1 Peter 5

Seeing the resurrection in 1 Peter 5

POST OVERVIEW. A careful examination of 1 Peter 5 reveals that our future resurrection unto glorification is implied in several of the verses in this chapter. In this article, we are looking for the resurrection of the saints. (See also Post #690 on January 31, 2024, for an examination of the resurrection in 1 Peter 1.) This article will appear in my upcoming book, “The Resurrection: when the church is glorified.”

Although not the central theme of 1 Peter, the future resurrection of all believers on the last day appears in various places in this epistle. This article looks at the appearances of the resurrection in 1 Peter 5.

TWO IMPORTANT RESURRECTION IDEAS

Before we begin the examination of 1 Peter 5, we need to discuss two important ideas about the resurrection.

First, resurrection is essentially about the glorification of the believer. Resurrection is the event that inaugurates our glorification. On the last day, at the last trumpet, all believers, whether asleep or alive-and-remaining (1 Thess. 4:16-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-52) will be glorified as they rise and meet the Lord in the air. Again, the resurrection is the initiating event of the eternally glorified state of all believers. At the resurrection, we will be glorified and will continue eternally in that glorified state. So, the resurrection begins glorification.

Second, when we read about our future glory, we should at least mentally note the connection with the resurrection. Both the resurrection and our eternal glory constitute our hope, but in slightly different ways. As the finish line ends the effort and the suffering of a long foot race, so the resurrection ends the trial and the suffering of life here on earth. We persevere to the end, pressing toward the goal for the prize, knowing that there is a finish line not far ahead that will end the difficulty of the race. And so we endure the hardship with hope, knowing that soon we will rise immortal in the resurrection.

But we hope also in our glorification because the knowledge that we will eternally be glorified helps us see the brevity of our earthly distresses. When we compare our tribulations in this life with the glories that await, we can indeed view these trials as “momentary light afflictions which are producing for us an eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:18). We can say with the apostle Paul, “For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

We see, then, that the resurrection and our future glory overlap and blend into one another. Our glorification unto eternity is our hope and that glorification is revealed at the resurrection. The resurrection is to glorification as birth is to physical life and as new birth is to eternal life. The resurrection is the inception of our glorification.

Whenever the Scriptures mentions our future glory, the resurrection is necessarily in view because the resurrection is the event that begins our eternally glorified existence. Thus we can think of in these terms: “our glorification at the resurrection.”

DISCOVERING THE RESURRECTION IN 1 PETER 5

5:1. In 5:1, Peter says he is “a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed.” We also recall from earlier in the epistle (1:5) that all believers are “protected by the power of God for a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time.” These two verses speak about the same thing: namely, of the resurrection of the saints on the last day. In 5:1, Peter is saying that he also (meaning “he along with all believers”) will share in the glory that will be revealed at the resurrection. Similarly in 1:5, the apostle teaches that God Himself is now protecting our salvation, a salvation which will finally be revealed in its glorious fullness in our resurrection on the last day.

In other words, in 5:1, Peter exhorts obedience based on our soon-coming glorious resurrection and in 1:5, he teaches the doctrinal truth that our salvation will remain completely secure until our soon-coming glorious resurrection. In both cases, we can be confident that our glory will soon be revealed. (Consider the same teaching in Col. 3:4 – “When Christ who is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”)

5:6. We turn now to 5:6, where Peter is addressing the issue of humility. Because “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble” (5:5), the apostle commands believers to humble themselves so that God may exalt them “at the proper time.”

But now what is “the proper time” when God will exalt the believer? Notice Peter speaks of the proper time, indicating that there is one proper time when all believers will be exalted. When is that time? Of course, we know that the time when all believers will be exalted is at the resurrection. So, Peter is commanding believers to humble themselves now “during the time of your stay on earth” (1:17), as they “live the rest of the time in the flesh (in the body)” (4:2) “that (ἵνα) He may exalt you (glorify you) at the proper time” (at the resurrection; 5:6).

Therefore, as obedient disciples, we humble ourselves under God’s sovereign hand, rejoicing as we persevere through life’s circumstances, patiently waiting for the promised resurrection when we will be exalted (glorified).

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. – 1 Peter 5:10

5:10. As Peter concludes his letter to these scattered and suffering believers, he makes two more allusions to the resurrection and to our future glorification.

We will begin by examining the phrase, “(God) who called you to His eternal glory in Christ.” This phrase contains two significant theological concepts: first, the doctrine of God’s calling of believers and second, the doctrine of our future eternal glorification.

DIVINE CALLING. The doctrine of God’s divine calling of believers states that we are unable to respond to the gospel, because, in our natural state, all mankind is spiritually dead in our transgressions and sins (Eph. 2:1). Therefore, God Himself must call a person out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). (See also Colossians 1:13; etc.) Unless and until God calls a person out of their spiritual deadness and darkness, the person is helplessly trapped in their sin. God’s calling of an individual is not conditioned on anything about the person nor is it dependent on anything the person does or does not do. Whom God calls and whom God does not call and the timing of God’s calling of an individual are entirely within the sovereignty of God and therefore are outside the control of man. This doctrine also teaches that the calling of God to a natural person dead in their sins cannot be resisted or refused. That is, when God issues His divine calling, the individual human must respond. When God issues His divine call, the sinner comes to life and emerges from their spiritual tomb.

