Peter's First Epilogue ...

The conclusion of Peter’s first letter to the church is marked by only 3 verses.  Generally after having made our in-depth study of the preceding 5 chapters and many verses, we would briefly read the last 3 and surmise this was an excellent overall volume of work Peter wrote for the church.  The last 3 verses are after all, merely an epilogue, a sort of administrative formality of who helped Peter write this work, and general set of announcements or news he wished to share.  It would appear at first, as though there is not too much “meat” written or intended in the last few verses.  But what if a second look, determined there was something more there than first meets the eye   What if, even in what seems fairly routine, are buried a few more nuggets of truth for us to discover?

Peter wraps up his first letter to the church in verse 12 saying … “By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.”  First, lest we think there was any tension between Peter and Paul over the spreading of the gospel outside of the predominantly Jewish community, it had ceased.  This letter was addressed to the church in Asia Minor, obviously composed of non-Jewish converts.  Second, consider that Peter references Silvanus otherwise called Silas as a faithful brother.  Paul, Silas, and Timothy were often working together to open new churches across southern Europe from Rome through Greece, Turkey, and the Northern areas of the Middle East.  Here Peter is recognizing the ministry of Paul, and of Silas as being faithful to the church.  He is endorsing what they say.  Peter states that this ministry is “the true grace of God wherein ye stand”. 

This endorsement is important in two contexts.  First, Peter equates his own ministry with that of Paul and Silas as being equal in truth and importance.  Peter is not asserting his right to authorize the work of another, only that he is stating his agreement with that ministry.  Some Christian’s assert that Peter was the leader of the disciples after Christ ascended back to heaven, and that somehow there was an immediate hierarchy within the church.  There was not.  Peter has just spent the last five chapters of this letter affirming how leadership responsibilities belong to “Elders” of which he counts himself.  Leadership was not supposed to be centered only in pastors, or bishops, or priests – of which, none of these terms are ever used by Peter in this text to discuss himself or other leaders of Christianity.  Peter in this final epilogue is stating his unity with the ministry of Silas, Paul, and Timothy.

Second, Peter is showing his close contact and coordination with the work of Paul and Silas as being in partnership for the cause of Christ.  There is a unity in the mission of the disciples and apostles of Christianity in spreading the gospel.  There is no competition between Peter and Paul, there is partnership.  Just because 2 great personalities, 2 great elders, have a different perspective on Christ, and different talents in the cause of God, does not mean there is no unity.  Rather, the work of Christ is enhanced by employing the varied skills of 2 servants, not attempting to make them both the same.  Some Christians assume, that to be effective in the cause of Christ, they must learn to become great speakers, or great writers, or great missionaries.  But this is not true.  It is not what you must become to be effective in His cause; it is to allow Him to use what you already are.  Your differences, your unique perspective, is what lends you to be effective in His cause.  There can be partnership and unity within the church without the use of cloning.  We need not be exactly alike, or equally skilled.  Instead we need to be fully willing to be used, and appreciative of the differences of others and what their value is to the church as well as our own.

The goal of the viral church is to appreciate the differences between us, while being united in the goal of spreading a living salvation experience.  This means however, that our own experience is not “THE” roadmap to God, it is merely “our” individual roadmap.  Each person surrenders to Christ, and each is saved by Christ.  But this is not a cookie cutter approach where one size fits all.  It is an individual approach where the grace of God reaches one soul at a time.  Just because Christ frees you from some particular sin first, does not mean he frees everyone of that sin first.  Where you may be unburdened by something, does not mean your brother is there yet.  Perhaps his journey will be longer.  It is not your job to rush a process in him that you see completed in yourself.  It is your job to love him through his own process, and be there for him, to encourage him on his journey of surrender.  YOU do not decide his timeline of surrender.  You can only work on your own.  Let Christ do the work of removing sin in others.  Let yourself become a vessel through which the love of Christ reaches others and motivates them to seek a change in the first place.

Our Godhead is united in purpose, but they are not a singular entity.  They are three entities, distinct in personality, attributes, and skills and abilities.  God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not the same person, but they are in perfect unity.  We too can be Christian brothers, and when our love for others replaces love for self, we can find ourselves in perfect unity for His cause and not our own.  This state of unity, like the work of Peter and Paul, allows us to leverage our talents for His cause.  Peter was not much of a writer in comparison with the works of Paul.  But this did not deter the cause of Christ from benefiting from what each did.  Paul was probably not as passionate a speaker as Peter was, but his logical style and lawyer like tendencies were also employed in the cause of Christ.  Both men were united in love for others.  This was the “true grace” that Peter refers to.

Peter continues his epilogue in verse 13 writing … “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.”  First, Peter identifies a church that is at “Babylon”.  Peter is not speaking of the literal city of Babylon, long since destroyed in wars.  However this designation gives an immediate prophetic context to the writings of Peter’s other partner in the cause of Christ, namely those of John and his book of Revelations of Jesus Christ.  John writes of several prophecies where the usage of Babylon is cited.  In this context Peter implies that the church at Babylon is the singular light in the darkness of the capital of the world at that time … Rome.  This does not imply that Babylon would remain designated to Rome and never move again, it does however signify that Rome was the capital of power in his day, and that the church at Babylon would be the church at this capital.  Rome would remain Babylon in this context for quite a long time.  This designation however, would make even more sense, as we see the state of the decay of the church that moves from the symbolism of a white horse of purity, to a ghost horse of death.

