Brothers in Christ, I pray that this message will
assist you in walking together in the things of the Lord. As well, may it also give you insights for
your respective congregations that you pastor and lead them as well into Godly
living.
Our
text is I Peter, chapter 3, verses 8-12. The preceding chapter speaks of submitting to
authority and so do the verses in this chapter.
This idea of submitting is most hard for us as Children of God. We often take the stance of being independent
because of being born again, filled with the Spirit, and having knowledge of
the Scriptures. I believe that Peter understood pride and the spirit of being
independent of others. His life was
filled with examples of speaking before he listened to the Lord.
Peter starts this section of his letter with "
To sum it up". He is wrapping up
what he has said in the previous verses with some important directions so as to
accomplish what it means to be in submission to one another. Peter uses what is
known as "imperatives" in his writings. Such as; "Therefore Gird your mind",
"Therefore, putting aside", "Submit yourselves", "Keep
your souls". He is calling for the
readers to get ready to listen, pay attention, and get into the actions of his
teachings.
Peter is not going to let those reading this letter
escape from all that he has taught in the previous verses. He intends to show
them the way and close the door to any who wish to take it with light
heartedness. He wants their minds and
hearts to be heavy with the reality of walking out their relationship to God in
real ways in a real world that is watching and the absolute need of harmony
among believers.
Peter is in essence commanding, ordering, urging,
etc. the readers to a godly life style.
The very idea of imperatives is to prepare against an occasion. He is calling them to actions because there
is a consequence of inactivity to the truths he has laid out for them.
Let’s get to Peter's "To sum it up"
proclamation before us and examine why Peter is calling for a tentative heart
to these things. We will do so by
examining these words: Harmonious, Sympathetic, Brotherly, Kindhearted and
Humble in Spirit.
Harmonious Greek word transliterated Humothumadon ( Homo
thoo ma don). It means to be with one mind, with one accord, with one
passion. A unique Greek word, used 10 of
its 12 New Testament occurrences in the Book of Acts, helps us understand the
uniqueness of the Christian community. Homothumadon is a compound of two words
meaning to "rush along" and "in unison". The image is
almost musical; a number of notes are sounded which, while different, harmonize
in pitch and tone. As the instruments of a great concert under the direction of
a concert master, so the Holy Spirit blends together the lives of members of
Christ's church.
Sympathetic
means to suffer with. In an obsolete
meaning it denotes agreement in quality and or disposition. Using the word disposition...it clarifies
this as a state of being that we as brothers and sisters should have when we
see others in circumstances that are not good, we should desire to understand
and have grace and mercy toward them. It
is beyond a mental observation, it is actually walking through the
circumstances with them. (of which we could not have this disposition if we do
not already have Harmony with others.)
Brotherly
: Greek transliteration is adelphos... simply signifies a family/brotherhood. It is
only used in Peter 1st letter (other uses
2:17 and 5:9) "The word
“brotherhood” is somewhat like the word “church” (it describes a “group” of
fellow Christians who are both male and female)."
Kindhearted: this is simply the idea of being tender.
Christians should have a tender heart and not one that is hardened by life's
circumstances. For me it creates the
picture of a mother tenderly caring for her baby.
Humble
in Spirit: Best meaning
in the context..... to have a modest opinion of one's self, as well it is a part of one's demeanor when
giving corrections because you to have been in that place of needing
correction. It is not being simple
minded but rather simplistic in approach, but not with a haughty attitude.
These five attributes are the outward actions of the
Nine Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.
From these particular words that describe what we
must be like Peter moves on to the don'ts.
No evil and No insults......these need no interpretation. Simply do not
allow these things to be a part of one's life.
Then he describes how we are to speak to others by giving
a Blessing, because it is what you are. The word blessing in the Greek is
Eulgeo -- yoo lo gat o
-- it is the act of pronouncing a blessing on something. This is where we get the English word
Eulogy, which is the act of extolling the virtues or achievements of a
person. We as God's people are to give
"good words", a blessing, toward others. We reap what we sow. James says, "Does a fountain send out
from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?".
Peter's last few words in this section, gives a
warning to those reading that there are consequences to not having the
aforementioned things in their lives.
These are quotes and are supported by Ps.34:12,13...34:14,
34:15-18...Proverbs 16:7
We see from verses 10 and 11 that there are actions
required of God's people. Our words
portray our hearts, which is where our minds frame our words. If we go back to
Peter's "To sum it up" words, we find guide lines that will lead us
to the right words.
Verse 12 brings forth a promise of God, not a
statement, such as "I hope you can do good. " It is very emphatic --- For the eyes of the
Lord are upon the righteous.....And His ears attend to their prayer, but the
face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
He who turns
away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination..
(NASB) Prov. 28:9
So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will
hide My eyes from you, Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not
listen. Your hands are covered with blood (NASB) Isaiah 1:15
If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will
not hear; (NASB) Ps 66:18
In closing, I wish to remind ourselves, as Peter was
reminding the readers, that we must have these characteristics in lives or we
will find our prayers hindered and the blessings of the Lord are stopped. It would be good that we all looked at our
lives to see if the Harmonious, Sympathetic, Brotherly, Kindhearted and Humble
in Spirit attributes are in our lives.
I pray that it is so with you, for I desire to hear
that your prayers are unhindered and the Face of our Father is ever upon you
and that He is blessings the works of your hands in the Kingdom of God.
Your brother and fellow-worker…. Brother James Ulmer
