PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Expositor's Bible: The Epistles of St. Peter
Lumby, J. Rawson (Joseph Rawson) · 97,959 words · 133 reading sections
_Christian Service For God'S Glory_
"But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore of sound mind, and be sober unto prayer: above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves; for love covereth a multitude of sins: using hospitality one to another without murmuring: according as each hath received a gift, ministering it among yours…
660 wordsSECTION 62_Christian Service For God'S Glory_
_Be ye therefore of sound mind._ Exactly the counsel which should follow the previous lesson. It was misinterpreted at first, as it has been since. We know how unwisely the Thessalonians behaved when they had been told by St. Paul, "The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" (1 Thess. v. 2). The Apostle lea…
761 wordsSECTION 63_Christian Service For God'S Glory_
_Above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves._ Soundness of mind and sobriety should dominate every part of the believer's life; but there are other virtues of pre-eminent excellence, unto which, though they be far above him, he is encouraged to aspire. Of these St. Peter, like St. Paul (1 Cor. xiii. 1…
1,048 wordsSECTION 64_Christian Service For God'S Glory_
The intimate fellowship that would grow out of such exercise of kind offices must have been a power to encourage greatly the labourers for Christ. As they dwelt together, hours not given to public ministrations would be spent in private converse, and would knit the members together, and forward the common work. As St. …
800 wordsSECTION 65_Christian Service For God'S Glory_
And next he turns to those gifts which are to be exercised in deeds, and not in words: _If any man ministereth, ministering as of the strength which God supplieth_. Under "ministry" St. Paul classes (Rom. xii. 7, 8) giving, ruling, showing mercy. These are duties which secure the temporal condition of the Church and he…
489 wordsSECTION 66_The Believer'S Double Joy_
"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which cometh upon you to prove you, as though a strange thing happened unto you: but insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of His glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy. If ye are reproached for…
763 wordsSECTION 67_The Believer'S Double Joy_
Here, if honestly questioned, the individual conscience will give the true answer; and if that inward witness condemn the life for no excesses, of which suffering is the appointed fruit, if the bodily pains be not the outcome of a life lived to the flesh, nor the sorrow and poverty the result of follies and extravaganc…
691 wordsSECTION 68_The Believer'S Double Joy_
And such a petition should check all overweening confidence in our own power to withstand temptation, all overreadiness to put ourselves in the way of danger that we may show our strength, and that we can stand though others may fall. The sin and folly of such presumption would be constantly present to St. Peter's mind…
691 wordsSECTION 69_The Believer'S Double Joy_
In our land suffering such as theirs is no more laid upon us, but for all that the reproach of Christ has not ceased. Our days are specially marked by a desire for demonstration on every subject, and it comes to pass thereby that those who are willing in spiritual things to walk by faith rank in the estimation of many …
675 wordsSECTION 70_The Righteous Have Judgement Here_
The Authorised Version has here retained a clause which appears to have been at first but an explanatory note, written in the margin of some copy, and then to have been incorporated with the text: "On their part He is evil-spoken of, but on your part He is glorified." We cannot regret the preservation of such a note. I…
800 wordsSECTION 71_The Righteous Have Judgement Here_
_But if a man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this name._ That is, let him be thankful and show his thankfulness that he has been called to bear the name of Christ and to suffer for it. The Authorised Version, adopting a different reading, has "on this behalf." But the sense is…
812 wordsSECTION 72_The Righteous Have Judgement Here_
_And if it begin first at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?_ The Apostle joins himself with those of the house of God who will feel the pressure of temporal judgement. He is not forgetful of the Lord's saying, "Simon, behold Satan asked to have you that he might sift you as wheat, but I…
957 wordsSECTION 73_The Righteous Have Judgement Here_
The Apostle links a holy life most closely with this trust in God. In well-doing commit your souls unto Him. No otherwise can His guardianship and aid be hoped for. But the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, and with Him to know is to watch over and help. Nor should men sorrow when they suffer according to God's wi…
398 wordsSECTION 74_How To Tend The Flock_
"The elders therefore among you I exhort, who am a fellow-elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according unto God; nor yet for filthy lucre, …
750 wordsSECTION 75_How To Tend The Flock_
