saved is a painful one, but how far more terrible will the final stages be when the ungodly and sinners are dealt with. Those who suffer according to God's will should commit their lives to Him, as to a faithful Creator, who may be trusted to deal justly with His own handiwork. In v. 6-10 Christians should submit humbly to God's hand in patiently enduring suffering. In one sense their sufferings are the work of Satan, for he employs them to try and devour his prey by inducing Christians to give way. But in another sense they are the accomplishment of a divine purpose of loving favour, and that same purpose is being accomplished in the Christian brotherhood in other parts of the world. In calling His children to His eternal glory in Christ God requires them to pass through a brief period of suffering, and He will provide them with what is necessary to refit, stablish and strengthen them. 9. DOCTRINE IN 1 PETER. Nearly every clause in the Creed can be supported by passages in the Epistle. I believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of heaven Christ His only Son our Lord i. 2. According to the foreknowledge of God the Father. i. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. i. 17. If ye invoke as Father. iv. 11. To whom is the glory and the κράτος for ever. v. 6. The mighty hand of God. iv. 19. A faithful creator. i. 3. Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. iii. 14. Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. who was incarnate Christ's Body ii. 24, Flesh iii. 18, iv. 1, who suffered Blood i. 19, Human spirit iii. 18 are referred to. i. 11. The sufferings destined for Messiah. was crucified dead He descended into He rose again not. iv. 1. When He suffered He threatened Christ having suffered in the flesh. iv. 13. Ye have fellowship in the sufferings of Christ. v. 1. A witness of the sufferings of Christ. iii. 18. Christ died (åré@ave) for sins once, iii. 19. He went (in His human spirit quickened by death) and preached to the spirits in prison. i. 3. By the resurrection of Jesus Christ i. 21. God raised Him from the dead. iii. 21. He ascended into heaven iii. 22. He sitteth at the right hand of God He shall come again with glory. To judge both i. 21. God raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory. iii. 22. Who is at the right hand of God, i. 7, 13. At the revelation of Jesus Christ. In St Peter the judgment is ascribed to God i. 17. If ye invoke as Father Him who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work. iv. 5. Who shall give account to Him who is in readiness to judge the quick and the dead. But in v. 4 the bestowal of the crown of life I believe in Who spake by the prophets is connected with the manifestation of the i. 2. In sanctification of the Spirit. i. 20. Prophets-searching what or what The Holy Catholic As there are so many indirect traces of Church Ephesians in this Epistle it is somewhat strange that neither the word ἐκκλησία nor the illustration of the Body of Christ should be found in it. But in i. 1 Christians are called ékλEKTOL. They are built as living stones into a spiritual temple of which Christ is the chief corner-stone. They are γένος ἐκλεκτόν, βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα, ἔθνος ἅγιον, λαὸς εἰς περιποίησιν. In other words they are the New Israel of God, which is practically what our Lord meant when He spoke of building His ékkλnoía in the promise to St Peter, Mt. xvi. 18. Again the description of Christians as being "in Christ" iii. 16, v. 10, 14 implies I believe in sins The resurrection of the body The life everlasting that they are regarded as members of His Body. Christians are a brotherhood, the house of God. The Christian society from which St Peter is writing is ἡ συνεκλεκτή. iii. 21. Baptism doth save us. This is not expressly mentioned but is implied in the "living hope" to which Christians are begotten again by the resurrection of Jesus Christ i. 3, and the instruction to rejoice in sufferings as a prelude to glory would be meaningless apart from a sure and certain hope of resurrection. Is implied in the "inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away" i. 4, and also in the "crown of glory" v. 4, and the eternal glory to which Christians are called v. 10. Thus the only clauses of the Apostles' Creed for which no direct support is afforded by the Epistle are: He came down from heaven. Was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. Under Pontius Pilate. Buried. The Communion of Saints. St Peter's conception of God. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ i. 3. He is our Father but also our Judge, and will not shew any undue favouritism to His children i. 17. He is a faithful creator and therefore His creatures can entrust their souls to His keeping in perfect confidence despite man's cruelty or injustice iv. 19. He cares for us and therefore we can cast all our anxiety upon Him v. 7. He is a Being of absolute holiness who demands that His children should be holy i. 15—16. He lives and abides for ever i. 23. His purpose of redemption was foreknown to Him before the foundation of the world i. 2, 20. It is He who begets us again to a living hope i. 3. He calls us i. 15. He is a God of all favour, even in the discipline of suffering by which He calls us to glory v. 10. His eyes are over the righteous and His ears open to their prayer but His face is against those that do evil iii. 12. All human institutions whether in the state, the household or the family are ordained by Him ii. 13-iii. 7. He is the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls ii. 25. The Church is His flock v. 2. His temple ii. 5. His house iv. 17. Christians are His stewards and are intended to use all His varied gifts in His service iv. 10. He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble v. 5. St Peter's conception of Jesus Christ. He is very Man. He suffered in the flesh iv. 1, was put to death in the flesh iii. 18, and thereby was quickened in His (human) spirit for further work in the unseen world. His blood as the Covenant Victim is sprinkled upon Christians i. 1. It was the price of their redemption i. 19. In character He was sinless, a Lamb without spot or blemish i. 19. He did no sin neither was guile found in His mouth ii. 22. He was patient under sufferings and injustice, because He committed Himself to the just judgment of God ii. 23. In fact He was the ideal Servant of the Lord described in Isaiah liii. He is our example ii. 21, our High Priest through whom our spiritual sacrifices must be presented ii. 5. He presents men to God iii. 18. He has ascended into heaven and is at the right hand of the Father exalted above all angelic powers iii. 22. Suffering in His name is a high privilege iv. 14. He will be manifested as the chief Shepherd v. 4. His revelation is referred to i. 7, 13. A few passages, if isolated and exaggerated, might be misinterpreted as suggesting that Christ was a subordinate Being, e.g. He was foreknown by God i. 20, raised from the dead by God i. 21, chosen by God ii. 4. In i. 3 God is described as His God and Father. But such a view is disproved by numerous other passages. He is our Lord i. 3. He is coupled with the Father and the Holy Spirit i. 2. He is to be sanctified as Lord in our hearts iii. 15, language which in Isaiah viii. 13 is applied to Jehovah of hosts. |