Christ's Instructions

[Webers_Home]

.
512) 1Pet 4:12-13 . . Beloved, don't be perplexed by the fiery trials you are
going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be
very glad-- because these trials will make you partners with Christ in his
suffering, and afterward you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory
when it is displayed to all the world.

The USA is currently undergoing a period of cultural, political, economic, and
religious disintegration in the hands of some very unholy people. I don't like
it, but I have to live thru it as best I can; always keeping in mind that for
Jesus' followers; these kinds of disagreeable circumstances are conditioning
us to better associate with Christ.

It's easy to think of his sufferings as only those that occurred on the cross
and the night of his arrest. But it's important to remember that Christ lived
on this earth for about 30 years prior to his public appearances; and during
those years did not lead a sheltered life; in point of fact, during those 30
years he underwent a sort of boot camp.

● Heb 5:7-9 . . During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers
and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from
death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he
was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made
perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

There aren't many of Jesus' impassioned prayers in the Gospels. The place
to look for those is the Psalms where David did quite of a bit of ghost writing
for him. (cf. Luke 24:44-45)

The Bible says there is no trial taken you but such as is common to the
entire human race (1Cor 10:13). Jesus wasn't shielded from any of those.
The Word not only came as a man, but he also lived as a man.

● Heb 2:17-18 . . It was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us,
his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High
Priest before God. He then could offer a sacrifice that would take away the
sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and
temptation, he is qualified to help us when we are being tempted.

● Heb 4:15-16 . .This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for
he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us
come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will obtain mercy,
and find grace to help us when we need it.

So then, when we meet with Christ around the table in God's home, I don't
expect to meet a stranger to my way of life; no, I fully expect to meet a man
who's been around the block a time or two. Not only will he be able to relate
to my stories, but I in return will be able to relate to his. Sharing in Christ's
glory would have the nature of an entourage if not for the fact that I will
have the satisfaction of knowing that Christ, in a manner of speaking, came
from the same neighborhood as I to get to where he is today.
_

 

[Webers_Home]

.
513) 1Pet 4:15-16 . . Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an
evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's affairs. Yet if anyone suffers as
a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

The Greek word for "Christian" basically means a follower of Christ.
That word appears in only three places in the entire new testament. The
other two are Acts 11:26 and Acts 26:28. Peter’s is the only epistle where it
appears; and it’s nowhere in any of the four gospels.

A good example of glorifying God in the midst of one's troubles is Mr. Job.

● Job 1:20-22 . . At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.
Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: Naked I came from my
mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave, and The Lord has
taken away; may the name of The Lord be praised. In all this, Job did not
sin by accusing God with wrongdoing.

● Job 2:9-10 . . His wife said to him: Are you still clinging to your integrity?
Curse God and die! Job replied: You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall
we accept good from God, and not trouble? In all this, Job did not sin in
what he said.

James speaks of the "patience" of Job (5:11) which is illustrated by the fact
that in all his trouble, Job remained loyal to God and never once lost his
confidence that God is blameless in all that He does, instead of accusing Him
of being a cruel sadist who enjoys toying with His creations and amusing
Himself by making them suffer.
_

 

[Webers_Home]

.
514) 1Pet 4:19 . .Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God
commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

In the world of business, it’s sometimes necessary to take a concern to court
in order to force venders of goods and services to honor their commitments.
Well, the Bible’s God is not like that; no, the Bible's God is not a slimy
weasel: He's a person of real integrity.

* Peter emphasized that human soul was created rather than produced by a
mysterious interaction of time, space, and matter. In other words: human
soul had both a beginning and a beginner; viz: human soul would not exist
at all had not a higher power willed it into existence.
_

 

[Webers_Home]

.
515) 1Pet 5:1-3 . .Therefore, I exhort the elders among you-- as your fellow
elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory
that is to be revealed --shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising
oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God;
and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those
allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.

The conjunction "therefore" refers to one of Peter's previous statements;
specifically this one:

"For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God" (1Pet 4:17)

That's an echo of 1Cor 3:4-23 and 1Cor 4:2-5 where Paul revealed that
people "serving Christ" are facing a possibly very unpleasant evaluation.

The New Testament doesn't record Peter presence at Christ's crucifixion, but
that obviously doesn't eo ipso preclude his attendance somewhere in the
audience that day, or observing everything from a safe distance. (cf. Matt
26:58, Matt 27:55)

First off; Peter assures church officers that his proximity to Christ says very
clearly, and without ambiguity, that he knows what he's talking about so
they really ought to listen to what he has to say about managing a church.

Church is no country for achievers, nor is it a career track, nor is it a country
for control freaks and power-hungry imperious despots, nor for people who
love to bask in limelight and crave admiration and the center of attention;
no, serving in a church is for shepherds.