He opens his solemn charge with words which are the echo of Christ's own: "Feed My sheep"; "Feed My lambs." Every word pictures the responsibility of those to whom the trust is committed. These brethren are God's flock. Psalmists and prophets had been guided of old to use the figure; they speak of God's people as "the …
692 wordsSECTION 76_How To Tend The Flock_
And every subsequent age of the Church has endorsed the wisdom of St. Paul's caution, "Lay hands hastily on no man." Fervid zeal may grow cool, and inaptitude for the work become apparent. Nor are those in whom it is found always solely responsible for a mistaken vocation. As St. Paul's words should make those vigilant…
780 wordsSECTION 77_How To Tend The Flock_
While he warns the elders against the assumption of lordship over their charges, the Apostle adds a precept which, if it be followed, will abate all tendency to seek such lordship. For it brings to the mind of those set over the flock that they too are but sheep, like the rest, and are appointed not to dominate, but to…
714 wordsSECTION 78_Be Clothed With Humility_
"Likewise, ye younger, be subject unto the elder. Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time; casting all your anxiety upon Him, because …
653 wordsSECTION 79_Be Clothed With Humility_
And one cannot in studying this striking word of the Apostle but be carried in thought to that scene described by St. John where Jesus "took a towel and girded Himself" (John xiii. 4) to wash the feet of His disciples. St. Peter gained much instruction from that washing, and he has not forgotten the lesson when he desi…
730 wordsSECTION 80_Be Clothed With Humility_
And St. Peter feeds the flock as he himself was fed. _Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time._ The Apostle may be referring in these words to the trials which were upon the converts when he wrote to them. These he would have them look upon as God's discipline, as a c…
657 wordsSECTION 81_Be Clothed With Humility_
But neither the young hero by his example, nor the Apostle in his exhortation, teaches a spirit of careless indifference and neglect of means. David chose him five smooth stones out of the brook. These he could use. With these God had delivered him aforetime. And in every condition men are bound to use the best means t…
310 wordsSECTION 82_Through Perils To Victory_
"Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom withstand steadfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are accomplished in your brethren who are in the world. And the God of all grace, who called you unto His eternal glory in Christ, …
923 wordsSECTION 83_Through Perils To Victory_
_Whom withstand steadfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are accomplished in your brethren who are in the world._ The steadfast faith must be the firm foundation of God; and the same thoughts, which St. Paul commends as a correction of those who have erred concerning the truth, are those most fit to be…
884 wordsSECTION 84_Through Perils To Victory_
In many ancient texts a fourth verb is given, which the Authorised Version renders "settle." It signifies "to set on a firm foundation," and it is of the figurative character which marks St. Peter's language, and, beside this, is not uncommon in the New Testament (Matt. vii. 25; Luke vi. 48; Heb. i. 10, etc.). But the …
917 wordsSECTION 85_The Saving Knowledge Of God_
[12] _Apol._ i. 65. _Peace be unto you all that are in Christ._ This is the bond which unites believers into one fellowship. To be in Christ is to be of the brotherhood which has been so significantly marked just before for its unity. And in these last clauses we have examples of the force of the tie. Individuals are …
869 wordsSECTION 86_The Saving Knowledge Of God_
To this righteousness each "stranger and sojourner" in the world is striving to attain by faith, and by each exercise thereof he is raised nearer to his lofty aim. His faith, like the patriarch's of old, is counted unto him for righteousness. The fruit of each man's faith will be ἰσότιμος--"alike precious"--when the jo…
730 wordsSECTION 87_The Saving Knowledge Of God_
_Through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and virtue._ Here the same full knowledge (ἐπίγνωσις) of which the Apostle has just been speaking is to become the channel of all our blessings: to know God, who has made Himself to be known through Christ Jesus. God's glory and virtue--that is, His Divine p…
945 wordsSECTION 88_Who Shall Ascend Into The Hill Of The Lord?_
"Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply virtue; and in _your_ virtue knowledge; and in _your_ knowledge temperance; and in _your_ temperance patience; and in _your_ patience godliness; and in _your_ godliness love of the brethren; and in _your_ love of the brethren lov…
816 wordsSECTION 89_Who Shall Ascend Into The Hill Of The Lord?_
_And in your knowledge temperance._ There is a knowledge which puffeth up, giving not humility, which is the fruit of true knowledge, but self-conceit. Of the evil effects thereof the Apostle knew much. Out of it grew extravagance in thought, and word, and action; and its mischief was threatening the infant Churches. A…
