As Christians, it's not difficult to see that we're slowly but surely becoming marginalized in our culture.
And you can see this in the way ministers are looked at, the way churches are looked at, the way Christians are perceived.
In fact, even just a couple hundred years ago, the pastors in the neighborhood or in the city used to be the most educated people in the city or the town.
And the theology, the study of theology used to be considered the loftiest of all academic disciplines.
But that's clearly not the case now.
And in fact, the pastors are not so well regarded and those who follow Christianity, follow Christ, historic Christianity are considered regressive.
And in this kind of environment where Christians are seen as gullible at best and perhaps bigoted at worst, how are we supposed to live?
And how are we supposed to be witnessing in this kind of context?
And that's precisely the question that 1 Peter 3, verses 8 to 22 answers for us.
And here he teaches us that we are to be suffering witnesses for Christ because Christ is the suffering Savior for us.
So I think he does this by going through ways in which we're supposed to suffer.
And the first thing he tells us that we're supposed to suffer for one another as believers.
And the second thing he tells us that we are to suffer at the hands of others, non-believers.
And then the last thing he tells us to motivate us and give us hope in the midst of our suffering,
he tells us that Christ also suffered at the hands of others.
So first look with me at verse 8.
It says,
Finally, all of you have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
So if you recall, we've gone through a series of, kind of a mini-series within a series of 1 Peter.
Each sermon entitled Freedom to Be Something.
So freedom to be subject to human institutions.
Freedom to submit and sacrifice in the husband and wife relationship.
And now here also a freedom to suffer.
And it's all in the same vein.
The reason that Peter gives is the same.
The command to suffer is grounded in the fact that we don't suffer at the hands of others because they deserve it.
Because they deserve that honor and they have that control or power over us.
Not because of that, but because we are submitted people to God as believers.
And in the way we honor God, we suffer at the hands of others.
So it's along that vein and as a summary to the believers that are listening to this or that are reading this.
So Peter is saying this verse 8 as a summary statement to all believers.
Finally, all of you have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
And this is important for our witness in the world because the way we live with one another is an important part of witness.
Because the world is watching.
They watch how we relate.
They watch how we talk to one another.
They watch how we serve one another.
And that becomes, again, a part of our witness to the world.
And if you look at this list in verse 8, usually if you have modern writers writing a list of things.
Let's say the list of things that you took with you when you moved.
Let's say I took my wife, my kids, and my computer, my guitars, and my, I don't know, my socks or whatever.
You list the things that are most important in the beginning and you list the things that are least important in the end.
In the Bible times when people wrote, they actually list things in kind of a sandwich structure.
So the most important thing you don't list first.
You actually list it in the middle.
And then the less important things are listed on the outside.
And so here you kind of see that structure.
It's a chiastic structure where finally all of you have unity of mind.
That's the first thing.
And at the end, it's a humble mind.
So those two things correspond.
And then in the middle, in the sympathy.
And then next, a tender heart.
So those two things also correspond.
And in the middle is brotherly love, which sums all of that up.
So that's the thing that commands it.
And I think what he means here is the first is unity of mind.
So it's, and that I don't think means uniformity, right?
That we need to have the same opinion, identical opinions about everything that we think,
the politics or religion or theology.
Rather, I think it's a call to disposition to be sensitive and to be discerning toward the beliefs,
toward the minds of others.
And that's why the corresponding item is humble mind.
We need to have, and humble mind, it's literally, it means lowly mind, base mind.
And that used to be a derogatory term in the ancient world.
But Christians have transformed that and used humility as a virtue.
In fact, they said that humility is the source of all virtues.
And that's because of the example of Christ.
Because he lived a life of humility, of humbling himself to his father,
even though he was equal with the father, he was God.
And so that kind of humility, have that kind of mind with one another.
That's what Peter's calling us to as believers.
And then, not just in our thinking, but also in our feeling.
Have sympathy.
That means to feel with, right?
To have a tender heart, to be compassionate toward one another.
That's how we're supposed to relate to one another, in our feeling.
And all of that, in a wonderful way, gets summarized in brotherly love.
And I've mentioned this before, but this is significant, right?
Because brotherly love is not like the love that you have for your friends.
Or even like the love that you have for your spouse.
