Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 53

 Submit to God, Resist the Devil Part 1

1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. KJV Note: New King James Version 

The Apostle Peter now turns his focus upon each one of us individually, the younger and older (in chronological age and also in number of years we have been born again sons and daughters of our Abba in Heaven) to declare to us how we should relate to one another as we worship and serve our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 5:5, the Apostle says we are to be subject one to another and this English word 'subject' is translated by the Greek word hupotasso which means that we are to be obedient to one another in the Lord, that is, in all accordance, acknowledgement, and accenting to His Holy Word. We are not to be subordinate or obedient to someone who is in the visible Church who has gone off on some tangent and have rejected the truth and made shipwreck of their faith like Hymenaeus and Alexander (1 Timothy 1:19-20). The desire of Peter is the desire of our Lord Jesus and that is that we are to love 💕 one another 'in truth', to serve one another 'in truth' and to submit to one another 'in truth' and never to use one another to gain filthy earthly treasure 🪙 that fades away into nothing, nor to use one another to gratify vile fleshly appetites that defile the flesh and sear the conscience and destroy love and the unity of the Spirit, for we should remember and heed these words of the Apostle Paul written to the Church @Rome, "Love 💕 does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love 💕 is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep 😴; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand ✋. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light 🕯️. Let us walk properly/decently, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust ❤️‍🔥, not in strife and envy. But put on Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lust ❤️‍🔥." (Romans 13:10-14) (NKJV). This is our mandate. These are our marching orders from the King 👑 of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Apostle Peter next commands each of us in 1 Peter 5:5 to be clothed with humility. The little English phrase 'be clothed with' is translated by the Greek word egkomboomai (used this one time only in the entire New Testament) which means (to gird); to engirdle oneself (for labor), that is, figuratively (the apron being a badge of servitude) to wear (in token of mutual deference). The English word 'humility' is translated by the Greek word tapeinophrosune which means humiliation of mind, that is, modesty: - humbleness of mind, humility of mind, lowliness of mind. In other words, we should never think 💬 about ourselves as being some great man 👞 or great woman 👠 of God over and above our brothers and sisters in the faith, but instead we should be willing often times to yield to the will of our brothers and sisters (so long as their will or desire is in accordance to willing of Abba/God). They are as Beloved 😍 by our Father in Heaven as we are and living in true humility is to give way to their desires even when we think 🤔 our desire is good 👍. When we respect and appreciate one another and have a regard for one another's feelings we are honoring our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter has already declared this attitude and disposition that we must have one to another earlier in this same first letter 💌 with these words (remember), "Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love 💕 as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous/humble; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." (1 Peter 3:8-9) (NKJV). The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines 'humility' as the personal quality of being free from arrogance and pride and having an accurate estimate of one's worth. "What God desires most is not outward sacrifices but a humble spirit (Psalm 51:17; Micah 6:8). Such a humble spirit shows itself in several ways: a recognition of one's sinfulness before a Holy God (Isaiah 6:5), obedience to God (Deuteronomy 8:2), and submission to God (2 Kings 22:19; 2 Chronicles 34:27)." (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary). 

