biblical grounds. Our calling is to look to God for hope to have the strength and encouragement and assurance necessary to keep showing our unbelieving spouse the beauty of God and his Gospel in our submission and leadership.

And for singles who do not yet (and may never) know the sweet burden of fighting to glorify God with your spouse, texts like these arm and prepare you to give wise counsel and godly support to those married believers around you who desperately need to be reminded over and over again how it is that faith produces a dynamic of submission and leadership among equal heirs of grace in marriage that proclaims God’s goodness and wisdom in creation to the world.

As Ephesians 5:32 teaches, the loving submission and leadership of marriage is ultimately a drama of the covenant between Jesus Christ and his church. May we as individuals, couples, and an entire community see the wonder of God’s decreed order for marriage and joyfully urge one another to faith-filled obedience that glorifies God above all.

A Few Edwardsean Resolutions (Part 5)

The following is the fifth in a series of posts entitled “A Few Edwardsean Resolutions.”

21) Resolved, to only devote as much piercing and critical thought to each thing as is prudent and beneficial.

22) Resolved, to perceive all my fellow humanity as made in the image of God and in need of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ, so as to shut the mouth of any sinful prejudice that may arise in my corrupt heart.

23) Resolved, to fervently seek a Scriptural balance in all walks of life, avoiding the pitfalls of legalism on one hand and the dangers of licentiousness on the other.

24) Resolved, to intentionally see the beauty of nature as the glorious work of God’s creative hand and to let my soul rejoice in his goodness whenever I am struck by the awesomeness of size or detail, complexity or wisdom in the natural world.

25) Resolved, to lift up in prayer the saints of God around the world, asking that, regardless of freedom or persecution, they would grow in a knowledge of the Word and faith in the Gospel of Jesus.

Respectful Submission in Suffering is the Fruit of Faithful Endurance

Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 1 Peter 2:18-25 

The first step to understanding the message of verses 18-25 of 1 Peter 2 is grasping its position in the larger context of the book as a whole. Much of the book has focused on a clarification of the Gospel of Christ and his readers’ subsequent calling to live in holiness. At this stage, he is discussing how Christians may live according to the Gospel in the God-ordained social order.

It is important for us to see that verses 12 and 13 of chapter 2 really set the stage for the teaching of verses 18-25: Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution…In verse 12, Peter tells us the ultimate purpose of the righteous living he is encouraging is that God would be demonstrated as satisfying and glorious among those nonbelievers that observe our lives, and in verse 13, he gives us the umbrella instruction to be subject to the human institutions under which God has placed us for the Lord’s sake—that is, in such a way that reveals our contentment with God’s wisdom and purposes and gracious sufficiency, and shows that he alone is the treasure of our hearts.

Unjust Suffering Makes God-Glorifying Submission Harder 

The challenge of submission to authority, however, is especially difficult when we are confronted with unfair treatment. Rather than desiring to honor God by submitting to authority, our initial sinful, corrupt reaction as fallen people is to retaliate, stand up for our rights, and demand justice immediately, perhaps even threatening our personal wrath if the injustice we are experiencing is not quickly corrected.

But these responses to undeserved suffering are built on the notion that we are inherently deserving of fairness or respect; we must take control and demand what is right on our own behalf. These sorts of reactions to unjust suffering do not honor God as our sustainer and perfect judge and gracious promise-keeper; they exalt us as the only ones powerful or righteous enough to ensure that justice is done.

But in his discussion on how to live according to the Gospel, Peter teaches that Christians are to glorify God in their submission to the authorities under which he has placed them even in the midst of suffering by following the example of Jesus and trusting God. As we examine this passage, then, we will see from Scripture that our call to submission applies even when we are being unfairly treated, and we will see that Jesus’ work on the cross is both our example of faithful endurance and the very thing that makes possible our hopeful submission in suffering.

