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Scripture Reading: 1 Pet. 1:17; 2:23; 4:5-7, 12, 17-19
In this message we shall continue our review of God’s governmental judgment as revealed in the first four chapters of 1 Peter.
First Peter 4:17 says, “Because it is time for the judgment to begin from the house of God; and if first from us, what will be the end of those who disobey the gospel of God?” This book shows the government of God especially in His dealings with His chosen people. The sufferings they undergo in fiery persecution are used by Him as a means to judge them that they may be disciplined, purified, and separated from the unbelievers and not have the same destiny as the unbelievers. Hence, such disciplinary judgment begins from God’s own household. God’s house, or household, is the church composed of the believers (2:5; Heb. 3:6; 1 Tim. 3:15; Eph. 2:19). From this house, as His own house, God begins His governmental administration by His disciplinary judgment over His own children, that He may have strong ground to judge, in His universal kingdom, those who are disobedient to His gospel and rebellious to His government. This is for the establishment of His kingdom, which is covered in the second book (2 Pet. 1:11).
We need to be deeply impressed from 4:17 that judgment begins from the household of God. This is God’s governmental administration carried out by His disciplinary judgment over His own children. The purpose of this disciplinary judgment that begins at God’s house is that God may have a strong ground to judge, in His universal kingdom, all those who are disobedient to His gospel and rebellious against His government. This applies in particular to the unbelieving Jews. The result of this judgment will be the establishment of God’s kingdom.
In 4:17 Peter asks this question: “What will be the end of those who disobey the gospel of God?” Peter is asking, if the judgment begins from us, what will happen to those who do not obey God’s gospel? This question indicates that the unbelievers, who disobey the gospel of God, will undergo a judgment more severe than that which the believers have undergone.
In verse 18 Peter goes on to ask, “And if the righteous is saved with difficulty, where will the ungodly and sinner appear?” Here “the righteous” refers to the believers, who became righteous by being justified through their faith in Christ (Rom. 5:1) and by living a righteous life in Christ (Phil. 3:9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rev. 19:8).
The word “difficulty” refers to judgments, persecutions, and hardships. This may even include illness. Many believers have the concept that because they believe in the Lord Jesus and are saved, everything in their lives should be smooth. Actually, the very opposite is true. In the Christian life we have one difficulty after another. However, some may think that because they are in the church life, they should not have any problems. They imagine that they will be in perfect health, have a high income, and be well spoken of by others. Actually, both in the Christian life and in the church life there are many difficulties. Hence, Peter says that the righteous is saved with difficulty.
In 4:18 “saved” is not from eternal perdition through the Lord’s death, but from the coming destruction (1 Thes. 5:3, 8), through the trials of persecution as God’s disciplinary judgment. The believer, who has been disciplined by God through the sufferings of persecution to purify his life, is saved with the difficulty of persecution from the destruction of God’s wrath toward the world, especially toward the unbelieving Jews, with the coming destruction of Jerusalem in view.
This Epistle was written only a few years before the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, the prince of Rome. The Lord Jesus had prophesied concerning this in Matthew 24:2, when He said of the temple that not one stone would be left upon another. The Lord had predicted that judgment would come upon the disobedient and unbelieving Jews. Peter, along with all the other apostles, knew this.
We need to remember that this book was written in particular to Jewish believers. Peter warned these believers regarding the coming destruction. However, he told them that those who believed in the Lord would be saved from that destruction, but they would be saved through difficulty, that is, through persecution and sufferings. This difficulty is a kind of governmental judgment.
Among the early apostles there was a strong belief that the Lord Jesus would come back soon to judge the unbelieving sinners, who are ungodly and disobey His gospel (2 Thes. 1:6-9). Peter’s word here refers to this. In God’s government, if the righteous, who has obeyed His gospel and lives a righteous life before Him, is saved with difficulty, suffering persecution as the means of His disciplinary punishment to purify his life, where will the ungodly, who disobeys His gospel and lives a sinful life against His government, stand when the destruction by His wrath comes?
In verse 19 Peter continues, “Wherefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls in welldoing to a faithful Creator.” Persecution can damage only the body of the suffering believers; it cannot damage their souls (Matt. 10:28). Their souls are kept by the Lord as the faithful Creator. They should cooperate with the Lord by their faithful commitment. The word “commit” here literally means to give in charge as a deposit, as in Luke 12:48; 1, Acts 20:32 Timothy 1:18; and 2 Timothy 2:2. When the believers suffer persecution in their body, especially as in martyrdom, they should commit their souls as a deposit to God, the faithful Creator, as the Lord committed His spirit to the Father (Luke 23:46).
