BIG IDEA:
C. MUTUAL HUMILITY HELPS THE PERSECUTED CHURCH STAND STRONG IN THE GRACE OF GOD
INTRODUCTION:
Peter Davids: He has already mentioned that persecution comes to faithful Christians according to God’s will (3:17), that it is not foreign to their existence as followers of Christ (4:12-16), and that it is in fact God’s purifying fire (4:17-19). If this is so, the duty of the believer is not to resist (either attacking the persecutors or raging against God), but to “humble [himself] under the mighty hand of God.” The concept of humbling oneself, of making oneself low, has already been noted in the previous verse. Jesus himself valued this attitude before God (Matt. 18:4; cf. Matt. 5:3, where “poor in spirit” is probably another way of expressing the underlying Hebraic concept of being God’s eānî or eanāwîm), so there is no surprise in discovering that his followers would also value it (however difficult it may be actually to live out). “God’s mighty hand” is also a good biblical image, deeply rooted in the OT. It was this “hand” that delivered Israel from Egypt (e.g., Exod. 3:19; 6:1; 13:3, 9, 14, 16; Deut. 9:26, 29; 26:8; Jer. 21:5; Ezek. 20:33-34), and it was this hand that was behind his works in the NT (Luke 1:66; Acts 4:28, 30; 11:21; 13:11), most of which are his signs and wonders, but some of which are his judgment (Acts 13:11), including the death of Jesus (Acts 4:28), which for Peter is archetypal for the suffering of the church. Thus they are to see God at work behind their suffering and submit, allowing themselves to be brought low, for his purpose is that “he may exalt you in due time.”
That humiliation leads to exaltation is a common theme of Scripture (e.g., 1 Sam. 2:7-8; Ezek. 17:24; Matt. 23:12; Luke 1:52; 14:11; 18:14; Jas. 1:9). God’s purposes are never simply to humiliate people, but that out of their coming low before him (often spoken of as a “death to self”) he might exalt them in and with Christ. This he will do “in due time.” For Peter the due or opportune time is surely the return of Christ, the parousia, this expression here being a shortened form of that in 1:5. It is then that these folk will be vindicated, that their enemies will be judged, and that they will receive in exchange for their persecution that inheritance which is already waiting for them in heaven (1:3). This is indeed something worth humbling oneself for, for those who resist God (the proud) will never receive it.
Erland Waltner: Without humility, neither the church leaders nor the people will be able to manage the diversity of their gifts (4:11) nor practice the forbearing, forgiving, and serving love to which they have been called as they live in community. The image clothe yourselves has been vividly paraphrased: Put on the apron of humility (GNB).
Meanwhile, since the church lives in a situation of hostility and threat from the outside, Peter exhorts, Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Cast translates a participle rather than a new imperative, indicating that this call to trust God fully is part of practicing humility. It is a strong word, however, meaning “throw,” as one might decisively throw off a burden one has been carrying. What is to be cast away includes all anxiety. Once again Peter echoes what Jesus said about anxiety (Matt. 6:25-34; Luke 12:11, 22-32). Peter indicates that the basis for such action is that God cares for God’s people. The Greek literally means, “It matters to God concerning you. ”This is a central dimension of the grace of God, a theme pervading this letter. Goppelt has caught effectively the force of this passage: Worry, anxiety for oneself, and striving to secure one’s own life, which are marked by fear, are lifted from those who are called to faith…. The casting off of fear is as necessary as submission: If a person does not succeed at separating himself or herself from fear, fear separates him or her from God. Affliction either drives one into the arms of God or severs one from God. (359)
Daniel Doriani: The Globel Need for Humility
The pioneering missionary William Carey wrote a letter to one of his sons on the occasion of Carey’s birthday:
I am this day 70 years old, a monument of Divine mercy and goodness, though on a review of my life I find much, very much, for which I ought to be humbled in the dust; my direct and positive sins are innumerable, my negligence in the Lord’s work has been great, I have not promoted his cause, nor sought his glory and honor as I ought. Notwithstanding all this, I am spared till now, and am still retained in his work. I trust for acceptance with Him to the blood of Christ alone.
This is an astonishing statement, given the scope of Carey’s devotion and labor. He went to India in 1793 and worked without respite, with scarcely a tenth of the resources or support he needed. He hardly rested as he evangelized, taught, and translated the Bible, in whole or in part, into forty languages or dialects. How could Carey possibly fault himself for sinfulness and sloth? Did he suffer from poor self-esteem, morbid self-inspection, or the ancient battle with age and mortality?
