2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
As Peter’s message to the flock of God continued, he turned his attention to contending with the devil. Today’s passage is 1 PET 5: 8-11, “Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Be firm in your faith and resist him, because you know that your fellow believers in all the world are gong through the same kind of sufferings. But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who calls you to share his eternal glory in union with Christ, will Himself perfect you and give you firmness, strength, and a sure foundation. To Him be the power forever. Amen!” When you place these comments in the context of the persecution the scattered early church was suffering at the hands of the evil Roman Emperor Nero, these words are so appropriate. From the time that people began believing in Christ, their faith had put them at odds with the world. Anyone under that kind of pressure surely needs the encouragement Peter offers.
Satan has appeared in a number of different forms in the Scriptures. In GN 3, he is represented as the serpent who deceives Adam and Eve into committing the original sin [GN 3: 6]. His moral corruption and willingness to spread it is revealed in that story. In other contexts, he is seen through the action of his evil angel followers, as in the spiritual warfare Gabriel describes to Daniel when he explains his twenty-one day delay in answering Daniel’s fervent intercessory prayers. DN 10: 13, “The angel prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief angels, came to help me, because I had been left there alone in Persia.” In IS 14: 12-15, he appears as “King of Babylon, bright morning star.” King of Babylon, bright morning star, you have fallen from heaven! In the past you conquered nations, but now you have been thrown to the ground. You were determined to climb up to heaven and to place your throne above the highest stars. You thought you would sit like a king on that mountain in the north where the gods assemble. You said you would climb to the tops of the clouds and be like the Almighty. But instead, you have been brought down to the deepest part of the world of the dead.” In EZK 28: 12-19, which I hope you will read, you will see a description of the devil which sheds light on why he is such a disappointment to God. Here in 1 PET 5: 8, he is described as “like the roaring lion roaming around to find someone to devour.” That certainly conjures up the evil that was intended against Daniel when he was thrown into the lion’s den in DN 6. The evil described is persecution.
From 1 PET 5: 9, it is clear that one of Satan’s methods is to discourage faith. We are told to “Be firm in your faith and resist him” and are reminded that we are not alone in our suffering. Everyone who believes must go through this suffering, but should be also reminded that God has equipped us to be victorious in it. When I think of the faith of Shadrach Meshach, and Abed-nego, Daniel’s friends, who were thrown into the fiery furnace, we have been shown exactly what God is willing to do to protect us. DN 3: 25, “Then why do I [King Darius] see four men walking around in the fire?” he asked. “They show no sign of being hurt-and the fourth one looks like a god.” Of course, Darius had no idea he was looking at Jesus Christ, but he understood the protection Daniel’s three faithful friends were getting. Certainly Daniel and his friends could have reacted with discouragement just as we do when challenges to their faith came up, but they choose not to do that. Can we do the same? How firm is our own faith? Do we realize that God wants us to resist the evil one and obey Him?
God is training us for glory; that’s what the process of sanctification is. In gaining God’s perspective on our suffering, we come to an understanding that it is neither in vain or without purpose. It helps us to stretch toward God’s view so we can understand that purpose better. We are being trained toward four goals He has for us. 1) Perfection: When we must work through the trials of our lives, our vulnerable areas (to sin) are exposed, giving us a chance to deal with them. Through this process we learn more about ourselves and allow God to reveal his marvelous attributes to us. Thus, we mature spiritually. 2) Strength: As we learn in RO 5: 3-4, we should rejoice in our trials, because they build endurance which leads to improved personal character and hope. Endurance in faith is what Peter encourages in his message. 3) Establishment of faith: Because we were all born in sin, we must repent and accept Christ as our Savior to be saved. But, that makes us spiritual babies, needing to be fed “milk.” As the author of Hebrews states in HE 5: 12-13, “Anyone who has to drink milk is still a child, without any experience in the matter of right and wrong. Solid food, on the other hand, is for adults, who are able to distinguish between good and evil.” HE 6: 1 points out that we must go beyond that “spiritual milk” stage in our faith. Christ understood this when he spoke to Peter in LK 22: 32, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you turn back to Me, you must strengthen your brothers.” 4) Settlement on a firm foundation: Peter understood this when in MT 16: 16, he stated, “You are the messiah, the Son of the living God,” to Jesus. That is why Jesus responded in MT 16: 17-19 that Peter is a “rock,” and on this firm foundation He will build His church.
God rules over persecution and suffering. He tells us our suffering is temporary and necessary to our sanctification. He gives us a perspective that will allow us to endure and an understanding that allows us to see His purpose. Peter wanted the recipients of his letter to understand it, and we should see that too. It is this which led Peter to end this first part of his letter with the Doxology (11), that same gorgeous prayer that God so richly deserves that John heard in REV 5: 12-13. “The Lamb who was slain is worthy to receive power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise! Amen.”
PRAYER: O Lord, the world we live in makes it difficult for us. It provides aggravating, often scary, challenges to our faith. They come in many forms, just as the devil appears in many forms in the Scriptures. Yet, we must understand that You allow these challenges for a crucial reason. We need them to be pushed forward in the process of sanctification. Because Your love for us is so great, You not only sacrificed Your Son on the cross for us, but You also equip us to be victorious in the spiritual warfare we must do. The view that Gabriel gives us in Daniel tells us that this warfare is also going on in the unseen world. There too, You have equipped Your angels for victory over the devil’s evil. Peter’s reminder to the persecuted early church is also a reminder to us. We must take action that strengthens our faith and must endure, as our suffering-that which we share with all other believers-is only temporary. The reward for enduring through it is so much greater than this suffering. We humbly offer You our thanks, praise, worship, adoration, glory, trust, obedience, and honor. You are the reason we can endure and be victorious. Dearest Lord, we love You more than words can say. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will begin looking at the second part of Peter’s letter to the dispersed early church. This part of the letter takes up the issues of one’s call to Christ, combating false teaching, and the final coming of Christ. 2 PET 1: 1-4 includes Peter’s introduction (1-2) and the beginning of what he had to say about God’s call and choice (3-4). The more I write in these devotions, the plainer it is to me that all who are believe (and yes, that certainly includes you) are precious to God and the Son. I consider it a privilege to be exposed to God’s love like this and to share it with you. My husband, Peter, and I send you our love today and always.
Grace From The Lord Be Yours Always,
Lynn