Chapter # 3 Paragraph # 3 Study # 2
May 2, 2010
Lincolnton, N.C.
1769 Translation:
8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
1901 ASV Translation:
8 Finally, be ye all likeminded, compassionate, loving as brethren, tenderhearted, humbleminded:
9 not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing; for hereunto were ye called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
10 For, He that would love life, And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips that they speak no guile:
11 And let him turn away from evil, and do good; Let him seek peace, and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, And his ears unto their supplication: But the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil.
- I. Peter's Summary Exhortations.
- A. In positive terms.
- 1. Likeminded [See notes for Study # 1 of Paragraph # 3 <056>].
- 2. Suffering together.
- a. Peter's term is uniquely his in the New Testament and is only found in this verse.
- b. It is the root of our word "sympathetic" and combines a preposition that is focused upon "union" with a verbal notion of "suffering". The verb is used twice by Paul (Romans 8:17 and 1 Corinthians 12:26) and neither time does it mean "to exercise sympathy" in the typical sense of those terms. Rather, it means "to enter into suffering with" another. Romans 8:17 ties our "inheritance" to whether we "suffer together with" Christ and our being "glorified" to the same issue. This is not simply "being sympathetic"; it is taking an active part in the suffering. The Corinthian text is a declaration of how pain permeates the whole body when one member is injured. Thus, the word is much stronger than "sympathy". There is, here, no indication that any believer is to "go looking for" opportunities to "suffer", but there is a potent assumption that any faithful believer will run into suffering simply as an outworking of faithfulness. It is, by definition, a "common" occurrence that is rooted in simple fidelity. The notion is a bit problematical. What is "suffering"? Why does it arise from "fidelity to Christ"? Is this reality trans-cultural? Will every believer face it?
- 1) "Suffering" has three very real roots: physical pain, fear, and humiliation. It is not only one of the three. The inner turmoil of the heart and mind is not less a matter of "suffering" than the physical pain of injury to the body. The uses of the verb in the New Testament make it abundantly clear that physical pain is not only not the major issue, it is often not even in the picture. Matthew 16:21 is one of several texts that clearly indicate a level of "suffering" that has nothing to do with the body. 2 Peter. 2:8 declares that Lot "vexed" his righteous soul with the ungodly deeds of his fellow Sodomites. Hebrews 12:3 enjoins its readers to "consider" Jesus as One Who "endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself". For the entire period of His life up to the trial and crucifixion, this "contradiction" was not physical.
- 2) In large part, the "suffering" associated with "fidelity" boils down to having to "put up with" ungodliness in all of its variant forms. This is fundamentally an emotional/spiritual problem rooted in the true values of the heart.
- 3. Brother loving.
- a. This, also, is a word-form only used by Peter in the New Testament. It is the root of the name of the city of Philadelphia. It was coined to refer to the emotional bonds that form between siblings. A related word-form is found in five other texts of the New Testament, two of which are 1 Peter 1:22 and 2 Peter 1:7.
- b. The 2 Peter text is significant in that it places this "love of the brother" just under the final virtue: "Love".
- 4. Good emotioned.
- 5. Humble minded.
- B. In negative terms.
- 1. Not returning evil for evil.
- 2. Not returning railing for railing.
- C. In contrasting terms.
- 1. Returning "blessing".
- 2. Being called to inherit a "blessing".