“be ye meeked”
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I encourage you to look at the passage in 1 Peter before you read this Blog entry. What do you see in the text yourself? What questions come to your mind? How would you interpret what the writer says? After even a few minutes examining and thinking about the text you will be much better prepared to evaluate the comments in the Blog.
As Peter comes to the close of his letter, he includes some final instructions and encouragements. As one member of our group observed, there is a lot packed in those final few sentences.
Context
Late in our discussion someone raised the question of the context of this section. Since context is always key to accurate interpretation, that question deserves consideration here at the beginning of this article.
The question concerned the immediately preceding instructions to elders (5:1-4). If these final commands are specifically continuing those instructions, the interpretation and especially the application of this passage would be significantly impacted. Or is the section a brief aside to remind the leaders of their critical role helping “those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (4:19)?
Peter is addressing all suffering believers (4:12-19). Then after the exhortation to elders (5:1‑4), he shifts the focus back to his entire audience in the next sentence. First, he addresses “you who are younger” about their responsibility to submit to the oversight of the elders (5:5a). Then he widens his words even more to “all of you, clothe yourselves with humility” (5:5b).
The continuing theme of humility opens our current passage (5:6). The conviction that this closing passage applies to all of us is reinforced by questioning and then examining the context.
Be Humbled…
Peter indeed continues his theme of humility in verse 6. Most English translations begin the verse as an exhortation, a call for self-effort to achieve a state or condition of humility.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God … (ESV)
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God … (NASB)
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, … (NIV)
So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, … (NLT)
But here is a puzzling fact. Grammatically, “humble yourselves” would be an active verb along with the reflexive pronoun “yourselves”. But Peter uses a passive verb (ταπεινώθητε, tapeinōthēte), and the reflexive pronoun “yourselves” is not in the text.
A literal interlinear translation is:
ταπεινώθητε οὖν ὑπὸ τὴν κραταιὰν χεῖρα τοῦ θεοῦ, …
Be humbled, therefore under the mighty hand of God …[1]
Several commentators point out the more precise translation based on “the unusual use here of the aorist passive imperative ταπεινώθητε rather than the more common active verb form with a reflexive pronoun.”[2]
The passive ταπεινώθητε is literally “be humbled,” and although some commentators … and most English versions give it the force of the middle voice (or the active with reflexive pronoun) “humble yourselves,” the passive imperative is quite rare (also found in James 4:10, a passage that also speaks of future exaltation by the Lord) and demands special attention.[3]
A very few English versions[4] give that “special attention” to the passive nature of Peter’s command:
Be humbled by God’s power … (GW)
Therefore be ye meeked under the mighty hand of God … (WYC)
be humbled, then, under the powerful hand of God, …(YLT)
(The unusual wording of Wycliffe’s “be ye meeked” is especially memorable.)
Our group did give some “special attention” to Peter’s command by asking the question, “What is the difference between ‘humble yourselves’ and ‘be humbled’?”
The difference between and active and a passive command seems pretty clear. The Bible contains plenty of active commands, specific ways we are to “work out our salvation” (Philippians 2:12). Even those active commands are dependent on God’s work within us (Philippians 2:13).
But a passive command (the “quite rare” passive imperative mentioned above) is different. A passive command must be something we allow to happen to us, something we submit willingly to, something we endure regardless of the consequences.
To “be humbled” implies a decision to remain faithful to Christ even knowing that humiliation will result.[5]
Indeed, many circumstances of the early Christians (and even today) offer no alternative. Humiliation happens. Persecution, whether physical violence or subtle discrimination, affects reputation, social standing, prestige, status.
The point is not that Christians have a choice of whether they humble themselves; that happens to them simply because they are Christians. The point is rather that the Christians are to acknowledge that such status conforms to God’s will and to accept it for that reason, since it is the path God wishes Christians to take, a path that will lead finally to God’s exaltation of them.[6]
“Be humbled” addresses how we react when treated unfairly. Peter’s command is not about “humbling ourselves” and trying to manufacture a particular attitude. “Be humbled” (or “be ye meeked”) is about accepting the circumstances that we trust are under the control of “God’s mighty hand.”
