PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter
B.C. Caffin [1826-1894] · 223,592 words · 241 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 121
Vers. 1-10.-Newborn babes and the higher Israel. I. NEWBORN BABES. 1. Duty conditioning appetite for the Word. "Putting away therefore a.II wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil-speakings." This duty is connected with the foregoing (''therefore"), as coming under it. As the regenerate, we…
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cm,ing for milk; so we are to have a strong craving for tho Word. Babes are con- stituted with a strong craving for milk, thnt their growth may go forward; so wo are to ham a strong craving for the Word, that our higher development may go forward, which is to issue in salvation (both the elimination of all evil elem…
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also are living stones, only with this difference, that we derive all our Iivin" consequence in the building from Christ. A stone, according to the general idea, is n~ meant to be by itself; it is meant to be placed along with others in a building. So we rise to the idea of our being as living stones built up a spiritu…
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countries, but i1;1 this country, wl10 do not see that it is necessary to build. 'l'hoy nro levellers, °:ot builders. They would pull down, not merely the wrongs of past ccntnrios, but tile rights of all centuries; not merely church establishments, but tho Church itself; not merely human speculations, but the everla…
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minent a position in the Church, have we not reason to be on our guard? The builrler8 as overruled by the great .Architect. It has always been matter for surpnse, how lmrl. men get into JJower. Joh makes it matter of complaint in hi3 day, that the earth was given over into the hand of the wicked. There are some who …
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ment, the stone of vengeance. They are broken, as if you took a pillar of the temple, and broke it into n thousand pieces. 'l'hey thus stumble to their hurt and shame, because they disbelieve the \Vord (as we should translate), i,e. refuse to believe what God says about the Stone, It is God's appointment that they w…
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their hearts, By God's mercy they were numbered among his people-pardoned and cleansed. Well, then, did it become them to pay their highest tribute of praise to the excellence of that mercy that had found them in their forlorn heathenism, .And have we not all reason to praise the mercy that has ordered our circumstance…
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8Ucb fair deeds ns these they could hope to break down prejudice. 'The heathen beholding them might be lc,1 to change their mind about them as irreligious in their faith nnd life, might be led to think favourably of their God, nnd thus to be convertod to Christianity. Such a result would be glorifying to God, nnd it wa…
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etnnd the Christian position (rather than to malice). H was not the quiet voice of wisdom, but rather the loud voice of foolishness. The Christians were really the greatest friends of order, ~~d it was not only their interest but their recognized duty to occupy ~o doubtful position towarcl the Roman state. It was a dir…
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i■ essential to improving the connection between the more and the less prosperous con• ditions of society. Till Christianity shall have breathed into us this spirit of respect for our nature, wherever it is found, we shall not know how to raise the fallen. Perhaps none of us have yet beard or can comprehend the tone…
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ing service, It is proper that the will of the former should regulate the service, that the will of the latter sbonld be subjected in the service. This is the Divine foundation on which mastership and servitude rest. The feeling proper to servants in the relation is. fear. Paul uses stronger languag~ ,~hen he says, "wi…
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to be Christians like others, they were callccl to lhe pr0pcr bearing of all hardship.~ nppointc<l for them. There was One w!io~o example was to be studied by them. It ·will not be thought that Christ is 11nworllly of imitaliou. It may, however, be thought that he is too great for imitation-that he is only for admir…
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01;1t Satan. When reviled as n. blnRphemer, ho simply vindicated himself by pointing to his worke. \Vhen ho was brought before the Sanhedrin on charo-es which were clearly 0 unfounded and prompted by malice, ho was silent under the:n; and it w,1s only when he wn.s appealed to by oath thn.t he lifted his eyes to his ju…
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EXPOSITION. treatment to endure in those coarse, cruel CHAPTER IIL days; they must bear it with the quiet Ver.1.-Likewise, ye wives. St. Peter has strength of gentleness. Be in subjection to spoken of the duties of servants: why docs your own husbands; literally, submitting he omit those of masters? There must hav…
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Bengel nnd others understand the fear of God; rather, who hoped in God (,ls 0,611); God. Ccrtnoinly the holy fear of God is the whose hope was set toward God and rested sphere in which trueCl.Jristio.ns must always !n God. ,?3engel says," Vera sanctitaa, apes live. But the close connection with the 1n Deum. St. Peter i…
