1 PETER 5:8–14
RESIST HIM, FIRM IN YOUR FAITH
Peter is coming to the end of his letter.
He has written to Christians who know what it means to live as strangers and exiles. They have faced misunderstanding, slander, pressure, and suffering.
Just before this section Peter told them:
“Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
That does not mean Christians can become careless.
God cares for them.
But they still have an enemy.
So Peter gives one final warning:
“Be sober-minded; be watchful.”
And then he tells them why.
5:8 — “YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL”
Peter writes:
“Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
The word translated adversary was sometimes used for an opponent in a legal dispute.
The word devil, diabolos, carries the idea of a slanderer or accuser.
Peter's readers have human opponents.
But Peter reminds them that there is a greater conflict behind the struggles Christians face.
Their ultimate enemy is not merely another human being.
That is important because Peter has repeatedly told Christians not to retaliate against people who mistreat them.
The person insulting us is not the ultimate enemy.
The person disagreeing with us is not the ultimate enemy.
Peter directs our attention deeper.
“LIKE A ROARING LION”
Peter does not say Satan is a lion.
He says:
“like a roaring lion.”
It is a comparison.
The picture is of a predator searching for an opportunity to attack.
And Peter says the devil is:
“seeking someone to devour.”
That explains the commands:
Be sober-minded.
Be watchful.
This is not a call to become obsessed with Satan.
It is a call to spiritual alertness.
Throughout the letter Peter has repeatedly called Christians to clear thinking.
Here, at the end, he tells them again:
Stay awake spiritually.
HOW DOES THE DEVIL “DEVOUR” SOMEONE?
Peter does not explain every method Satan might use.
But the context gives us an important clue.
The entire letter has been about remaining faithful while suffering.
Satan would succeed if suffering, fear, temptation, or social pressure caused Christians to abandon their faithfulness to Christ.
That is why Peter's next command is not:
Run away.
It is:
“Resist him.”
5:9 — “RESIST HIM”
Peter says:
“Resist him, firm in your faith…”
James uses similar language:
“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
— James 4:7
How does Peter tell Christians to resist?
Not with physical force.
Not with some secret ritual.
He says:
“firm in your faith.”
Stand your ground.
Continue trusting Christ.
Do not allow suffering to move you away from Him.
Peter has spent the entire letter preparing his readers to do exactly that.
YOU ARE NOT SUFFERING ALONE
Peter continues:
“knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”
Suffering can make us feel isolated.
We may begin thinking:
Nobody understands what I am going through.
Peter reminds these Christians that they belong to a much larger family.
Other Christians are suffering too.
This does not make their pain unimportant.
It gives them perspective.
They are not abandoned.
They are not alone.
They are part of:
“your brotherhood throughout the world.”
5:10 — “AFTER YOU HAVE SUFFERED A LITTLE WHILE”
Then comes one of the most encouraging sentences in the letter:
“And after you have suffered a little while…”
To someone in the middle of suffering, it may not feel like “a little while.”
Peter is viewing present suffering in comparison with what God has promised.
Our present circumstances are temporary.
God's purpose is eternal.
That has been Peter's perspective from the beginning of the letter.
“THE GOD OF ALL GRACE”
Peter continues:
“the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ…”
Look at the contrast.
Suffering: a little while.
Glory: eternal.
Peter does not deny suffering.
He puts it into a larger story.
And the One controlling that story is:
“the God of all grace.”
Peter began the letter with grace.
He ends with grace.
GOD HIMSELF WILL ACT
Peter says God:
“will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
Notice:
“himself.”
God is personally involved with His people.
Peter uses four strong words.
RESTORE
God will put things right.
The word can carry the idea of repairing, restoring, or making complete.
CONFIRM
God will make them firm.
STRENGTHEN
God will give them strength to stand.
ESTABLISH
God will place them on a firm foundation.
Peter does not say Christians possess enough strength within themselves to overcome everything.
Their confidence ultimately rests in God.
5:11 — WHO REALLY HAS THE POWER?
Peter writes:
“To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
That statement matters in a letter written to people who may feel powerless.
Human rulers appear powerful.
Hostile neighbors may appear powerful.
The devil prowls like a lion.
But who actually possesses eternal dominion?
God.
Satan's activity is real.
His dominion is not ultimate.
Peter ends the warning about the devil by directing attention back to God's rule.
