The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith

Peter, a Servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ

I think that Peter understood service in the kingdom of God better than any of the other apostles. But his understanding was incomplete until after Jesus arose from the dead. Peter served Jesus as he would have attended to the needs of any earthly master, even to the point of fighting for Jesus’ life in the Garden of Gethsemene. Then Peter failed Jesus during His trial when he lied about not knowing Jesus, just as the Lord had told him he would (Mark 14:66-72).

Isn’t it always the case? Just as we think we’ve got it and understand it, another layer of the onion peels off and we’re left wondering how we got it so wrong. It is that we tried standing on our own again, taking baby steps into a world in which we are defenseless without God’s spiritual armor (Eph. 6:10-18). But in Peter’s case his faith had not been completed by experience yet. Once he and the other disciples saw Jesus alive again and spent time with Him, they believed. Jesus gave them final instructions and then he ascended to heaven. The apostles were all changed so that boldly “they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following” (Mark 16:20)

To a certain extent the two epistles written by Peter represent his own growth to mature servanthood. He knew from his days walking by Jesus’ side that his service included preaching and teaching new converts about the Kingdom of God. Peter’s similes and metaphors of service in 1 Peter include living stones (2:5), obedient children (1:14), new-born babies desiring the pure milk of the Word of God (2:2), and shepherds feeding the Lord’s sheep (5:2) in demonstration of the relationship we have with God in Jesus. The servant of 2 Peter 1:1, however, seems to encompass all of them to represent the mature form of all, which is the bond-slave of Jesus Christ focusing all his energies on teaching his spiritual children to stand firm in the knowledge of the Gospel and avoid falling for the lies of those who will try to deceive them.

In 1 Peter the issues are primarily theoretical. For example, “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you, for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:14). 2 Peter is more imperative, dealing directly with the activities of false prophets and teachers, their ultimate and horrible judgment, and the end of the kosmos in which the earth and all its works will be burned up (3:10). Peter’s second epistle is darker and deeper for good reason. 2 Peter 1:13-14 states, “I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me.” Peter knew he would die soon and needed to make sure his spiritual children would be equipped to deal with the trials and pitfalls along the way without him by their sides. In doing so, he left the instruction for all generations after, including us.

Peter never wrote that to be a servant of God you have to do this, that, and the other thing. Instead he wrote two handbooks instructing believers how to live godly, holy lives. The idea of being a servant of God, as it is expressed in the Bible, implies a human concept of devotion to and focus on the needs and directions of another. It also implies that in serving God unstintingly, all our needs are taken care of, just as a bond-slave would have been fed, clothed, and housed in ancient times.

But our bond with Jesus is described in many other readily understandable relationships as well. For example, the great Shepherd tells Peter three times to feed his sheep in John 21:15-17; Romans 8:16-17 says that we are the children of God and joint-heirs with Jesus “if … we suffer with him”; In 1 Peter 4:10 we are called to be “good stewards of the manifold grace of God” and in 1 Corinthians 4:1 our call is to be “stewards of the mysteries of God”. What an amazing privilege is ours, to be granted this fellowship with Jesus that is described in such magnificent terms.

And so Peter ends his handbooks in a simple summary of our calling as Christians, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever” (2 Peter 3:18).

Update/Prayer Request: Dan has continued to be ill most of this week as a result of the immunotherapy side-effects. On Tuesday he finished his second round of Prednisone. He continued to have serious digestive issues and so now he has a different prescription to deal with the symptoms. Dan is also plagued by fatigue and low stamina. Please continue to pray for his healing and that we will quickly learn God’s lessons in this chapter of our life and be able to move on. Dan’s next appointment with his oncologist is next Thursday, May 17.