Grace Means…Building

 

Grace Means…Building

1 Peter 5:8-11

In our study of 1 Peter, we have considered twelve things that “grace means.”

These twelve are: 1) Salvation, 2) Godliness, 3) Mercy, 4) Righteousness, 5) Submission, 6) Blessing, 7) Invitation, 8) Determination, 9) Preparation, 10) Glory, 11) Shepherding, 12) Humility.

When we speak of God’s grace, we mean the goodness, kindness, and love He has shown toward us. God shows His goodness and love in more ways than we can count. We see His hand every day in the vegetables we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. Everything He has created shows His goodness. 

When we think of God’s goodness, we must remember what the Psalmist tells us:

Psalm 14:1–3 (NKJV) ¹The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. ²The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. ³They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.

“The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men…There is none who does good, no, not one.” From this passage, we can deduce that not one of us deserves the goodness of God. The definition of grace is loving and giving good things to those who don’t deserve them.

The extent of God’s involvement in our lives shown by the twelve subjects we covered in our trip through 1 Peter reveals the magnitude of God’s grace. He has poured out more blessings than we could ask or even comprehend.

God’s grace is not without purpose. All twelve subjects are leading to an end. God is working toward a conclusion, and He has a definite work that He desires to complete. Philippians 1:6 assures us:

Philippians 1:6 (NKJV) being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

This passage tells us that the work God has begun in us is a “good work.” God begins His labor in us long before we are aware of Him. Now, concerning the exact nature of this work, Romans 8:29 tells us:

Romans 8:29 (NKJV) For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 

From this verse, we understand that the work God is doing is conforming us to the image of His Son. This is the goal and the result of the grace of God. The image of His Son, Jesus Christ, is what God is building. Thus, the title of today’s message, “Grace Means…Building.” God’s grace is transforming our lives according to His will and image. The twelve things we listed are all necessary components of God’s work in our lives.

All earthly buildings are temporary and will perish with the earth in the end. However, God is making an eternal building. Peter points out that the results of God’s construction project are eternal. Peter speaks of the completion of God’s work when he says,

1 Peter 5:11 (NKJV) To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The completion of God’s work results in God being glorified. God will be glorified, and that glory will last forever and ever. All creatures, both spiritual beings and fleshly beings, will see the greatness of God and acknowledge His great power and love because of what He has done for us, in us, and through us. 

For a building to stand, it must be well built. This is also true of the spiritual building that God is constructing. Today, we will look at four words that Peter uses to describe how God builds so that the structure will last forever. These four terms are found in 1 Peter 5:10.

1 Peter 5:10 NKJV But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

We will look at the meaning of these four words: 1) perfect, 2) establish, 3) strengthen, and 4) settle.

Please notice that the verse starts with the phrase “the God of all grace.” Grace is what the letter is about. We have already looked at the face that “Grace Means Suffering,” but here, it is brought up in a different context. God is working to perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us. Part of this process, an unavoidable part of the construction, is suffering. Just as Hebrews 12 tells us that God disciplines the child He loves, Peter reminds us that we must suffer.

In our suffering and fight, God is perfecting us.

“Perfect” in 1 Peter 5:10 means “well fit together, or properly adjusted.”

When I was in high school, I helped a friend build a chimney with blocks. We were so excited to get going that we forgot to use a plumb-bob when we started. If that chimney is still standing, it is still crooked at the base. It was a small chimney, so it did not fall. But could you imagine if the Sears Tower was crooked at the base? That thing is 110 stories, or 1,450 feet, tall. For a building of that magnitude to stand, it has to be perfect. Since it is asymmetrical in design, the weight on its foundation is uneven, and it leans four inches to the west (Wikipedia). I point this out because it is so straight that in a little over a quarter of a mile, the four-inch tilt is noticeable.

The Sears (now Willis) Tower will not last forever. However, God’s building (us) will last forever. God’s discipline is perfecting us so that we will “stand” forever.

In our suffering and fight, God is establishing us.

“Establish” in 1 Peter 5:10 means “a support that fixes, gives support or sets fast thus eliminating vacillation.”