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respect for their husbands, nnu that out of joint-heirs of the grace of life, that is, ot the l10iy fear of God, which St. Peter incul- God's gracious gift of everlasting lire. That cates upon wiyes ('l"er. 2). The Christian your prayers be not hindered; or, nccording wife might often experience cruel treatment to a…
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from tbe fo.ot that Goel hos mRde them tation. If God's eye is over the righteous, inheritors of hie blessing. " Benbclictionem and hie ear open to their prayers, who shall mternam," snys Bengel, "oujus primitie.s harm them? St. Peter does not mean-Who jnm none pii ho.bent." Goel has Lleseecl will have the heart to har…
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Lord Jesus Christ were not truly God. (quoted by Ruther) says, "Quia pnrum "Sanctify him," the apostle say3 (as the Lord auctorite.tis ha.bet sermo abaque vita," That, hirn8elf teaches us to say, in the first words whereas they speak evil of you, as of evil- of tho Lord's Prayer); that is, regard him as doers. The R…
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Heh. x. 6, 8, 18, 26). The J'ust for the unjust; flesh he was pnt to death, but in his spirit literally, just for unjust. There is no article. he WBB qaickened. When the Lord ha<i The apostle bege,n to speak of the dee,th of said, "Father, into thy hande I commend ~hriet, both here and in eh. ii., RB en ex- my spirit;"…
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self in the spirit, he preached to spirits: ark (Gen. vii.17, 18). Tho argument of ver. u TivE'Vµa,.-1, ,rvEV,1.u:un; spiritu, spiritibus/' 21 mo.kes the second intcrp1·etntion the says Dengel; "eongruens sermo." He more probable. 'l'he ,erse now before us prenched alt:o to the spirits; not only once limits the area…
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wilful unbelief which sets itself in direct been once enlighlcnerl and made partakers cpposition to the will of God. They were of the heavenly gift and the powers of the guilty of unbelief, unrl of the cliimbedience worlcl to come? Is it not possible that in which results from unbelief'. Noah was n. those words, "which…
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that the Lord's purpose was to deliver them unbelieving who lived in the days of Noah, and to save them (eztrahere eos et sal-vare whose spirit.a, i.e. souls, had been shut up in eos). Tertullian says that the Lord de- the flesh and in the dttrkness of iguomnoe, scended into the lower parts of the earth, as in a pri…
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the wo.ter which eaves le the water of hastens to explain his statement. Baptism baptism. Thus the literal tro.nelation will doth save us, hut not the mere out- be, "Which (as) antitype is saving you ward ceremony ; you may "make clean the o.lso, (no.mely) baptism ; " that is, the water outside" with the most scrupulou…
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conscien<'e;" the soul, on<'e a""11.kene<l, ,er. Hl, "he W<'nt and preached ("1rop,u- seeks continunlly fuller purification, hungers 6•ls)" (comp. Eph. iv. 9, "Now thl\t he and thin;ts after righteousness. This gives ascended, what is it but that ho l\lso 11 good sense, but seems less Sllitllble in this descended fi…
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husband with ~ue reverence; le~ tbem carefully avoid giving any unnecessary ofl"e,n,;e, or unduly puttmg forward the differences, great and fundamental as they were, wbich separated them from one another. ThuR let them hope and pray for their husbands' conversion. The silent eloquence of a holy, self-denying life wi…
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give him tact and discernment; he will care for his wife, nourish and cherish her, "even as the Lord the Church" (Eph. v. 29). 2. .Arising from their mutwl hope of heaven. Husband and wife are fellow-heirs of the grace of life; each mll8t honour the other._ 'l'here is no true love which is not founded in mutual resp…
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BOrrow in its trials. A holy sympathy should pervade all the members of the one body. (3) "Love as brethren." This is the central cluty of Christians towards one another; all other duties are so many forms of love. " He that loveth another bath fulfilled the Law." St. Peter has already exhorted us to an unfeigned love …
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must try to please him and to do his will. His will is that we should love one another that we should speak no guile, that we should follow after peace. Let those wh~ w011ld l!ve a ~odly li~e try daily to bring home. to their hearts the thought that the eye of God 1s readmg their souls; that thought will make us hum…
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occasion serves, speak for him. The best evidence of the power of re[iaion is the holy lives of Christians. But men will sometimes ask for a reason of the hope that is in them. That hope seemed a strange thing in the days of persecution and unbelief; men thought it wild folly, fanaticism. Christians had often to spe…
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and holier patience. A great sa.int has said, "They feel not their own wounds who contemplate the wounds of Christ." He endured the cross, despising the shame, for the joy ~hat was ~et before him. If we, in our sufferings, look unto Jesus, sacred thoughts of bis cross will fill our heart more and more, and prevent u…