Next you will note that the church was “elected together” with you.  This could have two meaning for us.  First, it could mean that the work of perfection or of being made elect, righteous, and upright is being accomplished in the church at Rome, the same way it is being accomplished everywhere else in the world at this time or any other; through the surrender of its members to the power of Jesus Christ.  In this sense, Peter is stating that the location of the church is not the determining factor in its success in the cause of Christ, it is the state of surrender that determines that.  Location does not deter the cause of God.  The church can thrive in “sin city” just as well as anywhere else, if its members are willing to surrender to Christ and lean on His strength instead of their own.  Second, the idea of “elected” could refer to a democratic ideology within the governing structure of the church.  That is to say, that the members elect or vote to determine the roles of elder, or care-giver, or teacher within the body based on a collective view or consensus on the skills of their various members.  In either context, the ideas of equality of the work of Christ are not made better or worse based on the location of where the church resides.  Nor does a church get to assert prominence based on location.

Lastly, in this passage, Peter refers to the great love he has for his co-worker Marcus, or Mark.  It will be Mark who writes a gospel of Jesus Christ from the experiences Peter will share with him.  It is this clue that sets our path to study the writings of Peter through the gospel of Mark in our studies.  But also important here is that Peter once again expresses a level of unity with yet another elder in the early church.  Peter goes so far as to call Mark “his son”.  Given his own education and writing skills, it may well have been Mark who actually wrote this letter on behalf of Peter.  Peter dictates what to say, Mark transcribes it in written form.  This may also have been the method used in writing the gospel book we will study later.  In any case, unity in the cause of Christ remains a paramount idea in the mind of Peter.  He continues to identify himself as partner with these other early church leaders, not as sole leader or head of the church to which all other authorities must submit.  The only “sole” authority we are to submit to within the church and our lives, remains Jesus Christ.

Peter concludes his first book, and this epilogue in verse 14 writing … “Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.”  To greet each other with a kiss of charity is to express for each other a level of intimacy within the cause of Christ.  Physical contact of any kind grows rarer in the age of the internet and trend to isolationism.  We spend more time in front of our screens, and less time in front of each other.  As such we become more reserved with each other.  Whether in fear of germs that now run rampant, or just in fear of over-asserting our affections, we abstain from intimate contact.  How many a young boy will have cited this text to a young girl in hopes of obtaining that first kiss?  But Peter was not offering advice for those attempting to date.  This was not a kiss of passion, or affection, it was of charity.  Charity is a gift we do not deserve, and implies more pity than passion.  Forgetting who we are attracted to, and offering a kiss to ANY in the membership of our Christian ranks, is to express a level of intimacy within the family of Christ.

Peter does not say we should kiss each other on the lips, nor does he preclude it.  But before we get all excited, remember you would be kissing your child, your mother, your father, and a stranger unknown to you in this same manner of charity.  I would guess the practice of kissing each other on the cheeks during a greeting may have been derived from this passage.  The message behind it however, has even more meaning in our day than it did in Peter’s.  Peter and his compatriots did not suffer from the burden of modern technology and the isolation which it tends to foster.  Peter and his viral church were out there “in real life”.  They did not spend hours in front of a screen whether behind the internet, or the TV, or the movie theatre.  They were far more physically engaged with each other than we have become.  But expressions of affection and intimacy among the members of our church are no less important today than they were back then, in fact now it is a higher importance.

If the viral church is to battle the social norms, perhaps we should begin with increasing our time “in real life” and with acts of affection for our fellow members of the body.  Perhaps those to whom this idea is foreign could begin with warm handshakes when they encounter others.  Or perhaps to those who are farther along in the journey, an unsolicited hug might be just the thing another needs.  Or perhaps to those who are yet farther on the journey to loving others, a kiss of charity.  But perhaps even more important for those yet farther down the road to perfection, is a sustained, prolonged, deep and caring interest in the life of another, that will NOT rest, until that life has every evidence of the love it needs to survive and thrive in this world, while we have means to achieve it, and even when we do not.  That was the passion of our Christ, and He longs to reflect through us to each other and to the world so in need of His love.

The final thought of Peter was to bless us and wish for us all, the Peace of Jesus Christ.  Peace brings a state of mind that is free from the concerns of war, or threats against our security, and worry over our survival.  To find His Peace, is to fully put our trust in Him, understanding He looks out for our higher priorities, and that the cares of this world are nothing in the context of His plans for eternity.  Life, death, health, safety … none of these things can be truly comprehended with a mortal view of them.  They can only be truly comprehended in the light of eternity He longs to bring us.  If we are to have His peace, we must learn to trust Him with ALL our cares.  In this way, we free ourselves from them.  In this way, we learn to trust Him even more.  In this way, we come to recognize, we were never in control, and that resting in Him is the only path to real and lasting Peace, no matter what our earthly situations attempt to dictate to us.  His peace cannot be taken away by this world.  For His peace is eternal, and the gift He longs to bring to us all.

Thus concludes Peter’s first letter to the church and this epilogue.  Perhaps the secret to uncovering even more truth is to not only have second look at passages like these, but a third, and fourth, and a never ending study …