Why has the Apostle Peter instructed or commanded us in the manner above? He tells us why with these last words in 1 Peter 5:5, "For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." The English word 'resisteth' is translated by the Greek word antitassoma which means to range oneself against, that is, oppose. The English word 'proud' is translated by the Greek word huperephanos which means appearing above others (conspicuous, that is, without any attempt at concealment; completely obvious), that is, (figuratively) haughty, that is, having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one's views as unworthy. In other words, God opposes or is against the proud man 👞 or proud woman 👠, that is, He fights against them, for to Him their cloak of superiority and obvious high mindedness irritates Him. God tells us in Proverbs 6:17 that pride is an abomination to Him, that is, He disgust it, He deplores it, and He detest it. Do you think 💬 Abba/God wants to see things manifested/made visible that He disgust, deplores, and detest in the lives of His sons and daughters on a regular basis? Well, do you? God forbid, never never, of course not, for when He sees it manifested in any of us He will do exactly 💯 as these words of the writer ✍️ of Hebrews declares, " If you endure chasentning, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit 🍑 of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:7-11) (NKJV). God/Abba gives His grace to those of us who have and are humbling ourselves before Him. Peter declares finally in 1 Peter 5:5 that God giveth grace to the humble. The English word 'grace' used here by the Apostle Peter is translated by the Greek word charis which means graciousness (as gratifying); especially the divine influence upon the heart ❤️, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): - benefit, favor, joy liberality, pleasure, thanks. That is, or in other words, You Dear Abba fill our inner man ♂️ and inner woman ♀️ with Your influence which causes us to want to live for You in faithful obedience and Your words become to us as written by the Psalmist with these words, "Your is a lamp 🪔 to my feet and a light 🕯️ to my path." (Psalms 119:105) (NKJV) and also these words, "Your word I have hidden in my heart ❤️, that I might not sin against You." (Psalms 119:11) and also these words, "I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word." (Psalms 119:101) (NKJV) and also these words, "How sweet 🧁 are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey 🍯 to my mouth!" (Psalms 119:103) (NKJV) and also these words, "Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity/sin have dominion over me." (Psalms 119:133) (NKJV). 

Here is what Alexander MacLaren had to say of 1 Peter 5:5, "Humility does not consist in being, or pretending to be, blind 🦯🦮 to one's strong points. There is no humility in a man 👞 denying that he can do certain things if he can do them, or even refusing to believe he can do them well, if God has given him special faculties in any given ⬇️ ⬆️. That is not humility at all. But to know whence all my strength comes, and to know what a little thing it is, after all; not to estimate myself highly, and, still further, not to be always insisting upon other people estimating me highly, and to think 🤔 a great deal more about their claims on me than fretfully to insist upon my due modicum of respect and attention from others, that is the sort of temper that Peter means here. Now, that temper which may recognise fully any gift 🧧 🎁 that God has given me, its sweep and degree, but that nevertheless takes a true, because a lowly, measure of myself, and does not always demand from other people their regard and assistance, that temper is a thing we can cultivate. We can increase it, and we are all bound to try specifically and directly to do so. Now, I believe that a great part of the feeble and unprogressive character of so many Christian people amongst us is due to this, that they do not definitely steady their thoughts 💭 and focus them on the purpose of finding out the weak points to which special attention and discipline should be directed. It is a very easy thing to say, 'Oh, I am a poor, weak, sinful creature!' It would do you a great deal more good to say, 'I am a very passionate one, and my business is to control that quick temper of mine,' or, 'I am a great deal too much disposed to run after worldly advantage, and my business is to subdue that,' or, 'I am afraid I am too closed-fisted, and I ought to crucify myself into liberality.' It would be a great deal better, I say, to apply the general confession to specific cases, and to set ourselves to cultivate individual types of goodness, as well as to seek to be filled with the all-comprehensive root of it all, which lies in union with Jesus Christ. We have often to preach, Dear brethren, that the way of self improvement is not by hammering at ourselves, but by letting God mould us, and to keep the balance right 👍. We have also to insist on the other side of the truth, and to press complementary thought 💭 that specific efforts after the cultivation of specific virtues and all the more if they are virtues that are not natural to us, for the Gospel is given to us to mend our natural tempers. This is the duty of all Christian people that would seek to live as Christ would have them." 

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking 🗣️ directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn 🛞 from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen!!!

