Prior to considering the next mandate for believers in the PPOG, we are refreshing our view of God’s priorities in his plan. Last time we saw his priorities of Virtue first in motivation and Grace first as his policy, picking up where we left off,
God's objective in the PPOG is Momentum is first.
Momentum comes from Application of Bible Doctrine to experience in Adversity and Prosperity testing, through the 10 PSDs, by means of the Power of the Holy Spirit,
Capacity to function in the PPOG comes from momentum in the PPOG and precedes any works or production in the believer. Phil 2:13;
God's authority in the PPOG is Doctrine is first. Bible Doctrine is the ultimate authority.
All authority comes from God. In the form of Bible Doctrine for the believer and the Laws of Divine Establishment for believer and unbeliever. There is no legitimate authority apart from God. Rom 13:1-2;
Bible Doctrine, the eternal word of God Matt 24:35;, establishes and defines all legitimate authority. Rom 13:1b; John 19:11;
The Believer's a adherence to God's priorities in his pre-designed plan creates a superior way of life for the Royal Family of God, a pattern of thinking in power and integrity love, a lifestyle of contentment, happiness, and freedom; no fear no worry, no anxiety, no guilt, no regrets 2Tim 1:7; and the maximum possible conveyance to the believer of the escrow blessings for time and eternity which God put on deposit in eternity past with the escrow agent TLJC. Eph 1:3;
In God's plan, mandates are the first priority. The mandates are the Commands directed to believers in TLJC the members of the Church who compose The Royal Family of God that are revealed in the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.
In some cases the mandates for the Church age believer are the same as those for believers in other dispensations, but even if the mandates are the same, the power utilized by believers in the Church Age to keep the mandates is unique to the Church age.
Believers obey the mandates because they are the privilege of and Royal Honor Code for the Royal Family of God.
Membership in the Royal Family is not established or maintained by obeying the mandates. Membership is based on the believer's position in union with TLJC Gal 3:26;
Membership in the Royal family is one of the irrevocable assets in the portfolio of invisible assets that every believer receives at salvation. Rom 11:29;
As members of the Royal family believers are: Citizens of Heaven Phil 3:20; consequently, believers are commanded to live in the protocol corresponding to that citizenship, Phil 1:27;
The word translated "conduct yourselves” is the Greek word (πολιτεύομαι politeuomai), in the second person plural present middle imperative which makes it a command that as citizens of heaven, members of the Royal Family believers are "to keep on conducting themselves in a manner worthy of the Good news of Christ" in their position as "Sons of God by Faith in Christ Jesus"
The middle voice indicates that believers participate in the action but they do not perform the action it by themselves. The believer provided the +V, the power to execute the divine mandates comes from God Phil 2:13;
Because of the power provided by God, the mandates are not a difficult. 1John 5:3; Matt 11:30;
We will now take up a discussion of the Mandate found in 1Pet 3:15; for the believer to set apart the thinking of TLJC and be focused on TLJC rather than the adversities in life and as a result be ready to give an answer of the "hope that is in them".
The context for the passage is the believer's response to undeserved suffering.
1Pet 3:8-14; and the blessing from God that accrues to believers who function in unconditional impersonal integrity love because of their personal love for God and Occupation with TLJC.
Verses 10-12 are quoted from Psa 34:12-16;
1Pet 3:13; Believers are commanded to live inside the PPOG and according to biblical principles, but believers are not guaranteed that by doing so that they will always be received with gratitude and good deeds in the world. In fact the opposite is true. John 15:18-19;
This passage is the instruction regarding how the believer is to respond to the unpleasant circumstances of persecution and false accusations when they are living inside God's plan for their lives.
The Gospel of salvation by Grace through Faith alone in TLJC alone thrives in adversity because it removes the burdens imposed by the OSN and the Kosmic System. The burdens of Guilt, Fear, Anxiety, Worry, etc.
In our passage, Peter is describing the principles which guide believers in their response to persecution so that the adversity becomes a platform for the the Gospel to be proclaimed, resulting in God being glorified, and believers becoming the recipients of God's blessing in the midst of the suffering in time and receiving eternal rewards in heaven.
1Pet 3:13; is put in the form of a question because Peter has already described the function of God's integrity toward believers as they choose weather or not to function inside his plan described in the Psalm.
The word translated "if" in verse 13 is in the third class condition. (If and for the sake of argument you may or may not be suffering for the sake of righteousness)
The principle that Peter is instructing believers regarding, is that those who apply the doctrine revealed in God's word will not only be blessed in time, but will also receive rewards in eternity
Put another way, living inside the PPOG by adhering to the mandates found in God's Word spares believers from the self imposed suffering from divine discipline that accrues from negative volition to Bible Doctrine that results from the believer reaping the consequences of sewing to the wind and reaping the whirlwind. Hosea 8:7;
Peter is saying, just as Paul did in Rom 12:18-21; that the humble believer who is living in the Humility of Grace, Doctrinal and Authority orientation inside the PPOG will have the most peaceable and rewarding life possible while in the devil's world.