Submit to God-Ordained Authorities…Even in the Midst of Suffering 

For many contemporary readers, perhaps the most noticeable aspect of verse 18 is that it is addressed to servants. A few observations at this point about 1^st century master-slave relations will likely be helpful in understanding Peter’s exhortation to endure in suffering:

1)   The slavery of the 1^st century was not like the slavery of 19^th century America. While servants in households had diminished social standing and little economic freedom, they were often skilled workers that received compensation for their labors. It may be helpful to see this in terms of an employee-employer relationship for Westerners, though these terms are likely not quite strong enough.

2)   Having encouraged submission to political authorities in the previous verses, Peter now instructs believers to submit to authority in the economic realm.

3)   The command to honor even unjust authorities does not only apply to servants, but to all Christians. While the servant is indeed Peter’s most immediate target, the charge to endure in the pattern of Christ applies to all for whom Christ suffered, which means that every believer is called to glorify God in this manner. With this in mind, the fact that this teaching is primarily directed to servants who occupy a lowly and vulnerable position in society, then, can help richen our insight concerning the attitude we should have as we seek to honor God in unjust suffering.

Moving on through verses 18 and 19, we see the instruction to be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. This shows us that respect should not be reserved only for those who are righteous and kind, but it is gracious (favorable) in God’s sight when we submit to authority 1) of a certain kind, and 2) in a particular way.

1)   It is favorable in God’s eyes when we endure through undeserved suffering. Verse 20: For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. While it is certainly true that God’s character is upheld when we agree that justice demands we be punished for what we have done wrong, Peter’s focus is that it is pleasing to God when, in the face of unjust suffering, we endure. Because when our mistreatment does not make sense to us, we have to depend on someone.

2)   But this endurance should not be some stoic, “grin-and-bear-it” approach to hardship that tries to go it alone and take care of our own needs. Rather, believers are to be mindful of God, looking to him as our sustainer and provider for the strength to respect authorities even when we are being unfairly abused, for this kind of dependent faith is pleasing to God and makes him look glorious.

The Cross of Christ is our Example of Submission and Endurance by Faith 

At this point, however, many may still be struggling with an unclear vision of how exactly looking to God produces humble endurance and submission in the midst of unjust suffering or why exactly the call to endure unjust suffering is a significant part of the Christian life in the first place. What we see in verses 21-23, however, is that Jesus himself is the example for Christians of how to endure by faith when faced with injustice. Here, we will work backwards through the verses so that we can see 1) Jesus’ hope in God, which served as the foundation for 2) his perfect submission and endurance in suffering, and finally, we will consider how 3) the example of Christ relates to us as his followers.

1. Jesus’ submission was built on hope in God.

How was Jesus able to endure? He “continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” This is so vitally important! Jesus’ submission in suffering was not the outworking of assurance in his ability to take matters into his own hands; his endurance was built on the unfailing knowledge that God is perfectly just and will righteously judge those evildoers for everything that they have done wrong. Because of this confidence in God’s promise to rightly punish every sin ever committed (either on the cross of Christ or in eternal hell), Jesus could entrust himself and his enemies to God’s good wisdom and endure by hoping in God.

2. Looking to God, Jesus perfectly endured undeserved suffering and submitted to those in power over him.

The close parallel between Peter’s account of Jesus’ actions leading up to the cross and Isaiah 53 demonstrate that Jesus was in fact the prophesied Suffering Servant that would atone for the sins of the people in humble submission.

Verse 22 emphasizes the fact that Jesus had committed no sin: his suffering was most certainly undeserved. And yet in verse 23, we see a Savior whose hope in God gives rise to perfect, God-exalting obedience.

3. Our calling is to suffer like Jesus.

I want to take a moment here to engage a bit of the false teaching that has become particularly prominent in the American church. Some preachers have gotten famous and made millions by proclaiming that Christ died so that his people would never encounter suffering. They pretend that the Word of God testifies that if one simply “believes enough,” God will pour out bountiful blessings of material possessions and never let sickness or heartache or trial come his or her way. But this kind of preaching, this perversion of the Gospel, ignores the clear and poignant fact of Scripture that God is glorified when his children suffer in dependent faith. Let’s see it in these verses.