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 52

 Shepherd the Flock of God Part 2

1 Peter 5:4 And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown 👑 of glory that fadeth not away. KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version 

After having exhorted and encouraged the men who were selected by God to lead His flock of true believers here on the earth 🌎, Peter now reminds them that their faithfulness of handling the Word of God in or with sincerity and truth will be judged not by other believers only, but by the very One who has placed them in the position of feeding His flock our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter calls Him alone the 'Chief Shepherd' and never himself or anyone of the other Apostles. Here is one place where many have taken off on a tangent and twisted the Word of God to their own destruction and to the defiling of many sincere souls seeking the truth, but being led into error. Peter never meant that he was the chief shepherd of God's flock of true believers, for there in the text this reality, this truth should be clearly seen, as it is written by Peter with these words, "And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown 👑 of glory that fadeth not away." (1 Peter 5:4) (KJV). It should be so easily discerned, disclosed, and discovered by any of God's true sheep 🐑 that in using the little adverb 'when' and the little English phrase 'shall appear' which is translated by the Greek word phaneroo which means to render apparent (literally or figuratively): - appear, manifestly declare, make manifest, shew self that Peter is not referring to himself for he is already physically before all the other believers and therefore could not be speaking 🗣️ of himself. Also he has clearly declared himself at the beginning of his discourse on this subject matter (1 Peter 5:1) only an elder along with all the other elders. First, let me say that none of us will ever be 100% accurate in our pursuit of understanding the Word of God, for we can and should recall these words of the Apostle Paul to the believers @Rome when he wrote, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and His ways past finding out! 'For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?' 'Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to Him?' For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:33-36) (NKJV). However, there is much in God's Holy Word that He wants and requires of us that we be diligent, dutiful, and determined to dig out every beautiful and glorious nugget of truth through study, prayer 🙏, and yielding to God the Holy Spirit that He may illuminate as much deep truth that we desire to behold, therefore, we should likewise heed these words given also to the Apostle Paul when he wrote to Brother Timothy, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth." (2 Timothy 2:15) (NKJV). This little English phrase Paul uses in (2 Timothy 2:15) 'rightly dividing' is translated by the Greek word orthotomeo (it is used this one time only in the entire New Testament) it means to make a straight cut, that is, (figuratively) to dissect (expound/elaborate) correctly (the Divine Message). Although, we will never understand the mind of God, we are tasked by God Himself to declare His Divine Truth accurately because it will be the difference between life (Revelation 22:14) and death (Revelation 22:15) for sinners seeking to know the truth. Jesus Christ is the 'Chief Shepherd' of His flock and not Peter or Paul or anyone else. Christ alone will judge correctly how His elders have fed His sheep 🐑 the truth of His Word and He will reward accordingly each with the unfading 'crown of glory' that will be taken off by each true under shepherd and cast at Christ feet in honor and love 💕 for their 'Great Shepherd' who counted them worthy to serve Him. 

Here is what the Expositor's Bible Commentary had to say of 1 Peter 5:4, "For their consolation the Apostle sets before the elders their Judge in His self-chosen character. He is the Chief Shepherd. Judge He must also be-when He is manifested; but while He must pass sentence on their work, He will understand and weigh the many hinderances, both within and without, against which they have had to fight. Of human weakness, error, sin, such as beset us, He had no share; but He knows whereof we are made, and will not ask from any of us a service beyond our powers. Nay, His Spirit chooses for us, would we but mark it, the work in which we can serve Him most fitly. And He has borne the contradiction of sinners against Himself. In judging His servants, then, He will take account of the willfulness of ears that would not hear and of eyes 👀 that would not see, of the waywardness that chose darkness rather than light 🕯️, ignorance rather than Divine knowledge, death rather than life. Therefore His feeble but faithful servants may with humble minds welcome His appearing. He comes as Judge. 'Ye shall receive.' It is a word descriptive of the Divine award at the last. Here it marks the bestowal of a reward, but elsewhere (2 Peter 2:13) the Apostle uses it for the payment to sinners of the hire of wrongdoing. But the Judge is full of mercy. Of one sinner's feeble efforts He said, 'She hath done what she could. Her sins are forgiven.' And another who had labored to be faithful He welcomed to His presence: 'Enter into the joy of thy Lord.' To share that joy, to partake of His glory, to be made like Him by beholding His presence-this will be the faithful servant's prize 🏆, a crown 👑 of amaranth, unwithering, eternal."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking 🗣️ directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn 🛞 from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen!!!