This principle is also taught in the Proverbs where blessings are shown to accrue to the believer from their application of Bible Doctrine to experience as wisdom. Prov 11:2; Prov 11:9;Prov 13:3, Prov 13:10; Prov 14:27; Prov 15:1;
Living inside the spiritual life keeps believers from unnecessary suffering, but it is no guarantee believers will be spared from all suffering. In fact as we will see, there is suffering that comes into the righteous believer's life for the purpose of advancing the believer in God's plan, as they become a witness for God in the midst of the suffering.
Living inside the PPOG can be compared to defensive driving in the sense that it does not keep one from having an accident, but it will keep us from having as many accidents and minimize our being the cause of them.
1Pet 3:14; Net Note 20 The word translated 'if" in verse 14 is a rare 4th class condition which states for the sake of discussion that it is possible that they are suffering for the sake of righteousness, but is improbable and unlikely that it is actually is the case.
In the case that it is actually suffering for righteousness, Peter goes on to address the suffering that God permits to comes to those who have established a pattern of life inside the PPOG as a means of demonstrating the efficacy of Bible Doctrine when it is applied to experience in suffering which results in the believer having momentum in the plan of God and becoming the recipient of greater grace blessing from God in his perfect timing. 1Pet 5:5-7; James 4:6-10;
When believers are actually suffering for the sake of righteousness, Peter makes it very clear that there is blessing to be accrued from the undeserved suffering. The blessings do not stop when the suffering begins. Peter insists that suffering for the sake of living inside the PPOG is a blessing. Paul also describes this in 2Cor 12:9-10;
This idea presented with additional support in 1Pet 4:1-5; and 1Pet 4:12-16;
1Pet 3:14b; goes on to say "Do not fear what they are afraid of and do not be troubled” which is a quotation of Isa 8:12; where Israel was commanded not to be quick to identify the problems facing them as a conspiracy and not to fear what was being called a conspiracy but rather to fear, better understood as respect, the Lord Isa 8:13; and he will become your sanctuary or refuge or place of protection. Isa 8:14; Isa 4:6; Isa 25:4;
In the midst of the adversity, the Lord becomes our shelter, our refuge, our sanctuary, our defense.
You may have heard Ben Franklin’s false proverb "God helps those who help themselves” often ascribed to the Bible but it is not in the Bible and is also a lie, James 4:6b; Here we have the truth from the Bible "God helps those who cannot help themselves" Rom 5:6;
Believers today are benefited by listening to wise counsel, just as Israel would have, had they done so, but because of their negative volition to Bible Doctrine they were unable to distinguish good counsel from bad. Because they had rejected their teachers they had no frame of reference from Bible Doctrine.
So Isaiah contrasted good and bad counsel for them in the passage Peter quotes from.
Reliable counsel:
listens carefully to God Isa 8:11;
is not quick to identify conspiracies. Isa 8:12:
avoids acting out of fear Isa 8:12b; and
praises and respects the Lord Isa 8:13;.
Unreliable counsel:
ignores God's word and his mandates Isa 8:19-20;
acts from anger and malice Isa 8:21; and
leads to trouble and anguish Isa 8:22;
1Pet 3:14b; Net Note 22
In the context of our passage, the statement Peter quotes from Isaiah can be rendered in the subjective or objective genitive.
When rendered in the subjective genitive it refers to believers not being afraid of suffering or be troubled by suffering for the sake of righteousness.
In the objective genitive it means that believers are not to be afraid or troubled by those who are the source of the suffering or their threats when they are facing them for the sake of righteousness.
In other words, believers are not to fear or be troubled by the suffering or the source of the suffering as most people are, but instead fear the Lord.
When suffering is discussed, believers must always remember that suffering associated with Divine discipline that is the result of sin and failure can be turned into suffering for blessing by simply acknowledging the sin or sins associated with the failure that resulted in the discipline and following that acknowledgement with the application of the doctrine necessary to stay in the PPOG in the midst of the discipline and allowing God's work to be completed in us in his timing. Heb 12:6-11; Titus 2:11-12:
Peter wants believers to understand that suffering may come even when they are living in capacity righteousness inside the PPOG for their life.
In fact, we understand from Paul that suffering will come our way because we are living in his plan. Phil 1:29; Acts 14:22; as part of God's predetermined plan for us.
Many believers fail to understand this. They believe that if they follow the divine principles of Scripture, they can be assured of a happy, trouble free life, a life of peace and prosperity.
Job's friends made this same error. They assumed Job's prosperity was the result of his righteousness; and when he came under adversity, they were certain he had done something wrong.
They assumed that the way back to prosperity was to find the sin in Job's life, acknowledge it and get rid of it.
However, the proper understanding of Job's suffering is to recognize that cause of his suffering was not his sin, it was actually because of his obedience.
His suffering was the suffering of a righteous man who was being presented by God as a witness to Satan and the angels. Job 1:8; Job 1:22; which is what Peter was hoping was the case with the believers in his audience who were suffering.