5:12 — WHO WAS SILVANUS?
Peter now begins his closing remarks:
“By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you…”
Silvanus is probably the man also known as Silas in Acts and Paul's letters, although absolute certainty is difficult.
Silas had been one of Paul's missionary companions.
He traveled with Paul after Paul and Barnabas separated.
He was beaten and imprisoned with Paul at Philippi.
He also appears with Paul in the opening greetings of 1 and 2 Thessalonians.
Now Peter calls Silvanus:
“a faithful brother.”
What does Peter mean by:
“By Silvanus…I have written”?
Possibly Silvanus carried the letter.
Possibly he assisted Peter in composing it.
Possibly both.
Ancient authors often used secretaries or trusted associates in producing and delivering letters.
Peter does not give us enough information to determine Silvanus's precise role.
So again we should distinguish what the text says from what we reconstruct.
What Peter clearly tells us is that Silvanus was someone he trusted.
“THIS IS THE TRUE GRACE OF GOD”
Peter describes the purpose of his letter:
“exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God.”
Then:
“Stand firm in it.”
That is almost a summary of the entire letter.
Peter has written about:
living hope,
holiness,
suffering,
submission,
good conduct,
Christ's example,
baptism,
love,
hospitality,
leadership,
humility,
and resisting the devil.
Now he calls all of it:
“the true grace of God.”
Grace is not merely forgiveness of the past.
Grace becomes the environment in which Christians stand.
5:13 — “SHE WHO IS AT BABYLON”
Peter writes:
“She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings…”
Who is “she”?
Most likely Peter is referring to a congregation—a sister church.
But where is Babylon?
There are two main possibilities.
DOES PETER MEAN THE LITERAL BABYLON?
The ancient city of Babylon was in Mesopotamia.
Jewish communities had lived in that general region for centuries.
So it is possible to understand Peter geographically.
However, we have no strong evidence from the letter itself placing Peter in literal Babylon.
OR DOES “BABYLON” MEAN ROME?
Many interpreters understand Babylon as a symbolic name for Rome.
That kind of symbolism is certainly found in Revelation, where Babylon represents the great oppressive city associated with imperial power.
There is also strong early Christian tradition connecting Peter's later ministry and death with Rome.
If Peter is writing from Rome, calling it “Babylon” would fit the exile theme running throughout the letter.
God's people are living as strangers within a powerful world empire, much as God's ancient people once lived in Babylon.
But we should state the conclusion carefully.
Peter does not write:
“Babylon—that is, Rome.”
So Rome is a strong and historically common interpretation, but it remains an interpretation of the name rather than an explicit identification in the verse.
WHY WOULD “BABYLON” BE APPROPRIATE?
If Peter does mean Rome, the name is meaningful.
Babylon had become one of Scripture's great pictures of human power standing against God.
Peter has called Christians:
“exiles.”
Now, at the end, he may be writing from another “Babylon.”
The message would be fitting:
God's people have lived as exiles before.
Empires rise.
Empires fall.
God's people remain.
And God's kingdom remains.
“SO DOES MARK, MY SON”
Peter continues:
“and so does Mark, my son.”
This is almost certainly John Mark, although Peter does not explicitly give the longer name here.
Mark appears several times in the New Testament.
His mother's house was a gathering place for Christians in Jerusalem in Acts 12.
He traveled with Paul and Barnabas.
He later became the cause of a serious disagreement between them when Paul did not want to take him on another journey.
Later, however, Paul speaks positively of Mark.
In 2 Timothy 4:11 Paul says:
“Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.”
Now Peter affectionately calls Mark:
“my son.”
This suggests a close spiritual relationship.
PETER AND MARK’S GOSPEL
Early Christian writers also connected Mark with Peter, describing Mark as preserving Peter's preaching about Jesus.
That tradition is important when studying the origin of the Gospel of Mark.
But we should distinguish the evidence.
1 Peter itself tells us that Peter and Mark had a close relationship.
It does not itself say:
“Mark wrote his Gospel from Peter's preaching.”
That information comes from early Christian testimony outside the New Testament.
The relationship described here certainly makes that ancient tradition historically interesting, but the two claims should not be confused.
5:14 — “GREET ONE ANOTHER WITH THE KISS OF LOVE”
Peter closes:
“Greet one another with the kiss of love.”
A kiss was a normal greeting in that culture.