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 51b

 Shepherd the Flock of God Part 2

1 Peter 5:2-3 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version 

What was the Apostle Peter exhorting and beseeching these men to do? The answer comes from his first word in this very next verse, as it is written, "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock." (1 Peter 5:2-3) (KJV). A Shepherd of sheep 🐑 leads his flock out to the pasture to graze on the lush green grass so they will be nourished and grow up strong and their wool will be of great quality. So must the Shepherd of the flock of God feed them a constant diet of the Word of God that they too will grow up strong and spiritually nourished. This is not to be forced upon someone because their earthly father or grandfather or uncle was an elder, but it is to be done voluntaringly with joy of heart ❤️ and willingness of the mind desiring to impart to fellow brothers and sisters 'in Christ' the illuminating of the Word of God that the Spirit of God has given to us, knowing that we are answerable to our Lord Jesus Christ for whether we are endeavoring to impart the truth of the Word of God to the best of our ability or someone is using the Word of God and twisting it to give any people the lies their flesh want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3-4), so the purveyor of such lies himself will be highly compensated for vain glory now in time, but with no desire that God would be glorified in lives changed and spiritual maturity reached. The Apostle Paul declared to us why our Lord Jesus Christ gave some to be elders in His Church with these words, "And He Himself gave some to be Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelist, and some Pastors and Teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind 🍃 of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking 🗣️ the truth in love 💕, may grow up in all things into Him who is the Head (Christ) from whom the whole Body, joined and knit 🧶 together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the Body for the edifying of itself in love 💕." (Ephesians 4:11-16) (NKJV). This is the will of God and this is why He gave some men these gifts and appointed them to use these gifts 🎁 🎁 for the building 🏢 up of His Body the Church. Not so they would make a name for themselves or build an empire on the earth 🌍 for themselves, but to glorify God and to be examples to those under their care in how to follow Christ taking up our Cross and living the set apart holy life Christ called us into when He brought us out of darkness (Colossians 1:13-14). Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of 1 Peter 5:2-3, "The Pastor's duty described, and the manner in which that duty ought to be performed. The Pastoral duty is three-fold: (1) To feed the flock, by preaching to them the sincere Word of God, and ruling them according to such directions and discipline as the Word of God prescribes, both which are implied in this expression, Feed the flock. (2) The Pastors of the Church must take the oversight thereof. The elders are exhorted to do the office of Bishops (as the Word signifies), by personal care and vigilance over all the flock committed to their charge. (3) They must be examples to the flock, and practice the holiness, self-denial, mortification, and all other Christian duties, which they preach and recommend to their people. These duties must be performed, not by constraint, not because you must do them, not from compulsion of the civil power, or the constraint of fear or shame, but from a willing mind that takes pleasure in the work: not for filthy lucre, or any emoluments and profits attending the place where you reside, or any perquisite (fringe benefit) belonging to the office, but of a ready mind, regarding the flock more than the fleece, sincerely and cheerfully endeavoring to serve the Church of God; neither as being lords over God's heritage, tyrannizing over them by compulsion and coercive force, or imposing unscriptural and human inventions upon them instead of necessary duty. 

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking 🗣️ directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn 🛞 from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen!!!

