Christ Church

New Testament

And Gallio Cared Not (Acts of the Apostles) (Christ Church)

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INTRODUCTION

The next city that Paul came to was Corinth, which came to be the home of one of the more important churches in the New Testament. Corinth is about 48 miles southwest of Athens, and is situated on the Isthmus of Corinth, a narrow strip of land that connected Attica (northern Achaia) from the Peloponnese (southern Achaia). Corinth was an important trading center, with access to the sea in both eastern and western directions.

THE TEXT

“After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them . . . ” (Acts 18:1–17).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul left Athens and arrived in Corinth (v. 1). He there met Aquila and his wife Priscilla (v. 2). Aquila was a Jew from Pontus, which runs along the southern shore of the Black Sea. This couple was in Corinth because Claudius had recently banished all Jews from Rome (v. 2). They were tentmakers, as Paul was, and so he took up residence with them (v. 3). He took every sabbath as an opportunity to reason with both Jews and Greeks at the synagogue (v. 4). Silas and Timothy finally arrived, and Paul became more importunate, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ (v. 5). They reacted in opposition to the point of blasphemy, and so Paul shook the dust from his clothing saying that they had condemned themselves. He then turned to the Gentiles (v. 6). He moved house, moving in with Justus, a worshiper of God, and who lived right next door to the synagogue (v. 7). But after Paul wrote off the Jews, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed. And he and his house were baptized, and a large number of Corinthians believed (v. 8). The Lord encouraged Paul in a night vision, encouraging him to speak out because He had many people in this city. Paul would not be hurt (vv. 9-10). And so Paul taught there for a year and a half (v. 11). Gallio was the proconsul of Achaia, and this enables us to date the planting of the Corinthian church at 51/52 A.D. During Gallio’s tenure, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul, dragging him before the judgment seat—recently discovered in the old city (v. 12). Their accusation was that Paul was persuading men to worship God in ways contrary to (Roman) law (v. 13). Paul was about to defend himself when Gallio, who saw through the schemers, and threw the case out of court (vv. 14-15). The bailiff, or someone like him, escorted all of them forcibly to the curb (v. 16). There are clearly some elements to this drama that we don’t have because then it says that certain Greeks beat up Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, but Gallio didn’t care (v. 17).

GALLIO’S INCONSISTENCY

We begin with some sympathy for Gallio. He was the brother of Seneca the philosopher, and we understand why a Roman of his stature would not want to be dragged into arcane Jewish theological disputes. So far so good. But not only had Paul led Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue to the Lord a year and a half before, but now had apparently done it again. This Sosthenes was apparently the next chief ruler of the synagogue, and he was also converted (see 1 Cor. 1:1).

Gallio had begged off settling a theological dispute, but to have the Greeks assaulting an innocent man in front of the judgment seat was his business, and it was the kind of business that he had said he would attend to. As we consider this, our sympathy for Gallio begins to fade. The magistrate is a deacon of God, assigned the task of punishing the wrongdoer and rewarding the righteous (Rom. 13:4).

TUMULTUOUS GRACE

There is no way to introduce efficacious grace into a sinful world without causing turmoil. And the more abundant the grace, the more violent the reactions.

Remember that Paul was encouraged here in that night vision. The Lord told him that He had many people in this city (vv. 9-10). The genuine believers there were most dear to Paul (1 Cor. 4:14-15; 2 Cor. 6:11-13). There had been no riot in Athens, and why? Because that was a place where the elect just trickled in. Here, as in other places, the elect of God began to pour in. And what happened then?

Well, the Jews attacked them. And then the Greeks attacked. Then Gallio refused to help. And then, as we see from the two letters to the Corinthians that we have, not to mention a letter to them that we have from Clement, Paul’s good friend (Phil. 4:3), the church there was afflicted by internal dissensions and disruptions. Satan knows how to attack from without and from within.

And every true reformation according to grace is going to be attacked both ways. The one reaction we should not display is that of being surprised.

Christ, the friend of sinners, has never been the friend of sin.

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The Raging Lions Will Go Hungry (The Living Stone) (Living Stone Reformed Church)

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INTRODUCTION

Flocks tend to bolt and scatter when danger comes. As the church faces danger, fearful lions, alluring temptations, how does God guard His flock? He takes away their fear, and gives them peace.