Because you've got to choose whom you marry.
And you've got to choose whom you be friends with.
But you don't get to choose whom your brothers and sisters are, right?
Because that's not your choice.
But rather, it's the fact that you have the same father that makes them your brothers and sisters.
So sometimes siblings don't really get along very well, right?
And often that's the case.
The siblings don't get along very well.
But you still live with each other.
You suffer each other.
I mean, that's kind of what's intended here.
Is to have brotherly love, right?
So as Christians, and I think this is true.
If you look back at your own experience, this was certainly true of me.
Like my best friends in college were believers.
And one of them was like a heavyset African-American woman from Brooklyn.
One of them was a really like six feet something tall football player from California.
And another one was like, I mean, these were my best friends in college.
Not because we had anything in common.
In fact, I don't think we had anything in common.
Like, I mean, except for Christ, right?
We had the same Heavenly Father.
They were my brothers and sisters, right?
And that's exactly how we're supposed to love one another.
You know what, we're not here because we necessarily like all of us, like each other more than anybody else out there in terms of personality or interests or hobbies.
Anything like that.
No, but because we have the same God, same Father.
We're family by virtue of that reality.
And that's why we're supposed to have brotherly love.
And that's such a tender thing that I cherish about the biblical injunctions.
It tells us to love in a brotherly way.
And that's exactly how we witness to the watching world.
John 13, 35, it says,
By this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.
And there is, so that's one way in which we're supposed to suffer as witnesses.
We suffer one another, right?
We suffer for one another.
And that's a part of our witness to the world.
And there's yet another way we're supposed to be suffering witnesses for Christ.
And that's by suffering at the hands of others as well.
Not just for one another, but also others outside.
From non-believers.
Look at verse 9.
It says,
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless.
For to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
So, because he's speaking of evil and reviling, we know that he's making a transition from addressing believers, the community of believers, to unbelievers who might revile us, who might speak evil of us.
And even in this context, he tells us, when they curse you, bless them.
Pray for them, right?
When they say a bad thing about you, return a good word to them.
In fact, offer the good word, good news of Jesus Christ to them, right?
That's the kind of relationship we're called to be in with unbelievers.
And it's really nothing more than an application of Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 44, where he says,
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, right?
And Christians in Peter's day were particularly well acquainted with this.
Because if you look at some of the history books and look at the ways in which the pagan authors accused Christians or maligned Christians,
they spoke of them as people who are incestuous because they were married to one another,
but then they also called one another brother and sister, right?
So they thought that they were incestuous and they actually wrote about this.
They also accused Christians of being cannibals because they spoke of eating the body and blood of Christ, right?
So, I mean, it's funny, but like people who are outside, right, wouldn't have any way of verifying it.
So they kind of just kind of took off, these rumors spread, and Christians were really maligned.
And one of the most important ways in which they were maligned is that because they refused to worship the pagan gods
that Greek society, the Roman Empire was really built on.
And the people in the Roman Empire believed that if you don't appease these gods,
you're going to have bad things happen to you, bad things happen to your society and country.
So because of that, Christians were also despised because they said,
you are putting your personal interests ahead of the interest of society, empire.
And so Christians were despised for that reason.
So they were familiar with name-calling and persecution.
Yet Peter tells them, do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless.
For this, to this you are called that you may obtain a blessing.
And why should we do this?
And the reason that he gives is, for to this you are called, right?
And we talked about this earlier in 1 Peter, where it says in chapter 1, verses 14 to 19,
God says,
If you call on him as a father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds,
conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
knowing that you are ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers,
not with the perishable things such as silver or gold,
but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
So the call that he's talking about is that the Father, Holy God called us.
He redeemed us, ransomed us with the precious blood of Christ,
so that we are now called to be holy because our Father is holy.
And because you belong to God now, this is what you're called to.
Even when you're reviled, you cannot stoop to their level and engage in profane acts
and be unholy in your dealing with others.
No, rather you are to bless them rather than cursing them, right?
And Peter knows that this is a difficult command,
so he gives us yet another reason.
And he tries to motivate us.
He says,
Because if you do this, you're going to obtain a blessing.
And that's reassuring.
And then he goes on to quote from Psalm 34, 12 to 16.