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we may be eure that the epirite and eoule of the righteous do not sleep idly in the intermediate etate. Even Dives in torment prayed for his five brethren· can we doubt but that departed saint8 pray etill for those whom they loved on ;arth, for whom they were wont to pray? It is full of sweetness to believe that they …
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HOMILIES BY V.A.lUOUS AUTHORS • . Ver. 1_3.-Tli.e armour of rig~teoiu;ness. This is a promise. in the shape of a ques- twn, which makes the aflirmatwn stronger, not weaker. It 1s the question of trium- phant faith, a trumpet-blast of confident defiance of all foes, like the wonderful series of bimila.r challenges i…
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to Jesus Christ, nnd the merchantman's quest for many goodly pearls ends in the find- ing of one entire and perfoct chryeolite in which all fragmentary preciousnesses are sphered. II. •ruE SAFETY OF THESE ENTR1l'8IABTS FOR THE GOOD, There is an antithesi, in the original which is lost in our versions, but may be repr…
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'\" ers. 3, 4.- Woman's true apparel and ornament. That attention to dress and personal decoration is natural to woman, is obvious from an observation of the customs of every nation in every age. The Apostle Peter must not be understood as in this place censuring such attention, but as pointing out that there is app…
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DJl:tt PHYBIOAL WEAKNESS. The fact is unquestionable that woman is leas robust in constitution, less powerful muscularly, and of more delicate nervous organization, than man. Now, this fact is often made a reason for overbeariog demeanour, contemptuous lnnguage, unjust dealing, and even brutal abuse, on the part of the…
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v crs. 14-17.-Sujferers fortified. There were providential reasons why the early Christians should have been exposed to many trials of faith, purity, and patience. This reason is obvious to us-that thus opportunity was afforded for the administration of such fortifying and consolatory principles as are serviceable to …
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mystery and enhances the interest of the Passion of our Redeemer. .At first sight it seems ns though, if undeserved sufferings are to be endured, this must be at least on behalf of the virtuous, the meritorious, the pious. But it was otherwise, it was exactly contrary, with the sufferings of Christ. He died for the unr…
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The subjection, therefore, was to be real, yet not that of a servant, but of a companion; mau's other self, yet still subject. 2. Possession of that pm·e chai·acter which sp1'ings ,from the fear of God. "Chaste conversation;" equivalent to pure manner of life, a character unsullied, and this arising from the fear of G…
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different that from two who go in every respect together, having common intcre~t in all tho.t ho.ppens I The one is far less blessed than the other. Peter here urges the greater blessedness. Think bow much it involves. 1. It produces the close/It possible tJnion. For that there must be no secrets, nothing reserved. Thu…
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~er. 8.-:--The _conduct thr:t becomes th_e Christian towards other (Jhristians. "Finally, be ye all hke-mmded, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous." Only a _colon separates this passage from what follows: ought it not, therefore, to be taken with the subsequent verses? I thin…
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Vers. 9-17.-The conduct becoming the Christian towards his persecutors. Peter's Epistles were written on the very eve of the persecution by Nero, who, anxious to divert the suspicions of the people who accused him of setting fire to Rome, charged the Christians with the crime, and caused them to be seized and tortured …
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up there: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." Let us see bow Chiist's eufferin 6s bear on the conduct of his persecuted people. I. THl!l SUBSTITUTIONARY SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. "Christ bath once suffered for sine, the Just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." 1. A plain statemem of the substitutionary charac…
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y ers. 19,. 21.-Tlie crucified Saviour quickened in fPirit. P_reaching to the spirits in prison. "' e have already seen thnt through our Lords suffenngs he secured q •1ickened ~;,iritual power-influence over spirits in prison, and ascension to heavenly authority. 'i'his passage re'l'eals him quickened in spirit, pre…
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but to the whole lost race, the difficulty vanishes. Christ did not preach to the same persons that wore disobedient before the Flood, but to the same race, the same spiritual condiUon. But did Christ thus preach? Certainly, through his servants. It has been said that the more correct title of the Acts of the Apostles …
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Vers. 13-18 (part).-Su.ffering for righteousness. I. THE FACT THAT GOOD MEN SUFFER, FOB. THEIR GOODNESS, FROM THEIR FELLOW-MEN. Though Peter used the word "if," it was not because such suffering was unlikely or infrequent, but because it was not universal, and because the reflections on which he had been dwellina seem…