THE TEXT

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. […] 1 Peter 5:1ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The saints have just been instructed to prepare for persecution by entrusting themselves entirely to God (4:19). Peter now turns to exhort his fellow elders. Peter is not only a witness of Christ’s sufferings, but is also a partaker of the coming revelation of Christ’s glorious vindication (v1). Peter gives a job description for these elders, which can be summarized as shepherding God’s flock, in imitation of the chief Shepherd (vv2-4). Such elders can expect the reward of an amaranth crown (v4b).

Peter has frequently used the word “likewise”. The duties proper to each office (wife and husband, elders and young men) are all to be undertaken in conformity to the example of Christ. Our duties to each other are done in the light of Christ, and with Christ’s example in mind. Young men, then, are to submit to their elders (v5a). All the saints are to don the apron of servant-like humility, bearing in mind Solomon’s proverb about how God will treat the proud and the humble (v5b, Cf. Pro. 3:34). Peter returns to the Psalter to exhort the New Israel to not fret because of evildoers; rather, in humility cast all their cares upon the God who tenderly cares for them (vv6-7, Cf. Ps. 37:5).

Peter now summarizes his entire letter with a final punchy exhortation (vv8-11). The devil, in the form of a ravening lion, is prowling around looking for saints to devour. This danger demands sobriety and vigilance (v8), along with steadfast resistance (v9). The saints should remember that the afflictions of some saints are shared by all the brethren across the world (v9). We all face tribulations of varying severities. All the sufferings which await these saints are sent from the hand of the God of all grace. This God has called them unto eternal glory by Jesus Christ, and though there be a “little while” of suffering, this God of all grace will use those sufferings to make the saint perfect, established, strong, and immovable (v10). This deserves a fervent doxology: all glory and dominion be unto our God (v11).

Silvanus is the one who will deliver this letter. Silas’ presence here actually closes an interesting NT loop. Paul had written his letter to the saints of Galatia in the run up the Jerusalem council (~AD49). Paul had first visited the Roman province of Galatia (Acts 13:14, 51, 14:6, 20-21), after the ruling of the Jerusalem council (Acts 15); Paul and Silas take the news of that decision to both regions known as Galatia (Acts 16:6; 18:5). Remember that Paul detailed to these Galatian saints his rebuke of Peter for drawing away from the Gentiles due to his fear of the judaizers (Gal. 2:11-13). Now Peter sends Silas with this letter telling these Gentiles––the sort he had once drawn away from––that they, though Gentiles, stand with him in the true grace of God (v12). The church in Babylon (Rome), also numbered as the elect (1:1), sends their greetings; along with Mark, whose Gospel (~AD42-45) was already in circulation amongst the Gentile believers (v13). Mentioning Mark also calls to mind Jesus’ prophecy of great judgement coming, which Peter has been preparing these saints for (Cf. Mk. 13). Lastly, the saints are summoned to be warm and affectionate to each other. The shalom of Israel’s God rests upon all who are in Christ Jesus (v14).

THE ELDER’S JOB DESCRIPTION

When a ship goes through stormy seas, the captain must be found at the helm. When a lion is prowling near the flock, the shepherd must remain alert. We are provided with a snapshot of the elder (who he is), his duties (what he does), and his demeanor (how he does it). The elder has two primary duties: to feed (pastor/shepherd) and oversee (episkopos). He leads the flock to verdant pastures and still waters, he foresees dangers, and keeps his eyes out for wandering sheep. Both duties demand true sacrifice of the shepherd himself.

Thus, Peter explains three ways in which these two overarching duties are to be done. First, an elder should be willing to serve, not forced to serve just to be a warm body to fill a seat. Second, he should be eager in the work, not coaxed with cash. Third, his leadership should not be marked by bossiness, but by modeling Christ-like sacrificial authority. Notice those qualifications: gladness to serve, generosity in that service, and exemplary Christ-likeness. He ought to be the sort of leader that people say, “I want to be like him.” An elder need not be perfect, of course, but he is not lazy, he is not stingy, and he is not a bossy-pants.

There are a few more interesting ecclesiastical tidbit. Peter does not identify his office as a superior one, but as an equal one to these elders’ office. Presbyteros often refers to age, but is not restricted to it as we see in the instance of Timothy. It also hearkens back to Jethro’s advice to Moses as Israel was first constituted in the wilderness (Ex. 18). We find here two identifiable lists which constitute the local congregation: the list of who the elders are that the flock is to follow, and a list of the flock which the elders are tasked to oversee. This text provides us a clear argument for why we ought to elect qualified men to the office of presbyter, as well as why church membership is vital in order for the shepherds to know which sheep they are supposed to give God an accounting of!