JESUS’ DIVINE CALL TO LAZARUS. This is perhaps best illustrated by the story in John 11 of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus had been dead for four days. He was thoroughly and completely dead. You might say he was extremely dead. He was so dead that his sister said, “By now he stinketh.” But Jesus, as God in human flesh, “cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ The man who died came forth” (John 11:43-44). Jesus sovereignly commanded Lazarus to get up and come out of the tomb and Lazarus, even though he had been dead for four days, could not resist or refuse the command. God called and man the creature obeyed the call. It is the same with all those whom the Spirit of God calls to eternal life. Those who are dead in their trespasses and sins are made alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:1, 5) so that we might experience everlasting joy and “so that in the ages to come He (God) might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7). (See also Rom. 8:28, 30; 9:23-24; among many other Scriptures that explicitly teach this doctrine.)

CALLED TO ETERNAL GLORY. Having seen the nature of God’s divine call, we will now explore the purpose of God’s divine call. The text says that “the God of all grace (has) called you (i.e., all believers) to His eternal glory in Christ” (1 Peter 5:10). The meaning of this is not difficult to discern. When we were chosen by God in eternity past (1:1), our divine calling by God in time and space was guaranteed, so that we would certainly attain to God’s eternal glory in Christ. And when will God “Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you”? That is, when will you receive your eternal glory? You will receive your eternal glory when you are glorified in the resurrection. The event that changes us from disembodied spirits or living embodied mortals into glorified immortals is the resurrection.

SUMMARY

What we see then is that Peter ends his letter in much the same way he began. At the beginning of the letter, in 1:3-5 the apostle had spoken of a “living hope,” of an “imperishable inheritance,” and of a “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” We saw that these were references to the resurrection and that this teaching about our future glory encouraged these persecuted believers to rejoice in suffering.

Now, at the end of the letter, Peter again exhorts us to endure our present suffering “for a little while” (5:10) because soon the God of all grace will call us into our eternal glory at the resurrection.

So, we rejoice in the hope of our resurrection through whatever trials and suffering we experience here in this short life.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 2/20/2024                   #694

Our suffering as accomplishment (1 Peter 5:9)

“But resist him (the devil), firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” – 1 Peter 5:9 (NASB)

            Christ has suffered, and so His body, the church, is also called to suffer. Paul’s goal is to know “the fellowship (“koinonia” in Greek) of Christ’s sufferings (Philippians 3:10).” It may correctly be said that to be a Christian is to anticipate suffering for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:10-12). The apostle Peter mentions in his first epistle that Christ suffered and left us an example to follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21). As Christ has suffered, so we will suffer as witnesses to Him. Jesus said, “And you shall be My witnesses (Acts 1:8),” and the Greek word for witnesses is the word “martyr.” So, we are certainly to anticipate suffering for the name of Jesus. But while it is true that Christ suffered in the flesh (1 Peter 3:18; 4:1) and that the church also suffers, there is a profound difference between these two experiences of suffering.

            Christ has suffered in the flesh and has perfectly accomplished the work the Father gave Him to do. In John 17:4, Jesus said, “I glorified You (the Father) on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.” What work did He accomplish? Jesus accomplished the work of atonement. That was the reason Jesus was sent to the earth, to accomplish the work of atonement, a work that He alone could accomplish. To accomplish this work, Christ had to endure the full fury of the wrath of God against all the sins of all His people of all time. Thus, Christ suffered as a means of accomplishing His work. Accomplishing His work involved suffering, but His work was not the suffering itself. How much suffering was Christ required to endure? Exactly the amount of suffering needed to propitiate the wrath of God against His people’s sins.

            Then, when God had poured out all His wrath on Christ, Christ’s work was done. Therefore, Jesus could cry out, “Tetelestai!” “It is finished (John 19:30)!” Three hours of suffering the full wrath of God had been endured and His work was accomplished. Once Jesus’ work of atonement was accomplished, His life could be yielded up (John 19:30; Luke 23:46; Matthew 27:50), because the purpose of His life was fulfilled, and now He needed to die.

            We have already said, “Since Christ suffered, so we will also suffer,” but for Christ’s body, the church, our suffering is central, not incidental. That is, there is an amount of suffering that the body of Christ must accomplish. Note what Peter says in 1 Peter 5:9: “the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” The verse says that the suffering is the work being accomplished. God has ordained that the body of Christ must suffer as an end and not merely as a means to some other end. As we have seen above, Christ’s suffering was the means necessary to accomplish His work of atonement, but the church’s suffering is the work to be accomplished.

            The New Testament has much to say about suffering for the name of Jesus Christ, but there is also an underlying theme in the New Testament suggesting that there is a predetermined amount of suffering which the church must “accomplish” to fulfill her purpose of witnessing. Consider these verses.

  • “Just as it is written, ‘For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered’ (Romans 8:36).” As the sheep were sacrificed routinely and anonymously, so the church suffers continually and without glory to give testimony to the worth of Christ.
  • “Now I rejoice (!) in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh, I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions (Colossians 1:24).” Notice that Paul’s sufferings are on behalf of the church and that they are “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” This thought is consistent with the idea that the purpose of the church is to witness to Christ through suffering.
  • We have already looked at 1 Peter 5:9, “the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”
  • Underneath the altar were the souls of those who had been slain (for Jesus), and they cried out, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood?” They were told to rest a little while longer until the number of their fellow servants who were to be killed even as they had been would be completed also (Revelation 6:9-11). The clear message from this passage is that God has determined a set number of martyrs who must be killed to complete the testimony of the church.

The church is called to be a witness to the risen Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). This is one of the purposes of the church, and the collective suffering of the entire church is accomplishing this part of the church’s purpose. Thus, it may be said that a suffering church is an accomplishing church.                         

SDG                rmb                 1/20/2021