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 51

 Shepherd the Flock of God Part 1

1 Peter 5:1The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:  KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version NIV=New International Version 

The Apostle Peter now shifts his focus onto those men that have been appointed elders of the Churches of God. Peter declares himself to be an elder along with them and he never proclaims himself (in this first letter ✉️ or his second letter ✉️) to be the chief elder above or over all the other elders appointed by God in the various Churches like @Ephesus or @Corinth or @Colosse, etc., for Peter remembered the Words of our Lord Jesus during the time He gave a scathing baptism to the Scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew Chapter 23. Peter (as well as the other Apostles our Lord chose) were probably reverent to the leaders of their Jewish Nation, that is, those in the Sanhedrin (The supreme judicial and ecclesiastical council of ancient Jerusalem). Those men and others who were lower in Authority than they at local Synagogues round and about the land of Israel were all held in high regard, for they were the men who were suppose to be the experts in the understanding of the Torah (the scroll 📜 of parchment on which the first five books 📚 of Hebrew Scripture is written) above all other Jews. But when our Lord Jesus spoke of these men, here is what He said of because He knew all men (John 2:24), "Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others." (Matthew 23:1-7) (NIV). Some of the Jews at this time may have thought 🤔 this way of these men, but I believe the large percentage of the Jewish population revered these men and perhaps were shocked 😲 at the way our Lord Jesus spoke of them. Our Lord Jesus went on further to call these leaders of Israel hypocrites, that means, actors and pretenders playing a role or a part in a play. This was probably shocking to many of the multitudes hearing these words from Christ Jesus our Lord. So, Peter who not only heard them and listened 👂to them, but he believed them and always remembered how our Lord Jesus saw those leaders of Israel so he wrote these to all the current elders of the Church of God speaking of himself as only a fellow elder and not wanting any leader in Christ True Church to be like the men who led the Jewish Nation, "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:" (1 Peter 5:1) (KJV). The Apostle Peter exhorted/beseeched these men with great desire for them to lead the flock of God truthfully and humbly remembering what our Lord Jesus said to them in opposition to what those hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees were doing with these words, "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth 🌍 your father; for One is your Father, He who is in Heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Matthew 23:8-12) (NKJV). Here is what F.B. Meyer had to say of 1 Peter 5:1, "According to these words Peter, though he stood at a distance, must have been an eyewitness of the Savior's death. He is careful to speak of the glory in the same breath 🫁 as the sufferings, because if we endure the one, we shall share the other. Positions of influence in the Church in those days involved grave risks, but the Apostle believed that love 💕 to Christ would induce men to take the place of under-shepherds to the flock of God, and that they would use their power with gentleness, humility and holy consistency."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn 🛞 from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen!!!

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 50

 Suffering for Jesus Part 20

1 Peter 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version 

When we are persecuted (in our tents/house/body) for walking/living in the truth of the Word of God, we can let ourselves be certain that our Father in Heaven will bring us through it with and by His Mighty Power. We have already heard continuously from the Apostle Peter how our salvation is from God to us and nothing done to us by the enemy of our souls the devil 👿 and his demons and the human two-legged devils who have given themselves over to him can ever defeat us. Remember at the very beginning of his letter ✉️ when he wrote these words to us, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, who are kept by the Power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious 💕 than gold 🪙that perishes, though it is tested by fire 🔥, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love 💕. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy 😹 inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:3-9) (NKJV). Everywhere in the New Testament the theme of our redemption 'in Christ' is 

His substitute, sacrifice, and surety of the salvation of our souls for all eternity. This being known and understood by us should give us resolve to walk through every trial with boldness and confidence that our souls (which matter the most) are in the Hands of our faithful Creator God and nothing visible or invisible 🫥 can touch our soul or bring harm to our souls which is in the Hands of Christ Jesus our Lord. So, we find Peter reminding us of who we belong to and telling us to be calm, to be cool, and to be composed, "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator." (1 Peter 4:19) (KJV). The little English phrase 'commit the keeping of' the Apostle Peter uses here is translated by the Greek word paratithemi meaning (as used here) to deposit (as a trust or for protection). In other words, our soul (the real us) is deposited to our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal protection. This word is also well summed up by these words written by the Apostle Paul to Brother Timothy, "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the Gospel according to the Power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an Apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day." (2 Timothy 1:8-12) (NKJV). We are to live our daily lives being conformed to Christ's holiness despite the harassing, hateful, heinous, and harmful treatment we will receive from the world 🌍, that is, the human sinners that have yet to receive the gift 🧧 🎁 of grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). All of us who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus our Lord will be persecuted, no ifs and or buts (2 Timothy 3:12). So, knowing this we must be able to say with these lyrics of a worship song, "It is well with my soul." Amen!!!

