Original Meaning
AT THE LOGICAL level, 1 Peter 5:6–9 is an exposition of 5:5b, where Peter urged Christians to be humble and quoted Proverbs 3:34 in defense of his point. Here he develops the concept of humility and adds an exhortation to beware of Satan’s schemes. Near the end of this unit (5:10–11) is a doxology in which he praises the God who protects his children. I have included 5:12–14 with this section for convenience sake; it parallels the many ancient letters that end with a formal greeting.1
I could have included 5:6–7 with the previous section, but that would leave two short units, a rather minor exhortation (5:8–9) and a doxology, all by themselves. Admittedly, the exhortations of 5:6–9 are addressed to the “all of you” of 5:5b. But as they move along, the theme of suffering becomes apparent (5:9–10); this has led most commentators to see 5:6–11 as a separate section.2 Peter introduces this theme by capitalizing on the word “humility” in 5:5b, creating a word connection with 5:6. There are four parts to this section: (1) the exhortation to humility (5:6–7); (2) the exhortation to vigilance (5:8–9); (3) the doxology (5:10–11); and (4) final remarks (5:12–14).
The Exhortation to Humility (5:6–7). Theses two verses bear a striking resemblance to James 4:6–7, 10.
1 Peter 5:5b–9 | James 4:6–7, 10 |
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time…. | “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. |
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. | Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. |
| Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. |
Most scholars see here the reflection of an early Christian tradition that exhorted Christians to humility because of the presence of Satan.3 Christians need God’s grace to gain victory over the devil’s assaults. Whereas James brings out the importance of humility for dealing with inner-church strife, Peter draws out the significance of humility and grace for the suffering believer. The humble wait for God’s exaltation of believers at the end of time (cf. 2:12). “Humbling oneself ‘under the mighty hand of God’ is not an ethical admonition making a virtue of necessity, but springs from the religious insight, that God alone can change the ultimate darkness of this world era, that only he can ‘exalt you in the time of visitation’ (5:6).”4
Believers are to “humble” themselves under “God’s mighty hand.” Peter seems to have in mind an eschatological persecution motif: As God’s mighty hand was seen in the plagues of the Exodus (see Ex. 3:19; 6:1; 13:3, 9, 14, 16), so his mighty hand is now being seen in the persecution the believers in Asia Minor are experiencing. By submitting to and waiting out God’s deliverance, they can expect that same mighty hand to deliver them (5:6b), just as the Lord delivered the children of Israel. While the word behind “due time” may be general (in God’s own timing), that same term is used frequently in 1 Peter and early Christian literature for the final day of salvation (cf. 1:5, 7, 13; 2:12; 4:7).5 It is more likely that Peter thinks of an eschatological vindication of God’s suffering people than some kind of reward or vindication in this life.
Peter grounds their submission to God in his loving care and protection: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (5:7). If Peter has in mind the picturesque words of Jesus (Matt. 6:25–34), he has now taken them into the realm of persecution. Drawing on Psalm 55:22 (LXX 54:23), where the psalmist expresses confidence that God will never permit the righteous to be moved and will eventually bring evildoers to justice, Peter exhorts his churches to express a similar confidence in God’s justice. By turning over their fears and worries to God, they express their trust in him and rely on him to bring about vindication and justice. The reason for turning over fears to God is because “he cares for you.” In summary, these two verses are concerned with persecution and suffering and the appropriate Christian response. Believers are to humble themselves before God by submitting to his will, which now includes suffering; they are to turn over their worries to him and let him bring about the justice that he has promised in his own time. In submitting to God’s will and enduring suffering for the sake of Christ, Christians are undergirded with the knowledge that God cares about and loves them.
The Exhortation to Vigilance (5:8–9). The activity of Christians’ submitting themselves to God in a confident trust of his ultimate triumph is suddenly interrupted with two sharp commands: “Be self-controlled and alert!” Or, as J. R. Michaels translates: “Pay attention! Wake up!”6 Why? Because “your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (5:8). Satan, it was believed, would be particularly active in the last days (2 Thess. 2:3–12; 2 Tim. 3:1–9; Revelation), and since the persecution Peter’s readers are suffering is a harbinger of those last days, it is not surprising that he exhorts them to be alert to Satan’s activity. The devil’s roaring and devouring is possibly to be connected with insults (cf. 2:11–12; Ps. 21:14) or, more probably, with assaults aimed at physical death (2 Tim. 4:17).7
Peter exhorts the Christians facing the devil to “resist him, standing firm in the faith” (5:9). Christians resist Satan by refusing to succumb to his temptations to deny the Lord and to be faithless and fearful in the midst of suffering. They can do this “because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” This expression makes it clear that Peter sees Satan’s assaults (his roaring and swallowing) as connected with physical persecution; he exhorts them, therefore, to remain faithful and obedient. Their encouragement comes from the worldwide family of God, for everywhere Christians are suffering.
