1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober*~ and alert*~. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour."
In some companies the competition and desire to eliminate others who might impede their own opportunity for advancement makes for an aggressive and dangerous environment. Anything you do or say can and will be used against you. Only the “survivors” succeed.
In the Christian life we are called to "urgently decide to be sober and alert” because an enemy is on the prowl. To be “sober” (nepho) means to be “calm and collected in spirit, temperate and dispassionate.” This attitude allows one to look at reality with a clear mind, in full control of one’s own disposition. In the fullness of the Spirit the attribute of "self-control" becomes one of the characteristics that marks a Spirit-filled person (Gal 5:22).
There is some confusion about this point from Eph 5:18, “Do not be drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.” Some teach that as the individual looses control of himself under the influence of wine, likewise he should loose control of himself under the filling of the Spirit. However, a careful observation of the passage takes note of the connective word between the two clauses: “but.” This word introduces an aversive or opposite meaning, not a similarity or comparison. Thus the second clause does the opposite of loosing control of one’s self under the influence of wine, rather under the Spirit, the effect is maximum control of one’s self, i.e. temperance or self-control (Gal 5:22).
To "be alert" (gregoreuo) means to “arouse, watch, give attention to [especially to God’s revelation], or being watchful for opportunities and dangers (both internal and external forces seeking to harm or destroy him). Jesus warned Peter just before his betrayal: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith not fail’ (Luke 22:31-32). A few hours later Peter failed to watch and pray (Matt 26:41), which led to his denial of the Lord Jesus.
Satan, we are told, accuses the Christian in the presence of God (Rev 12:10) as he did in the OT times (Zech 3:1-5 and Job 1:6). Furthermore, the world is under the power of the “evil one.” The psalmist wrote, “Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me” (Ps 22:13). Peter likewise described Satan as a “roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Humans are no match for this most powerful enemy.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Deliver us from the evil one” (Matt 6:31). John declared that believers “have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Rev 12:11); nevertheless, the believer must always be alert “against the devil’s schemes” (Eph 6:11) and protected with spiritual armor (Eph 6:11-18).
Martin Luther wrote:
"The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo! His doom is sure, One little Word shall fell him."
Psalms 119:86, “All Your commandments are faithful; They persecute me wrongfully; Help me!”
For a year's daily devotional of these Bible studies, order a copy of the book Truths to Live By at Branches Publications for your copy.
In some companies the competition and desire to eliminate others who might impede their own opportunity for advancement makes for an aggressive and dangerous environment. Anything you do or say can and will be used against you. Only the “survivors” succeed.
In the Christian life we are called to "urgently decide to be sober and alert” because an enemy is on the prowl. To be “sober” (nepho) means to be “calm and collected in spirit, temperate and dispassionate.” This attitude allows one to look at reality with a clear mind, in full control of one’s own disposition. In the fullness of the Spirit the attribute of "self-control" becomes one of the characteristics that marks a Spirit-filled person (Gal 5:22).
There is some confusion about this point from Eph 5:18, “Do not be drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.” Some teach that as the individual looses control of himself under the influence of wine, likewise he should loose control of himself under the filling of the Spirit. However, a careful observation of the passage takes note of the connective word between the two clauses: “but.” This word introduces an aversive or opposite meaning, not a similarity or comparison. Thus the second clause does the opposite of loosing control of one’s self under the influence of wine, rather under the Spirit, the effect is maximum control of one’s self, i.e. temperance or self-control (Gal 5:22).
To "be alert" (gregoreuo) means to “arouse, watch, give attention to [especially to God’s revelation], or being watchful for opportunities and dangers (both internal and external forces seeking to harm or destroy him). Jesus warned Peter just before his betrayal: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith not fail’ (Luke 22:31-32). A few hours later Peter failed to watch and pray (Matt 26:41), which led to his denial of the Lord Jesus.
Satan, we are told, accuses the Christian in the presence of God (Rev 12:10) as he did in the OT times (Zech 3:1-5 and Job 1:6). Furthermore, the world is under the power of the “evil one.” The psalmist wrote, “Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me” (Ps 22:13). Peter likewise described Satan as a “roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Humans are no match for this most powerful enemy.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Deliver us from the evil one” (Matt 6:31). John declared that believers “have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Rev 12:11); nevertheless, the believer must always be alert “against the devil’s schemes” (Eph 6:11) and protected with spiritual armor (Eph 6:11-18).
Martin Luther wrote:
"The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo! His doom is sure, One little Word shall fell him."
Psalms 119:86, “All Your commandments are faithful; They persecute me wrongfully; Help me!”
For a year's daily devotional of these Bible studies, order a copy of the book Truths to Live By at Branches Publications for your copy.
0 comments:
Post a Comment