Vacillation is a problem in a building. Earthquakes make skyscrapers in Tokyo dangerous because the movement of the earth can make buildings sway, and if they sway too much, they fall. This danger is controlled by making buildings with energy-absorbing shock absorbers at the foundation and every second floor, or a tuned mass dampener is installed toward the top of the building. These buffers absorb the energy of the earthquake and thus keep the building from swaying. The key is not in making the structure more rigid but in constructing the building to absorb or receive the shock.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we must withstand the earthquakes that shake the world around us. Ephesians speaks of those who are tossed about by every wind of doctrine, saying,

Ephesians 4:14 NKJV that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.

In our suffering, God establishes us. (Some translations say “confirm” or “secure.”)

In our suffering and fight, God is also strengthening us.

“Strengthen” in 1 Peter 5:10 means “make strong so as to be mobile – i.e., able to move in a way that achieves something in the most effective way.”

The analogy of a soldier or an athlete is appropriate here. For a soldier or an athlete to survive and prevail, they must be strong. Two types of strength are required. Brute force is needed to out-box, outwrestle, or outrun the opponent. Stamina is required to last to the end. What good is it for a boxer to win the first round if he cannot last through the second round?

In our spiritual battle, physical strength is nothing. We must put on the full armor of God. This is why the Apostle Paul says,

Philippians 4:13 NKJV  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Finally, in our suffering and fight, God is also settling us.

“Settle” in 1 Peter 5:10 means “to lay the foundation.”

The foundation for the Sears Tower is a massive cement structure that is 100 feet deep. In addition, the foundation is surrounded by 200 circular caissons, which are huge cement-filled cylinders bored an additional 100 feet below and set in solid bedrock

It takes being set on bedrock to support the incredible weight of something as large as the Sears Tower.

Jesus is our foundation. He is our bedrock! God works to set us on that foundation and establish us in Christ. Jesus said,

Matthew 7:24 NKJV  “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:”

This is what God’s grace is doing. He is perfecting, establishing, strengthening, and settling us.

Before telling us that God is making this building, Peter says:

I Peter 5:8-9 NKJV  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

Four things stand out to me about this passage.

First, we are to be sober. Do not live your life for pleasure. This does not mean we cannot have pleasure. However, it does mean that pleasure, enjoyment, and even happiness are not the goal. The draw the world has on us is our lusts or desires, and to succumb to them is to be “intoxicated.”

Second, we are to be vigilant. That means alert. The primary meaning of the word Peter uses is “awake.” Do not be asleep at your post. You are on guard duty. So, guard your heart.

You see, Paul says we are not unaware of the devil’s schemes. We know how He operates, how he lies, and how he tempts. So that leads us to the third thing we are told to do. We are to resist him. Stand against him. James 4:7-8 tells us:

James 4:7-8 NKJV  “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

James 4:8 tells us how to resist the devil. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

It is okay. You can rebuke the devil. But know that if you are double-minded with one foot in the world and one foot in Christ, you are already defeated, whether you rebuke the devil or not. If you have an impure heart, loving sin more than God, you are already defeated, whether you rebuke the devil or not. If you are cheating your fellow man, if you are hurting your fellow man, then you are already devoured, whether you rebuke the devil or not. 

Resisting the devil means drawing near to God and cleansing our hands and our hearts.

I want to point out one more thing. 1 Peter 5:8-9 does not say that we are to fear the devil. Rather it says that the same sufferings are experienced by all Christians in the world. In other words, we are victorious in Christ. However, we know that we will be attacked. The “same sufferings” of 1 Peter 5:9 is a reference back to the “roaring lion” of verse 8. Even if we are sober and vigilant, we will “suffer” because of the attacks of the evil one.

Consider Job. He suffered greatly because of the evil one. But also notice that Satan could not attack Job until God allowed him. 

Just before Jesus went to the cross, Luke tells us that Jesus warned Peter.

Luke 22:31-32 NKJV And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

We see that God allows attacks in order to sift us, that Jesus prays for us, and that the results strengthen the brethren. We are back to what God is building. He is building a life that will stand, and part of that process is this sifting and refining. We know that as believers, we will experience sifting. This requires that we remain sober and alert, but we have an advocate who prays for us that we may not fail.

Let me end with a warning. The person who has asked Jesus to be their Savior does not need to fear the roaring lion, but the person who has not asked Jesus to be their Savior is lion food. Seriously, you are under the paw of the lion and do not know it. The only hope for anyone is to call out to Jesus.