The Doxology (5:10–11). Peter’s letter ends on a note of prayer, which he begins with a theological reflection: The God they worship and serve is a God of grace. That is, he is merciful and forgiving. He has brought them into covenantal relationship through no merit of their own; he has chosen (1:1–2) to make them his people (2:9–10) and promises his protection (1:3–8).
This theological reflection is then directed toward the specific calling God has given them: He has appointed them to “his eternal glory in Christ.” From the outset of this letter, Peter has focused on the eschatological hope of believers, a hope that sustains them during their suffering. But this hope is not just something that permits them to cope with suffering; it is in fact the destined calling God has given them. He made them his people so they could be with him eternally and praise him forever.
This calling has in it a present condition, one that is not pleasant: suffering for awhile. Once again, the reality of his readers’ social condition shapes Peter’s teaching and prayers.
Finally, Peter’s prayer is for their strength—strength to endure, to remain faithful, and to resist the temptations to the flesh (2:11; 4:4). Peter’s prayer reinforces his promise in 5:6 that God will lift them up by sustaining their lives on a daily basis.
Final Remarks (5:12–14). Peter concludes his letter in a manner similar to the endings of other letters: mentioning the amanuensis or deliverer of the letter (Silas), summarizing his intention (to exhort and testify), greeting them, and wishing them God’s peace.8 For years scholars have argued that the expression “with the help of Silas” described Silas’s help in writing the letter. Such aid, it was argued, helps explain how “unschooled, ordinary men” (Acts 4:13), among whom was Peter, could write a letter as refined at 1 Peter.9 Such a view is permissible.10 On the other hand, some today argue that Silas was the one who delivered the letter.11 The preponderance of literary evidence supports the second position, for ancient expressions similar to Peter’s wording here speak almost uniformly of the carrier of the letter, not its amanuensis.12
Peter’ intention in writing this letter has been to exhort, and the frequency of imperatives in 1 Peter proves he has been successful (e.g., 1:13–25; 2:11–3:12; 5:1). In addition, he contends that what he has written witnesses (cf. 5:1) “that this13 is the true grace of God.” The apostle alludes here to the truthfulness of the gospel he has preached (1:10–12) and assumes that this is what his readers firmly believe. He only urges them to “stand fast in it.” That is, they are to stand fast for the gospel and resist the temptation to cave in under the pressure of suffering.
Our letters begin with greetings; Peter’s ends with greetings. “She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.” Because Babylon was a notorious place of sin, it became a figurative expression for any place known for its sinfulness (cf. Rev. 14:8; 17:18; 18:2, 10, 21). However, it may be used here simply to describe where Christians have been deported from the homeland of Judea. In this case, it is the counterpart to “scattered” (Gk. diaspora) in 1:1.14 The description of Babylon as “chosen” favors the second view; interestingly, election is also found in 1:1. In either case, it surely describes Rome,15 and early Christian tradition confirms that Peter wrote from Rome.16
Both Peter and Mark share their greetings. Peter then urges his readers to “greet one another with a kiss of love,” the standard form of greeting in the ancient world (cf. Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26)17 and in many parts of the world today. Americans tend to shake hands while other cultures hug one another or give one another a kiss. Peter’s blessing then follows: “Peace to all of you who are in Christ.”
Bridging Contexts
WHILE THE PARTICULAR nuances Peter brings out are not the nuances we would bring out (since most of us are not in a context of suffering), the larger themes he deals with are as relevant now as they were then: Christians are to submit to God, wait for God’s good time, and fight off the devil’s schemes. Furthermore, Christians need both God’s strengthening and his peace.
When texts are immediately relevant, it is not hard to bridge a New Testament text with our world. However, even here we must be careful to define our terms so that we can properly guard against interpreting a text in such a way that it simply confirms our culture. Thus, our text contains several critical terms that the modern interpreter may seize upon, but he or she needs to make sure that the application is in harmony with the ancient text.
