We read in 1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. God sees everything, and did you get this part, God listens to the prayer of the righteous. We are to turn from evil, to pursue good. We are to be “ready to make a defense to anyone who asks you for an accounting concerning the hope that is in you”. If trouble still comes our way, we not only have a ” good conscience” toward God but “the Spirit of glory and of God rests” on us.
The Eyes of the Lord are on the Righteous
1 Peter 3:8–12
It is not only true that God sees everything, He is looking to see and when he sees the righteous, he listens for their prayer in
1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
And just as God is for the righteous, he is also against the evil. Now let me ask, did you hear the promise Peter offers here? In 1 Peter 3:9 he says “so that you could inherit a blessing”. But what action is needed to “inherit a blessing”? It is in 1 Peter 3:8-9 “be harmonious, sympathetic, showing mutual affection, compassionate, humble, 9 not repaying evil for evil or insult for insult, but on the other hand blessing others”. God wants to bless and He will bless those that bless others. But first, it is up to us to, in
1 Peter 3:11 And he must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
When we set ourselves to do good, when we let God repay those that do evil, we “inherit a blessing”.
Set Christ Apart as Lord in Your Hearts
1 Peter 3:13–22
Peter tells them in 1 Peter 3:14 “who will harm you if you are a zealous adherent for what is good?” and in the world, this is generally true that no one interferes when you are doing good. But he also says in 1 Peter 3:17 “it is better to suffer for doing good, if God wills it, than for doing evil”. And we know there are times when evil and corrupt people go so far as to oppress even those that are doing good. We might say it this way, that we first are to be zealous for what is good. Then in
1 Peter 3:15 but set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts, always ready to make a defense to anyone who asks you for an accounting concerning the hope that is in you.
And when we give “an accounting concerning the hope” in the right way, in 1 Peter 3:16 “the ones who malign your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame” but even if we don’t see our vindication now, we have in 1 Peter 3:21-22 “a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who is at the right hand of God”.
Equip Yourselves With the Same Way of Thinking
1 Peter 4:1–6
If Anyone Speaks, Let it be as the Oracles of God
The Spirit of Glory and of God Rests on You
1 Peter 4:12–19
Peter explains that, just as the world did not accept Christ, but crucified him, so we should expect opposition to the message of the gospel. As Peter says in
1 Peter 4:12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, when it takes place to test you, as if something strange were happening to you.
We are blessed when we have this kind of opposition,
1 Peter 4:14 If you are reviled on account of the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
But suffering for wrong doing as a “murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler” as described in 1 Peter 4:15 is simply judgement and God is a righteous judge. And God’s judgement begins with “the household of God” in 1 Peter 4:17. Certainly we who are not “disobedient to the gospel” are not living in wrong doing but are living “according to the will of God” in 1 Peter 4:19.
Study Verses
- 1 Peter 3:8–12 The Eyes of the Lord are on the Righteous
- 1 Peter 3:13–22 Set Christ Apart as Lord in Your Hearts
- 1 Peter 4:12–19 The Spirit of Glory and of God Rests on You
Today’s Reading
- 1 Peter 3:8-22
- 1 Peter 4:1-19