The Creator spoken of in verse 19 is not the Creator of the new creation in the new birth, but the Creator of the old creation. Persecution is a suffering in the old creation. God as our Creator can preserve our soul, which He created for us. He has even numbered our hairs (Matt. 10:30). He is loving and faithful. His loving and faithful care (1 Pet. 5:7) accompanies His justice in His governmental administration. While He is judging us, as His household, in His government, in His love He cares for us faithfully. In suffering His just disciplinary judgment in our body, we should commit our souls to His faithful care.
First Peter is a book on the Christian life under the government of God. It is easy for us to pay attention to the Christian life and to neglect God’s government. Actually, the Christian life and the government of God go together. The Triune God has passed through a long process and has become the life-giving Spirit to indwell us. This is for our Christian life. At the same time, the Triune God is still the Creator of the universe and its ruler. On the one hand, we have been reborn to have a spiritual life, the divine life. On the other hand, we are still in the old creation. For this reason, we need God’s governmental dealings. In order for the Christian life to grow, we need the discipline of God’s government.
The preciousness of Peter’s writings is that he combines the Christian life and God’s government. Paul did the same thing, but he did not do it in such a clear way as Peter did. Peter’s writings show us that the Christian life and the government of God go together as a pair. If we would carefully read the two Epistles of Peter, we would see that Peter is quite deep in the matter of life. The first chapter of 2 Peter, in particular, is rich, deep, and profound in the matter of life. But at the same time in his writings Peter gives a serious word regarding God’s governmental dealings with His regenerated people. Therefore, in the Epistles of Peter we need to see the Christian life and God’s government and also see how the two go together.
In the past, most of us received little more than traditional Christian teachings. Through the notes in the Recovery Version and through all the Life-study Messages, I am burdened to present the basic matters in the Word to the Lord’s people. If we take these matters into us and allow them to make a permanent impression upon us, I believe that in the coming years we shall see a great change, even a change that will revolutionize our inward being. I hope that after a number of years these messages will issue in a very positive result. My desire is to see that God’s truth, according to His pure Word, will be prevailing throughout this country. In spite of the opposition, I believe that eventually the seeking ones will read the messages and come to know the truth.
My immediate concern is that those of us in the Lord’s recovery will have a clear view of all the basic matters in the Word. However, I am deeply sorry that some who have been in the recovery for many years still are not able to say an adequate word regarding many things. In 3:15 Peter says, “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, being always ready for a defense to everyone who asks of you an account concerning the hope in you, but with meekness and fear.” This indicates that we all need to be able to speak forth God’s truth. I hope that the time you spend in all these messages on 1 Peter will help you in this regard. I am not happy if the saints are merely excited over what they see and hear in the ministry. My desire is that the hands of all the saints would be filled with the solid things of the Word of God.
If you cannot remember all the details of what Peter says concerning God’s governmental judgment, I hope that you will at least remember the basic points and also know where more detailed information is found. For example, you need to remember such verses as 1:17, 2:23, and 4:5. You may also want to refer believers whom you contact to the notes in the Recovery Version. You may say to them, “You claim that we are teaching heresy. I urge you to read for yourself what Witness Lee has taught. If you do this, you will realize that this man leads us to the truth in the Bible. Do you not want to know the Word of God? Let us open 1 Peter and consider some verses related to God’s judgment. I ask you to be fair and discern who it is who is heretical and what is the truth of God according to His pure Word.”
All of us need to personally carry out God’s truth through our life, knowledge, and experience. Then God will have a way to accomplish His purpose. Otherwise, He will have to wait, perhaps for hundreds of years. The Lord’s people have been veiled and drugged by traditional teachings for too long. I am burdened that the Lord may have a way and that all the saints would have a proper knowledge of God’s truth according to the pure Word.
All the elders need to be clear concerning the condition of the churches with respect to the knowledge of the truth. The elders may need to reconsider their way of shepherding the saints and overseeing them. We need to find a way to get the truth into the saints so that everyone will be full of truth and full of experience of life according to the truth. For example, the saints should know the Gospel of Matthew. They should be able to open this Gospel to others and point out the truth to them. We should be able to do the same with the Gospel of John, the Epistles of Peter, the book of Revelation, and, in fact, all of the New Testament. We need to be able to help others have a clear definition of many aspects of God’s truth. If we can do this, then we shall have a better way to go on.
I am concerned that many among us still have only a superficial grasp of the truth. I do not like to hear shouting and the so-called release of the spirit that is lacking in content. It is good to shout praise to the Lord and to release our spirit, but this must be filled with content. If we are filled with the solid content of truth in knowledge, life, and experience, we shall have a firm foundation for our praise and release. We shall also be able to show others that we have a basis for the shouting of praises and the release of the spirit.