Here is what the Expositor's Bible Commentary had to say of 1 Peter 4:19, "The Apostle links a holy life most closely with this trust in God. In well-doing commit your souls unto Him. No otherwise can His guardianship and aid be hoped for. But the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, and with Him to know is to watch over and help. Nor should men sorrow when they suffer according to God's will. Rather it is cause for gladness. Fo conscience must tell them that they need to be purged from much earthly dross which clings about them. So the fire 🔥of trial may be counted among blessings." Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of 1 Peter 4:19, "As Creator particularly; as One who has brought us, and all creatures and things into being, we may be sure that He will be 'faithful' to the design which He had in view. From that design He will never depart until it is 🌕 accomplished. He abandons no purpose which He has formed, and we may be assured that He will faithfully pursue it to the end. As our Creator we may come to Him, and look to Him for His protection and care. He made us. He had a design on our creation. He so endowed us that we might live forever, and so that we might honor and enjoy Him. In that path in which He has appointed us to go, if we pursue it, we may be sure of His help and protection. If we really aim to accomplish the purposes for which we were made, we may be certain that He will show Himself to be a 'faithful Creator;' One in whom we may always confide. And even though we have wandered from Him, and have long forgotten why we were made, and have loved and served the creature more than the Creator, we may be sure, if we will return to Him, that He will not forget the design for which He originally made us. As our Creator we may still confide in Him. Redeemed by the Blood of His Son, and renewed by His Spirit after the image of Him who erected us, we may still go to Him as our Creator, and may pray 🙏 that even yet the high and noble ends for which we were made may be accomplished in us. Doing this, we shall find him as true to that purpose as though we had never sinned." 

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn 🛞 from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen!!!

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Beliervers Volume 49

 Suffering for Jesus Part 19 

1 Peter 4:17-18 For the time is come that judgement must begin at the House 🏠 of God: and if it is first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; NKJV=New King James Version 

Our Lord and God renders judgement upon His own true Body of Beliervers because He is preparing a Bride for Himself that will be without spot or blemish, therefore, the Apostle Peter who has already warned us and commanded us to live lives that will render glory to God and not to live lives that will blaspheme His Holy Name, so Peter once again says this same concept with these sobering/serious words now approaching the end of his 1st letter ✉️, "For the time is come that judgement must begin at the House 🏠 of God: and if it is first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" (1 Peter 4:17-18) (KJV). The Apostle Paul made this comparison of Christ and His Church to the way husbands are to love 💕 and care for their wives, as Paul wrote with these words, "Husbands, love 💕 your wives, just as Christ also loved 😍 the Church and gave Himself for Her, that He might sanctify and cleanse Her with the washing of water 💦 by the Word, that He might present Her to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that She should be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:25-27) (NKJV). Just as the human body needs regular cleansing from dirt and filth, so does the Body of Christ need to be regularly washed and made clean by the Water 💦 of the Word of God. The Apostle Peter is reiterating something he has already said earlier on in this same letter ✉️ just using a different way of communicating it to us, for we have been saved not with any earthly things of great financial value, but we have been redeemed, regenerated, and resurrected from spiritual death by the most precious 💞 thing in all of God's Creation and that being His very own Blood (Acts 20:28). Therefore, we must be a 'spiritual house 🏡' that renders to our Father in Heaven a life that brings Him glory as Peter said with these words earlier in this 1st letter ✉️, "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.' And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear 😨; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptable things, like silver or gold 🪙, from your aimless conduct received by the tradition from your fathers, but with the precious 💞 Blood of Christ, as of a lamb 🐑 without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:13-19) (NKJV), and also these words from this same Apostle Peter in this 1st letter ✉️, "You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house 🏡, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:5) (NKJV). All of this is why judgement will begin at God's own House 🏠. Now all of this being said, Peter ask the sobering question ⁉️ of what the judgement will be like for all the human sinners who do not obey the Gospel of God. For the men and women who continue in their loving to live in sin and rejecting, refusing, and resisting the convicting and convincing of God the Holy Spirit (John 16:8-11) they will suffer the eternal punishment of being excluded from the presence of God forever which is exactly 💯 what every unrepentant sinner actually wants. Well the Apostle Paul gives us an answer to this question ⁉️ with what he wrote to the Church @ Rome with these words, "But to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness; indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish 😦 😧, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;" (Romans 2:8-9) (NKJV). So in the end we see that the trials, tribulations, and troubles of we who have obeyed the Gospel of God are of but for this period of time we live in now which means they all have a beginning and an end, however, for the unbelieving and unrepentant and unjustified sinner loving unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:12) there will only be a beginning to eternal judgement with no relief and no end to the 2nd death, as it is written here, "Then Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book 📖 of Life was cast into the lake of fire 🔥." (Revelation 20:14-15) (NKJV). If you have been led to read these words, I pray 🙏 that you would listen to the Spirit of God convincing you of this truth and that you would regret, repent, and renounce your sinful life against a Holy God and turn to Jesus Christ and receive new life from Him and have all your sins covered forever by His Blood. Amen!!!

