Holman New Testament Commentary - 1 & 2 Peter, 1 2 & 3 John and Jude

David Walls, Max Anders

• Publisher: Holman Reference
• Year: 1999
• Print ISBN: 9780805402100
• eBook ISBN: 9781433674143
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

One in a series of twelve New Testament verse-by-verse commentary books edited by Max Anders. Includes discussion starters, teaching plan, and more. Great for lay teachers and pastors alike.

1 Peter 1

Suffering Strengthens

I. INTRODUCTION

The Lord Deals in Futures

II. COMMENTARY

A verse-by-verse explanation of the chapter.

III. CONCLUSION

Avoid the Detours

An overview of the principles and applications from the chapter.

IV. LIFE APPLICATION

Only Because of Jesus

Melding the chapter to life.

V. PRAYER

Tying the chapter to life with God.

VI. DEEPER DISCOVERIES

Historical, geographical, and grammatical enrichment of the commentary.

VII. TEACHING OUTLINE

Suggested step-by-step group study of the chapter.

VIII. ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION

Zeroing the chapter in on daily life.

“Hope is not a sedative; it is a shot of adrenaline, a blood transfusion. Like an anchor, our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life; but unlike an anchor, our hope moves us forward, it does not hold us back.”

Warren Wiersbe

BOOK PROFILE: 1 PETER

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• A circulating letter to first-century Christians scattered over the northern part of modern Turkey
• Delivered or recorded by Silas (5:12), a friend and coworker of the apostle Peter
• Sent from Rome identified by the code name Babylon (5:13)
• Written shortly before the outbreak of the Neronian persecution in A.D. 64
• Addressed an audience made up of both Jewish and Gentile Christians, with the majority Gentile
• Written during a time of political, social, and personal persecution
• Emphasizes the reality of suffering in the lives of Christians, but also offers words of encouragement and challenge
• Has suffering as a primary theme, mentioning it sixteen times by using eight different Greek terms

AUTHOR PROFILE: PETER

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• Simon, a fisherman, who followed John the Baptist until his brother Andrew introduced him to Jesus
• Name changed to Peter by Jesus, signifying the rock-like character that would ultimately dominate Peter's personality
• Natural leader and spokesperson for the disciples
• Impulsive, sometimes selfish, and short-tempered
• Emerged as primary figure in the early church after the day of Pentecost
• Traveled widely in ministry
• Tradition indicates he was crucified upside down in Rome during the persecution by the emperor Nero, around A.D. 68

In chapter 1 Peter greets God's chosen people, calling them to praise God. Although you are experiencing trials of great pain, he told them, through Christ you have a new life. These temporary detours of suffering will actually strengthen your commitment to Christ and your testimony for him. Don't allow the trauma of the present to blur your vision of your glorious future with Christ in heaven. Don't allow the trials of the moment to distract you from living a life of obedience to God. Demonstrate this life by reaching out to one another in love.

Suffering Strengthens

I. INTRODUCTION

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The Lord Deals in Futures

A man wrote this letter to a pastor friend of mine:

Eighteen years ago the Lord blessed my wife and me with a child born with multiple birth defects. When he was born, the doctor came to me and said, “Don't hope, he will not live out the day.” I got on my knees and said, “God, I don't know why you sent me this little boy with so many problems—three and one half pounds, three months premature, only a portion of a left leg, malformed right hand, possible lung damage, etc.; but please don't take him back now.” That evening when I came to the hospital the doctor greeted me by saying, “I just examined your son again. I don't believe it's the same boy. I think he's going to make it.” My son stayed five weeks in that hospital. He came home and then for years, it was in and out of hospitals for one operation after another. Each time his little stump would grow the bone would push through the tip of his stump and would have to be sawed off. Seeing the pain that boy went through, I thought I was going insane. I cursed God and turned my back on him.

I crawled into a bourbon bottle for fifteen years. The more I drank, the deeper into hell I went. Sometimes, waking up hungover, I would be confronted with horrible things I had done that I didn't even remember doing. One morning I awoke with a broken right hand and discovered twenty-two holes in my wall that I had punched. I didn't remember doing it.

One Sunday morning I laid in bed and reflected on what a lousy husband and father I was and decided I would take one of my shotguns and stick it in my mouth and pull the trigger. The radio was on, and you were speaking. I had never heard you before. You said that Jesus loved me. It had no impact because I had heard it all before. Only then you said, “THE LORD DEALS IN FUTURES.” I don't know, to this day, why that phrase hit me like a ton of bricks. It saved my life. I started crying and said, “God, if you deal in futures, then take this wretched life and make something of it before I give it to Satan.” Of course, God answered.

