Thesis: to instruct the hearer why God teaches passivity and not retaliation in the physical realm.
Scripture: 1 Pet 2:18-25
1Pe 2:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect (fear), not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.
1Pe 2:19 For this (finds favor) is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.
1Pe 2:20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this (finds favor) is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
1Pe 2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
1Pe 2:22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
1Pe 2:23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
1Pe 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
1Pe 2:25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Introduction:
1. This is a passage that gives some trouble, but the teaching is plain here, just like Jesus endured unjustly at the hands of wicked men, so, in like manner, His followers (household slaves in this case) are to endure unjust actions at the hands of the wicked, in fact this scenario actually finds favor in the sight of God.
2. But why? Is it so Christians can be the whipping posts of the world? Or does God have another reason or reasons behind it? (Mt 5:38-48)
Mat 5:38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
Mat 5:39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
Mat 5:41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
Mat 5:42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Mat 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
Mat 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Mat 5:45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
Mat 5:47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
Mat 5:48 You therefore (shall) must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
3. I assert that God indeed does straight out teach this as truth, and has number of good reasons behind it
4. So in this lesson we will look at . . .
a. THE TRUE ENEMY
b. THE TRUE BATTLE
c. THE TRUE VICTORY
A. THE TRUE ENEMY (Lk 9:51-56)
Luk 9:51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,
Luk 9:52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, so they might prepare for Him.
Luk 9:53 But they did not receive Him, because He was determined to go to Jerusalem.
Luk 9:54 And when they saw this, James and John His disciples said, "Lord, do You wish that we should call down fire from heaven and consume them, as Elijah did?"
Luk 9:55 But turning, He rebuked them, and said, "You do not know of what sort of spirit you are.
Luk 9:56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village.
1. I think this is a very revealing account, and shows us a very important fact, that is to retaliate for some injustice is no more than allowing an evil spirit/demon to control our lives instead God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit (Mt 16:21-27)
Mat 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
Mat 16:22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you."
Mat 16:23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
Mat 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Mat 16:25 For whoever would save his life (psuche)will lose it, but whoever loses his life (psuche) for my sake will find it.
Mat 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul (psuche)? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul (psuche) ?
Mat 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
a. Again we can see the same sort of mechanism taking place, when Peter stood opposed to God’s plan, it was not Peter, but actually Satan working through him
b. Also note that Jesus assures Peter that the legers would ultimately be balanced at His second coming (Mt 16:27), this is likely a reference to the final Judgment
c. Note that Peter’s mindset was not proper, he was thinking like men instead of like God, I assert that this speaks of the unregenerated man, or at least one whose mindset needs some adjusting by God (Rom 8:5-14)
Rom 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.
Rom 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Rom 8:10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life (alive) because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give (spiritual) life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Rom 8:12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
Rom 8:13 For if you are living according to the flesh you will die (spiritually speaking), but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live (again spiritually).
Rom 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
d. I think the main problem that many Christians have is that they are not allowing themselves to be spiritually sensitive, spiritually discerning what is actually taking place in certain situations. (1 Cor 2:1-16)
1Co 2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
1Co 2:2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1Co 2:3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,
1Co 2:4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
1Co 2:5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
1Co 2:6 Yet among the mature (perfect; full-grown; telios) we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age (world) or of the rulers of this age (world), who are doomed to pass away.
1Co 2:7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
1Co 2:8 None of the rulers of this age (world) understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Co 2:9 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"—
1Co 2:10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
1Co 2:11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
1Co 2:13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
1Co 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (foolishness) to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.
1Co 2:16 "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
e. What I am trying to bring forth here is that there are two basic spirits in the realms, the Spirit of God, and the evil spirits led by Satan/Mastema, now these evil spirits come in many differing forms and avenues, but we as children of God need to be aware of the good and the evil working around us and in us, and be able to properly resist or submit to these entities (Eph 6:10-12).
Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
2. So let us consider (identify) some of the spirits at work in these situations e have looked at . . .
a. 1 Pet 2:18-25 (slaves and masters), the master, domination and abuse; the slave, pride and retaliation or, subjection and endurance, based upon his response
b. Lk 9:51-56 (Jesus, John, James and the village of Samaritans) the Samaritans, unbelief, un-love; Jesus, He was perfect, focused, instructive, and was allowing God to work in His timeframe; James and John, impatience, indignity, aggression, un-love
c. Mt 16:21-27 (Jesus and Peter with Christ’s suffering and death in view) Jesus, revealing, instructive, but He does seem to maybe for an instant been tempted towards Peter’s plan (Heb 4:15), yet He turns Satan’s attack into a lesson on selflessness and priorities; Peter, short-sighted, earthly as opposed to heavenly, selfishness instead of the greater good, for himself, for others, and for God. (2 Cor 2:9-11)
2Co 2:9 For to this end I also wrote, so that I might put you to the test, to see if you are obedient in all things.
2Co 2:10 And to whom you forgive anything, I also forgive; for if indeed I have forgiven anything, the one whom I have forgiven, I have done so for your sakes in the presence of Christ,
2Co 2:11 lest we be taken advantage of by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
d. In this context Paul is talking about his commanding the Corinthian Christians to exercise church discipline against a member who was actually having marital relations with his mother in-law, they did, he repented, now they needed to forgive him, so they could be forgiven (Mt 6:15), because if they did not, not only would they not be forgiven of their sins, but they were practicing a self-imposed ignorance in this situation, by allowing Satan through their unforgiving attitude to promote his will, instead of God’s
e. We as children of God need to be able to properly identify “the true enemy”, Satan and his devices, who we oftentimes allow to be the leading force within us.