If you're not sure what shepherding entails; then next time you're at a
county fair strike up a conversation with some of the 4H kids and they'll be
only too glad to tell you just what a thankless, man-killing, drudgery-ridden,
time consuming, smelly, expensive, inconvenient, filthy, and sometimes
dangerous line of work that animal husbandry really is.

So why do 4H kids do it? Primarily because of their affection for animals;
and if a luminary in church doesn't feel a genuine affection for those under
their supervision, then that luminary will utterly fail to exercise oversight
according to the will of God. Self-seeking luminaries are depicted as very
poor sources of water. (2Pet 2:17)

Professional church officers are basically hirelings; and according to God's
son, a hireling cannot be depended upon to protect the sheep when a wolf is
at the door.

"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep. He who is an hireling, and not the owner of the sheep, beholds the
wolf coming, and abandons the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches
them, and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling, and is not
concerned about the sheep." (John 10:11-13)

A paid church officer might be willing to sacrifice himself for the benefit of
The Lord's sheep; but will he sacrifice his wife who has cancer, and/or his
two daughters' future whom he has to put through college, and/or the
mortgage on his home and/or his medical insurance?

No, the best interests of he Lord's sheep will be very low on the hireling's
list of priorities because his primary interest is in keeping his job, protecting
his income, his health benefits, his life insurance, and his wife and children.
The hireling will circle the wagons when the wolf comes; yes, but not around
the sheep; no, around himself and what's his. So be very cautious in putting
too much confidence in church officers; you just might end up disillusioned
and very disappointed.
_

 

[Webers_Home]

.
516) 1Pet 5:5a . .You younger, be subject to your elders

The submission spoken of here likely pertains to deference: roughly defined
as regarding others as one's betters rather than equals. This isn't new; it
reiterates Lev 19:32 where the Bible says:

"Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere
your God. I am The Lord."

* Why do we revere God? Because He's a religious figure? No, because God
is the senior and we the juniors. In point of fact, Dan 7:9 depicts Him as a
very old man whose hair has gone white with age. (cf. Rev 1:14)
_

 

[Webers_Home]

.
517) 1Pet 5:5b . . and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one
another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

The Greek word for "humble" basically pertains to lowliness of mind; viz:
modesty, which Webster's defines as freedom from conceit or vanity.
Lowliness of mind is to be greatly desired for its blessing.

● Matt 5:3 . . Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.

Humility is very rare on internet forums. Active members are typically easily
insulted and infected with vanity; plus imperious, domineering, despotic,
assertive, confrontational, arrogant, conceited, reactive, thin-skinned, self
righteous, emotional, critical, and defensive. Those are not what I would call
good Christian attributes. They also have a propensity to jump to
conclusions, get the wrong impression, and fly off the handle. Those aren't
good Christian attributes either; in point of fact; none of those attributes are
blessing-worthy.

"Grace" is one of those ambiguous abstract nouns that nobody seems to
agree upon. Noah found grace in God's eyes (Gen 6:8) which in his case,
regarded providence; which can be defined as kindly patronage. It was by
God's providence that Noah and his family survived the Flood while the sons
of God and their harems didn't. Let that sink in. Just because people label
themselves a Christian, and profess a belief in Christ, is no guarantee they'll
escape the horrors of the book of Revelation. Noah was a righteous man,
and perfect in his generation; too many of today's card-carrying Christians
are neither.

The Greek word for "proud" basically means appearing to be above others,
viz: haughty. Those kinds of people typically regard others with contempt,
i.e. undeserving of respect or even so much as common courtesy. Haughty
people are typically cruel, thoughtless, insensitive, and badly infected with a
superiority complex, which goes hand in hand with arrogance: defined as an
exaggerated sense of one's importance, sometimes manifested in an
overbearing manner.

Arrogant people can be intolerably pushy and assertive at times; standing up
to them usually always provokes an indignant reaction and a call to arms, so
to speak, because these folk regard any and all disagreements with their
way of thinking as demeaning attacks upon their core values and their
distorted sense of self worth. These people have very little interest in
harmony; they're stand-up fighters whose primary interest is defeating
and/or suppressing the opposition.

Seeing as how Heaven is reputed a place of peace, then the arrogant, the
haughty, and the proud cannot be allowed to go there with their impious
personalities. For sure they'd just end up making things very uncomfortable
for Heaven's normally mild-mannered, affable society.
_

 

[Webers_Home]

.
518) 1Pet 5:6 . . Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of
God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.

Humility is defined by Webster's as ranking low in a hierarchy or scale, e.g.
Matt 18:4, Matt 23:2-7, Luke 14:8-11, Luke 22:24-27, and John 13:12-17

It's said that familiarity breeds contempt. I think perhaps quite a few of us
are so accustomed to having Jesus and his Father in our lives that we forget
just how superior to us they really are.

The Christian social skills taught in the Bible prepare us for the day when
everybody will be required to meet Christ face to face. If we can master
those skills down here, then the quality of our etiquette will be satisfactory
enough for associating up there with not only Christ, but also his Father.
_