Peter turns it into an expression of Christian family affection.
The exact cultural form may differ from place to place.
The principle remains:
Christians should genuinely love one another.
Then Peter's final words:
“Peace to all of you who are in Christ.”
What a fitting ending.
Peter has written an entire letter about suffering.
And his final word is:
Peace.
LOOK BACK AT WHERE WE STARTED
Peter began:
“To those who are elect exiles…”
He ends:
“Peace to all of you who are in Christ.”
Between those two statements, Peter has shown Christians how to live when they do not quite belong in the surrounding world.
They have:
a living hope,
an imperishable inheritance,
a holy calling,
a spiritual house,
a Chief Shepherd,
a faithful Creator,
and the God of all grace.
They may suffer.
But suffering does not define their future.
They may be rejected.
But God has chosen them.
They may feel weak.
But God will strengthen them.
They have an adversary.
But their adversary does not have the last word.
Jesus Christ does.
THE MESSAGE OF 1 PETER
If we had to summarize the entire letter in a few sentences, perhaps we could say:
You belong to God.
Therefore live like people who belong to God—even when doing so costs you something.
Do not allow the world around you to determine your character.
Follow the example of Jesus.
He suffered before entering glory.
And when suffering comes:
do good,
keep loving,
remain humble,
trust God,
stand firm,
and keep your hope fixed on Christ.
Because after suffering:
“the God of all grace…will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Peter does not tell Christians to spend their lives frightened by the devil.
He says:
“Resist him, firm in your faith.”
And then Peter spends far more words talking about what God will do than about what Satan can do.
That balance is worth remembering.
We should take evil seriously.
But Christians do not need to live fascinated by it or terrified of it.
Our attention belongs somewhere else.
The God of all grace has called us to His eternal glory in Christ.
The lion may roar.
But he does not get the final word.
QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT
Why does Peter describe the devil as an adversary?
What does the comparison with a roaring lion communicate—and what should we avoid making the comparison say?
In the context of 1 Peter, how might Satan attempt to “devour” a Christian?
How does Peter tell Christians to resist the devil?
Why does Peter remind suffering Christians that other believers are experiencing similar things?
What contrast does Peter make between suffering “a little while” and God's “eternal glory”?
What do the words restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish tell us about God's involvement with His people?
What role might Silvanus have played in producing or delivering 1 Peter? What can we say with certainty, and what remains uncertain?
Why does Peter describe the message of this letter as “the true grace of God”?
What evidence favors understanding “Babylon” as Rome? What does Peter himself actually say?
What does 1 Peter 5:13 tell us about Peter's relationship with Mark—and what does it not tell us about the origin of Mark's Gospel?
After reading the entire letter, what does Peter mean when he tells Christians:
“Stand firm”?
1 PETER — COMPLETE
That gives us nine natural study pages:
1 Peter 1:1–12 — Living Hope for People Who Don't Quite Belong
1 Peter 1:13–25 — What Does a Living Hope Look Like?
1 Peter 2:1–10 — You Are Living Stones
1 Peter 2:11–25 — Living as Exiles in a World That Does Not Share Our Faith
1 Peter 3:1–12 — Following Christ at Home—and When Life Gets Difficult
1 Peter 3:13–22 — What Does Peter Mean When He Says, “Baptism Now Saves You”?
1 Peter 4:1–11 — When Following Christ Changes the Way We Live
1 Peter 4:12–19 — Don't Be Surprised by the Fiery Trial
1 Peter 5:1–7 — How Should Shepherds Lead God's People?
1 Peter 5:8–14 — Resist Him, Firm in Your Faith
That is actually ten pages, not nine—and I would keep all ten. The divisions are natural and none needs to be combined merely to reduce the number.
NEXT STUDY
2 PETER 1:1–11
MAKE YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION SURE
Second Peter begins in a noticeably different way.
Peter says God has given believers:
“all things that pertain to life and godliness.”
Then he gives that memorable progression:
faith → virtue → knowledge → self-control → steadfastness → godliness → brotherly affection → love.
And then comes a statement we should examine very carefully:
“Be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election.”
If election means there is absolutely nothing a believer can do that affects his final relationship with God, why does Peter tell Christians to make their calling and election sure?
Rather than beginning with a theological system, we'll begin where we always want to begin:
What does Peter actually say?
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