Verse 21: For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. What is the “this” to which we have been called? It is the endurance through suffering which is mindful of God in verse 19 that is exemplified in Jesus’ faithful submission even to the point of death. Just as Jesus suffered unjustly and endured by faith in the justice and goodness of God, we are called to suffer and persevere in obedience with our eyes set on the very same hope in the very same God.

For when we walk in the footsteps of Christ, suffering undeservedly and looking to God for the confidence necessary to submit in spite of ill treatment, we put on display in our bodies the suffering of Christ in the Gospel (much the same way Paul is “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” by his suffering in Colossians 1:24). The Gospel of the cross of Christ is proclaimed when God’s people suffer the way Jesus did.

At the same time, when we faithfully endure in the example of Jesus, the glorious and obedient character of Christ is manifested in us—by the grace of God—for the world to see just how awe-strikingly beautiful our Redeemer is.

And let us not forget that when God alone is the satisfying hope that makes obedient submission a joy, God is exalted as the treasure of our hearts and shown to be glorious. Why is it favorable in God’s eyes to endure suffering, mindful of God (verse 19)? How does our suffering like Jesus lead others to “glorify God on the day of visitation” (verse 12)? When we suffer unjustly, following the footsteps of our Savior, the Gospel is proclaimed, Jesus’ character is displayed, and God’s glorious sufficiency is exalted.

Some people will maintain that for practical application of a text to truly take place, one must be able to construct a list or technique that will construct in us a certain desired behavior. I will, however, stand with Peter and say to myself and to all those who long to glorify God in their faithful submission: Look to God for hope. Look to the cross to see perfect faith producing perfect obedience. Bury yourself in the Gospel, gazing at the beauty of Christ and the glory of God until, by God’s precious grace, you fall in love with Jesus and find confidence in God’s promises that makes living so as to display Jesus’ character and God’s glory a delight. If it is true that God-exalting obedience is found in the example of Jesus and built on hope in God, no witty slogan or clever anagram will suffice; we must look to the Gospel until we cling to the sweetness of Christ in joy and cherish the grace and righteousness of God above everything else.

The Cross of Christ Enables our Faithful Submission in Suffering

But Jesus’ obedience unto death on the cross not only serves as the most stunning illustration of hope-grounded submission through suffering that we could ever have; his death and resurrection make us able to walk in God-honoring, righteous, faithful obedience to the will of God. Verses 24-25: He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Jesus’ work on the cross purchased our salvation and satisfied the wrath of God on our behalf so that we might have the righteousness of Christ. This is true. This is the Gospel, and it is beautiful. But the good news does not end there. For by the cross, Jesus also defeated sin and released us from the bondage of its slavery that we once experienced.

We were before straying like sheep, and we were dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:1-2). We were dead to God, dominated by sinful desires, unwilling and unable to respond to the offer of the Gospel.

But when God grants us new life in Christ, opening our eyes in faith to his goodness in Jesus, the blessing is not simply the kingdom of heaven, but we are made alive to God, recipients of the grace to savor God—not destructive sin—above everything else in the world. We are no longer bound to sin, for in Christ we have died to its tyranny so that, though we still do battle against it every day, we live to righteousness, knowing the joy of God in our hearts and walking in the freedom to live completely satisfied with him. Jesus bore our sins so that we, reconciled to God, might know the unfailing pleasure in God that trumps every pleasure of sin. By the cross, sin is both punished because of Christ’s substitution and defeated because our hearts are opened to the supreme joy that is God himself when we are given new life in Christ.

Two Reminders on Independence Day

On July 4^th, Americans often exalt the various freedoms that we are afforded as citizens of the United States. Very few of us, if we stay where we are, will likely ever know what it means to brutally suffer physical harm simply because we profess the name of Jesus, and for this, we should be enormously grateful to God. The freedom to love Christ without fear of reprisal is a gift indeed. As citizens of the kingdom of God first and foremost, however, there are at least two things that we should keep in mind.

