1 Peter 5:5b-14
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1 Peter 5:5-14 Humble Yourself; Final Instruciton
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Summary of passage
(Only a paragraph or two)
Text and Translation
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Original Context & Exegesis
A. Passage Boundaries (why are these verses grouped together in this chapter or pericope?)
B. Exegesis of passage as a whole (or verse-by-verse, if helpful).
5:5 Perhaps God gives grace to the humble because they realize that they need it and ask. Perhaps all He has to do to resist the proud is to not help them -- "if they are so self-sufficient, let them get themselves out of this"
5:6 If we humble ourselves, God will exalt us in due time. If we exalt ourselves, God will humble us in due time.
5:8 "be sober, be watchful (or vigilant)" the first word literally does mean "to abstain from wine" like it sounds. The second means "to keep awake" like a guard on duty. A drunken guard is of little use. He may not notice the danger coming, or underestimate it, or even fall asleep. Even if he does confront an enemy, he would not have the ability to defeat him. We are to be always awake and controlled by nothing except the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 5:18) because the Devil never takes a break.
5:9 Note that it doesn't say "try to resist", it just says "resist". We have the power to resist in the Holy Spirit, and the emotional comfort of knowing that we are not alone in our suffering -- I am just another Christian suffering the same as everyone else.
5:10 The purpose of our suffering: to complete (perfect) us, set us fast, make us strong, and lay a firm foundation for us.
5:11 This reminds me of the great scenes of praise described in Revelation 4:6-11 and 15:3-4. It doesn’t ascribe any new characteristic or honor to God, it simply declares what He already has – eternal dominion (or power) over all things. This sort of praise springs uncontrollably from our lips when we begin, however slightly to understand who God is. It comes from a heart that at once feels intense love and intense fear, closeness and awe, Father-care and Creator-power. It comes from a heart that finally fully realizes that the God who knows you intimately; who knows your failures, weaknesses, temptations and sins loves you anyway. He feels our pain and feels pain as He watches us sin and turn our backs on His loving guidance and yet calls us to Himself. He came to Earth as a man and was tormented for our sins, “was rejected and despised”, and is still rejected by Christian and non-Christian alike today; and yet His heart breaks to see even one of His precious creation choose to spend eternity apart from Him in hell.
5:12 Silvanus isn’t a major character in the New Testament, and here his job is primarily to carry a letter, but he was counted faithful by Peter. Being a letter carrier may not seem like an important function, but his faithfulness with that letter allows us to read it today, nearly 2000 years later. We never know what impact our faithfulness in “small” tasks can have. If I come to the end of my life and all that people have to say about me is that I was faithful to the tasks God gave me, then my life was a stellar success. I will have succeeded far beyond many whose names cover history books, memorial plaques, and Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
5:13 Whether this was written from Babylon or Rome is the subject of many debates. Some say that Rome’s codename to the early Christians was Babylon and this was written to prevent the persecution from knowing where he was. Others point out the fact that there is no allegory and very little symbolism in Peter’s writing and it would be strange to see it in one verse only. Peter also was rarely the sort to be hiding out. Whichever one is true, only God knows. I don’t claim to know, so I will leave that debate up to the theologians who choose to spend their time on such things. Neither position changes the fact that God has inspired and preserved an amazing book for us to show us practically how to lead a godly life. To spend your time debating where it was written from and not allow yourself to be transformed by it is indeed a sin.
C. Literary Features--What genre is it? What literary devices (e.g, metaphor) does it use?
D. Connections to the rest of book—what purpose does this pericope serve in the bigger picture of the book?
E. Connections to the rest of Scripture--How is it referenced or alluded to elsewhere?
Jesus Christ: The Redemptive-Historical Context
A. Where is Christ and the Gospel present in this passage?
B. How does this passage point to Christ or depend on Christ? How does Christ fulfill this passage? How was it fulfilled already? How will it be fulfilled?
C. What does this passage tell us about God’s plan of redemption in Christ?
Current Context
A. What does this tell us about ourselves, our world, and the human condition?
B. What are some modern parallels to the original situation?
C. What is the call/command/invitation of this passage?
D. How does Christ & the Gospel in this passage enable us to see, think, and live differently?
Links/References/Bibliography
A. Representative sermons on the passage
B. Examples and Illustrations
C. Commentaries on this book
D. Articles on this book or passage
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