1 Peter 5:8,9
The True Adversary

The broad context: — Peter writes to Christians who are suffering because they have confessed the name of Christ.

These sufferings are a necessary and expected part of the Christian life

Christ sets the example for these sufferings and our sufferings are a participation in his (and therefore we have the same hope of glory)

Those who use authority to bring this suffering are not to be resisted but submitted to

The immediate context

Both contexts come into play in this passage.

  1. Be sober and wake up because the devil is on the prowl
    1. Be sober and wake up
      1. These are sharper commands that your translation notes
        1. Peter is not saying Keep on being sober and alert.
          1. Other NT writers say that and there are perfectly good Greek ways of communicating that thought
          2. Peter doesn't use those ways because that's not what he means.
        2. Become sober! Wake up! gets closer to Peter's true fervor.
      2. Sober up!
        1. Snap out of it!
        2. Become spiritually sober (opposite of drunk), evaluating things as God evaluates them
        3. What good are the things of this world that are passing away? Why do you want them?
        4. What good is your earthly comfort?
          1. Do you really want a Christ who came to free the slaves and make your unbelieving husbands treat you right and reform the economy and the political system... and then leave you to die? Or do you want eternal life?
          2. Do you really want the sufferings to go away when they
            • refine your faith
            • unite you with Christ
            • Are the way by which we enter the kingdom (through many persecutions...) following Christ's example?
            • Get thee behind me Satan! You are not mindful of the things of God, but men
        5. Don't you realize who your true adversary is?
          1. He wants these sufferings to focus your eyes on this world and this life
          2. Like Peter walking on water, when the waves rise up he takes his eyes off Jesus
          3. So here, if the devil can just hurt you enough to make you wish for your deliverance in terms of this life and this world, his work is done.
      3. Wake up!
        1. Become vigilant
        2. Peter can well attest how his Lord told him to be vigilant, staying awake (literally) in prayer that he might not enter into temptation
        3. And with that admonition Jesus, facing the cross, went off to pray alone.
        4. He entrusted himself to God in that hour, and God sustained him.
        5. But Peter loved his flesh and slept. Jesus rebuked him, "Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
        6. And in weakness, he denied his Lord
        7. Luke 22:31ff "And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32"But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." 33But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death." 34Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."
        8. Didn't he realize who his adversary was? Did he really think he had enough strength to combat that?
        9. So we become spiritually asleep
        10. Don't we realize who our adversary is?
    2. Your adversary, the devil is on the prowl
      1. He walks about
        1. as in Job 1:7 — "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it."
        2. So he prowls to this day, looking for someone to afflict, to turn that one against God
        3. (And the solution is the same for us as it was for Job: humble yourselves under God's mighty hand)
      2. He is like a roaring lion
        1. We're so used to seeing them in cages, or "tamed" at circuses
        2. Imagine meeting one in the wild
          1. One of the same creatures in the lions' den in Daniel that ate those thrown into the pit before they hit the ground
          2. One of the creatures that Christians were fed to in Rome for the amusement of the unbelievers.
        3. This is the creature that prowls about seeking to swallow you whole
          1. He aims at nothing less than the destruction of your soul forever
          2. He is stronger than you and faster than you
        4. He does not grow weary in the chase simply because you grow weary in being chased
  2. Resist him, firm in the faith
    1. Resist him
      1. But how?
        1. Does all this scare you? It should.
        2. How can you, weak as you are, resist such a powerful enemy?
        3. It should scare you so much that you cry out to Christ who alone can save you.
          1. It should scare you with respect to your own ability to save yourself or to continue in the way of salvation, even if you've started in it
          2. With such an adversary, how could you possibly gain the upper hand?
          3. And this drives you to prayer, and the preaching of the word, and the sacraments, and the fellowship of believers
          4. Scripture calls you to confidence, not recklessness
          5. Realize who it is that drools after your soul
          6. And do not trust in yourself for the least aspect of your salvation
        4. If you are confident, be confident in Christ who overcame this prowling lion and has bought you with his own blood.
        5. And Resist him! is the command of Christ, the living word, that confers the power to do what it commands (like Believe! or Lazarus, come forth!)
      2. They are not to resist the human agents of the devil
        1. Slaves must not revolt against unbelieving masters
        2. Wives must not disobey unbelieving husbands
        3. They must not foment rebellion against the government in the name of Christ.
        4. That would be resisting flesh with flesh
      3. But they must resist the devil himself
      4. The adversary carries on a spiritual warfare
      5. And therefore must be opposed by spiritual means (as in Ephesians 6:10ff)
    2. Firm in the faith
      1. Not strong in your own flesh as noted above
      2. But when we are weak, then we are strong
      3. Properly received, the worst devices Satan can concoct will not harm us but only purify our faith.
      4. When we humble ourselves before God, confessing our weakness and his strength, then we begin to rely on him for everything
      5. When we see that our adversary will not finally be put away until Christ comes, we long for that Day
        1. What can the world offer us that compares with what he brings?
        2. And the more Satan rages against us, the more we know the answer is "Nothing! Amen! Come quickly!"
      6. Do not waver in your trust that God will set all things right at the last day. Do not let any suffering dissuade you from that faith
      7. And if you waver, then fly again to Christ
        1. Cry out to God in the name of Christ; for you do not wish to waver
        2. Hear the word preached that your faith may be stirred up, that you may hear the fantastic promises held out to you, that you may receive those powerful and living commands that supply with them the power of the Holy Spirit to comply
        3. Remember your baptism, how it says to you that you are dead to sin and alive to God. Believe it and count yourselves dead to sin and alive to God.
        4. Come to the Lord's Table and be nourished on the living word, reminded of his sufferings and the glories that followed, reminded of his love for you to lay down his life. Will he not also safely bring you home?
        5. Come to the body of Christ, the fellowship of believers and testify to one another of God's goodness in saving you. Be the servant of your brother's salvation and he will be the servant of yours.
        6. What can Satan do against such promises, such power, such unity?
        7. Stand firm in these things.
  3. Knowing that the brotherhood experiences the same kinds of sufferings
    1. These sufferings unite you with each other
      1. It is the brotherhood that suffers
        1. Not just individual brothers, but the whole body
        2. We may suffer less than others in the brotherhood, but we are all united in this suffering.
        3. Our missionaries can tell you of sufferings for Christ going on around the world right now
          1. Men and women ridiculed for their faith at the very least
          2. People living in abject poverty, making costly choices to pursue salvation in Christ
        4. And throughout the world, the brotherhood is ridiculed, deprive of property, liberty, and even life, oppressed, beaten down, considered the scum of the earth.
          1. It may not be happening to you as an individual, but it is happening to the collective body of Christ.
          2. Their sufferings are your sufferings.
      2. Peter encourages them by saying "You are not alone."
      3. It is your brotherhood throughout the world
    2. These sufferings unite you with Christ and the hope of glory
      1. Or, more accurately "in the world" — Some have already gone on to be with the Lord. They no longer suffer. And so we are taught to hope that we will endure to the end, even unto death, and be saved. We will not remain in this world forever.
      2. The brotherhood "completes" these sufferings throughout the world
        1. This is more than just "experiencing" it as the translation suggests
        2. Like Paul filling up in his body what was lacking in the sufferings of Christ
        3. They are following in Christ's footsteps, completing his sufferings as his body
      3. And when they are complete, Christ will return
      4. So not only do they have immediate hope (When I die, I go to be with the Lord)
      5. They have ultimate hope (The suffering will not last forever, Christ will come and set everything right at the Last Day.)

[1 Peter Sermons] [Sermons and Studies] [Main Menu]