The lesson here is that elders must lead by example. Peter himself gives the church a wonderful example of this. Only a year or two after making these exhortations Peter was crucified upside down by Nero. Peter could have fled. He could have, once more, denied the Lord. But the new birth truly made this fisherman from Galilee a rock. This is what elders are to be like.

STARVING LIONS

Nero would dress in animal skins and attack prisoners who were bound to stakes. He would do incredibly vile and obscene things to these prisoners. He was a prowling lion. This is how Peter paints Satan. Nero is a devilish beast. As Nero hunted for victims of his sadistic desires, the devil hunts to devour your soul. How can a saint be devoured? The primary way in which a saint is devoured is when they forsake the faith; when they try to escape the sufferings by renouncing Christ. The saints resist their adversary the devil (and his human henchman like Nero) by remaining steadfast in their faith in Christ (5:9), even if it means torture and death.

Once more Peter shows that the Psalms should be on our tongue as we prepare to suffer. In Psalm 17, as well as elsewhere, the wicked are likened to lions. Although Satan prowls around like a hungry lion (1 Pt. 5:8), the saint knows that the Lord shall take tender care of him. It is Satan, and his young lions, which will go hungry (Ps. 34:10). By steadfast faith in Christ, when faced with temptation and persecution, the lions are starved.

WHAT UNIFORM YOU WEARING

We are a new Israel. With that comes a uniform. We saw this back in chapter 2, and we see it again here. What uniform does the saint wear? Not the fig leaves of self-preserving fear, but the apron of service. The priests of old were identified by their priestly garments, garments which indicated that they were preoccupied with service to Yahweh.

This has not fundamentally changed. When the elder humbly rebukes the straying member, when the mother calmly talks the toddler down from a tantrum, when a husband gently corrects his wife, when a slave cheerfully does his master’s bidding, when the citizen obeys the lawful ordinances of his nation the glory of Christ is displayed. The new Israel is summoned to service, and the uniform is humility. You will be called to go through sufferings and slander, but if you persevere by faith you shall also partake of the glory of a crown which does not fade away. A crown of life. A crown for victors.

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Sparrows in the McDonald’s Parking Lot (Acts of the Apostles) (Christ Church)

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INTRODUCTION

So Paul was in Athens, waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. While he was waiting, he found himself greatly vexed and provoked over the rampant idolatry there. Athens was disease-ridden, and their sickness was images. This passage tells us what happened next.

THE TEXT

“Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection . . . So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” (Acts 17:16–34).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

While Paul was waiting in Athens, he got worked up over all the idols (v. 16). And so he disputed with Jews, and with God-fearers, and with people in the marketplace (v. 17). He encountered representatives of the two main philosophical schools—Epicurean (pleasure the highest good) and Stoic (duty is). Some called him a “seedpicker” (spermologos), like a sparrow eating fries in the McDonald’s parking lot. Others thought he was preaching two gods, Jesus and Anastasis—the word for resurrection (v. 18). So they brought him to Mars Hill, and invited him to set forth his doctrine because they were curious (vv. 19-20). Luke then gets in a delightful jab about their pursuit of truth being little more than an intellectual hobby to kill time with (v. 21). So Paul stood up and began with the observation that the Athenians were really religious (v. 22). He had noticed walking around that there was even an altar to an unknown god (v. 23). This is the God that Paul was preaching (v. 23). This is the Creator God, who is not contained by any human temples (v. 24). Nor is He dependent upon man’s service, as though He were needy, because He is the source of all life and breath (v. 25). This Creator fashioned all men, who are descended from one blood, and assigned them their places of habitation (v. 26). He did this so that in our groping we might find Him, even though He was not really far off (v. 27). The “live and move” line is likely from the Cretica of Epimenides, a hymn to Zeus. The “offspring” line is from the Stoic poet Aratus, in another hymn to Zeus called Phaenomena. As God’s offspring, we must reject idols and images (v. 29). God winked at this foolishness before, but now He commands repentance (v. 30). He has fixed a day of judgment and reckoning, and has proven who that judge is going to be through His resurrection from the dead (v. 31). When Paul made the resurrection clear, some mocked, while others were still interested (v. 32), and so Paul left (v. 33). A handful believed and came along—Dionysus the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and some others (v. 34).