The point is how Christians respond when, because of their faith, their social status has suffered and their situation has become difficult. The command to be humbled under God’s mighty hand is a command to accept, though not to seek, difficult circumstances as a part of God’s deliverance, neither railing against God (“Why did this happen to me?” “What did I do to deserve this?”) nor raging against those causing the difficulty, but rather blessing those who insult and injure (3:9).[7]
That phrase, “under the mighty hand of God,” was key in our discussion. The wording “be humbled” takes the focus off of our own efforts. More importantly, that phrase redirects the spotlight. When our attention is on “the mighty hand of God,” we will be humbled. We discussed how a deepening awe and wonder at the majesty and glory of God changes our perspective. The key to “be humbled” is to see and appreciate more of “the mighty hand of God.”
…That He May Exalt You
Peter offers a motivation for the command “be humbled.” But that motivation, “that He may exalt you” raised its own questions: What is it? When is it?
Peter doesn’t elaborate here on what “exalt” might mean for His people. Our discussion a little later suggested that his closing comment (v. 10) could summarize this paragraph and maybe even review his entire letter.
We spent more time discussing when God might do this, when He might exalt the people who have been humbled. It could be during this life, or not until we enter paradise in eternity. In either case it is written to people who were suffering in the present. Someone pointed out that “exalt” would not necessarily mean an end to suffering. God’s exaltation could take place, or at least it could begin, in the midst of persecution. Regardless, it will be consummated in eternity.
Neither the specific time not the kind of ‘exaltation’ are specified, so it is best to understand the statement generally: that in the time God deems best, whether in this life or in the life to come, he may lift you up from your humble conditions and ‘exalt’ you in the way that seems best to him – perhaps only in terms of increased spiritual blessing and deeper fellowship with himself, perhaps also in terms of responsibility, reward, or honour which will be seen by others as well.[8]
“Be humbled” is an essential element for trusting God when we don’t know the details of the promised reward. We trust that “in the time God deems best” and “in the way that seems best to him” will exceed our most extravagant expectations.
Resist the Devil
Our group spent the most time in our conversation about Peter’s stern warning to “resist the devil” (v. 9). One member lamented the lack of details. How are we to resist the adversary? Why didn’t Peter offer more help? What are the specifics that we need to follow?
We thought about the fact that Peter was addressing a wide audience: “To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1). They were all likely suffering persecution, but in a variety of forms. The temptations in Pontus might be quite different from the trials in Bithynia and much different still from the tribulations in twenty-first century Colorado. As much as we (and the first-century residents of Asia Minor) would like sure-fire formulas, that isn’t God’s usual approach in Scripture. His “formula” is His trustworthiness. Because of His character, our trust in Him persists no matter how the circumstances change and the way is uncertain.
Experts provide formulas. God gives signposts, signposts pointing into the fog.[9]
Peter provides plenty of those signposts to undergird our trust, such as “the mighty hand of God” (v. 6) and “He cares for you” (v. 7).
A more visible signpost is offered as motivation for resisting the devil.
Knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world (1 Peter 5:9b)
We talked about how that might help the hearers. Someone suggested that Peter wants his audience to know they are not alone, they are not isolated. Their suffering is not because they have failed or that they have gotten the Christian life wrong. They are part of a community “in the world” or “throughout the world” (ESV, NIV) or “all over the world” (NLT) enduring and persevering through similar suffering.
Another part of our discussion centered on what the devil is trying to do. Peter says the devil, like a lion, is seeking someone (τις, tis, “one, anyone, anything; some, someone, something”)[10] to devour (καταπίνω, katapinō, “to swallow, gulp down”).[11]
The adversary is not particular. He is seeking anyone or anything, an opportunistic predator. Someone commented about a predator’s strategy of isolating weak members of a herd.