Carey’s letter seems strange today because so many people succumb to pride. Just as some physical diseases are treated but never cured, so spiritual pride is treated but never fully removed. Pride is also a malady that resists treatment. Flaws such as an explosive temper and procrastination are hard to deny because the evidence is public. But some sins are hidden, even from those who suffer them. Pride and self-righteousness are cases in point because awareness of sin is precisely what the proud lack.
By definition, a church is a gathering of the humble. Disciples are confident of their worth, since we know that God created us in his image and valued us enough to send his Son for us. Yet every believer is aware of his sin and need. Every disciple has repented, and when we repent, we both confess particular sins and admit that we are selfish and rebellious to the bone. Knowing that we are incapable of self-reform, we trust in Christ to forgive and restore us. This is the conviction of every Christian.
John MacArthur: If the foundational attitude for spiritual growth is submission, humility is, then, the footing to which the foundation is anchored. To become proudly rebellious, fight against the Lord’s purposes, or judge His providence as unkind or unfair is to forfeit the sweet grace of His exaltation when the trial has fulfilled its purpose (cf. James 1:2–4). It is the Lord Jesus Himself who promised, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).
I. THE CALL TO MUTUAL HUMILITY –
HUMILITY PREPARES US TO SERVE ONE ANOTHER
A. This call is for every believer
and all of you,
B. The essence of the call is humility
clothe yourselves with humility
C. This call prepares us for service toward one another
toward one another,
II. THE LINK BETWEEN HUMILITY AND GOD’S RESOURCES –
HUMILITY IS THE DOOR TO GOD’S GRACE
A. God resists the proud
for God is opposed to the proud,
- Example of the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9)
- Example of King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan.4)
B. God gives grace to the humble — example of Naaman (2 Kings 5)
but gives grace to the humble.
III. (:6-7) THE LINK BETWEEN HUMILITY AND GOD’S CHARACTER –
THE POWER OF HUMILITY – BECAUSE OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AND LOVE, HUMILITY PROTECTS INSTEAD OF EXPOSES
A. Humility Protects Because God is Sovereign
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God,
- Make sure we have relinquished control of our lives to God
- How do we humble ourselves? study specifics of 1 Peter
- Humility is powerful because of “the mighty hand of God“
In the OT this speaks of God’s redemption of His people From Egypt;
If we trusted God for our eternal destiny why do we struggle with trusting Him for today?
B. Humility Leads to Exaltation (Matt. 23:1-12; Luke 14:7-11)
that He may exalt you at the proper time,
“in time” has special eschatological signif. — the end times when Christ will be manifested (1:5; 2:12)
C. (:7) Humility Protects Us Because God is Love — He Cares –
casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
“it matters to Him concerning us“; contrast John 10:13); so we must cast on Him our anxiety (that which would distract us from wholehearted devotion and faith in Christ) regarding our
vulnerability due to humbling ourselves trusting that humility protects us rather than exposes us even during persecution
(Illustration of Mark 4:35-41 — the boat won’t sink and the storm won’t last forever)
Daniel Akin: One of the blessings of humility toward God is giving him all our anxieties, all our burdens, and all our cares. We can cast all our anxieties on him because he cares about us. Calvin writes, “As soon as we are convinced that God cares for us, our minds are easily led to patience and humility” (“Commentaries,” 149).
The God who loves us and cares about us wants “all” our fears, anxieties, and concerns. The big ones and the little ones. None are too big, and none are too small. “Give all your worries and cares to God” (NLT). You will discover that he gives courage, wisdom, strength, faith, hope, and endurance. Jesus is the burden-bearer; we are burden-givers. Give your cares and concerns to the Savior. He has already borne them all on the cross anyway.
Peter Davids: Indeed, to carry anxiety is likely to choke the fruitfulness of God’s work in one’s life (Mark 4:19; Luke 21:34). Paul takes up this idea when he writes in Phil. 4:6, “Do not worry about anything.” In 2 Cor. 8–9 he combines this assurance of God’s care with the carefree giving of the Macedonians to urge a similar attitude. His own confidence in God’s ability in the middle of persecution appeared previously in 2 Cor. 1:8-11. In other words, in 1 Pet. 4:19 our author argued that in persecution the believer should simply commit his or her life to “a faithful Creator.” Here he expands on that attitude. When pressures come on the Christian the proper response is not anxiety, for that comes out of a belief that one must take care of oneself and a lack of trust in God. It is rather a trusting commitment to God (prayer expressing this, as Paul states explicitly in Phil. 4:6) in the assurance that God indeed cares and that his caring does not lack the power or the will to do the very best for his own.