Leighton / Thomas 1 and 2 Peter

1. Auflage 1999
ISBN: 978-1-4335-1681-8
Verlag: Crossway
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, Band 20, 288 Seiten

Reihe: Crossway Classic Commentaries

Original works by godly writers, tailored for the understanding of today's reader For hundreds of years Christendom has been blessed with Bible commentaries written by great men of God who were highly respected for their godly walk and their insight into spiritual truth. The Crossway Classic Commentary Series, carefully adapted for maximum understanding and usefulness, presents the very best work on individual Bible books for today's believers. Addressed to persecuted believers, Peter's first letter encourages them with the knowledge that it is possible to live victoriously in the midst of hostility-just as Christ, who suffered unjustly, did. He exhorts them to live a holy life that they might be a witness and evangelize the world through their faithfulness. In his second epistle, Peter warns against the more subtle dangers from within the church-false teachers and errant doctrine. He also emphasizes the importance of scriptural knowledge, for only in understanding true doctrine will heresies be known and immoral behavior be exposed. Robert Leighton and Griffith Thomas's exploration of 1 and 2 Peter's key passages offers resounding wisdom that will both instruct and encourage all Christians.

ROBERT LEIGHTON (1611-1684) was Archbishop of Glasgow and a Scottish presbyterian minister. Spurgeon called Leighton's commentary on 1 Peter 'a true heavenly work.'

Autoren/Hrsg.

Leighton, Robert

Thomas, Griffith

Leseproben

1 Peter
Chapter 2

Verses 1-2

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.

The same power and goodness of God that shows itself in bringing life to his creatures also sustains and preserves them. This is true of both the ?rst creation and the second creation. In the ?rst creation God provided the necessary nourishment for life. “Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds’” (Genesis 1:11). In the same way at the end of 1 Peter 1 we ?nd the doctrine of the new birth and life of a Christian, where the needed food is given. The same Word by which we are born also gives life. So Christians are here exhorted by the apostle Peter to make use of this Word. This is the main purpose of these two verses.

No matter how much the world may despise this Word, we know that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). If you want to experience this, and if you want life and growth from the Word, you must look beyond the poor worthless messenger and request the help of the almighty Lord of life. You should present the blindness of your minds and the deadness of your hearts to God and say, “Lord, here is an opportunity for you to show the power of your Word. I want to ?nd life and strength in it. But I cannot do this, nor can the preacher do this. Only you have the prerogative to do this. You just have to say the word and it will be done.” “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).

In this exhortation this apostle continues to use the analogy of the new birth that he mentioned in chapter 1.

Like newborn babies. Do not be content until you ?nd evidence of this new supernatural life in yourself. Our Saviour says, “I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Surely those who are not born again will one day wish they had never been born. How wretched this life is that we have here. If we want to share in a happier life after this life, it must begin here. Grace and glory are one and the same life. The only difference is that one is the start and the other is the completion. Or if we do call them two different lives, the one is the undoubted pledge of the other. Remarkably, even a heathen said, “That day of death we fear so, is the birthday of eternity” (Seneca). It is the same with those who are born again here. This new birth of grace is the de?nite guarantee of the birthday of glory. Why do we not work to make sure we possess the new birth now? Is it not a fearful thing to spend our days in vanity and then lie down in darkness and sorrow forever?

But this new life removes us from the danger and fear of that eternal death. As St. John says, speaking about those who are born again, “We know that we have passed from death to life” (1 John 3:14). Once this has happened, there is no going back from this life to death again.

This new birth is the same as that which St. John calls the “?rst resurrection,” and he says about those who share in this, “Blessed and holy are those who have part in the ?rst resurrection” (Revelation 20:6).

The weak start of grace, weak in comparison with the later strength it attains in this life, is sometimes pictured in terms of its infancy. But believers should not continue to be infants. If they do, they should be reproved. “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14). “Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults” (1 Corinthians 14:20). “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again” (Hebrews 5:12). Although the apostle writes to new converts, and so may possibly imply the tenderness of their beginnings of grace, I think infancy here should be understood in such a way that it depicts the Christian life as a whole. In the same way milk is recommended here, and this is suitable for infants. But here it signi?es the whole Word of God and all its wholesome and saving truths as the proper nourishment for God’s children. And so the apostle’s words are a lasting exhortation for all Christians at all stages in their Christian lives.

The whole course of their spiritual life is here called newborn babies. This is not contrasted with the corruption and wickedness of the old nature but signi?es its weakness and imperfection in this life when compared with the life to come. All our knowledge here is like the ignorance of infants, and all our expressions of God and his praises are but like the ?rst stammers of children in comparison with the knowledge that we will have of Christ in the next life, when we will know him as he knows us.

—1 Corinthians 13:9-12

It is the wonder of divine grace that it takes such small beginnings to a height of perfection that we cannot conceive, that a little spark of true grace, which is not only indiscernible to others but often to a Christian himself, should be the beginning of that condition by which he shines brighter than the sun in the sky. In our natural life, some who struggle in infancy later excel in knowledge and grow up to command great armies or to b e kings. But it is a much greater matter that newborn babies, the small beginnings of grace, grow into perfection and full knowledge.

If God’s children are to grow by the Word of God, the apostle Peter requires two things from them. First, the innocency of children; second, the appetite of children. For this expression newborn babies, as I see it, relates not only to the desiring of the milk of the Word (crave pure spiritual milk, verse 2), but also to the removal of malice (rid yourselves of all malice, verse 1). Similarly, the apostle Paul exhorts, “In regard to evil be infants” (1 Corinthians 14:20).

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. This implies that we are naturally given over to these evils, and so we are told to rid ourselves of them. Our hearts are by nature cages for those unclean birds—malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. The apostle sometimes mentions some of these evils, and at other times he mentions others. But they cannot be separated from each other. They are all one set of clothes and are all included in that one term “old self” (Ephesians 4:22), which the apostle Paul tells them to “put off.” Here throwing out these base habits is shown to be a necessary evidence of their new birth, as well as for their future spiritual growth. Filthy habits do not become children of God. They are the marks of an unrenewed mind, the very character of the children of Satan, for they constitute his image. His very names denote malice, deceit, and slander. Satan means “the adversary or enemy.” Devil, diabolos, means “the envious accuser or slanderer.” Satan is that great hypocrite and deceiver who “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).

In contrast, the Spirit of God who dwells in God’s children is the spirit of meekness, love, and truth. That dove-like Spirit who descended on our Saviour is given by him to believers. It is the greatest impudence to pretend to be Christians and still cling to hatred and envy, for our Saviour lavishes his love upon our hearts by his Spirit. “Take from the devil envy, pride and arrogance, and what evil is there in him? Take from the elect love, meekness and humility, and what goodness is there in them?” (Dr.

H. More).

Rid yourselves of all malice. Kakia may be taken generally, but I think it means what we call malice. Study shows that malice and envy are two branches growing out of the same bitter root—self-love. Slander is the fruit that malice and envy bear. Malice wishes evil on another person, while envy is jealous of his goodness. Both malice and envy express themselves by speaking evil about a person. This infernal ?re within smokes and ?ashes out through the tongue, which James says “is itself set on ?re by hell” (James 3:6). These evils of malice, envy, slander, and the like should not be hidden by us in ourselves and carried around under better appearances. They should be thrown out. So the apostle commands us here to throw off also the outer garment and cloak of the others—namely, hypocrisy. What advantage is it to wear this mask? A person may in the sight of men act this part well, but we know there is an Eye that sees through this, and a Hand that, if we will not take the mask off, will pull it off to our shame, either here...