FIRST PETER 5:10

The Bible says in First Peter 5:10, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” For those who suffer afflictions, attacks, and sorrows in their walk upon this earth it is good to remember that we believe in the “God of all grace.” This means that He has all of the grace that is needed for any situation that we might come upon. We certainly need His grace because the things that we must face as humble followers of Jesus Christ are too great for us.

It is a good thing that it is “grace” that He has for us. Grace speaks of a gift. Grace speaks of God doing for us freely what we cannot do for ourselves. I cannot do all the things that need to be done, but Christ can. I cannot understand everything that happens to me, but Christ understands all things. I may be tempted to not accept the burdens that come my way, but Jesus some how will bring me through. He is the God of all grace. He had grace to help in time of need. Have you come upon something for which you see no way through; then you now have an opportunity to see what the grace of God will do. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” How could Paul say that? He could say that because of grace. Paul also said, “For to me to live is Christ, but to die is gain.” How could he know that? Grace. Jesus said, “Thy sins be forgiven thee.” How could Jesus offer that to sinners such as you and me? Grace. Grace is the answer to the curse that came upon the human race. Grace is the answer to your weakness and inability.

First Peter 5:10 says that God “called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus.” Of course when Peter said this; he was still on the earth, but Peter knew that he was going to heaven. Peter knew that he was going to heaven because he had been “called.” The calling of God is first of all an invitation to become a member of the Kingdom of God. Once you are a member of the Kingdom of God, then heaven is your home. Your journey on this earth becomes a journey towards your home.

God calls everyone to heaven because God loves everyone. But be careful. You must respond to His call. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” God calls and then man must respond. Man still has free will. Once God calls a man or a woman, that man or woman must make a choice: to turn and go towards God or to keep going the way of man. “There is way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death.”

The first step before anyone can be saved is for God to call that person. No one can come to Christ unless the Spirit of God first draws them to Christ. Some people are not ready to be saved because the Spirit has not yet worked in their hearts. You cannot convince anyone to come to Christ. The Spirit might use you, but unless it is the work of the Spirit no one is saved: no matter how many prayers that they pray following the words that you give them. We live in the last days. Many have made false professions because they were told that because they went forward in an invitation and repeated certain words after the preacher, that they were saved. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God… That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I say unto you, ye must be born again.”

You must be born again. No one became born again unless they were first called by a loving God who wanted to save their soul. Notice that the calling comes “by Christ Jesus.” Jesus made the salvation possible by dying on the cross for the sins of the world. But notice that the calling itself is “by Christ Jesus.” Jesus Christ does the saving. He is the Savior of the soul. To be born again involves a meeting with Jesus Christ. It involves coming to know Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God reveals Jesus. The Spirit of God introduces Jesus to the lost soul. Anyone who has been saved has bowed before the feet of the risen Jesus and met Him personally by faith.

No doubt one of the important points that the Holy Spirit is making in First Peter 5:10 is the fact that God has called us “unto his eternal glory.” This book of First Peter is written to Christians who are suffering. It is good to be reminded that we are on our way to glory. We have a lot to sing about and a lot to look forward to. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we have been called to share His glory with Him. It is an eternal glory. It will last forever. What a contrast to this world. We might be despised and rejected in this world, but it is only for a time: a very short time compared to eternity. Paul wrote in Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Before we get to heaven, we have a life to life and we have sufferings to suffer. In the last part of First Peter 5:10 we are given some good thoughts to think even in regards to our suffering. The first thing to remember is that the suffering will be for a short time. It says “after that ye have suffered a while.” It means “a little while,” with an emphasis on the word “little.” You might be called to suffer something, but remember that you are only called to suffer for a little while, and then you will be taken to heaven for ever.

There are some benefits to suffering for Christ or to suffering because of being yielded to the will of Christ. It says “after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” The word that is translated “make you perfect” means “to mend” or to “restore.” It means to make perfect in the sense that something needs to be equipped that is not yet equipped: perfect in the sense of complete, whole. Sin destroys. The world tears down and destroys. God wants to build you up and make you an instrument fit for the Master’s use. How will He do that? One way in which He will do that is through suffering. Let the suffering that comes your way in the will of God; do the work that God wants it to do. Some people are not everything that they ought to be in the service of Christ, because they have not learned how to properly respond to the sufferings that came their way.

