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; Acts 20:32; 1 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.