PAGAN POETS AND PROPHETS

Around 600 B.C. (the age of Jeremiah and Ezekiel), Athens was afflicted with a great plague, and they could do nothing to resolve it. The Pythonness at Delphi told them to send for Epimenides of Crete and to do whatever he said. Remember that the girl in the previous chapter had the spirit of a python. Epimenides came and as a result of his instructions, the Athenians built an altar to “the unknown God,” and sacrificed to Him. The plague then stopped. Centuries later Paul came through and saw the altar, and preached the Creator of all things to them.

In Titus 1:12, Paul quotes Epimenides, and says that he was a prophet (not a false prophet). We don’t have any complete works of Epimenides, but one reasonable reconstruction runs like this:

“They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high one, The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies! But thou art not dead: thou livest and abidest forever, For in thee we live and move and have our being.”

The fact that this was in a hymn to Zeus should not disturb us. There were very different narratives about Zeus that were current. There was the historic Zeus, the one that the impudent Cretans had built a tomb for. There was the Zeus of folklore, the skirt-chaser and over-sized fraternity boy. But then there was the Zeus of the philosophers, the Theos who created everything. Paul, a man who hated idols, was willing to work with this.

GENTILES WELCOME

In the Old Testament, Gentiles were not the equivalent of unbelievers. Many were unregenerate unbelievers, but then again, so were many Jews. The Jews were a covenanted nation of priests.

We have Naaman the Syrian (Luke 4:27), and after his conversion (2 Kings 5:17) he was even given permission to push his master’s wheelchair into the house of Rimmon (2 Kings 5:18). We have the king of Nineveh and all his people (Jonah 3:6ff). We have Jethro, the priest of Midian (Ex. 3:1). We have Melchizedek, a Canaanite priest and type of Christ to whom Abraham paid tithes (Gen. 14:18; Heb. 7:1-2). David stored the Ark of the Covenant at the house of a Gentile, Obed-edom (2 Sam. 6:10)—and he was a Gittite, which meant he probably graduated from the same high school that Goliath did. Later on, this Obed-edom was made a porter at the Tabernacle of David (1 Chron. 15:18). And when Solomon built the Temple, in his prayer of dedication he assumed that various Gentiles would pray toward this Temple, and would be received (1 Kings 8:41-43). And then when Jesus made a whip and cleared out the money-changers and the sellers of sacrificial animals, He was clearing out the Court of the Gentiles in order to make room for them to worship. “And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Mark 11:17).

THE DISTANCE IS ETHICAL

Paul says twice that there was a Gentile worship of the true God that was characterized by ignorance. Note: “whom therefore ye ignorantly worship” (v. 23) and “the times of this ignorance God winked at” (v. 30). God was kind to the nations, giving them their assigned habitations so that they might grope after Him, and even find Him (v. 27). But most of them veered into the rank idolatry that their best philosophers and poets rejected (v. 29).

The God that we cannot see or find is not ontologically distant from us. We live and move and have our being in Him, a fact obvious to astute pagans. We live in a God-environment. The problem is moral and ethical. The problem is not that God is way up in Heaven, or far across the sea. The problem is that we are “seeking after Him,” but with no intention of finding Him. This is how Acts 17 is reconciled with Romans 1-3. If we are to be found, Christ must fetch us.

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Armed & Dangerous (The Living Stone) (Living Stone Reformed Church)

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INTRODUCTION

A real temptation for Christians is to think that in order to overcome temptation or to refute some atheist that what they need is more information. Of course, we are to be diligent students of the Word. But remember what Peter said earlier in his letter about being like newborn babies desiring milk. In the face of both temptation and persecution, your greatest weapon is to return to the simplicity of the Gospel.

THE TEXT

1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: 4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: 5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. 6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. […] 1Peter 4:1ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The saints are to live in the reality that by their baptism, they are intimately joined to all of Christ’s redeeming work, particularly his ascension (2:18-22). This is what arms the saint in their battle with the flesh (v1). Baptism isn’t a way to “tap out” of this earthly sojourn; but it does equip you to live out your days according to the will of God and not the lusts of men (v2). These saints had once walked according to the will of the Gentiles (strikingly Peter includes himself); this way of life is marked by by “lust off the leash” (v3). Now, however, the saints have become strange to their old friends, and all sorts of slanderous things are laid to their charge (v4). Though Christians are maligned by evil men, Peter reminds them that these men will one day stand before the ascended Christ to give an account of themselves (v5). These glad tidings (glad for the righteous, at least), have been heralded even to the dead (v6, 2:19), so that no man may claim an exception from Christ’s judgement on the quick and the dead.