For instance, when Peter promises that God will “lift you up” (5:6), it will not do to apply this to our world by suggesting it includes some kind of job promotion that a Christian sees as a reward for faithfulness. What Peter has in mind is final vindication at the end of history, not a present reward.18 The expression “in due time” is similar to those at 1:5 and 4:17, where the end of time is clearly in view. Furthermore, the entire message of this letter is set over against a deep and abiding hope for the End to come to make all things right.19 Eusebius is perhaps the best example of how this term is intended here. In speaking of the martyrs, he says, “They humbled themselves under the mighty hand and by it they have now been greatly exalted.”20
Again, expressions like the devil’s prowling, roaring, and seeking to devour (5:8) need to be understood as Satan’s assault on the physical life of a Christian, not just any set of temptations. Even the term “peace” in 5:14 should be defined as God’s salvation and the consequences it brings. No matter how much we might like terms like this to mean something vitally relevant to our political, business, or social situation, it is important for modern interpreters to let the text say what it said and not ask it to say more than it did.
The pursuit of the varied nuances of the text by seeking out carefully the meaning of our author does not, however, prohibit us from taking specific ideas and applying them more generally. For instance, I argued above that Peter’s intention in 5:6 was along the line of submitting to God by waiting on his final display of salvation, when he will vindicate his people. The specific context to which Peter is speaking is surely that of suffering for Christ’s sake, and it clearly applies to any context where the church is suffering. But in our context, suffering for Christ’s sake is not as frequent. Are we then to drop this text and move on to another? Not always, though sometimes we frankly have to admit that a text “no longer speaks” to us. But we can sometimes generalize from a specific idea to a broader one. Thus, while 5:6 speaks of enduring persecution, we may also apply it to our world along the following lines: Inasmuch as God is faithful to his people and cares for them (5:7), we can expect our current obedience to be vindicated by God at the Final Day.21
Similarly, while Satan’s assaults here are understood as his attempts to get Christians to crumble in the face of persecution, we can surely infer that this is but one method of getting Christians sidetracked from doing God’s will. Therefore, we find it permissible, through inferential logic, to apply this text to any assaults by Satan to thwart God’s plans. But inasmuch as Peter’s concerns were serious, we will be most faithful to Peter’s text if we apply these to large situations where God’s will is being attacked. For instance, a crusade to evangelize one’s city might be attacked by Satan through the political machinery of the city to prevent the gospel from being heard by those who are hard to reach any other way. It would be good to restrict our applications to those situations where we find a broader opposition to the church (5:9), though I do not deny that the personal oppositions each Christian encounters are included in Satan’s overall scheme to stymie God’s plan.
On another issue, I doubt that it is important for us to change our cultural form of greeting, from handshaking and hugging to the “double kiss on the cheek” simply because Peter instructs his readers to greet one another with a holy kiss. However culturally conditioned we may be about being kissed by total strangers, culturally conditioned we are. We must simply apply this text to our culture’s institution of greeting; Christians ought to greet one another warmly everywhere, no matter how they express that greeting.
Finally, it is always wise to move the message of a passage of the New Testament into our world by seeking to relate the “big message.” That is, while it may be fruitful to take a single verse (such as the “roaring lion”) and make it relevant, it is even more fruitful to summarize the essential message of a passage and move it into our cultural setting. I have frequently heard sermons and Bible study lessons that focus on one minor point, however relevant it might be, to the neglect of the larger picture in which that minor point is found. And all too frequently, that minor point is a hobby horse of the preacher. We must be relevant, to be sure, but never at the expense of the essential theme of the text.
Therefore, we may ask, what essentially is Peter driving at in 5:6–14? The answer is simple: He is both summing up his entire orientation (exhortation) and being specific at the same time. His central message is clear: You must remain faithful to Jesus Christ, in spite of your social condition and its potential dangers, by living obediently and in community with one another. This is the message we want to relate to our world, even though at times it may be difficult to do so.
Contemporary Significance
PETER’S MAIN EXHORTATION of the importance of standing firm is expressed in several ways:
• by humbly submitting to God in faithful waiting
• by remaining vigilant and aware of Satan’s schemes
• by praying for God’s enablement to give us strength and solidity
• by affirming once again the truthfulness of God’s grace.
Peter’s whole letter is an exhortation designed to get the believers of Asia Minor to remain faithful, obedient, and good citizens, who will in no way damage the cause of Christ through bad behavior. That is what we need to apply to our world today: faithfulness to the gospel so that our society can see the glory of God.
I begin by reflecting on the reality that our enemy, the devil, is against us. As David Watson said, “Even amongst Christians who do believe in the devil’s existence, there is often a marked blindness about the reality of spiritual warfare and the nature of the enemy’s tactics.”22 Though Peter only addresses the significance of Satan in the persecution schemes of the pagans of Asia Minor once (5:8–9), his opposition is nonetheless real.23 Satan still wants to ruin us and the impact of the gospel in our world. This places the theme of Peter’s letter, the Christian’s life in an unbelieving society, on a higher plane. Our lives are to be seen as part of a cosmic struggle (cf. Rev. 12:1–9). Though some Christians are a bit neurotic about the real presence of Satan and demonic forces in the normal struggles of life (like flat tires, long red lights, and bad prices at the supermarket), an overreaction that totally eliminates him from our lives is just as bad.
