1 Peter 5:6-10

 

1 Pet 5:6 (KJB)
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
 
Humble - Make low or abase
He may exalt - To raise high
Due Time - A specific event in time
 
The word in the Greek for humble is passive which means that God will do the humbling. If we attempt to humble ourselves, we may do it but then we might let everyone know how humble we are thus negating true humility. God is allowing the persecution they are facing to humble them. In the kingdom of God, humility is not a loss, as it is to the world, but it is great gain. Then God states that after He has humbled these believers through His testing program, He will exalt them in their high position which they have in Christ. Remember we saw that Christ made us kings and priests. The word in Greek for due time carries with it the meaning of a one time event which is a very important event. The believers will be exalted to their high position in the New Heavens and the New Earth. Once this old earth has passed away, then with it goes all the testing programs and the persecutions accompanying them.
 
1 Pet 5:7 (KJB)
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
 
Casting - Throw or place upon
Care - concerns or anxieties
Careth - To be an object of care or thought
 
During times of persecution, these believers were to place all their anxieties upon the Lord. It is the same today as we face persecution or even all the anxieties of the daily routines we have, we are to give them over to the Lord. This does not mean we do not take an active part in our lives but when times get tough that is when we are to place great faith in the Lord and when we do that, then the anxiety level goes down in our life. This verse goes on to say that God does not forget His own as He knows just what the believer can take and He is never out to break the Christian but to build them up. This is seen in the last part of the verse where the Christian is an object of thought by God. He personally cares for all His children, no matter what circumstances they are facing.
 
1 Pet 5:8 (KJB)
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
 
Sober - Temperate or well-balanced
Vigilant - Stay awake or be alert
Adversary - Opponent or enemy
Roaring - To roar or howl from hunger or rage
Walketh about - Walk about or around, conduct oneself
Devour - Drink down, swallow or consume
 
Here is probably one of the most important verses the Christian needs to know and digest. We are to remain well-balanced in mind and not easily thrown about by every wind of doctrine nor are we to be quickly upset. We know that Satan goes around as a roaring lion, just as a physical lion goes about after prey. The Christian is the Devil’s prey. (Rev 12:12 KJV) Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. When Satan was cast out of Heaven, he was cast to the earth where he will, until the last day, cause all kinds of havoc in the world but his primary target is the Christian. He knows that he cannot attack the Lord Jesus as he tried when the Lord was here on earth, so instead he mounts programs of persecution against the Christians. This is why Peter tells the Christians to remain sober, so they will not be ignorant of Satan’s methods. (2 Cor 2:11 KJV) Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. If Satan can get the Christian in an anxious state, he knows they will make bad decisions but if the Christian will cast all their cares upon the Lord, then he knows they will be able to resist him in the power of the Holy Spirit
 
1 Pet 5:9 (KJB)
Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
 
Resist - Oppose or withstand
Stedfast - Firm or solid
Afflictions - Sufferings
Accomplished - Complete, finish, or bring to an end
 
If we remain sober minded in the faith as the verse tells us, then we will be able to resist Satan firmly as he tries to consume us. Peter here reminds us that not only are these Christians facing persecution, but Christians everywhere in the known world were facing persecution. Satan has been walking around the entire world and causing all kinds of persecution to be waged against the Christian. This information was given to them so they would know that they were not the only group being persecuted but all those that name the name of Christ are subject to the hatred of the world.
 
1 Pet 5:10 (KJB)
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
 
While - Short, small or little
Perfect - Restore, repair, or complete
Stablish - Set firm, establish or fix
Strengthen - To make strong
Settle - To lay a foundation
 
Here Peter contrasts what Satan wants to do to the believer by attempting to destroy them with God who wants to restore and build up the Christian. We are told that after the Christians suffer a little while, then God will do His work of rebuilding. He will restore them in the same manner He restored Job after his trials. This does not mean that they will receive much material goods but it does mean that after the troubling will come a time of spiritual restoration. God will once again establish them because after persecution, a Christian should have grown in the faith. This is the strengthening that we receive and it is the goal for all adversity we face in our lives. Adversity does not come into our lives to destroy us but to build us, even though at the time it does not seem that way. Once God has built us up, then He will settle us as if we are settled on a foundation and the foundation that the believer is settled upon is the Lord Jesus Christ. I like the way the translators used the word settle because it denotes a peaceful existence and not just a temporary seating. True believers are strengthened and then settled.

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