1)   We must continue to pray for and be mindful of those children of God who face suffering for good on a daily bases that threatens their wellbeing and lives. Christians in North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, India, and Turkmenistan (to name but a few countries) are intimately acquainted with what it means to “endure sorrows while suffering unjustly,” and the same God that gives us hope to persevere through suffering stands faithful for them as well.

2)   While we thank God for the blessings of freedom, we must not be fooled into thinking that America’s brand of freedom is a sweeter treasure than the freedom we have in Christ. In his book Christ and Culture Revisited, Don Carson states very wisely that “the democratic tradition in the West has fostered a great deal of freedom from Scripture, God, tradition, and assorted moral constraints; it encourages freedom toward doing your own thing, hedonism, self-centeredness, idolatry, greed and consumerism. By contrast, the Bible encourages freedom from self-centeredness, idolatry, greed, and all sin and freedom toward living our lives as those who bear God’s image and who have been transformed by his grace, such that our greatest joy becomes doing his will.” The freedom we find in sin’s defeat on the cross is indeed to be cherished more than any other freedom we could ever know.

A Final Exhortation

Let me encourage you, then, when faced with unjust suffering of any kind—whether it be with an employer in the economic realm or with any other authority structure under which you are called to submit—look backward and forward for the grace to endure. That is, look backward to the cross of Christ which purchased you the freedom to delight in God and illustrated faithful obedience perfectly, and look forward to the promises of God which guarantee that he will sustain you and work all things for your good and deal justly with every human being better than you possibly could.

May God grant us to see the beauty of the Gospel of Christ and the certainty of his wondrous promises so that we may take joy in demonstrating the character of Jesus and displaying how gloriously satisfying our God truly is when we honor those people whom God, in his wisdom, has placed over us by faithful submission.

A Few Edwardsean Resolutions (Part 4)

This is the fourth in a series of posts entitled “A Few Edwardsean Resolutions.”

16) Resolved, to do all within my power to exercise grace and honor the will of God by promoting whatever forms of social justice in this present world that ease suffering, demonstrate the beauty of the Kingdom of Christ, and coincide with the character of God.

17) Resolved, as it pertains to the sixteenth resolution, to specifically combat the murderous and unjust plague of abortion that strips the defenseless unborn of God-given life by exalting a Biblical and Godward perspective of the sanctity of human life in word and deed.

18) Resolved, to love those friends and family members with whom God has given me especially intimate community as selflessly as the grace of God permits, and to extend this love to all God grants me acquaintance.

19) Resolved, if it be the will of God to grant me a family, to adopt as many children as wisdom and means allow in order to offer a living picture of the Gospel of Christ and actively work on behalf of those unable to care for or defend themselves. And it is important to note that this is simultaneously a beautiful way to affirm and uphold Resolution 17.

20) Resolved, whenever doubts or disbelief threaten to deprive me of that right and satisfying joy in Jesus, to bury myself in the promises of God fulfilled in Christ as related by the Scriptures and so there dwell until God again grants my soul rest and peace in his work and glory.

Back in America

By God’s grace, I’ve made it safely back to North Carolina with my family after 6 weeks in East Asia.

Thank you to everyone who helped send me financially or offered any prayers on behalf of the team, those we met, and me.

Leaving on a Jet Plane…

Today I set off for Atlanta, GA for a couple days of orientation in preparation for a 6-week missions excursion to East Asia.

While I am gone I doubt I will have much opportunity to update this site, but I will most certainly be writing in the old-fashioned style (yes, pen and paper) every chance I get. Perhaps when I return some of those pages will make their way here if they prove beneficial.

Let me say straightforwardly, I covet your prayers. Whether I have known you my whole life or you have just caught this site perusing around the internet, I would count it an indescribable blessing if you would intercede on behalf of our team, the people we will encounter, and me.

My utmost desire is that the will of God to magnify the wondrous grace of Jesus would come to pass. Regardless of circumstances, regardless of cost, this is our prayer: in our words, in our hearts, and in our bodies, make known the riches of your glory, God, that the peoples may see you and be satisfied. My simple request is that you would join me in this kind of prayer.