That's in verse 10 to 12, so you can follow along there.
For whoever desires to love life and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil and do good.
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
This is almost a word for word quotation of Psalm 34, 12 to 16.
But what's very interesting is that he leaves out one part of a verse,
of the last verse, Psalm 34, 16.
Because it is supposed to end by saying this.
It says,
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
Right?
But he leaves that out.
So why is Peter leaving that out?
And I think that's very intentional,
because he knows that the time for the judgment of the ungodly is not yet.
It's not now.
Right?
So right now is not a time of divine vengeance.
Rather, it's a time of divine patience.
So it says in chapter 3, verse 9 of Peter,
it says,
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some kind of slowness,
but is patient towards you,
not wishing that any should perish,
but that all should reach repentance.
Right?
And that's the reality that we live in now,
is that, yes, the kingdom has come,
but it has not yet been fulfilled.
And so we live in this kind of in-between age
where we are going to suffer at the hands of others.
The judgment of the wicked is not yet.
Yet we have this hope to hold on to,
and that's what Peter is referring to.
And of course, generally speaking, as believers,
if we do good toward other people and speak well of other people,
they're not going to be antagonistic or hate us.
Right?
I mean, generally, if we're nice to people, they're nice back to us.
And that's kind of what Peter's talking about in verse 13.
He says,
Now, who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
So he knows that that's generally the case.
But Peter's also aware that sometimes even good deed and good speech
will meet with hostility.
Right?
So he says, continues in verses 14 to 17.
Right?
And sometimes we will be persecuted for righteousness' sake.
And we talked about how doing good might lead to suffering
in the context of our employment,
in the context of our relationship in marriage,
in the context of our relationship to human institution
over the last three weeks.
And so Peter's kind of continuing that train of thought.
Yeah, we might suffer for doing good for society,
for doing good for people.
And when that happens,
he wants us to remember to not fear.
Do not have fear in your hearts, he says,
but he says, honor Christ as holy in your hearts.
And those two things are directly related
because if we have fear of people in our hearts,
we're going to do what they want us to do.
We're not going to be able to honor Christ.
But if we honor Christ as holy in our hearts
and we deem what Christ demands of us more highly
than what people demand of us
or what people tell us to do,
then we will be able to honor Christ as holy.
And so he reminds us in verse 12,
the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous.
He's watching us.
And his ears are open to their prayers.
So it's a picture of a God who is not aloof, right?
So he's not telling us,
well, I put you in this world
and if you follow me, you might suffer.
And he's saying, well, just hang in there
and then when you get back,
when you come to me,
then everything will be good.
No, he's with us.
He's intimately aware of what's going on.
His eyes are open toward us.
He's watching us and his ears are attentive.
He's open to our prayers.
But his face, it says, is set against those who do evil.
What a fearful thought as we think about.
And that's the same thing.
If we fear God, then we will not fear men in the same way.
If for, for, Ine just went to the beach this week
and she, and now, just first time, thanks to Lexi,
I think she actually enjoyed the beach.
And, and, and, and if she's,
because she's seen the waves now
and she's been in the big ocean,
she's not going to be scared of going into a kiddie pool,
which she actually used to be scared of, right?
In the same way, when we have encountered God
and been in the presence of God,
when we have, when we fear God,
we're going to be able to honor Him
rather than fearing what people will say of us
or want of us.
And, and so this is how we're supposed to demonstrate
our living hope, right?
So He calls us to demonstrate our living hope.
But He, God, Peter also calls us,
and God calls us through Him
also to defend our living hope, right?
And you see this in verse 15.
But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy,
always being prepared to make a defense
to anyone who asks you
for a reason for the hope that is in you.
Yet do it with gentleness and respect, right?
And making a defense is a legal,
it's legal terminology.
So it's the language of court.
So it's when you go into court
and your attorney makes a defense for you, right?
That's the kind of defense that's in mind here.
And He says to be able to ready to make a defense.
So if it's that kind of defense,
it's not something that you do haphazardly, right?
I mean, if you go into court,
the attorneys are extremely well prepared, right?
They, I mean, they do their homework.
They are, they know what to say.
They know how, they know their case.
They know how to defend their client, right?