778 wordsSECTION 90_Who Shall Ascend Into The Hill Of The Lord?_
The knowledge of Christ is a lesson in which we cannot be perfected till we behold Him as He is, but yet through it from the first we receive the earnest and pledge of all that is meant by life and godliness, and the culture of the Divine gifts will yield a rich increase of the same knowledge. _For if these things are …
821 wordsSECTION 91_Who Shall Ascend Into The Hill Of The Lord?_
_For if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble._ The way will be hard, and may be long, the obstacles in your path many and rugged, heaped up by the prince of this world to bar you from advancing and make you faint-hearted; but down into the midst of the danger there shall shine from the Father of lights a ray whic…
406 wordsSECTION 92_The Voice Heard In The Holy Mount_
"Wherefore I shall be ready always to put you in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and are established in the truth which is with _you_. And I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that the putting off of my tabernacle cometh swiftl…
688 wordsSECTION 93_The Voice Heard In The Holy Mount_
Perhaps, too, he thought, as he spake of the truth present with them, that he was of necessity absent and would soon be removed altogether, and the only way by which he could serve them was by his epistle. He could never forget that among those to whom he was writing were the Galatians, over whose falling back from the…
734 wordsSECTION 94_The Voice Heard In The Holy Mount_
_Yea, I will give diligence that at every time ye may be able after my decease to call these things to remembrance._ Jesus is related (Luke ix. 31) to have conversed with Moses and Elias of His decease (ἔξοδος) which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. The word is rare in this sense, being commonly used, as in Heb. xi. …
669 wordsSECTION 95_The Voice Heard In The Holy Mount_
[13] _Ep. ad Magn. 8._ _When we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ._ This is the contrast to that mythic and allegorical teaching to which he has just alluded. From it men could derive neither help in the present, nor hope for the future. It generated superstition, and its followers beli…
693 wordsSECTION 96_The Voice Heard In The Holy Mount_
The words spoken by the heavenly voice vary here from the records of each of the three Gospels. In one case the variation is slight, but there is no precise agreement. Had the Epistle been the work of some forger of a later age than St. Peter's, we may rest assured that there would have been complete accord with one Ev…
494 wordsSECTION 97_The Lamp Shining In A Dark Place_
"And we have the word of prophecy _made_ more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man:…
691 wordsSECTION 98_The Lamp Shining In A Dark Place_
_As unto a lamp shining in a dark place._ Spite of all the light we can compass, the world will always be in one sense a dark place. It is a world of beauty, full of the tokens of God's handiwork, the indications of His love. But evil has also made an entrance; and the trail of the serpent is evident in the sorrow, the…
823 wordsSECTION 99_The Lamp Shining In A Dark Place_
_Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation._ The Greek words need to be taken account of before we can gather the true meaning of this clause. That which is translated "is" is much more frequently rendered "comes to pass," and bears the sense of "arises," "has its origin." "Interpre…
788 wordsSECTION 100_The Lamp Shining In A Dark Place_
_But men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Ghost._ The Authorised Version translates a text which had, "_Holy_ men of God spake as they were moved by the _Holy_ Ghost." And this repetition of an adjective is after St. Peter's manner, though the oldest manuscripts do not support it here. Compare the thrice-repeate…
512 wordsSECTION 101_The Lord Knoweth How To Deliver_
"But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their lascivious doings; by reason of whom the way of t…
714 wordsSECTION 102_The Lord Knoweth How To Deliver_
"Wherever God erects a house of prayer, The devil always builds a chapel there." It is the most perilous aspect of error when it parades itself as the truest truth. Hence the name by which St. Peter calls this dangerous teaching: "destructive heresies." They beguile unstable souls to their ruin. Their exponents choos…
961 wordsSECTION 103_The Lord Knoweth How To Deliver_
_Whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not._ In thought the Apostle reads the book of prophecy. It is as if he said, "It is written in the prophetic word." And when the overthrow of the sinners comes to pass, those who behold it may say, "Thus is the prophecy fulfilled." The doo…
780 wordsSECTION 104_The Lord Knoweth How To Deliver_
_And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly._ These cities stood in a land fair enough to be likened to the garden of the Lord. To Lot himself their fertile fields had been a temptation, and by yielding theret…
716 wordsSECTION 105"_By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them_"