God wants you to be everything that you can be, and so He allows sufferings to come into your life. He also wants to “establish” you. This means that He wants you to be set firm. Servants will not be of much use if they are knocked about by every wind of opposition that comes their way. We cannot be as a ship tossed by the waves, or as a twig bent by the wind. We must stand strong for Christ in the face of a world determined to go away from Him. A weak Christian will not stand. God allows sufferings into your life to “establish” you in the faith. As you learn to live by faith in the face of one suffering, you will be more able to do the same in the face of another. “If footmen tire you, what will horses do?”

God will allow sufferings in order to “strengthen” you. He is the Mighty God. Jesus said, “All power is given unto me.” He wants you to have some power also. Christians should be the strongest of all people on the earth. You may be weak now, but if you continue to follow Christ, you will become stronger and stronger. You will become strong in the face of temptation, strong in the face of sorrow, and strong in the face of suffering. It will happen because God is at work in your life.

God wants to “settle” you. He wants you to have a foundation that you will be grounded upon. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid: which is Jesus Christ.” You will have the proper foundation by believing on Jesus for salvation, and by continuing to look to Him no matter what sorrow may come your way. Jesus spoke of a man who built his house on sand and another man who built his house upon the rock. Of course, when the winds and the waves came, the house without the proper foundation was ruined. God wants His children to be founded like the Rock of Gibraltar. Sufferings have the potential to give you that foundation that you need. Once you go through one difficulty, you will be even more able to face the next.

No wonder that the Holy Spirit causes Peter to praise God in First Peter 5:11, where he writes “To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” God should be glorified from our hearts and by our lips. He has called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus. He works in our lives to make something out of us, not from the world’s view or measurement, but from His own view. He has the power to make us better because He has dominion over all things, and He will use all things; including the sufferings, to guide our lives and to accomplish His will in our lives.

In First Peter 5:12 Peter tells us that he wrote this epistle “By Sylvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.” Peter is making it clear that he is writing about the “grace of God.” True believers who are trusting in the Lord day by day know that “grace” is the basis for all of their hope in God. Salvation and forgiveness of sins are based upon grace. Seeking help from God in times of trouble is also based upon grace. Grace is when God gives to us freely what we do not deserve and cannot earn. Grace is available because of the price that Jesus paid on the terrible cross of Calvary. We can face the sufferings that come our way, whether deserved or not: through grace.

The Bible says in First Peter 5:13, “The church that is at Babylon, selected together with you, saluteth you, and so doth Marcus my son.” It is interesting to note that Peter said that he was in “Babylon” when he wrote this epistle. This is the only reference to Babylon in any of the epistles. The book of Revelation mentions it several times. There is some evidence that the references to Babylon in the book of Revelation might refer to “Rome.” Perhaps the early Christians used the word “Babylon” to refer to Rome in order to avoid scrutiny by the authorities or perhaps because of the spiritual similarity between the references to Babylon in the Old Testament and to what Rome had actually become. But on the other hand perhaps Peter really did visit Babylon. He was writing to Christians who were dispersed, and maybe he was one of them. Up to that time, the greatest of all dispersions of the Israelites had been to Babylon.

In the last verse of this epistle, First Peter 5:14, we are told “Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus.” If you are going to talk to a group of Christians, it is always good to remind them of the importance of loving one another. Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have love you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Jesus also said in John 15:12, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” And then He said in John 15:14, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” Those who claim to be Christians had better be careful about this commandment. All of your doctrinal purity means nothing if you do not obey Jesus in this great commandment that He gave. It may be the hardest of all of His commandments, and it also may be the most important. If someone else is a follower of Jesus, even if they are not in the same fold as you; you must love them because Jesus commanded you to do so. The Bible says in First John 2:10-11, “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”

The last thing that Peter wrote to these persecuted Christians was this prayer and desire for them: “Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus.” In order to have this peace that only Christ can give, you must approach your difficulties and sufferings by faith in the ways that Peter outlined in this epistle, and of course; you must be “in Christ Jesus.” If you are not “in Christ Jesus,” today you can turn from your sins and turn to Jesus and find His salvation that He purchased for you by His sufferings on the cross of Calvary.

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