In the same way for us,
we ought to know the living hope that we have.
We ought to live the living hope that we have
and be so intimately familiar with it
that we were able to defend it
and give a case for it when people ask us, right?
And notice how categorical and extensive this is
because He says,
always be prepared to make a defense
to anyone who asks you for a reason
for the hope that is in you.
So always be prepared at any time, every day,
when you're tired during the day
and you're going,
you're meeting someone on the street at night,
when you're at home,
we're talking and someone,
an unwelcome neighbor comes to visit you,
knocks on your door.
Any time of the day,
any way, always be prepared
and to anyone,
not just to your closest friends,
not just to your family,
but to anyone who would ask,
be ready to give a defense.
Always and to anyone,
we have to be ready to make a defense.
So then, in a way, then,
as Christians,
we live daily as those who are on trial.
We live as if we're in court,
as if we're being watched, right?
Because we know,
because we know that
if any opportunity that we have with people,
any kind that we have with them
can either draw them to God
or repel them from God, right?
And so we take those opportunities seriously
and we're prepared to make a defense
to anyone who comes, right?
So what would this practically look like?
So then if we're to demonstrate a living hope
and to give a defense for a living hope, right?
And if I saw a good example of this,
and I don't know if you guys follow things on social media at all,
so one of the people that I follow on Twitter
is Russell Moore.
He's an ethicist
and a professor at Boyce College, I think,
which is a Christian college in Louisville, Kentucky.
And he's kind of a public intellectual for Christians,
and so he's often in the news outlets.
And there was a time when
Donald Trump basically said
really insulting things about him.
He says, oh, he doesn't know what he's talking about
or something or whatever.
And then someone,
while Russell Moore was getting interviewed,
they asked Russell Moore,
so what do you think about this?
I mean, they try to put people in,
you know, start fights
because that brings more viewers.
And then Russell Moore instead said,
you know, what he said about me is exactly true.
I am a great sinner in need of great help,
and that's exactly why Jesus Christ came to die for me.
And so he didn't defend himself.
Rather, he defended the living hope that he has.
He bore under that suffering.
Even though he was maligned,
he was reviled.
He didn't revile back.
Instead, he blessed.
And in doing so,
he was able to give a credible witness
of the living hope that he has.
And so for us,
if we find out that, for example,
a neighbor's been gossiping about us
or slandering us,
instead of, you know,
lashing out and slandering them back
to our other neighbors,
you know, we say,
you know what,
there might be some truth to what you're saying,
and I need to become a better neighbor.
And say that, you know,
and then talk about how this is exactly why
you appreciate the grace of God,
and that he saves us not because we deserve it,
but because he loves us first.
Right?
And maybe it's,
and this is kind of,
some of you guys are very familiar with this,
but a couple of you guys at least went to
Bowdoin College,
where the Christian fellowship was kicked off campus
because of their,
because they subscribe to biblical sexual ethics,
and which is wildly malign now,
widely malign now in today's culture
because they see it as,
think of it as,
the world sees it as regressive.
And so because of that,
the fellowship was kicked off campus,
and they're not the only one.
Many campus fellowships,
Christian fellowships,
have been kicked off,
you know,
public universities
and private university campuses.
And,
and,
and I,
and many of them,
actually,
I don't know of any of them
actually going into law,
starting a lawsuit
to sue the school,
even though they probably could
come up with a compelling case
on the basis of the First Amendment,
they refuse to do that.
And when I talk to people
in those organizations,
what they say
is that
they're refusing to
take into court
to,
to sue
the very people
that they're called to witness to.
They're saying,
God called us to witness
to these people
in colleges,
these administrators,
these students.
Yeah,
how can we then go and sue them
for this,
right?
So,
they're living this,
this reality.
They're saying,
they're being,
they're suffering because of Christ.
They're suffering for doing good,
upholding God's vision
for what is good in society.
That's what they're doing
and for that reason,
they're getting kicked off campus,
not being able to take advantage
of school funds,
facilities,
yet they're doing that
for the sake
of credible witness.
They suffer
so that they can be
credible witnesses
to the campuses
that they're at.
And,
I don't mean to say
that this means
we should just be pushovers
and get,
you know,
suffer everything,
you know,
let people take advantage of us
whenever they want
and be,
just be people
without backbones.