The end of the old world is upon these Christians. Peter exhorts them how to behave themselves in light of the looming judgement which was coming. The immediate application of these words is to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. However, by extension we may apply this to all saints since then as we await the final judgement. How should saints behave in the shadows of looming judgement? Don’t be drunk. Pray like a midnight sentinel. Be fervent in love for each other, quick to cover each others sins in love (vv7-8, Pro. 10:12). Make room in your home for displaced Christians, without complaining (v9). God has poured out innumerable gifts upon His people and they are to use those gifts in service to each other and for the glory of God through Jesus Christ (vv10-11).

A fiery trial is coming, and so the saints shouldn’t be caught flatfooted by this trial, which is intended to prove them (v12). Instead, when the trial comes, they are to rejoice. Why? Because they are so joined with Christ that like His sufferings led to his glory, their sufferings will result in their receiving exceeding joy (v13). Being reproached for the name of Christ is not cause for distress, it is cause for celebration; for the spirit of glory rests on Christ’s people (v14, Cf. Is. 11:2). Evil men rejected the Living Stone, and now, as their judgement draws nigh, they heap up their faults by persecuting the followers of the Living Stone (v14b). Peter reaffirms the Christian’s duty to observe the Law of Moses regarding things like murder, theft, false witness, and adultery (v15). They should not be ashamed if they suffer due to being enlisted in the army of Christ, but should glorify God that this is evidence of their close union with Christ (v16). Judgement is coming. Christ has marked those who are His, so those who have not obeyed the Gospel of God should tremble (vv17-18). As the saints pass through the fiery judgement, they must say with Christ, “Into thine hand I commit my spirit” (v19, Cf. Ps. 31:5).

STICKS & STONES

A feature of the persecution of the righteous is the potency of slanderous names and mockery. Peter has called to mind the wicked men of Noah’s day, and how they troubled him as he patiently built the ark and preached righteousness. Ahab called Elijah the troubler of Israel. 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 summarizes how the wicked regularly reproached the righteous. However the name Christian arose, it soon became a name that bore a death sentence. Christians were accused of all manner of vile practices. Cannibals. Atheists. Sorcerers. Inbreeds. Traitors. Throughout Church history, wicked men have labelled faithful Christians with insulting and slanderous labels. John Wycliffe’s followers, because they devoted themselves to prayer, were ridiculed as Lollards (probably from the Dutch for mumblers). Evangelical. Puritan. Jesus Freaks. Kirkers. Such name-calling has a strong potency. It can make people flinch and lean away from what they ought to be loyal to.

On the other side, we are warned to not take the accusations of our enemies as a license to lawlessness. Just because they call you a horse thief doesn’t mean you should saddle up. This can be seen in recent years as the radical left amped up their accusations towards Christians of being Nazis, racists, and White Supremacists. Sadly, like a slow drip wears down rock, many Christians were worn down and have gradually allowed those once slanderous titles to actually be true about them. This is not an insignificant or uncommon temptation to Christians under pressure. Satan tempts us by starving us through persecution, and then seducing us through sweet poison.

Rather, we are instructed here to arm ourselves. This passage is plain with what our weaponry is: the same mind as Christ had. By faith in Christ, by baptism, you bear His name because you are joined with Him. Think of all the aspersions cast upon Him. What was Christ’s mindset in facing both the slander and the sufferings? Christ knew that God’s power is perfected in weakness.  The Stone must be rejected by the builders, before it became the cornerstone of the Lord’s temple. Glory comes through suffering. A crown awaited Him on the far side of the cross. Peter wants you to arm yourself with the knowledge that your baptism unites you to Christ. To endeavor to skirt suffering through compromise or cowardice or through retaliation is to live contrary to your baptism. Remember, Peter is equipping you to endure your trials through faith, not escape your trials.