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Vers. 1-7.-Subfection of wives to their husbands, with subjoined injunction to husbands. I. SU11JEOTION OF WIVES TO THEIR HUSBANDS. 1. Duty stated. " In liko manner, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands." The space which. is here given to wives, especially in comparison with what is given to husbands, points…
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Christ and their new-found joys to themselves. They must tell, in the first pla.ce, those in whom they had the deepest interest the gospel of Christ, viz. that as mani- festing the Father's lo,e, and impelled by love himself, the Son of God did not eschew human nature, but in it lived a perfect human life and died o…
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euhordination, or e.e ministering to womanly vanity. Especially aro we to think of lbom e.s forbidden in thi8 aspect, that as immodest, or as encroachin,,. on time, or a~ heaping up expensfl, they form e. temptation to a wife to be undutifnf' to her husband. If she would gain him for what is good, s!ie must, without di…
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what was to be avoided in Sara.h as a model. On the occnsion referred to she was nrnde afraid by her evil-doing (la.ughing at the first mention of a child), and by her fear was led into more sin (in denying that she laughed), thus bringing shame not only on herself, but on her husband. Holy women will not thus compr…
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Vere. 8-22.-Injunctions to all. I. UNION AMONG THEMSELVES. "Finally, be ye, all like-minded, compassionate, loving as brethren, tender-hearted, humble-minded." •• Finally " does not point to the close of the Epistle, but to the close of a particular series of injunctionR. He has been addressing various classes repre…
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doi~g, let bi1:1 make peace his object sought, and let bis chase after it (as it were flecmg from him)_ be ~een. l<'or evil feelings indulged in aot, peace once broken, may lead to the emb1ttermg or shortening of life. (3) Reference to the Divine dealing, "For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ear…
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here is of 11, much more simple nature, viz. that we should be able to make a iilain statement of the considerations that have had weight with us in leading us to be Christians. We are here regarded as having a hope in us, i.e. as a. livin", active prin- ciple. It is true that we belong more to the future than to th…
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rather to think of advamtage e<mferred as giving Christ indisputable authority as example. Do we suffer for well-doing? Christ, it is said, also suffered, by whose well- doing (th~ thought is) we are so mightily advantaged, But the apostle has a look beyond this; of which he gives a hint in the word "once." Christ s…
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shall be nn hundred and twenty years." During all the time the ark was a-preparing the long-suffering of God waited, i.e. not to destroy. But the men of Noah's time were disobedient, i.e. refused, made light of proffered deliverance; lnd a,_q they were over- taken by an earthly judgment, which was so complete that on:y…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER IV. ho no longer should live," eto.: though bolh connections give a good sense. The Greek Ver. 1.-Forasmuoh then as Christ hath word for'' live" (/31oi<ra1) occurs onlv here in Fuffered for us in the flesh. St. Peter returns, the New Testament. Bengel snys, ·., Apt mu nfter the digression of eh…
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tmry to tho etcrnnl principles of tl10 Divine of the blessednes~ of those who should be Lnw; "quibus rnnctiesimum Doi jus viola.- alive and remain nnto the coming of the tur" (Dengel). St. Peter is probably re- Lord. On the other hand, some of St. Peter'ij ferring, not only to the sin of idolatry in r€'n<lers mny, perh…
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ing to God in the 1pirit. The gospel was it is not for us, " to know the times or the preached to the dead for this end ( ,ls -rov-ro ), sea.sons" (Aots i. 7). It is enougil to know that they might be judged indeed (7va 1ep,- that our own time is short. When St. Peter 6w<T, ,,,v ), but nevertheless live ((..,,n li,'…
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os he commonly does, but translating from would be safe for them. Hence the use of the Hebrew. The Septuagint rendering is the "letters of commendation," mentioned quite different, n&:v-ras 6~ robs µ¾) <1>1>..ov«• by St. Paul (2 Oor. iii. 1). Those who ,coiiv..-as Kll.l\01r..-« <1>1>..la. But it may be that brought suc…
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nn!urnl to s~pply the r,nrtidplc" Spl'&ldng" rC'sumcs the thought of eh. i. 7; tho pcrs~• 1J11rn "let him speak, after the nnnlogy or cutiou is o. hurnin:;, 11 fiery furnace, whirh ~,aK,woiiv-r~s ("ministering") in '\"'()f. 10. For is being kindled nmong them for a 1rio.l, tn 1he word x&;,,a, orncle..-, see Acts vii…
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tho Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon sciousnes~ of epirilnal knowledue anrl hiuh you. 'fhe form oftho eentenco in the Greek is spiritual dignity exposed Christians to tlio unusual. Some regnrcl the first clnuse, To Tijr same temptation. Hilgenfeld sees here nri 8&!11r, os o periphroeis for B&~a, and translate, a…
1,014 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.