Because if you look at
the example of Apostle Paul,
he frequently
uses his Roman citizenship,
right,
to get his legal rights.
So,
for example,
when they imprison him
without questioning
and beat him
without due process,
he says,
well,
I'm a Roman citizen.
And then the guards are like,
oh,
no,
he's a Roman citizen.
And then they get scared
and they let him go,
right?
So he,
and at one point,
he even appeals to Caesar
on the ground
that he has the right
as a Roman citizen
to appeal to Caesar
when he's not satisfied
with the local judgments.
So he does do that.
So there is a nuance there,
but the same principle applies,
I would say,
because why is Paul doing that?
Why is he using his legal rights
to get an audience with Caesar
and to get out of prison?
Because he does that
so that he has a platform
for witness.
He does that so that
he could advance the gospel,
right?
So that's the underlying motive.
And that's exactly the same
for us in our suffering,
right?
So we suffer,
not in just any case,
not just to get taken
all over the place,
but rather we suffer
so that we could advance
the gospel.
So then when we're suffering
at the hands of others,
the question to ask
is not,
you know,
can I win this case?
Or, you know,
do I,
what do I have to gain?
Right?
Those are not
the questions we ask.
Rather,
the question we ask
is what in this situation
would most advance
the gospel?
What in this,
what action,
what speech,
what in this situation
will make
the living hope
that we have in Christ
more glorious
than the other things
that we can do?
Right?
That's the criterion.
It's not personal gain.
It's not about selfishness.
It's about what we can do
or how we can be used
of God in that situation.
But,
if you're honest
with yourself,
yes,
as I also have to admit,
is that suffering
is difficult
even when
we deserve the suffering.
But if that's the case,
then how can we suffer
unjustly
at the hands of others?
And this is why
Peter comes to his
final exhortation
and motivation
verses 18 to 22.
He says,
for Christ also suffered
once for sins,
the righteous
for the unrighteous,
that he might bring us
to God,
being put to death
in the flesh
but made alive
in the spirit,
in which he went
and proclaimed
to the spirits
in prison,
because they formerly
did not obey
when God's patience
waited in the days
of Noah,
while the ark
was being prepared,
in which a few,
that is eight persons,
were brought safely
through water.
So this is probably
really confusing
for some of you guys.
This is a notoriously
difficult passage
and let me just
take a brief excursus
to explain
what's going on
before I connect
the logic
of what Peter
is trying to say.
And see,
if you look at
verse 18,
it says that
Christ,
being put to death
in the flesh
but made alive
in the spirit,
so this is before,
after his death
on the cross
in the flesh,
but before
his bodily resurrection
because he says
he was alive
in the spirit,
right?
So in that intervening time
between his death
and resurrection,
Christ,
it says,
went to
and proclaimed
to the spirits
in prison
because they formerly
did not obey
when God's patience
waited in the days
of Noah.
So the days of Noah
is the clue here.
If you go to
Genesis 6,
1 to 3,
it says this,
it says,
when man began
to multiply
on the face
of the land
and daughters
were born to them,
the sons of God
saw that the daughters
of man were attractive
and they took
as their wives
any they chose.
Then the Lord said,
my spirit shall not
abide in man forever
for he is flesh.
His days shall be
120 years.
The Nephilim
were on the earth
in those days
and also afterward
when the sons of God
came into the daughters
of man
and they bore children
to them.
These were the mighty men
who were of old,
the men of renown.
So nearly all
Jewish rabbis
and scholars
throughout the ages
understood
these spirits
in prison
as the angels
of God
or the sons of God,
the angels
who left
their proper station
and had conjugal
relations basically
with human
woman.
And in doing so
were punished
by God
and put in
prison.
And this is kind of
you see
this similar
verse
in Jude 6
it says
the angels
who did not stay
within their own
position of authority
but left their
proper dwelling
God has kept
in eternal chains
under gloomy darkness
until the judgment
of the great day.
So I think that's
what he's referring
to here
and there's
a few other ways
you can understand this
and if you want
to know about those
I'd be happy
to tell you
afterward
so come up
and ask me.