Here is what the JFB Commentary had to say of 1 Peter 4:17-18, "Another ground of consolation to Christians. All must pass under the judgement of God; God's own household first, their chastisement being here, for which they should glorify Him as a proof of their membership in His family, and a pledge of their escape from the end of those whom the last judgement shall find disobedient to the Gospel. Judgement is already begun, the Gospel word, as a 'two-edged sword 🗡️,' having the double effect of saving some and condemning others, and shall be consummated at the last judgement. 'When power is given to the destroyer, he observes no distinction between the righteous and the wicked; not only so, but he begins first at the righteous' [Wetstein from Rabbins]. But God limits the destroyer's power over His people. If even the godly have chastening judgements now, how much more shall the ungodly be doomed to damnatory judgements at last. Compare 'so as by 🔥' (1 Corinthians 3:15); having to pass through trying chastisements, as David did for his sin. 'The righteous' man has always more or less of trial, but the issue is certain, and the entrance into the Kingdom abundant at last. The 'scarcely' marks the severity of the ordeal, and the unlikelyhood (in a mere human point of view) of the righteous sustaining it; but the righteousness of Christ and God's everlasting Covenant make it all sure. The ungodly having no regard for God and loving sin, for the same man is at once God-forgetting and sin-loving appearing in the final judgement (The Great White Throne) (Revelation 20:11). 

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen!!!