And my boy? In the eighth grade he was third on the east coast in a math competition and received a certificate from our governor and a mini scholarship from John Hopkins University in Baltimore. In his freshman year of high school, he was the number one world geography student in the nation. Today he is a junior in high school and continues to astound us with his brilliance. My lovely wife stayed with me through all the hell I put her through. When I asked her why, she just said, “The Lord deals in futures, and so do I.”

If anyone in the world could identify with the Lord who deals in futures, it would be the apostle Peter. Everyone remembers Peter. What we remember most vividly about him is his denial of Jesus Christ. Mention the name Peter, and even those who don't know much about the Bible seem to be able to recall a rooster and a guy named Peter who swore he didn't know who Jesus was. That same Peter—the one who struck out badly, who didn't get to home plate, let alone limp around the bases, the one person everybody figured was all washed up—that Peter spent the bulk of his adult life speaking for Christ. Some thirty years later and thousands of miles after warranty, Peter sat down in Rome and wrote this letter. If anybody understood that the Lord deals in futures, it was Peter.

First Peter is preeminently a letter of hope, of second and third chances. In the midst of suffering and pain that would attempt to derail us, Peter provides an epistle of triumphant faith. He strengthens and encourages his readers, whose troubles are in the background of virtually every paragraph and who, as a result, felt like they had no future.

Chapter 1 helps us see the true nature of our suffering. It reminds us that as believers in Jesus Christ we have not been abandoned simply because difficult times have assaulted us. Our future in Christ is not in jeopardy. Rather than allowing our pain to derail our Christian living, our hope and trust must remain with God, who loves us and will use even the suffering in our lives to grow us into better people.

II. COMMENTARY

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Suffering Strengthens

MAIN IDEA: God, in his mercy and through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, has given Christians a living hope that cannot be taken away, even though our lives may be excruciatingly painful. In him we have the resources to continue living holy lives.

Greeting (vv. 1–2)

SUPPORTING IDEA: God's plan has always been to choose us to be sanctified by Jesus’ death and to live obedient lives.

1:1. The author identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. He distinguishes himself from the many false apostles who visited the churches in that day. An apostle is “one who is sent out with a message.”

The letter is addressed to God's elect , and to those who have been chosen (v. 2). These two expressions—mirror images of each other—are inserted early on, to provide comfort. In his greeting Peter's primary purpose was to strengthen Christian faith in the midst of suffering, not to teach the intricacies of doctrine. In themselves, believers are just ordinary people, but the gracious choice of God makes us what we are—the ones whom God favors and loves.

Peter describes the believers to whom he wrote as being strangers who are scattered. They included both Jewish and Gentile people who had become followers of Jesus Christ. They did not live in the heartland of God's people Israel. Neither did they live close to the mother church of Christianity, also in Jerusalem. Rather, they formed the Diaspora (which derives from the Greek word for “strangers”). That is, they had been dispersed or scattered to other cities and countries all over the world. Specifically, he wrote to believers living in what is now northern Turkey, some five hundred to eight hundred miles from the hometown of God's people and God's church. They could easily have felt isolated and insignificant. Peter says to these people, “Take courage. Wherever you live geographically, in Christ you are part of God's elect. He chose you.”

1:2. Peter's initial desire was to give the believers a lift, an encouraging word. His emphasis in these first two verses should most likely be translated: “To the chosen ones who are strangers in the world, scattered… according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.”

Peter linked their scattering to the foreknowledge of God. In other words, the difficulties God's people face do not surprise God. God the Father knows about everything his chosen people face. He works it all out as part of his plan. According to the foreknowledge of God the Father also suggests that all we go through is “according to God's fatherly care.” God knew our circumstances of pain before the world began and cares for us in accordance with his fatherly care.

This occurs through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Even in the midst of pain, the Holy Spirit is molding, shaping, and growing believers. The Holy Spirit is turning every circumstance, every sorrow, every hardship into a tool of spiritual maturing.

In the same sentence Peter spoke of being obedient to Jesus Christ. Obedience conveys the idea of listening and submitting to what is heard. It involves a change of attitude in the believer. In the midst of pain, it is difficult to listen to God, let alone obey him. Yet, since we are chosen of God and are objects of his fatherly care, we are never out of his plan. He is designing our sanctification, our spiritual growth. Knowing that, we can continue, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, to obey the commands of Jesus Christ. That obedience begins with accepting Jesus as personal Lord and Savior and ...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Editorial Preface
• Holman Old Testament Contributors
• Holman New Testament Contributors
• Holman New Testament Commentary
• 1 Peter 1
• 1 Peter 2
• 1 Peter 3
• 1 Peter 4
• 1 Peter 5
• 2 Peter 1
• 2 Peter 2
• 2 Peter 3
• 1 John 1
• 1 John 2
• 1 John 3
• 1 John 4
• 1 John 5
• 2 John
• 3 John
• Jude
• Glossary
• Bibliography