BIG IDEA:
F. COMMENDABLE CONDUCT ENABLES US TO ESCAPE THE FUTILITY OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
INTRODUCTION:
John MacArthur; Still, in spite of the suffering, Peter in this passage addresses the believer as “the one who desires life, to love and see good days” (v. 10) and instructs him on how to realize that desire. Here one can easily discern Peter’s four basic admonitions for living and loving the good life, even in the midst of present and menacing trouble: have the right attitude, have the right response, have the right standard, and have the right incentive. The apostle concludes his discussion on the Christian’s conduct in an ungodly world, which began in 2:11, starting with the phrase in 3:8a to sum up (to de telos), which actually could be translated by the single word “finally.” It does not signal the end of the letter, but the conclusion of the current section. After specific references to civil relationships (2:13–17), workplace relationships (2:18–20), and relationships to unsaved spouses (3:1–7), Peter gives all believers a general exhortation, which will open them to the life of blessing God desires for them to enjoy.
Erland Waltner: The spotlight now falls again on their mutual relationships as sisters and brothers in the household of faith and hope. Finally introduces a closing series of exhortations and a supporting Scripture from Psalm 34:12-16. The passage has striking parallels in Romans 12:14-17, though the sequence is different. It also seems to reflect various elements from the Sermon on the Mount, particularly how Christians are to respond to abuse and evil, especially within the Christian community.
Daniel Akin: In C. S. Lewis’s book The Problem of Pain, Lewis quotes the great church father Augustine and writes, “God wants to give us something, but cannot because our hands are full—there’s nowhere for God to put it” (The Problem of Pain, 84). God loves us and wants to give us blessings, the greatest blessing being himself. Unfortunately, our hands are too often full. Sometimes they are full of good things that we have turned into idols. Sometimes they are full of sinful things like divisiveness, hatred, pride, evil, bitterness, a spirit of revenge, or a wicked tongue that is out of control. Peter addresses such sins in 1 Peter 3:8-12. He does not want us to hurt others and ourselves because we are eaten up by anger and bitterness. He wants us to bless others, even our enemies, and to continue to follow the example of Jesus and walk in his footsteps (2:21).
I. DESCRIPTION OF SUCH CONDUCT
A. (:8) Five Attitudes that must Characterize All Believers
(1) Harmonious — thinking the same
Daniel Doriani: Strong relationships begin with “unity of mind” (homophrones). To have one mind is not to have identical opinions about politics, philosophy, ethics, business, food, music, and leisure. Rather, unity means that we are “agreeable and sensitive to each other’s concerns.”1 Unity comes not from a creed or a law laid upon us, nor from a pretense that we agree when we actually disagree, but from relationships, respectful dialogue, and common causes.
(2) Sympathetic — feeling together
John MacArthur: “sharing the same feeling.” Christians are to be united on the truth, but also ready to sympathize with the pain of others, even of those they do not know (cf. Matt. 25:34–40; Heb. 13:3; James 1:27). Like Christ, the sympathetic high priest (Heb. 4:15), they must share in the feelings of others, in their sorrows as well as their joys (Rom. 12:15; 1 Cor. 12:26; 2 Cor. 2:3; Col. 3:12; cf. John 11:35; James 5:11). Believers must not be insensitive, indifferent, and censorious, even toward the lost in their pain of struggling anxiously with the issues of life (cf. Matt. 9:36; Luke 13:34–35; 19:41). Saints must come alongside them with empathy to declare God’s saving truth (cf. Acts 8:26–37).
(3) Brotherly in our love for one another
Daniel Akin: Chiastic structure. Brotherly love is the middle term, showing that it is the most important of all the virtues and that the other virtues are embraced in the call to love one another as a family”
(4) Tenderhearted — quick to feel and show affection
John MacArthur: Kindhearted translates eusplagchnoi, the root of which refers to one’s internal organs and is sometimes translated “bowels” or “intestines” (e.g., Acts 1:18). Affections and emotions have a visceral impact, hence this word signifies a powerful kind of feeling (Eph. 4:32; cf. 2 Cor. 7:15; 1 Thess. 2:8). Much like sympathetic, the expression calls for being so affected by the pain of others as to feel it deeply, following the kind of tenderhearted compassion God, through His Son, has for sinners (cf. Matt. 23:37; Luke 13:34; 19:41–42; John 11:35).