Satan’s devices24 include tempting us to sin (Gen. 3:1–6; Luke 22:31, 32), accusing us before God and making us fear our standing before God (Job 1:6–12; 2:1–7; Zech. 3:1–2; Rev. 12:10), opposing God’s will in a multitude of ways (Matt. 13:19; Acts 13:8–10), confusing our minds regarding truth (2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2), inciting acts of idolatry and magic (Acts 8:9–11; 19:13–16; Col. 2:8–23), and overtly dominating people to the point of demonization (Mark 5:1–20). I also believe Satan can work his way into the political and structural machinery of society to the point of society itself becoming a tool of sin and oppression (cf. Dan. 10; John 8:44; 1 Thess. 2:18).25
But God is stronger than Satan, and he can reclaim those who have been demonized (Matt. 8:32; 17:18; Mark 5:1–20) and permit his people to escape the devil’s tempting lures (Luke 4:1–13; 1 Cor. 10:13; Eph. 6:10–18; James 4:7). Those who seek to bring God’s will to every venture will also work against the political machinery that opposes God. The everyday trust that Christians exercise protects them from Satan’s assaults against God and his people. The temptation to deny association with Jesus can be overcome when we realize that God is Judge, remember that others have endured suffering on our behalf, and recognize that someday God will bring about total justice, everywhere and for everyone.
A second point in this connection is that God’s grace can sustain us in our most difficult hour. Peter assures his readers that the God who called you by his grace “will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (5:10). Since Peter understands that the struggle his readers are facing is not just a social battle or a religious difference, but a cosmic battle in which God’s glory is at stake, he prays that God will enable his churches to live faithfully, honorably, and obediently in the face of a hostile environment.
If we are tempted, God is on our side (1 Cor. 10:13); if we are fearful, God calls us to fearless obedience with the promise that confession will bring its reward (Matt. 10:32–33). In all of this, God’s grace starts and sustains the spiritual energies required (Eph. 2:8–10). Peter began his letter by informing his readers that they were kept by God’s power, so that what God began in his mercy will be completed (1 Peter 1:3–5). Even the faith that Christians have is a gift of God (Phil. 1:29). “It has been said that in the New Testament doctrine is grace, and ethics is gratitude; and something is wrong with any form of Christianity in which, experimentally and practically, this saying is not being verified.”26 Thus, what Peter is saying, and what we need to hear as well, is that the God of grace who called us will preserve us as we trust and obey him.
One of the most ennobling features of this text is that the God who called us to his eternal glory is indeed a God of grace. No matter what God has called us to do—whether that means living victoriously in some modern Christianized culture or living in the heat of suffering—as the God of grace, he will bring us to the end he desires. We do not have to earn that final state because as the God of grace, he has willed that it be ours. We do not have to worry about things, because as the God of grace, he has promised us eternal glory. When we are tempted to give up on the tasks God has given us, we need to remind ourselves that our gracious God has appointed us to those tasks and that he will give us strength and power until the End.
Third, Peter knows that the Christians of Asia Minor are fully responsible for their actions, so he exhorts them to humble themselves in trust before God (5:6), to hand over to God their fearful hearts (5:7), to be on the lookout for Satan’s wily schemes, and, when seeing them, to resist his temptations (5:8–9, 12). These are their, and our, responsibilities before God—when facing temptation, to resist it; when seeing the reality of persecution, to commit the heart to God and wait for his vindication; when encountering the fear that comes from difficult stresses, to rid the anxiety by living in light of God’s care.
Therefore, as we come to the end of a marvelous letter, we too are confronted with the same call to responsible living in our world. We are called to live honorably in our society so that there are no grounds of accusations against us and we can make the biggest possible impact on our world. We are called to live a holy life, abstaining from sin. We are called to live a loving life, serving our brothers and sisters in the Christian family. We are called to live in light of God’s judgment, making sure that everything we do will be approved by God in that final hour. Our identity is not to be wrapped up in our social location, whether that be low (like Peter’s churches) or high (like many churches today), but in the fact that we are God’s family and are related to him. As such, we are to serve one another with the gifts God has granted and live orderly and lovingly with one another. No matter how many adjustments we have to make as we read Peter’s letter in our world, we are anchored to his world by the fact of the common salvation that transforms our behavior (1:3–2:10), we are challenged to live circumspectly in our society (2:11–3:12), and we are expected to live as the family of God ought to live (3:13–5:11). When we live like this, people will glorify him on the day he visits us (2:12).