GENERAL SUBJECT

LIVING A CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHURCH LIFE UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD FOR THE ECONOMY OF GOD

Message Two
Living a Christian Life under the Government of God

Scripture Reading: 1 Pet. 1:17; 2:21-24; 4:17-19; 5:6

I.　The Epistles of 1 and 2 Peter are on the universal government of God:

A.　The subject of 1 Peter is the Christian life under the government of God, showing us the government of God especially in His dealings with His chosen people—1:2.

B.　The subject of 2 Peter is the divine provision and the divine government, showing us that as God is governing us, He supplies us with whatever we need—1:1-4; 3:13.

C.　God governs by judging; the judgment of God is for the carrying out of His government—1 Pet. 1:17; 4:17:

1.　Because 1 and 2 Peter are concerned with the government of God, in these Epistles the judgment of God and of the Lord is referred to repeatedly as one of the essential items—1 Pet. 2:23; 4:5-6, 17; 2 Pet. 2:3-4, 9; 3:7.

2.　Through various kinds of judgments, the Lord God will clear up the entire universe and purify it so that He may have a new heaven and a new earth for a new universe filled with His righteousness for His delight—v. 13.

D.　The judgment in 1 Peter 1:17, which is carried out by the Father, is not the future judgment but is the present, daily judgment of God's governmental dealings with His children:

1.　The Father has regenerated us to produce a holy family—a holy Father with holy children—vv. 3, 15, 17.

2.　As holy children, we should walk in a holy manner of life (vv. 15-16); otherwise, in His government God the Father will become the Judge and will deal with our unholiness (4:15-17; Heb. 12:9-10).

E.　The disciplinary judgment in the government of God begins from the house of God—1 Pet. 4:17:

1.　God judges everything that does not match His government; therefore, in this age we, the children of God, are under the daily judgment of God—1:17.

2.　God uses fiery ordeals to deal with the believers in the judgment of His governmental administration, which begins from His own house—4:12, 17.

3.　The purpose of this judgment is that we would live according to God in the spirit—v. 6.

II.　The preciousness of Peter's writings is that he combines the Christian life and God's government, revealing that the Christian life and the government of God go together as a pair—1 Pet. 1:17; 2:21, 24; 3:15; 4:17; 5:5-8:

A.　The Triune God has passed through a long process in Christ and has become the life-giving Spirit to indwell us; this is for our Christian life—John 1:14; 14:17; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 6:17.

B.　At the same time, the Triune God is still the Creator of the universe and its Ruler—1 Pet. 4:19.

C.　Although we have been born of God to have a spiritual life and to be a new creation, we are still in the old creation—John 1:12-13; 3:3, 5-6; 2 Cor. 5:17:

1.　For this reason, we need God's governmental dealings—1 Pet. 1:17.

2.　In order for the Christian life to grow, we need the discipline of God's government—2:2; 4:17; 2 Pet. 1:5-7.

III.　When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He lived a human life that was absolutely under the government of God, and He committed everything related to Him to God's government—John 6:38; 1 Pet. 2:21-23:

A.　The Lord kept committing all His insults and injuries to Him who judges righteously in His government, the righteous God, to whom He submitted Himself; He put His trust in this righteous One, recognizing His government—v. 23.

B.　When God counseled Christ as a man, Christ's inward parts were one with God and instructed Him through His contact with God—Psa. 16:7; Isa. 50:4.

IV.　As believers in Christ and children of God, we should live a Christian life under the government of God—John 3:15; 1:12-13; 1 Pet. 4:13-19; 5:6-8:

A.　The Epistles of Peter reveal the Christ who enables us to take God's governmental dealings administered through sufferings—1 Pet. 1:6-8; 2:3-4, 19, 21-25; 3:18, 22; 4:1, 15-16; 5:8-9.

B.　We should pass the time of our sojourning in holy fear, that is, in a healthy, serious caution that leads us to be holy in all our manner of life—1:15, 17.

C.　We should be humbled under the mighty hand of God, which carries out the government of God—5:6:

1.　In verse 6 the mighty hand of God refers to God's administrating hand seen especially in His judgment—1:17; 4:17.

2.　To be humbled under God's mighty hand is to be made humble by God; however, we must cooperate with God's operation and be willing to be made humble, lowly, under His mighty hand—5:6.

D.　We should commit our souls to the faithful Creator—4:19:

1.　God can preserve our soul, and His loving and faithful care accompanies His justice in His governmental administration.

2.　While God judges us in His government, He cares for us faithfully in His love; as we are suffering His disciplinary judgment, we should commit our souls to the faithful care of our Creator—Matt. 10:28; 11:28-29.

E.　In the death of Christ we have died to sins so that in the resurrection of Christ we might live to righteousness under God's government—1 Pet. 2:24:

1.　God's government is established upon righteousness (Psa. 89:14a); as God's people living under His government, we must live a righteous life.

2.　The expression live to righteousness is related to the fulfilling of God's govern-mental requirements—1 Pet. 2:24:

a.　We were saved so that we might live rightly under the government of God, that is, in a way that matches the righteous requirements of His government.

b.　In Christ's death we have been separated from sins, and in His resurrection we have been enlivened so that in our Christian life we might live spontaneously to righteousness under the government of God—Rom. 6:8, 10-11, 18; Eph. 2:6; John 14:19; 2 Tim. 2:11.