“Swallow” might be more graphic than “devour.” Using the same language, Jesus said the Pharisees “strain out the gnat but gulp down the camel” (Matthew 23:24). The Egyptian army was drowned in the Red Sea (Hebrews 11:29). We can be “swallowed” in discouragement or depression. We feel swallowed when we spiral into lies about ourself or about God. Pride and self-sufficiency can swallow us. In one person’s words, we can “get taken over all the way.”
Being “swallowed” or taken over can be a gradual, subtle process as we face difficulties in the hostile culture around us.
The opposition the Christians face from their non-Christian contemporaries is not something they can avoid by modifying their behavior or adapting their beliefs in such a way as to escape such opposition. Only by completely abandoning the gospel and the community shaped by it, only by submitting to the satanic forces that stand in total opposition to God, can they escape the persecutions they otherwise face.[12]
That gradual “complete abandonment” because of a hostile culture was and is the adversary’s swallowing strategy. Resisting him can be as uncomplicated as rejecting the pressure to fit into contemporary culture.
After You Have Suffered
Verse 10 presents a startling certainty. Peter sounds quite matter-of-fact, “After you have suffered….” No “if”, no “maybe,” just a clear indicative verb expressing a reality.
Peter does include the word “little” (ὀλίγος, oligos, little, small, short)[13] which could indicate[14] a “little (short) time” (ESV, etc.) or a “little suffering” (GNV, HCSB, WYC, YLT). Either way, as one person pointed out, the “little” is a clear contrast with our calling into “eternal glory in Christ” (v. 10b) by the God whose dominion is “forever and forever” (v. 11).
Peter continues putting persecution into its proper perspective. The “little suffering” or the “suffering for a little while” is emphatically not the end of the story. God Himself (emphatic, αὐτὸς, autos, the same) has a great eternity for His humbled people. This may be more explanation of the earlier statement of believers being “exalted at the proper time” (v. 6) as mentioned above.
The fullness of this description is reflected in the variety of translations[15] for the end of verse 10. Consider three representative samples (and see the entire list for an even wider range of meanings).
-
- will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you (ESV)
- will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen andestablish you (NASB1995)
- he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation (NLT)
A few examples of other uses of the words in the New Testament will help to illustrate the fullness of our future.
Restore, perfect (καταρτίζω, katartizō)[16]
Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. (Matthew 4:21)
A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. (Luke 6:40)
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; (Galatians 6:1)
The word translated restore or perfect in 1 Peter 5:10 means “to cause to be in a condition to function well; to prepare for a purpose.”[17]
Confirm, establish, support (στηρίζω, stērizō)[18]
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51, ESV)
When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; (Luke 9:51, NASB)
May He comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. (1 Thessalonians 2:17, NLT)
The word translated confirm or establish in 1 Peter 5:10 means “to cause to be inwardly firm or committed.”[19]
Strengthen (σθενόω, sthenoō)
First Peter 5:10 is the only New Testament occurrence of this word, so there are no other direct comparisons in other verses. However, the negated form is found frequently. Like English, Greek words can be negated by adding an “a-” prefix, as in “typical” and “atypical.” The variations of ἀσθενέω (astheneō) and related forms are used over eighty times in the New Testament and translated[20] as weakness, sickness, deficient in strength, etc. Those negated forms illustrate the consequences of the absence of sthenoō, but having that strength part of the future that believers can anticipate.
Establish, support, foundation (θεμελιόω, themelioō)
And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:25)
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17)
The word translated establish or support in 1 Peter 5:10 means “to provide a secure basis for the inner life and its resources.”[21]
Consider the combined picture Peter gives us using these expanded explanations. After a little suffering, God Himself will
-
- cause us to be in a condition to function well and prepare us for His purpose
- cause us to be inwardly firm or committed
- cause us to have a strength that surpasses all weakness, sickness, deficiency
- provide a secure basis for our inner life and its resources
His purpose and our firm commitment, the strength of our inner life will all have the goal of “His eternal glory in Christ.” Certainly whatever “exalt” means in verse 6, the actions Peter attributes to God Himself on our behalf in verse 10 are part of that exaltation. That exaltation can begin now and continue in our eternally increasing joy with Him.
