Peter concludes his epistle by stating, "I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it." All that he has said about suffering, all that he has said about the fiery trials that test us, all this is the true grace of God. The "normal" Christian life--indeed, the normative Christian life--is one of suffering. Peter has spoken of the different spheres in which we suffer: the political, the economic, and the domestic. People will speak evil of you, and they will do evil to you. Trials and temptations will attack on every side.

But here, at the end of his epistle, he draws back the curtain for a moment, and shows you the source of the fiery trials that you endure. "Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." Suffering has a demonic source. We believe in the world. Its temptations are too obvious to deny. We believe in the flesh. We feel most painfully our own weakness. But do we really believe in the devil? Do you really believe that the adversary is seeking to devour us? Peter portrays the devil as a roaring lion, prowling around seeking for easy prey. A lion roars just before pouncing on its prey, in order to terrify the poor animal. So a roaring lion is a hungry lion, seeking to frighten his victims. Peter says, "Be sober-minded; be watchful." If you are alert, then you will see him coming. Lions do not like to work hard for their meals. They are very strong, but do not have a great deal of endurance. If you can withstand the initial onslaught, your chances improve considerably! Therefore Peter says, "Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world." The best way to deal with trials and temptations, is to remain firm in your faith. In the midst of doubt, and in the midst of fear, do not waver in your faith.

We started this by looking at the devil's role in trials, but that is not where Peter starts. Peter places the devil's role in trial and temptation in a larger context. Look at how he begins the section: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you." Peter has been speaking of how the church needs to submit to the elders, and then how the church needs to "clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another." And then he echoes Proverbs 3: "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." The proud are not alert. The proud think that they know it all, that they have all the answers. They are not watchful, and do not see the snares that the evil one has set for their feet. The humble, whose hearts are not haughty, whose eyes are not lofty, who do not concern themselves with matters too great--they are sober-minded and alert. If you exalt yourself, then you will be humbled by God's judgment. If you humble yourself, then you will be exalted by God's judgment. And here, in 1 Peter 5, we begin to see how God plays the devil against himself. God desires to bring his church through suffering to glory. Satan is trying to keep the world under his dominion, and he is doing everything in his power to devour the church. But Satan's most triumphant moments are woven into the tapestry of history as the triumph of Christ and his church. Satan's attacks on the church prove in the end to be the means that God uses to conform us to the likeness of Christ, sharing in his sufferings, that we might also share in his glory.

You may wonder at times, "Is God really with me?" Or "Why is God letting this happen to me?" Your failures may at times look bigger than your triumphs. The wounds that the lion has inflicted may indeed be painful. But "resist him, firm in your faith." Is God really with you? Look at your brotherhood throughout the world (or perhaps in the world--this may be a reference to the "world" as the sphere of trial): your fellow-Christians are going through the same things! Read the Psalms; read Revelation; read Foxe's Book of Martyrs; talk to other Christians about their sufferings. And you will find that God has always been faithful to his church in the midst of suffering. Why is God letting this happen to you? This is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. Why does God allow you to have cancer? Why does God allow family problems to torment you? God is doing with you, what he did with Jesus: He is bringing you through suffering to glory. The path of the Christian can be none other than the path of Jesus Christ.

Peter reminds you that you may cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Whatever anxieties you may have, cast them upon Him. He is quite able to handle them! Ah, but there's that pride again! We do not like to cast our anxieties on him. We prefer to hang on to them ourselves! We like to be in charge of our lives, and that means worrying about our own future. True humility casts those anxieties and fears upon God, and simply gets on with doing that which God has called us to do. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

When we went through Colossians, we focused on who Christ is, and what he has done; and now who we are in Christ, and what that means for our lives. But in Colossians, Paul is focused on who we already are. Since you have died with Christ, set your heart on things above. But Paul also said that we must put off the remnants of the dead man's life. Peter has a different emphasis. He doesn't talk about dying with Christ, but suffering with Christ. While Paul tends to speak in terms of union with Christ and its results in putting to death the deeds of the flesh, Peter tends to talk about our suffering being the very place where we are united with Christ.

