1 Peter 3:9 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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1 Peter 3:9

Comments

Then in verse 9 the tone changes slightly. Called to meekness and forbearance under provocation. It is words that are in mind, but no doubt it also includes acts. Not retaliating, not responding in kind when insulted or offended. Not rendering evil for evil or railing insult for railing, but the very opposite, ‘contrarywise blessing’. ‘Blessing’ is the Greek word from which our word eulogy comes almost directly. Speaking well of. So when insulted or offended, instead of responding in kind, strength in the Christian life is to speak kindly and well to people.Knowing’ – here is the great incentive – ‘that ye are thereunto called, that you should inherit a blessing.’ This calling of God runs right through 1 Peter, and by keeping it in mind these verses are so much plainer to our understanding. Instead of railing, or reviling, we think well of or speak well of or desire the good of the other party. ‘Knowing that ye are thereunto called.’ This is our calling: never to return evil, but always to improve the atmosphere as much as we can by the wisdom given to us. ‘That ye should inherit a blessing.’ The word inherit means you get it without your effort. You get freely, because it's your entitlement. Well, it isn’t of course, but it becomes your entitlement, because Christ has purchased it for you, and you are one of his children, so you are going to freely and graciously inherit something. What is it? It's an eternal blessing in glory. You are going to inherit so much. You have offended God, grievously and even as a Christian you continue to do so, day by day. Almost every moment of the day we do something which is offensive to him, and yet we will freely inherit a blessing. Think of that, Peter seems to say. Bear that in mind. We are all so utterly unworthy, and we are going to receive so much! Well then doesn't that motivate you to stand up to some offensiveness directed toward you, some insults, some jibe? Speak well to people, knowing that you are called to do this, that you should inherit a blessing. We are called to inherit grace, as somebody may inherit a fortune. They didn’t earn it, they were simply in the right place, in the right family. Grace – undeserved forgiveness; that is our inheritance and that should be our outflowing attitude toward one another.

Application

It is normal for fallen human nature to want to hit back, to return evil for evil, and it rarely rises above this mechanical repayment. It is taken for granted by the world that revenge is the right response to ill treatment, for if we do not avenge ourselves then who will stand up for us? How can we let evil go unpunished without encouraging more of the same from our enemies? Grace is an altogether higher and more noble response and it is to this that the believer is called. He follows his Saviour who has given the supreme example and whose whole life was full of grace and truth. This grace is a divine attribute which is beyond our natural powers. It does not begin to rule in our hearts until we receive a new nature from the Spirit of God. We need to see the example of our Lord Jesus Christ before we can take such a step, and to experience his grace to us before we are able to show grace to others. Grace puts itself in a position of loss for the sake of others, but only for a time. God has promised that he will not forget the smallest gift given in faith, even a cup of cold water. He remembers all that we unjustly suffer for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. All this is done by the believer in hope, for if we thought the foundation of truth and justice had been destroyed, what could we do?

We are to be harmless in this world, for if it is a matter of revenge, God is far better at taking revenge than we are. But in the meantime, we hope to win as many as we can into the kingdom of God and we draw on his grace which shows mercy to sinners as it has shown mercy to us. By patiently accepting reviling in this life from the enemies of God, we identify with our Lord. We do so in the certain hope that we will inherit the blessing that he inherited, for it is his will that we share with him. This future reward allotted to us within the covenant of grace.

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1 Peter 3:9 Commentary and Bible Study