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 48

 Suffering for Jesus Part 18

1 Peter 4:15-16 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; NKJV=New King James Version 

Just as the Apostle Peter exhorted and encouraged us to be exulted when we suffer for the cause of Christ Jesus our Lord, that is, for the witness of the Gospel of Grace and living a set apart holy life to Him, he now warns us against the sufferings we would endure for living a life that would bring reproach to the Name of Christ and regret to ourselves. Peter warns us with these words, "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters." (1 Peter 4:15) (KJV). The fact and reality that 'born again' sons and daughters of our Beloved Lord Jesus can fall back 🔙 into our old man ♂️ or old woman ♀️ is something we are warned of by not only the Apostle Peter but all of the other writers of the New Testament. This is the ongoing war we have with our 'indwelling sin' (see LaCrae's old song 'Indwelling Sin') that must be mortified and put to death by our yielding our whole selves to the Spirit of God. Remember Matthew 5:29-30. When the old nature is fed more than the new nature then we can live in the same manner we did before we were 'born again' by the Power of the Holy Spirit. Here are just a few of the warnings/commands from the Apostle Paul; (1) "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." (Romans 6:12-13) (NKJV). (2) "For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." (Romans 8:13) (NKJV). (3) "Therefore put to death your members on the earth 🌎: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." (Colossians 3:5) (NKJV). The Apostle James even addresses these very sins to brothers and sisters 'in Christ' that Peter speaks of here in 1 Peter 4:15 with very direct, determined, and demanding speech 💬 as it is written declaring to us to destroy the filth that remains in us, that is our 'indwelling sin', so as to keep it from being expressed in our lives, "What leads to [the unending] quarrels and conflicts among you? Do they not come from your [hedonistic] desires that wage war in your [bodily] members [fighting for control over you]? You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your lust goes unfulfilled; so you murder. You are envious and cannot obtain [the object of your envy]; so you fight and battle. You do not have because you do not ask [it of God]. You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires. You adulteresses [disloyal sinners - flirting with the world 🌍 and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend [that is, loving the things of the world 🌎] is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world 🌍 makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think 💬 that the Scripture says to no purpose that the [human] spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy?" (James 4:1-5) (AMP). When we suffer for unrighteousness, we may not receive the grace we need from our Lord Jesus Christ to bring us through it triumphantly, for we have brought disgrace and a cause for those outside of Christ to slander His Holy Name. 😭😭😭😭 Here is what Matthew Henry said of 1 Peter 4:15, "That they should take care they did not suffer justly, as evildoers. One would think 💬 such a caution as this needless to such an excellent set of Christians as these were. But their enemies charged them with these and other foul crimes: therefore the Apostle, when he was settling the rules of the Christian religion, thought 🤔 these cautions necessary, forbidding every one of them to hurt the life or the estate and property of anyone, or to do any sort of evil, or, without cause and necessity, to play the bishop in another man's charge, or busy himself in other men's matters." Also let us remember the Christian brother in the Corinthian Church that was having sex with his earthly Father's wife (his step Mother) (1 Corinthians Chapter 5), but he repented and turned away from that sinful behavior and Paul's entire second letter ✉️ was written to that Church for that very purpose to have them restore him into their fellowship and to fully forgive him as Paul himself had done, even in his absence from their physical presence. Of course we know our Lord Jesus Christ had forgiven him and cleansed him from that unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Amen!!!

The Apostle Peter once again declares to us that when/if we suffer for living the set apart holy life that honors our Lord Jesus Christ, then we are to not consider ourselves to be of misfortune, but instead fortunate to be counted worthy to suffer for Christ's sake, as Peter declares with these words, "Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." (1 Peter 4:16) (KJV). Peter was no doubt recounting his own beginning sufferings for Christ when he and the other Apostles were beaten by the Jewish hierarchy as recorded for us with these words by Luke, "And they agreed 💯 with him, and when they had called for the Apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the Name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name." (Acts 5:40-41) (NKJV). For us who have been resurrected from spiritual death there is no shame or disgrace in suffering for holiness and righteousness (that is, for Christ) on the contrary we are only full of shame and disgrace when we dishonor the Holy Name of our Lord Jesus Christ with any unclean living that springs forth from our lives. Here is what Adam Clarke said of 1 Peter 4:16, "If he be persecuted because he has embraced the Christian faith, let him not be ashamed, but let him rather glorify God on this very account. Christ suffered by the Jews because He was Holy; Christians suffer because they resemble Him." Here is something on our suffering from the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary as we witnessed in the Book 📖 of Acts, "The Book 📚 of Acts is in a real sense a book 📖 of renewal, calling the Church 🔙 to its roots, setting a pattern for faithful discipleship, for witness in the footsteps of the Master, and a wholehearted commitment to sacrifice and suffering. It speaks to us even in times of deep discouragement, reminding us of the reality of the Sovereign Hand ✋ of God bringing His Will and purposes for our lives to pass, reassuring us of the reality of the presence of His Spirit in our lives. It challenges us to faithful witness, regardless of what may come our way."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen!