1 Pedro 5
Kenneth Wuest · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 Pedro 5:8
Wuest: Be of a sober mind, be watchful. Your adversary who is a slanderer, namely, the devil, as a lion roaring in fierce hunger, is constantly walking about, always seeking someone to be devouring. (Eerdmans Publishing) Young's Literal: Be sober, vigilant, because your opponent the devil, as a roaring lion, doth walk about, seeking whom he may swallow up, My Paraphrase: (Peter commands saints to) Be sober, be self controlled, be circumspect, be cool, show sound moral judgment (Do it now. It is urgent). Be alert, vigilant, wide awake (Do it now. It is urgent). Your opponent (adversary) like a lion continually roaring and howling (trying to incite fear in his victims), is continuously walking around (pacing back and forth), continuously seeking to drink (you) down and devour (you). (Note: This is my personal "paraphrase") BE OF SOBER SPIRIT : Nepsate (2PAAM): 1 Peter 1:13; 4:7; Mt 24:48, 49,50; Lk 12:45,46; 21:34,36; Ro 13:11, 12, 13; 1 Th 5:6, 7, 8; 1 Ti 2:9,15; 3:2,11; Titus 1:8; 2:2,4,6,12 "Spirit" is added by the translators 1 Peter 5 Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries 1 Peter 5:5-14 Exhortations to the Flock - Jack Arnold 1 Peter 5:6-14 Growing Solid Through Suffering - Steven Cole 1 Peter 5:8 Fundamental Attitudes for Spiritual Maturity-Pt 2 - John MacArthur 1 Peter 5:8-14 Fundamental Attitudes for Spiritual Maturity-Pt 3 - John MacArthur STANDING AGAINST SATAN: STAY SOBER MINDED! Satan is not a joke and is not be to ignored but as the Holman NT Commentary says... Wake up! Pay attention! We are involved in a spiritual battle. You need to know the enemy and his characteristics. You need to understand that we are in a life-and-death battle. Be of sober spirit...on the alert - (cp 1Th 5:6-note) Bengel wrote that "Let this be your "care." (anxiety - cp 1Pe 5:7-note) God provides, therefore do not be anxious. The devil seeks, therefore watch. Be sober (3525)(nepho) in the physical sense literally was used to refer to either complete abstinence or in a relative sense to refer to temperance (drinking but not to the point of intoxication). In the NT nepho is used only figuratively meaning to be free from every form of mental and spiritual "intoxication". The idea then is to be calm and collected in spirit, circumspect, self-controlled, well-balanced, clear headed. Be self-possessed under all circumstances or for believers a more accurate description would be "Spirit" possessed, for indeed there is no other way we can stay sober in our own strength. We are 100% responsible for staying sober minded but we are 100% dependent on the Spirit's enablement to exercise restraint and keep ourselves free from excess, from evil passions, from rashness, etc. Nepho conveys the idea of freedom from excitability (a contrast to the excitement of drunkenness) and thus means to be calm and collected in spirit, temperate (marked by moderation, keeping within limits, not extreme or excessive), not given to excessive indulgence in drink or any other activity, dispassionate (not influenced by strong feeling; especially not affected by personal or emotional involvement), circumspect (careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences, prudently watchful and discreet in the face of danger or risk), with equanimity (evenness of mind especially under stress and suggests a habit of mind that is only rarely disturbed under great strain), cool (marked by steady dispassionate calmness and self-control) and unimpassioned. Yes, we can cast the burden of our anxiety and cares on God, but we are not absolved of the duty to remain sober and watchful. God's Spirit will enable us to carry out both of these commands (jettison self-reliance, self-effort!) but we are ultimately responsible to carry them out in loving obedience. To sum up all of the commands given to us in the NT (of which there are in the range of 1000!), believers are 100% dependent and 100% responsible to obey! The aorist tense, imperative (command) mood calls for urgent action. Peter is saying you must "Do this now. Keep your head clear!" And the next passage explains why believers need to remain watchful and vigilant, for we have a watchful, vigilant adversary! Here are the 6 uses of nepho in Scripture (none in Lxx) (note some are discussed in more detail below)... 1 Thessalonians 5:6 (note) so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober....8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 2 Timothy 4:5 (note) But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 1 Peter 1:13 (note) Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:7 (note) The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. 1 Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Pedro 5:8
Wuest has an interesting comment that the literal meaning of "to throw through" means “to riddle one with accusations.” (Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission) Diabolos is applied some 34 times to Satan, the god of this world, and in each case has the definite article in the Greek ("the" = defining a specific entity) and is never in the plural (the three uses below in the pastoral epistles are all plural) as when applied to men who, by opposing the cause of God, may be said to act the part of the devil or to side with him. Paul warns Timothy that in the last days difficult times will come and one of the characteristics is that men will be "malicious gossips (diabolos)" (see note 2 Timothy 3:3) Paul also instructed Timothy that Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips (diabolos), but temperate, faithful in all things." (1 Ti 3:11, malicious gossips = diábolos also in Titus 2:3-4). Diabolos thus is the term used to describe those who pick holes in others and spread criticisms and innuendos. What a telling statement about the diabolical effects of slanderous gossip or malignant misrepresentations in the church! Oh, how each of us need to set a guard over our tongue in God's house! A T Robertson has no mercy, calling these women "she devils" (but in an effort to be "politically correct" note that in Titus 2:3 (note) they would be "he devils"!) These men and women actually do the work of the arch slanderer, the Devil himself! Those who are unsaved are called children of the devil for as John explains By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. (1John 3:10). The most notorious use in this regard is Judas. Jesus, referring to Judas, declared to the 12 disciples that one of you is a devil (diabolos) (Jn 6:70). As