Essentially from 1 Peter 1:7 through to 1 Peter 3:7, Peter has been writing on the subject of our salvation and how Jesus, through His loving grace and mercy, did all of work appointing us to be holy righteous men and women of God. Peter also stated that we are living stones, royal priests, a chosen race set apart to bring light into a dark world. As light we are to glorify God in all that we do, which includes suffering at times and submitting to those in authority so that the world might be able to see that we are different. But before Peter answers the ‘why’ question, he first summarizes these in the following two verses.
3:8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
Peter uses the word ‘finally’, not as the beginning of the concluding statement of his book, but more as a round up or summary of who we are as a Christian. Peter is talking to all of us, everyone in the Church (not some building or one group of Christians, Peter is talking to all Christians, the church of all believers). We are all to have unity of mind. The Greek literally means “same mind” or like-mindedness.[1] Believers are to live in harmony together. Does that mean we are to think the same so that we have no arguments and have no problems? No, of course not! We should be sincere friends and should probably minimize our fighting, but in reality the concept is more focused on knowing and agreeing on the essential doctrines of Christianity and then live them.
We are all familiar with the word ‘university’, but some may not know that the word really means a number of people associated into one body or one way of thinking, likewise we are to be like-minded regarding God’s Word, just like a university. One very effective way to render your enemy ineffective is to spread out their forces so that they cannot act as one. Once you have scattered their forces, the task of invasion, or reduce their ability to defend themselves, becomes much easier. This is one tactic the devil uses against God and His church. By creating division and separation among Christians, Satan has been able to effectively water down efforts for outreach. Jesus in the garden the night before His betrayal, trials, and crucifixion prayed about us today. Jesus knowing the future prayed to His Father, “I do not ask for these only” (referring to His apostles), “but also for those who will believe in Me through their word” (that’s us), “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they may be in Us, so that the world may believe that you have sent Me.” (John 17:20-21, the emphasis and notes were added by me) Unity of believers was important enough for Jesus to pray to His Father long before our existence (see also Romans 12:3-21; Philippians 2:1-5).
So what does a church united in Christ look like? In the Bible perhaps the best example can be found in Acts chapter two: “42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47) Each church will be a little different, but the essential doctrine must remain the same, as God intended. In other words, the ministries of churches will vary depending on location and demographics, but the message of salvation through Jesus should never vary or change.
Peter next uses a word that is transliterated to the word ‘sympathy’ (‘sympatheis’), which in the Greek means, “sharing the same feeling”[2] (it might possibly be more accurate to translate this word to the English word ‘empathy’). One might use the phrase today: “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.” The author of Hebrews tells us that since Jesus was a man, He understands and can relate to our weaknesses and suffering as a human being (see Hebrews 4:14-16). Jesus once explained that if we do something to meet the needs of someone else we are doing it for Him (see Matthew 25:31-46). We must be ready to understand and share other people’s feelings (see Romans 12:14-16; 1 Corinthians 12:26; Colossians 3:12-14).
Peter moves next to ‘brotherly love’, the affection we have for family or close friends, an affection that is portrayed by unselfish love and service to others (read Acts 20:35; Philippians 4:10-20). Love like this must start at home, followed by the church, and then extend into the world. If we can’t demonstrate our love for others, or show what love is about, then we need to get on our knees and start praying now!
Having a tender heart is Peter’s next instruction. Often translated as ‘kind hearted’ or having compassion, the term ‘heart’ in the Greek really describes having “strong bowels” referring to our ‘insides’, pointing to how we deal with affection and emotion. We should regularly ask ourselves, do we feel the pain of others? When we see an injustice or someone injured do our eyes tear? Does our compassion for others allow us to forgive like Jesus did? (see also Ephesians 4:32)
Verse eight concludes with the last attribute, humility. We are to all have humble minds. This one may be possibly more important than the others Peter listed as humility is essential for all Christians (see Philippians 2:3-8; Ephesians 4:1-2). We need to be humble like Jesus is (see Matthew 11:29).
3:9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
The next verse once again speaks to us about our behavior. We are not to repay evil for evil. This is truly contrary to the way we humans are wired. As pointed out earlier in chapter 10 of this commentary, Jesus when asked which commandment was the greatest commandment, He stated that the greatest commandment was from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, about loving God, and the second greatest was from Leviticus 19:28, which taught against the idea of taking vengeance, but that we should love our neighbor instead. Jesus also spoke against the idea of retaliation in the Sermon on the Mount when He spoke about reversing the concept of “an eye for an eye” (see Matthew 5:38-48). After all, it is difficult to speak about the Gospel if we just retaliated against someone! (See also Deuteronomy 32:35-36; Proverbs 20:22; 24:29; Romans 12:19)
We are also not to revile when reviled against. We are not to insult, curse or speak evil against people even if they started it. Peter uses a similar phrase when he described Jesus in chapter two (see 1 Peter 2:23). Instead of cursing or insulting we are to bless. We are to return good for evil. The Greek for the word ‘bless’ is where we get the English word ‘eulogy’ from, meaning to offer words of praise. It can also mean to make happy and to consecrate with sincere prayer. In other words, we are to bless by loving unconditionally, pray for the salvation of others, and express gratitude (see Genesis 50:20-21; Luke 6:28; John 13:34; Romans 12:9-14; 1 Corinthians 4:12-13; 2 Corinthians 1:11; Philippians 1:3-5; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 John 3:23).
Peter then reminds us that this is why we were called (see 1 Peter 2:21) so that we may in turn receive a blessing. We received complete forgiveness, now it’s our turn to forgive and bless others (see Romans 5:8-9; 1 John 4:9-10).
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[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers. Strong’s Greek No. 3675
[2] Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software. Strong’s Greek No. 4835