The True Grace of God
After that “crescendo of worship” (the description suggested by one member of our group), Peter brings his letter to a close. He acknowledges Silvanus, possibly one who wrote Peter’s dictation or one who delivered the letter or both. Then he describes what he has written as “the true grace of God” along with a closing command to “stand firm in it.”
One person asked if “stand firm” was intended for individuals or for the community together. Online resources can be helpful in answering that kind of question. The verb used for “stand firm” is plural,[22] addressed to the corporate body of believers.
That plural command echoes the theme of corporate responsibility for each other that we have seen in our earlier studies. Hebrews contains repeated exhortations that the congregation is to act out of concern for the individual who may be struggling (Hebrews 3:12-13; 4:1, 11; 6:11; 10:24; 12:15). James has a lot to say about the destructive misuse of the tongue, but he concludes his letter with an affirmation of those who “turn back one who has strayed from the truth” (James 5:19-20). It may be that his entire letter is about the “restoration project” of reinstating wandering souls.
Then we discussed what he meant by “the true grace of God.” Why did Peter feel it was necessary to add this emphatic affirmation?
His letter has repeatedly returned to the theme of suffering. “Grace” and “suffering” are hard for many people to think of together. Peter underscores the difficult truth that suffering and grace are not mutually exclusive, they are not incompatible. The God’s genuine grace can and often does include “various trials” (1:6), living “as aliens and strangers” (2:11), submitting to “unreasonable authorities” (2:18), “suffering for the sake of righteousness” (3:14, 17), enduring a “fiery ordeal” (4:12), “suffering as a Christian” (4:16), “according to the will of God” (4:19). Ultimately, of course, the true grace of God is lived according to the submissive, suffering, sacrificial example of Jesus (2:21).
Suffering does not mean the absence of grace. Difficulties do not indicate that the sufferer has missed out on grace. As one person expressed it, “We are under the true grace of God expressed in the New Covenant.” We are no longer under the Old Covenant, the covenant exemplified by Deuteronomy 28. Our circumstances are not linearly determined by our behavior: “good things happen because you do this; bad things happen because you do that” (the essence of Deuteronomy 28). All that happens to us is the result of God’s true grace expressing His perfect wisdom and His perfect love through His providence. Understanding “the true grace of God” is essential for trusting Him.
Peter closes his letter with a call to “stand firm” in the “true grace of God” that he has written about. The grace he describes and the suffering he describes are both part of God’s wise, loving, and providential plan for His people and for His glory. May we continue to trust God, neither despairing nor abandoning the Christian walk because of discomfort or suffering. May we stand firm in God’s true grace.
[1] Robert K. Brown and Philip W. Comfort, translators, The New Greek English Interlinear New Testament (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publisher, Inc., 1990), 818;
cf. https://biblehub.com/interlinear/1_peter/5-6.htm
[2] Paul J. Achtemeier, 1 Peter, Hermeneia – A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 338.
[3] Greg W. Forbes, 1 Peter, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2014), 174-175, emphasis added; also note abbreviations in the original have been expanded.
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/1%20Peter%205%3A6
[5] Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2011), 310.
[6] Paul J. Achtemeier, 1 Peter, Hermeneia – A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 338.
[7] Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2011), 310.
[8] Wayne Grudem, 1 Peter, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 1988), 194-195, emphasis added.
[9] Larry Crabb, Real Church: Does it Exist? Can I Find It? (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2009), 103.
[10] https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/tis-0
[11] https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/katapino
[12] Paul J. Achtemeier, 1 Peter, Hermeneia – A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 341;
quoted in Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2011), 313.
[13] https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/oligos
[14] https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/1%20Peter%205%3A10
[15] https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/1%20Peter%205%3A10
[16] https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/katartizo
[17] W. Bauer, F.W. Danker, W.F. Arndt, and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 526.
[18] https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/sterizo
[19] W. Bauer, F.W. Danker, W.F. Arndt, and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 945.
[20] https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/astheneo
[21] W. Bauer, F.W. Danker, W.F. Arndt, and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 449.
[22] For example,
Bible Hub, https://biblehub.com/interlinear/1_peter/5-12.htm