(5) Humble in spirit
Daniel Doriani: To be humble is to suppress the desire to be important and to put our interests first. Since most quarrels come from a desire to have our way, we see that humility fosters unity. Jesus is the supreme model of humility. Phil. 2:5-7
Note: all 5 of these attitudes are essential for submission
To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly,
kindhearted, and humble in spirit;
Peter Davids: Using an unusual expression for “finally,” which means something like “in summary” (the idiom appears in 1 Tim. 1:5 as well), Peter encapsulates his summary in five imperatival adjectives arranged artfully with philadelphoi, the love of those in the Christian community, in the center. The first and last adjectives speak of how one thinks, the second and fourth of how one feels. The first two terms, “united in spirit” and “sympathetic,” are unique in biblical literature, but common in Greek ethical discussion. Yet while the words are unique, the ideas are well known in the NT. As Paul repeatedly argues (Rom. 15:5; 2 Cor. 13:11; Gal. 5:10; Phil. 2:2; 4:2), unity in heart and mind is critical for the Christian community. This is not the unity that comes from a standard imposed from without, such as a doctrinal statement, but that which comes from loving dialogue and especially a common focus on the one Lord. It is his mind and spirit that Christians are to share (1 Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5-11), and therefore have access to a unity that they are to experience. Because humility was the mark of Jesus (Matt. 11:29; Phil. 2:8), this unity will revolve around being “humble” (Eph. 4:2; Phil. 2:3; Col. 3:12; 1 Pet. 5:5). This does not mean a poor self-concept (“I’m no good”), but a willingness to take the lower place, to do the less exalted service, and to put the interests of others ahead of one’s own interests. This attitude of Jesus is surely a necessity if a disparate group is to be “united in spirit.”
To have unity one must “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15 RSV) and thus be “sympathetic” (i.e., enter into and experience the feelings of another). This is precisely what Christ does for us, for he has had similar experiences (Heb. 4:15, which uses a verb closely related to this adjective), and it is what we can do for other suffering Christians (Heb. 10:34). This term has a practical bent, for because we understand the feelings of another we act appropriately to assist our fellow-Christian. On the other hand, “compassionate,” used also by Paul (Eph. 4:32; cf. the related noun in 2 Cor. 7:15; Phil. 1:8; 2:1; Col. 3:12; Philem. 12; 1 John 3:17, and the verb used exclusively for Jesus, Mark 1:41; 6:34; 8:2; 9:22), shows that a Christian’s caring is not to be simply because he or she understands what another feels. Instead, Christians care deeply about fellow-Christians so that the suffering of one becomes the suffering of the other. Christians are to be emotionally involved with each other.
B. (:9a) One Action that must be taken when we are attacked = The Only Answer to Persecution
- Negatively — not retaliation
not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult,
Daniel Akin: Verse 9 redirects our focus. In verse 8 our attention was on how we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ. Verse 9 places our attention on unbelievers. When we are mistreated by action or word, what should be our response? Peter will again point us to the example of Christ seen in 2:18-23.
John MacArthur: A godly approach to life incorporates not only the right action motivated by the right attitude, but the proper reaction when mistreated. Not returning evil for evil begins with an imperative present participle expressing a negative command (mē apodidontes), which can also mean “stop returning.” If a believer is not retaliating to evil with more evil, he must not start; if he is, he must stop (cf. Lev. 19:18; Deut. 32:35–36; Prov. 20:22; 24:29; Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30).
Turning to the matter of speech, Peter warned his readers not to return insult for insult. The term insult (loidoria) means “an abusive railing against, ” “cursing, ” or “speaking evil of” someone and is the root of the word translated “reviled” in 2:23. To engage in such vengeance is an unacceptable response for believers (Eph. 4:29; Col. 3:8; cf. Prov. 4:24; 19:1; Eccl. 5:6). The apostle Paul sought to have the right verbal response to enemies, “When we are reviled, we bless” (1 Cor. 4:12), and warned other believers not to revile (6:10) or even associate with those who do (5:11).