God does not just "permit" you to suffer. He loves you too much for that! He graciously bestows suffering upon you so that you might be conformed to the likeness of Christ, and therefore share in his glory. Union with Christ is not simply a present reality in the heavenlies. Paul talks about that--how God has "seated us with Christ in the heavenly places" (Eph 2). Union with Christ is also a present reality in history. There is a pernicious view out there that Christ took all of God's wrath, so that we might receive all of God's blessing. That's not what the Bible says. Why did Christ endure the wrath of God? "Who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame" (Heb 12:2). Christ endured all of God's wrath, so that He might receive all of God's blessing. Peter made this point at Pentecost: Acts 2:22-36. The first proclamation of the gospel said nothing about Jesus dying for you. It was all about Jesus. It is only because Jesus received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, that you receive anything. Until God vindicated Jesus by raising him from the dead, you have no justification. Until God glorified Jesus by seating him at his right hand, you have no glorification. If you say that Christ took all of God's wrath, so that we might receive all of God's blessing, then you cannot explain suffering. But if you say that Christ took all of God's wrath, so that he might receive all of God's blessing, then you understand the gospel. It is because Jesus has endured the cross, and because he has received glory, that your path as elect exiles is secure. This is the true grace of God. Not that you should be free from suffering, but that your suffering will assuredly end in the same place as Jesus- in glory. Old Testament Israel had the same promise: that they would endure through suffering and come to glory. They had the promise, but not yet the reality. In Jesus Christ, the reality has come.

This is what Peter is saying in his doxology: "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen." You have been called to God's eternal glory in Christ. So because you have been born again to a living hope, suffering makes sense. It is the only path that leads home. It is the only path that leads home, because it is the path that Christ walked, and therefore if you do not walk in this path, you do not belong to Christ.

And on this path there are lions. Have you noticed the connection yet to the last couple weeks? Peter used the image of the shepherd both for the elders and for Christ, the chief shepherd. And he used the image of the flock for the church (there's one we missed in our Sunday school class!). With that image fresh on his mind, Peter turns to that of the roaring lion. The elders are guiding their flock along the path, and the devil is like a lion prowling in the hills along the path.

Resistance to the devil is not a solitary exercise. You resist the devil together as a flock, with your elders leading the way in fighting off the enemies. Okay, nice image--what does it look like for us?

Have you ever considered elder visits as spiritual warfare? The shepherd is to lead the sheep, feed the sheep, and protect them from their enemies. When you are sick or discouraged, you are easy prey for the devil. A visit from an elder is an encouragement to resist the devil, firm in your faith. But you don't need to wait for a visit. If you are struggling with suffering, with temptation, with doubt, with anxiety, your elders have been given to you by Christ to protect you from your enemies. Call them. Talk to them. The beauty of presbyterian polity is that if your question is too difficult for an elder, or for a whole session, they can call upon the resources of the regional church.

Peter concludes his epistle by giving greetings from "She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen," as well as "Mark, my son." "She who is at Babylon" is no doubt the church where Peter was located at the time. Most have argued that this is a reference to Rome, the modern Babylon, but some think that Peter was in the historic region of Babylon, in Persia. What matters is that Peter is drawing our attention to the idea of elect exiles once again. He is concluding where he began. Babylon was the city of exile where Judah had been exiled more than 600 years before. And she who is in exile in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends her greetings. You are not alone. The church throughout the world is one. Endure patiently through suffering and trial, because we all are. That is our calling until the day when we share in the eternal glory of Christ.

And so, brethren, until that day, greet one another with the kiss of love. This is still a custom in many churches. Men kiss men. Women kiss women. When I was in Eritrea I got used to kissing men on the cheek. Perhaps we should reintroduce it. It speaks of the bond of affection that exists between us. The holy handshake falls short. It is too casual. The kiss expresses a closeness that is deeper than mere acquaintance. If we are family, then we should not be ashamed to show it in our affection for each other. And finally, echoing the Jewish farewell, "Shalom," Peter says, "Peace to all of you who are in Christ." Do you wonder why after the benediction, I say "Go in peace"? It is because I have just blessed you in the Triune name of God. Your sins are forgiven, you have been fed and nourished by the word and table of our Lord, and now you have received the blessing of Almighty God. "Go in peace" means live before God in the comfort and joy of the hope you have heard. We begin our worship with repentance, turning our hearts away from the world. We end our worship with peace, in the joy of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Copyright © 2003 Peter J. Wallace