_And to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgement._ The unrighteous--yes, over them too God keeps ward. They cannot hide themselves from Him, and through their conscience He makes life a continuous chastisement. They may seem to men to walk on heedlessly, but they have hidden tortures of which the…
825 wordsSECTION 106"_By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them_"
_Whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgement against them before the Lord._ The explanation of this passage is not without difficulty, because of the indefiniteness of the words "against them." To whom is reference here made? It can hardly be questioned that by δόξαι, "dignities," l…
845 wordsSECTION 107"_By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them_"
_But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying surely be destroyed._ The glory of man in creation is his reason. It is bestowed that he may freely, and not by constraint, consent unto the will of God, and also…
734 wordsSECTION 108"_By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them_"
_Spots and blemishes._ St. Peter must have had in his thought the epithets which he applied to Christ: "a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter i. 9). Utterly alien to the spirit and life of Jesus is these men's wantonness. They belong rather to him who is described as a roaring lion, walking about to find wh…
843 wordsSECTION 109"_By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them_"
_Forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing._ It is an aggravation of wrong-doing when those who know the good willingly choose the evil. Of such men there is little hope. To wander is their choice; and as wrong paths are many, and the…
734 wordsSECTION 110_Altogether Become Abominable_
"These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved. For, uttering great swelling _words_ of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error; promising them liberty, while the…
675 wordsSECTION 111_Altogether Become Abominable_
_For, uttering great swelling words of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error._ St. Peter's words are here very aptly chosen to contrast the boastful pretensions of these corrupters with the hollowness and delusion of all they promise. …
823 wordsSECTION 112_Altogether Become Abominable_
_For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. Corruptio optimi pessima_ is a well-known and very true dictum, and the Apostle sets these fal…
744 wordsSECTION 113_Altogether Become Abominable_
Christ went away unto the Father, but He left the Apostles their commission to teach the way of righteousness as He had taught it. "Teach them," He says, "to observe all things whatsoever I have told you; and lo, I am with you always." By the ministrations of St. Paul and his fellow-labourers the feet of these Asian co…
676 wordsSECTION 114_As Were The Days Of Noah_
"This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance; that ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles; knowing this first, that…
733 wordsSECTION 115_As Were The Days Of Noah_
_That ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets._ On few themes do the prophets dwell more earnestly than on those visitations of Jehovah which they publish as the coming of the day of the Lord. With Joel (ii. 11, 32) it is to be a time great and terrible, the prospect of which is to mo…
748 wordsSECTION 116_As Were The Days Of Noah_
The words "your apostles" also appear to be used with design. They contain a direct acknowledgment of the mission of St. Paul as an apostle. By him more than by any other had these regions been brought to the knowledge of Christ, and we may rest confident that the gospel which he preached elsewhere he preached to them …
852 wordsSECTION 117_Judgement To Come_
Those who in faith clung to Christ could not fail, as they heard these scorners, to think of the Master's question, "When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith in the earth?" (Luke xviii. 8), and of those other words of His which told them that the last days should be a parallel to the days of the Deluge: "As were…
650 wordsSECTION 118_Judgement To Come_
St. Peter takes their text, but reads from it a very different lesson. There were heavens from of old, yea, long before there was an earth fit for man to dwell in. This world in that old time was formless and void, and the waters covered its face like a garment. The word of the Lord went forth, and the waters were gath…
659 wordsSECTION 119_Judgement To Come_
_But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire._ The Apostle now turns away from what the Old Testament Scriptures relate as history of the past to what the same records teach us concerning the future; and he deals partly with promise, partly with prophecy. The earth will no…
655 wordsSECTION 120_Judgement To Come_
In such wise did the Apostles read the utterances of prophecy; and thus did they apply them as lessons for their own and all future times. They felt that not unto themselves, but unto us, did the prophets minister. And St. Peter does but put their message into his own words when in his bold figure he says that the heav…
432 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.