- Positively — giving a blessing instead
but giving a blessing instead;
Erland Waltner: From this list of positive virtues, Peter now turns to the focal issue of loving one’s enemies. As a clear echo of the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:27ff., Peter now exhorts, Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse. This again picks up the strand of ethical response given to the abused domestic slaves (2:18-20). Yet it also broadens and generalizes that counsel to include also other than slave-master conflicts and abuses. Peter thus parallels the word of Paul in Romans 12:17a, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.”
Peter Davids: Blessing was seen as something that really brought good to the person blessed. God, of course, is the chief blesser (e.g., Gen. 12:2; 26:3; 49:25), but patriarchs (e.g., Gen. 27:4, 33) and especially priests (Num. 6:22-26; Sir. 50:20-21) blessed. In Peter it is natural that all Christians should bless, for he has already recognized them all as priests (2:9). This is a concrete way of forgiving offending persons and doing good to them, just as God does.
II. (:9b) REASON FOR SUCH CONDUCT – OVERWHELMED BY APPRECIATION FOR GOD’S GRACE
for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
A. God’s Grace in Calling Us
B. God’s Grace in Blessing Us
III. (:10-11) DESCRIPTION OF SUCH CONDUCT
For, “Let him who means to love life and see good days Refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. 11 “And let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 “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.”
A. Not Harmful Living
(1) words that are malicious (calculated to hurt)
(2) words that are deceitful (calculated to mislead)
Daniel Doriani: First, then, to enjoy “good days”—and good relationships—we must control our tongues. Previously, 1 Peter mentioned verbal sins such as accusing, denouncing, blaspheming, and ridiculing. Here Peter mentions deceit and “evil” speech, which, judging by all Scripture, would include gossip, slander, boasting, bragging, lying, making false promises or vows, rudeness, and abuse of God’s name. The opposite is to speak the truth in love, to praise God, and to bless humanity.
B. Holy Living
Daniel Doriani: Doing good is the active, outward-facing aspect of Christian conduct. Holiness signifies separation, even withdrawal, from the evils of this world. By contrast, when we do good we engage the world, seek to reverse evil. We put up buildings, create constructive institutions, perform music, and generally do whatever our skill and experience allows. To do good is to bring good to all. By doing good, Peter says, believers silence the accusations of foolish men (1 Peter 2:14–15). Three times Peter urges readers to continue doing good in the face of suffering (2:20; 3:17; 4:19). He also tells wives to follow Sarah and do good, whether their husbands share their faith or not (3:6). By doing good, we can frustrate the hostility of some and win others (2:15; 3:1).
C. Harmonious Living — seek peace and pursue it
John MacArthur: Christians are to seek peace and hunt for it aggressively, even peace with their persecutors and others who do not know Christ (cf. Rom. 12:18; 14:19; 1 Thess. 5:13; 2 Thess. 3:16). They are to be known in the world as peacemakers, those who strive for harmony with others as much as possible without compromising the truth (cf. Matt. 5:9; Rom. 12:18; 14:17, 19; 2 Cor. 13:11; 2 Tim. 2:22; James 3:17).
IV. (:12) REASONS FOR SUCH CONDUCT – BEST WAY TO GLORIFY GOD
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.
A. Desire for a Meaningful Life
B. Desire for God’s Continued Favor
John MacArthur: The eyes of the Lord is a common Old Testament phrase that relates to God’s special, caring watchfulness over His people (Prov. 5:21; Zech. 4:10). Sometimes the phrase indicates God’s judgmental watchfulness (Amos 9:8; cf. Prov. 15:3), but here the emphasis is on His omniscient awareness of every detail of believers’ lives (cf. Ps. 139:1–6).
God is also looking toward the righteous so that He can attend to their prayer. The word translated prayer (deēsin) means “entreaty, ” “petition, ” or “supplication, ” and relates to believers’ crying out for God to meet their needs (Ps. 5:2; Matt. 7:7; Phil. 4:6; 1 John 5:14–15). God is always fully aware of everything in the lives of His children. It ought to be a great incentive for believers to live as Peter has outlined, knowing that they can have confidence that the Lord is always watching and waiting, ready to hear and answer their prayers (4:7; Pss. 50:15; 65:2; 138:3; Rom. 8:26; Heb. 4:16).