DEFIANT REJOICING

The lusts of the flesh really do entice us with joy. In fact, you’ll notice that part of the pressure put upon these Christians is that they had left the lifestyle of carnal indulgence, and this brought about the slander. Sinners never want to be alone in their sin. Come with us. Share in our guilt. Wicked men think that somehow if everyone does some sinful thing that it waters down the guilt. No. It does’t work that way. That just shows that beyond simply having poor impulse control, you also have all the leadership qualities of a singular wildebeest running with the stampeding herd.

But what we are presented with here is a summons to defiant rejoicing. Faced with temptations to leave righteousness and go back to the life of lust, Peter admonishes you to arm yourself with your baptism, your union with Christ. Faced with fiery persecutions, Peter tells you to think about how you are now wonderfully joined with Jesus. All of Jesus.

Peter frames this is in superlative terms. Exceeding joy. The Spirit of Glory resting upon you. Glory. Happiness. This is because the glad tidings of Christ plants you in the deep soil of His everlasting joy in His own sufferings and glory. Your sin is entirely forgiven. Your persecutors will soon face the wrath of the Lamb. Your prayers will soon give way to eternal praise. Your pain will melt into pleasures evermore.

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Your Marriage and The Cosmos (The Living Stone) (Living Stone Reformed Church)

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INTRODUCTION

Far too many people have a compartmentalized view of the cosmos. We’ve sorted things out, and we want them all to stay put. Butterflies over here. Archangels over there. But we cannot seal off one area of life from another. No matter how imaginative secular man gets, he cannot create a world other than what exists. A world in which Christ is Lord over all.

THE TEXT

1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. 3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. […] 1 Peter 3:1ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Having just pointed to the example of Christ’s patient sufferings, and exhorting servants to endure even cruel masters by imitating Christ, Peter exhorts wives to adopt a similar manner. A wife is to be submissive to her own husband (v1). Even unbelieving husbands can be won over, not by his wife’s nagging, but by her righteous manner; Peter further details what this righteousness looks like in practice: sexual purity braided with reverence (vv1-2). A wife’s primary adornment is the ornamentation of a meek and quiet spirit; in God’s economy such a demeanor is like a set of rare pearls (vv3-4). Peter puts a compelling example before Christian women: their mother in the faith, Sarah, who obeyed Abraham not only in word but also in deed (vv5-6). Women were especially vulnerable in the ancient world. So, as persecution looms on the horizon, Christian women must be fearless (v6, Cf. Pro. 31:25). The last in the household instructions is the husband, or head of household. Men are also to look to Jesus in determining how to conduct themselves. A man’s spiritual resume is primarily evidenced in how he treats his wife. A husband should not merely share the same dwelling as his wife, he must endeavor to know her entirely. Furthermore, he is to honor her by not crushing her with his strength or misusing her by handing over his responsibilities to her. Above all, a husband is to be mindful that she too is a fellow heir of the grace of life. If he neglects this, his prayers will bounce off the ceiling (v7).

The entire congregation should strive to treat one another with remarkable love and considerate courtesy; instead of a retaliatory culture, they must live as those who are to inherit a blessing (vv8-9). To drive all this home, Peter recites a lengthy stretch of Psalm 34, which reminds us that since God has delivered us, we ought to conduct ourselves according to the new life which that deliverance brought about for us (vv10-12). Peter then reiterates his teaching from the previous chapter. Most of the time, doing good is not met with punishment (v13); but if they do suffer for righteousness, they are to remember Christ’s teaching, that immense blessing rests on those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Therefore, they must not be fearful (vv13-14, Cf. Mt. 5:10 & 10:28). This way of living is going to raise questions. So, Christians should be prepared to point to the hope they have in Christ, even when condemned as evildoers (vv15-17).

The bulk of Peter’s letter has actually been building up to this teaching on baptism. Christ suffered in your place (atonement), in order to bring you to God (justification); He accomplished this by His crucifixion, whereby our flesh is put to death, and by the Spirit vivifying Jesus, whereby our spirits are made alive (sanctification) (v18). Though Christ, the only innocent man, was cruelly mistreated by both earthly rulers and heavenly principalities, he bore that mistreatment silently (2:22); but after His resurrection He was the thunderous Word. He heralded His conquest to all beings, including the imprisoned souls of those disobedient in the corrupt days of Noah (vv19-20). The water of judgement in Noah’s day was a type of baptism. Baptism saves us. Whereas the Jewish washings cleansed ceremonial uncleanness, baptism stands as a binding oath to God of loyalty; your baptism is to make you conscientious that by the resurrection of Jesus you have entered the new life, the new world, which He has made (v20). Baptism delivers you from the old creation, marked by cruelty and corruption, into a new creation in which Jesus rules in heaven, triumphant over all angels, authorities, and powers (vv21-22).

CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS & YOUR MARRIAGE

Modern women are encouraged to be loud. Loud in their defiance of the patriarchy. Loud in shouting their abortions. Loud in their immodesty. They are encouraged to make their voice heard. All of this is undertaken in order to revolutionize the world. Peter sets before Christian women a model for feminine virtue that offends the modern feminist. First, Christ suffered while entrusting Himself to the justice of God. Second, Sarah, as the mother of faithful women, exemplifies the potency of a wife quietly and respectfully following where her husband leads; she now has daughters spread across the entire world. A wife who is sexually faithful to her husband, diligently reveres him, meekly & quietly goes about doing good in her home without fear is making the most potent statement that can be made. She is stating that her faith and hope are in Christ, who suffered cruelly but is now exalted as judge over all heavenly and earthly authorities. Peter says that this “conversation” speaks volumes, and if her husband is disobedient to the Word, her faithful obedience to the Word might just win her husband to the Word. So then, the challenge to wives of Christian husbands is to reflect on this. If unbelieving husbands can be transformed by the radical and unswerving Christlikeness of a submissive wife, how much more a believing husband?

Husbands are also poignantly challenged here. Peter stresses that a husband should be close to his wife not only in proximity, but in attentiveness. A godly husband is called to intricately know his wife, her needs, and her capacity. He must continually bear in mind that she’s a comparatively weaker vessel; like a porcelain tea set compared to rugged camping gear. You husbands did not marry a man, so do not treat your wife as if she were. Instead, fill her with love. Physical, financial, and spiritual love. If you don’t do this, you are sabotaging your own spiritual authority.

CHRIST’S ASCENSION & YOUR SUFFERINGS

Peter’s teaching on baptism is the crescendo of all his other teachings thus far. Your sufferings at the hand of tyrants, your various duties (citizens, slaves, wives, husbands), are all done in light of not only what Christ accomplished by His sufferings, but in light of the glory which followed His sufferings. In your, you are joined to those sufferings and those glories.

Baptism, Peter asserts, is both a certain deliverance and a certain judgement. To illustrate this, he reminds us of the world before Noah’s flood. The world was full of corrupt men who persecuted Noah. The waters which drowned the men of disobedience also bore up the ark which saved Noah and his family. Peter teaches us that Christ, after being vivified by the Spirit, and before appearing to His disciples, went down into Hades to proclaim His conquest over death and evil. He then ascended and is now seated as Lord over all angelic powers.

By faith in Christ you are saved by this baptism. The salvation is not found in merely the outward sign, Peter cautions. The salvation found in baptism is found in fidelity to what that sign binds you to. You are bound in pledge to Christ the King over all angelic and earthly powers. This has pertinent application in regards to infant baptism. A baptized child is set aside, marked out, and tasked to live as becomes a follower of Christ. He is to grow up breathing the air of repentance and faith, confession of sin and love towards God and His people. Baptism is a pledge to God, and puts you in mind to live as a member of this new creation. As you face suffering and temptation, Peter teaches that baptism is to be a continually comfort in distress and a spur towards righteousness. Are you baptized into Christ? Then all your persecutors are heaping up condemnation upon themselves. Are you baptized? Then live like a citizen of this new creation. Judgement & salvation are both displayed in our baptism. As one writer put it: Baptism is spiritual warfare.

TO BRING YOU TO GOD

All of Christ’s sufferings were undertaken to restore you to God. Of course, as Peter has exhorted, we are to live as a holy nation; but this follows the gracious gift of new life which the Word of Christ has brought about in us. God didn’t spread a feast and then command you to go make for yourself a mouth. Rather, He made a feast and gave you a mouth for the feast. He made marvelous light, and then gave you eyes to see that light. He handed you the gift of Christ, and then gave you hands of faith to receive it all. From first to last Salvation is a gift.

Christ’s gift of salvation leaves no aspect of of the cosmos untouched. Your marriage is not disconnected from Christ’s conquest over fallen angels or corrupt men. Your sufferings are not meaningless. Christ has descended to Hades, and bodily heralded His triumph to the damned. Christ has ascended on high. And by your baptism, Christ brings you through the fiery judgement, and into the new heavens and new earth which He inaugurated.

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