With gratitude,

TIL

Wouldn’t It Be Easier to Go Where Christ is Loved?

Whenever I speak to people about the significance of frontier missions in the Bible or express a desire to participate in the missionary effort by going where Christ is not yet known, I am often confronted with the sentiment that frontier missions is simply too hard, too uncomfortable, too dangerous a task for any reasonable individual. What I mean by “frontier missions” is the intentional proclamation of the Gospel to people groups that have never before heard the good news of Jesus to any notable degree and lack the presence of an active local church. While the value of such a project may be conceded, the frequent, natural objection to frontier missions stands nonetheless: would it not be easier to go and evangelize where Christ is loved?

In places where the name of Christ is already known, ministry may be easier, done in conjunction with an already-established local church. It may be more comfortable. It may be safer. It may be less costly. It may require less sacrifice. One may be able to more easily stay in contact with family. One may not have to spend countless hours learning a new language or culture. These places may be more developed or possess greater political freedom. To answer the question simply: yes. It would be easier to go where Christ is already known and cherished by some as Redeemer and Lord. It is more immediately appealing to go to a place where Christ is held up (at least by a few) as the greatest joy in the world.

But if we only go where it is easy, where Jesus is already loved, where the Gospel has already penetrated darkness with light, we will stand in disobedience to the Biblical call to missions. God has made it clear in his Word that he desires to magnify the grace of his Son Jesus Christ by creating for himself a people from every nation of the earth that has been saved by the work of the cross and satisfied with all that God is and promises in Jesus. The evidence is plentiful. God told Abraham that all the nations of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 22:18). The Psalmist cries, “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy” (Psalm 67:4), and shouts again, “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples” (Psalm 96:3). Jesus teaches, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice” (John 10:16). And John paints a glorious picture of the consummated kingdom of heaven where “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” will stand before the throne of God in praise (Revelation 7:9, emphasis added).

The sovereign will of God is that every people group on the earth be pierced by the presence of the Gospel and that his grace draw some from every nation. And if we as children of God have taken heart in the Gospel of grace, if we have seen the beauty of Christ and been genuinely satisfied, if we have drunk from the spring of living water and had our thirst quenched, if we have placed all our hope on the promises of God and seen our faith vindicated, if we have caught a glimpse of the glory of God and been captivated, then and only then will we leap for joy at the prospect of exalting God in the farthest corners of the globe.

Frontier missions is not necessary and important simply because it is an unfinished objective. It is necessary and important because behind it is a zealous yearning to see the name of Jesus and the glory of God extolled among all the peoples of the earth according to the plan and passion of God.

Dear ones, when we have looked into the face of Jesus and seen sin defeated and grace poured out, our love for God’s glory is a love for missions…even when it is easier to go where Christ is already loved.

But there is another reason why we cannot exclusively go with the Gospel where the Gospel has already been heard: love will not allow it. What I mean is that if the gift of God in the Gospel is truly the greatest gift any of us may ever be given, then it is most certainly not loving to withhold it by remaining still-footed among peoples to whom it has already been offered. If in the presence of God there is really “fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11), if “the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice” (Psalm 105:3) in the glory of his holy name, then our love for other people demands that we take the Gospel forth. Satisfaction, forgiveness, joy, and rest are only found at the cross of Jesus Christ, and for this reason, genuine love for others pushes us to go where the good news of his work has not yet been embraced.

So then, frontier missions is simultaneously the Christian’s exaltation of God’s glory in Jesus among the nations according to his good pleasure and the most loving act any human being may ever do for another, for by proclaiming the goodness of God throughout the earth for the faith of the nations as he so desires, we offer the peoples of the world the greatest gift in the universe – the treasure that is God himself. And when God glorifies himself by satisfying his people with all that he is in the Gospel, he gets the glory, and his people get the joy. Brothers and sisters, my heartfelt prayer is that God would make us a people enthralled by his glory that desires to see his name lifted high in the hearts of all the peoples of the earth in a way that satisfies the deepest longings of their souls and puts God’s glorious grace on display.