B. THE TRUE BATTLE (2 Cor 10:3-5)
2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh
2Co 10:4 (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds),
2Co 10:5 casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;
1. What is this saying? That though we may physically reside in this perishable realm at this present time, we, as Christ imitators, are not to live like it, we have been spiritual seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph 2:6), we have been given the true knowledge of how things really work (Col 2:3), what is going on behind the scenes, so to speak, and God wants us not only to “identify”, but also to “engage” the enemy “within us!” Really that needs to be emphasized the enemy is “WITHIN US!” (Mk 7:20-23)
Mar 7:20 And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him.
Mar 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
Mar 7:22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
a. How did these defiling things get within us? Were we born with them, as some might state? Or did we learn them, desire them, and make them our own as we became accountable in the sight of God? I believe the scriptures clearly teach the latter.
b. We need to be bringing our thoughts against God’s ways into obedience, and stop imagining that we as the work of someone else’s hands, that we as pots actually have the ability to instruct the Potter?
2. That reminds me of a lesson that the Lord taught me, and is still teaching me, even to this day, this has to do with my driving job.
a. While I am on the road, a lot of things are taking place, spiritually speaking, within myself and others, there is aggression, dominance, pride, un-love, selfishness, but also caring, consideration and selflessness.
b. When I am going the speed limit on the road, most people pass me, I try to be lawful, while many practice lawlessness, sometimes even to the point of endangering themselves, others, and me.
c. Do I submit and let them pass? Maybe slowing down a little to keep them from breaking the law less? Or do I accelerate a little bit to make their lawless deed a little tougher on them?
d. I can clearly see the two differing spirits at play within me in these situations, and I grieve and repent when I choose the wrong one, but also there is a peace that resides in me when I choose the right.
e. This is just one example of spiritual entities at work within me, and I know that they also are at work in others, but the point I am making here is that God gives me true knowledge, through His Spirit, yet my old man, my unregenerated spirit, still oftentimes rears his ugly head to remind me of my shortcomings and to be thankful to God for Christ’s perfection imparted to me through the gospel (Rom 8:4; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 10:10-17)
f. But I do believe that God is giving me growth, enabling me to overcome in these situations more and more, and fail less and less (Eph 6:10-11)
Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
3. And what is the whole armor? The rest of this passage tells us (Eph 6:13-18)
Eph 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
Eph 6:15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
Eph 6:16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
Eph 6:17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
Eph 6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
a. Summed up, truth, not lying, righteousness not wickedness, the gospel of peace, not retaliation, faith, not unbelief, salvation through Christ, not through our works, the word of God, not the musings of men, continually praying in the Spirit, for yourself and others, and keeping spiritually alert, and persevering, enduring, in this sin darkened world.
4. What about those who attack us, who think we are but sheep led to the slaughter? Will they just continue to do more and more evil, dominating the meek? (Rom 12:17-19)
Rom 12:17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
Rom 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Rom 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
a. God will get them, in this life or the next, yet actually He would rather they see our Christ-like actions, turn, be forgiven, and be saved (1 Tim 2:4).
Rom 12:20 To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals (of your love cutting into his conscience) on his head."
Rom 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
b. Concerning us, our Father does not want us to be like Satan, but like Jesus, He wants us to learn, take a minute to contemplate, spiritually assess, then react, accordingly (Ja 1:19-20).
Jas 1:19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
Jas 1:20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
c. The slave striking his abusive master will not draw the master or himself closer to God, but rather closer to Satan, what this is about is self-control, which is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23).
Eph 4:26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Eph 4:27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
d. So if you do anger, do not let it manifest itself into a tool For Satan, but rather put it away(Eph 4:31), and shift your focus to things that are good (Phili 4:8), to the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Col 3:2-4)
Php 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Col 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Col 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
e. This, beloved, is “the true battle”, and it takes place within us, each and every day
C. THE TRUE VICTORY (1 Jn 5:1-5)
1Jn 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
1Jn 5:4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
1Jn 5:5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
1. This is simple and straightforward, if we believe Jesus is the Christ, we are born again, we are born of the Spirit, the Spirit sheds God’s love in our hearts (Rom 5:5), it changes the way we react and think of others, and of what we think of God’s word, faith comes from God’s word (Rom 10:17), that faith, applied to our lives enables us to overcome the world, the ways of the world, within us (first and foremost), and within others.
a. It’s not about dying and living physically, but spiritually, it’s not about suffering or not suffering physically, but rather spiritually, what it is really about is getting out of here (Phili 1:21)! And while we are here, promoting God’s will for us and others, that all the more might have this living hope (1 Cor 15:50-58)
1Co 15:50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
1Co 15:51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
1Co 15:55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
b. This is where “the true victory” is at, thinking about this, being focused on this, and working in the Lord as we meditate upon it, in other words “multitasking”, while we do this we are being purified, becoming more and more pure, as He is pure.(1 Jn 3:1-3)
1Jn 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
1Jn 3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
1Jn 3:3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.