Many of us have been addicted to traditional practices. When we read the Bible, study the Bible, or listen to a message, we may apply what we read or hear in a traditional and even a light way. We may not be serious regarding the Word. We may not regard every point found in the Word or released through a message as crucial. Regarding this matter, we need to be alert and sobered unto prayer. The elders especially need to pray concerning the church in which they are taking the lead. The elders should find out how much of the truth the saints have absorbed. If the elders examine the situation of the church in their locality, they may discover that there have been too many elements of tradition in the way we have taken in the past, and that our presentation has not been so practical.
I am burdened that all the saints would take the Word seriously. When we speak about the divine life, we must sense the seriousness of the matters of life. We need to realize that as believers, as those who love the Lord and seek Him, we must understand His Word, live His Word, practice His Word, and apply His Word first to ourselves and then to others. By the Lord’s mercy, I have prepared all the notes in the Recovery Version and all the materials for the Life-study Messages in a very practical way. For this reason, if we read the notes in the Recovery Version or any portion of a Life-study Message, we shall find that it is full of food, full of nourishment. We need to take the Word into us as our nourishment, and we also need to learn how to apply it to ourselves and others.
I am concerned that certain of the saints have attended many trainings over the years, but have not received adequate nourishment from all the messages. Furthermore, they do not know how to present the truth of the Word of God to others. For instance, in these messages on 1 Peter you have heard something concerning God’s governmental judgment. You may have a general idea regarding this, but you may not know how to use this truth or how to present it properly to others.
Once we have a clear understanding of the governmental judgment of God, this does not mean that we should go out and speak concerning it to everyone we meet. If we do nothing except speak about God’s governmental judgment, we shall offend others needlessly. It is important, therefore, that we learn how to contact people. We may realize that a certain person is not really clear about salvation. He may be a believer in name, but he may not have the knowledge or experience of God’s salvation. Perhaps we shall meet another who is saved, but who does not have the assurance of salvation. This requires that, being skillful in handling the truth, we know how to help such persons to have the experience of salvation or the assurance of salvation. In like manner, we must know how to help others understand the truth concerning the indwelling Christ. You may contact a Christian who does not know that Christ is life to him or that the Spirit of life dwells in him. Therefore, you need to pray for that one and help him to realize something from the Word regarding Christ as life and the indwelling Spirit of life. You should also help him to get into the experience of this.
As you have fellowship with other believers, you may sense that the time is right to share with them that we should not only love the Lord but also serve Him. Furthermore, you may point out to them that we need to have a healthy fear of the Lord. The apostle Paul not only loved the Lord but also feared Him. In 2 Corinthians 5:14 Paul says that the Lord is loving. At the same time Paul indicates in this chapter that we need to fear Him because one day we shall all stand before His judgment seat (2 Cor. 5:10). Furthermore, we know from 1 Corinthians 11 that even today the Lord is exercising disciplinary judgment over His children. On the one hand, we need to know this truth ourselves. On the other hand, we should know the right time and the right way to present this truth to others. If we speak concerning this at the proper time, others will be helped, and there will be a positive reaping from what we say. Otherwise, even though we speak about an important truth in the Bible, others will be offended. We need to speak the right word at the right season. Unless we speak the right word at the right time to the right person, what we say will be in vain. This, no doubt, requires training. We need to be trained to have the proper knowledge of the truth, to grow according to this knowledge, and to learn how to present the truth to others.
My goal in giving these Life-study Messages is twofold. First, my desire is that through the messages the Word of God will get into the saints. Second, I expect that the messages, when put into print, will become seeds sown among God’s people. No matter how much opposition there may be, I shall continue to sow this seed. On the one hand, this seed is a life supply; on the other hand, it is an inoculation. I believe that one day the seed we have sown will produce a harvest.
The future of the Lord’s recovery is very promising. At present, in the United States there are at least seven thousand seeking saints in the Lord’s recovery. Over the next ten years, many of our children will become members of the church. When some of them are in their twenties, they will be quite useful to the Lord. Brother Nee, for example, was raised up by the Lord when he was only nineteen. However, the future of the Lord’s recovery depends upon our practice regarding the truth. If we treasure the Word and grasp every opportunity to get into it and to take it into us, eventually we shall be fully equipped. We shall know the truth, we shall know life, and we shall know how to grow in the Lord. We shall have a full knowledge and an adequate experience of spiritual things. Then the Lord will have a way to break through and to gain what He has been seeking for centuries.
How can the Lord get what He is after today? According to the situation of the majority of Christians, the Lord has no way. Nearly everywhere the door is closed to Him. This is the reason the Lord must find a way to have a recovery. But my concern is that in the Lord’s recovery there is still too much of the traditional practice among us. We need to abandon the traditional way and take up a new way to know the truth, experience it, and present it to others.
