The Firewall

1 Peter 5

1 Peter 5:1-14

In concluding this letter, which has been a primer on church life, Peter returns to the idea of submission.  Throughout this book, wives have been told be submissive to their husbands, and husbands to be considerate to their wives; young men should submit to those who are older, and those who are older should care for those under them as a shepherd; and we are all told be live with humility toward each other.  The Christian life is one of mutual deference; every one looking out for each other's needs at the expense of their own.  If we had more time we could discuss how this is modeled for us by the Trinity; Father, Son, and Spirit all working together, all giving glory to the others.

Vv 5-9 show a striking similarity to James 4:4-10, sharing the same quote from Proverbs 3:34.  This is not to say that Peter plagiarized James, but that since James' letter was written as much as twenty years earlier, that Peter would have been familiar with it, and felt that the ideas of being humble and resisting the devil were important enough to add to his primer on Christian living.

So ends 1 Peter; but take heart, for tomorrow we'll begin 2 Peter.  As we've said before with these New Testament letters, there is so much wisdom in them that we can only cover a little bit each day.  These letters bear repeated reading, and since they are usually fairly short, reading them as a whole is easy and very enlightening.  Thanks for reading today!

God Bless,
Jason Chaillou
thefirewall@comcast.net

1 Peter 4

1 Peter 4:1-19

In the second paragraph (vv 7-11), Peter offers us an excellent and succinct description of how we should live together as the people of God.  We are to be "clear minded and self-controlled", loving toward each other, hospitable, and ready to use the gifts that God has given us to serve each other.  Notice how the focus is not on us, but on each other.  Our actions should have others as their focus, not our selfish selves.  Even in v 11, which appears to be about ministry, has its focus on God, not us.  If we could live with each other, in our home and church lives, like this, we would see people come to God in droves.  Honestly living out what we preach is the thing that is going to change the world.

V 18 is a quote from Proverbs 11:31, if you're interested in that sort of thing.  Actually, it's great to see how easily Old Testament scripture can be used to support New Testament theology and ideas.  We would all be better off if we had a better knowledge of the Old Testament.

Tomorrow we'll finish this book, and then (logically) move onto 2 Peter for the rest of the week.  Thanks for reading today!

God Bless,
Jason Chaillou
thefirewall@comcast.net

 

1 Peter 3

1 Peter 3:1-22

 I'm beginning to see a pattern in this book: our behavior is to be an outward sign to others of the work that God has done inside each of us.  In this chapter, we see this specifically in v 1-2 and v 15-16.  A submissive wife may win her husband to Christ with her reverent behavior and her reliance on a "gentle and quiet spirit" for her beauty, as opposed to clothes and jewelry.  A Christian who is asked where his/her hope comes from can win someone to Christ with a gentle and respectful answer, pointing that person to Christ in both his/her actions and words.  This is the point of all of the encouragement in this book for us to live holy lives; not because we need to in order to be saved, but so that others can see the difference in our lives and know that God made that difference.

 

If you're keeping score, the quote in vv 10-12 is from Psalm 34:12-16.  Thanks for reading this week!  Next week we'll finish 1 Peter as well as 2 Peter.

God Bless,
Jason Chaillou
thefirewall@comcast.net

 

1 Peter 2

1 Peter 2:1-25

Peter begins this chapter in a continuation of the self-control that he discussed in chapter 1.  Starting in v 4, he moves into one of the main ideas of the New Testament: we are the church and Christ is the cornerstone of that church.  No longer is worship tied to one physical place, since wherever we are, there is the church.  Peter also brings up the difference between how Jesus is perceived: He is precious to those who believe, but He is a stumbling block for those who don't.  Here we encouraged to understand that we are "a people belonging to God", and to live as such!  People will see our lives and give glory to God if we live properly.  This chapter is closed out with a discussion of submission, giving Jesus' suffering and death on the cross as the ultimate example of submission.

Since this book is serving as a primer on Christianity to Gentile Christians, Peter includes several Old Testament quotes in this chapter, perhaps to better acquaint the Gentiles with their Jewish heritage.  In v 6, Peter combines quotes from Ephesians 2:20 and Isaiah 28:16, in v 7, Psalm 118:22, in v 8, Isaiah 8:14 and 1 Corinthians 1:23, and in v 22, Isaiah 53:9.

The discussion of submission continues in the next chapter as does the idea of the difference between suffering for doing evil and suffering for doing good.  Thanks for reading today!

God Bless,
Jason Chaillou
thefirewall@comcast.net

 

 

1 Peter 1

1 Peter 1:1-25

As is usual for a New Testament letter, the first half of this chapter (vv 1-12) is a greeting to it recipients; the real meat of this chapter is found in vv 13-25.  This second half can be summed up in three words from v 13: "be self-controlled."  Here Peter is starting his primer on the Christian life.  V 16 tells us to "be holy", which means to be set apart for God, to be morally pure.  We are to live lives that are different than those around us.  God is morally pure, so we should strive to be the same.  Notice I said "strive."  It is the Holy Spirit in us that gives us the strength to be pure, but it is up to us to make the decisions that allow us to be pure; hence Peter's command to "be self-controlled."

Tomorrow we'll pick up on this line of thought, moving into what it means for us to be the people of God.  If you're curious, the quote in v 16 is from Leviticus 11:44, while the quote in vv 24-25 is from Isaiah 40:6-8.  Thanks for reading today!

God Bless,
Jason Chaillou
thefirewall@comcast.net

 

An Introduction to the Book of 1 Peter

An Introduction to the Book of 1 Peter

The book of 1 Peter was originally a letter written by the apostle Peter.  It was addressed to the Christians living in what was then called Asia Minor, but is now Turkey.  Since Peter's death is traditionally dated around 66 AD, and this letter shows a familiarity with both Ephesians and Colossians (which were written around 60 AD at the latest), scholars date this letter between 60 and 64 AD. 

The Christians addressed in this letter are believed to be Gentiles who were being persecuted for their faith.  As opposed to many of the letters of the New Testament, which were written to address specific issues, much of this letter is a basic primer on how to live the Christian life. 

Like most of the letters we've read already in the New Testament, the first and last chapters contain greetings.  And as before, try and read this as letter, ignoring the verse numbers as much as possible.

God Bless,
Jason Chaillou
thefirewall@comcast.net