But the word
angel
when it's used
in plural
without specifying
that it's
I mean word
spirit
when it's in the plural
without specifying
that it's human spirit
it almost always
throughout the Bible
refers to
angelic beings
so spirits.
And secondly
also
the phrase
of imprisonment
the language
of imprisonment
is not used
for a place
that humans go to
but it is used
of a place
that angels go to
as described
in Revelation 27
2 Peter 2
4
Jude 6
so those are
the reasons
why I think
that this is
the best interpretation
I don't think
that means
that this is
happening
all over the place
now
I mean
this seems
to have been
once in a
history of humanity
kind of event
where God
decisively
put an end
to it
and punished
those angelic
beings
and
so
the reason
why
Peter's
mentioning
this
is
that
at the time
Noah was
building the ark
he was ridiculed
right
because he's
saying
you're a fool
there's no
flood coming
why are you
building this ark
right
and he
lived a righteous
life
in contrast
to everybody
else in his
generation
and
because of that
he was maligned
as well
but Noah
who was maligned
just like
the believers
were being maligned
in Peter's day
was ultimately
vindicated
right
he and his
family alone
survived the flood
and they were
vindicated by
God himself
and that's why
Peter's mentioning
Noah here
he's saying
that you know
what just like
Noah
who though maligned
later was
vindicated
believers nowadays
though you suffer
now
though you are
maligned now
by unbelievers
you will be
eventually vindicated
is what he's saying
and
and even more
significant
than the example
of Noah
of course
is the example
of Christ
and that's
that's the ultimate
example that he gives
as a true source
because it says
verse 18
for Christ
also suffered
once for sins
the righteous
for the unrighteous
that he might
bring us
to God
and then
Christ suffered
also
in our place
so we're not
the only one
suffering
our Lord
and King
and Savior
also suffered
and then if you
look at what
happened
in verse 22
it says
Christ has now
gone into heaven
and is at the
right hand
of God
with angels
authorities
and powers
having been
subjected
to him
now this is
an even more
comforting
even more comforting
than Noah's
vindication
because Christ
now has all
authority
everything has
been subjected
to him
even though
he was humbled
to the point
of death
even death
on a cross
Christ
the righteous
one
suffering
at the hands
of the unrighteous
and he
suffers
so that
we might
be saved
and
that's why
I would say
it's very easy
I think
in our context
we live
in an egalitarian
society
and everybody
is all about
getting our rights
so we want
we don't
I mean
as good citizens
we don't expect
to be treated
better than other
people
we don't expect
preferential treatment
but we do
expect equal
treatment
so when we
feel like
we're cheated
we want
treated fairly
then we protest
because we expect
to be treated
equally
but I think
this passage
teaches us
that while
it might be
quintessentially
American
to insist
on our rights
it is
quintessentially
Christian
to give up
our rights
for the sake
of others
and this
it says
and that's
exactly what
Christ did for us
if you look at
his example
in Philippians 2
even though
he was in
the very nature
God
he did not
consider equality
with God
something to be grasped
but rather
he humbled himself
by taking the very
nature of a servant
and humbled himself
to a point of death
in obedience
even death upon a cross
so if
that's what
Christ did
and that's the basis
for Paul's command
in Philippians
therefore
consider others
interests
better than yourselves
so as Christians
we're not supposed
to just think
their interest
as important
as my interest
we're supposed
to consider
other people's
interests
better than our own
higher than our own
and that's what
we're called to
and if
and that's
because that's
exactly what
Christ did for us
he didn't have to die
he's the only person
that ever lived
that didn't have to die
didn't have to pay
for sin
didn't have to suffer
yet he suffered
for us
yet he died
for our sins
so we can be
reconciled to God
our father
so if then
our savior
and our king
humbled himself
in that way
unjustly suffered
in that way
for the sake
of bringing us
to him
restoring us
to God
then can we
as his
lowly servants
not suffer
in the same way
in order
to be a credible
witness
so we can
help restore
others
to God
as well
I think
that's a very
difficult
task
so I think
it's only fitting
that we
conclude
at this time
by praying
together
that God
would help us
with this
so if you
look at your
worship guide
God
消 по
God
it's only
got this
ело
to Gottes
something
is
my
hope
make
sure
and
Matthew