High Theology Equals High Doxology! The More We Know Of Who God Is, And What His Word Teaches, The More We Will Worship And Be In Awe Of Him!
The Acts Church
The 1st Letter Of Peter
Peter is writing to the elect of God who are exiles in a foreign land. He is writing to them to encourage them and remind them that sufferings and trials are coming and are guarantees, but to not to be discouraged because the trials are from God and are to refine their faith. Suffering, testing, and persecution are coming and we are to look to Christ as our example on how to respond as Peter will labor in this letter to the chosen of God. Peter will encourage and remind his audience that they are strangers and exiles that are not in their true home and they are to keep their eyes upon their forever home in heaven where their inheritance is waiting. Christians have an inheritance that is being reserved for them and they are being reserved for their inheritance. This will be finally complete when we as exiles take our first step home!
Shawn Owens
Pastor Shawn Owens dedicates part of his study time to make notes easy to read, and thorough for anyone who cannot attend in person. Pastor Shawn desires for these notes to help you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, and slander are all from our natural man that is unregenerate and are actions that the devil displays. To go against these things (malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander) mentioned in this verse is to go against our fallen nature. That is why it takes the super nature of regeneration to begin to produce actions that are opposite to our fallen naturel. It is only after we are born again can we then begin to lay these things aside as we are becoming more conformed to the image of God. If you are a Christian, put these things down and never pick them up again!
Peter is not meaning that we are to be content with basic and surface level understanding of the Bible. In other passages of scripture, those who are new or young in the faith are partaking of the “milk” of the Bible instead of the “meat.” Just as infants drink milk and are not ready for meat, the same goes to new converts who partake of the milk at first and then as they grow in their faith, they will begin to be partakers of the meat or rather the deeper things of God and His Word. The milk or surface level things of His Word are meant for infants in the faith, but sadly many people who have been Christians for a long time are still on the milk of the Word. The Bible repeatedly states that those who are partaking of the milk or surface level things of God despite how long they have been a Christian are infants. God commands us to continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord (2 Peter 3:18) and being surface level is not what the Bible commands for a Christian.
We can only let our light shine if He has called the light into our souls. To His people, He has made His face shine upon us and lifted His countenance upon us (Numbers 6:24-26) and the ultimate completion of Him shining His light upon and in us will be in our eternal home!
When we are treated unjustly, we are not to repay evil with evil, but are to give all vengeance to God who will always bring perfect vengeance and vindication to those who suffer unjustly (Romans 12:17-21),(Luke 18:1-8). No suffering is without purpose!
The lashes that Jesus took on his body was punishment that He was taking in our place. The injuries from the whip and the lashings looked like stripes on His back and those stripes were the punishment He took in our place. It is by those stripes and His blood that we escape the punishment and penalty of sin. Every lash of the whip, every punch, every slap, every scourge, the crown of thorns, every bone, nails in the hands and feet, the crucifixion, and the wrath of God was what we deserved. However, Christ came to die in the place of His sheep. The Good Shepherd came to lay His life down for His sheep (John 10:11) and the unblemished blood of the Lamb as a result of His stripes and wounds, would be the spiritual healing for His elect.
The Good Shepherd willingly laid down His life for the sheep (John 10:11) and bore their sins in His body (1 Peter 2:24) and as a result of what the Shepherd did in His life and in His death, verse 25 is possible.