EXPLORE THE TEXT
Believers are to demonstrate love, compassion, and humility toward one another.
8 Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic,
love one another, and be compassionate and humble,
9 not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult
but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.
10 For the one who wants to love life and to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit,
11 and let him turn away from evil and do what is good. Let him seek peace and pursue it,
12 because 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 what is evil.
The five terms Peter used create a chiasm, a literary tool where parallel elements work together to emphasize the main point.
In this case, being like-minded and humble are parallel, as are sympathy and compassion.
These also serve to put special emphasis on love.
Practicing all these traits ensures a healthy church andpositive relationships.
define the qualities that Peter emphasized.
Talk about how each one is vital to the way Christians relate to one another and to the world around us.
Note the chiastic form of the terms, using “Key Concept.”
Note that Peter alluded to Psalm 34:12-16 as instructions for dealing with persecution.
Psalm 34:12-16 NASB
12 Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
Emphasize that Peter’s ultimate goal was to reveal how Jesus responded to suffering
and to challenge the believers in Asia Minor to follow His example when they were persecuted.
Review these points from Apply the Text on page 54 of the Personal Study Guide:
Invite the group to review Pack Item 11 (Handout: Building Relationships) and to suggest practical ways to improve their relationships. Share that while our context may be different, the principles remain true.
Guide the group to discuss the second set of questions on page 54 of the PSG. Review the qualities Peter emphasized and how believers can apply them each day.
Close in guided prayer. Invite the group to pray silently as you guide their thinking.
Reinforce the session by texting or emailing the group. Invite them to reflect on the Scripture from this session and the discussion on relationships. Encourage them to put into practice one of Peter’s instructions three or four times during the week. Thank the group for participating in these sessions on 1,2 Peter. Include a prayer that adults will grow closer in their personal relationships and as a church body.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. (See Genesis 1:26-28; Matthew 19:3-9.)
Use other Scripture to help understand a Bible passage.
Submission is a consistent theme throughout 1 Peter 2:11-3:12. It’s applied generally to all relationships and specifically to wives in relationship to their husbands. Compare and contrast Peter’s discussion on marital submission alongside Paul’s in Ephesians 5:22-33. What do you glean about the importance of submission as a Christian quality? Why might a wife’s submission to her husband actually put her into a uniquely powerful position to glorify God and proclaim the work of Jesus?