Bible Class Notes on 1 Peter 5:6-7 | Notes on the Petrine Epistles

Since the proud are to be abased and the humble are to be exalted, Peter encourages these Christians to be humble. If we are content to serve rather than make those around us serve us, God will bless us in due time. Instead of before God or under God, Christians are to humble themselves under God’s mighty hand. The Scripture often speaks of God’s mighty hand specifically in the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. “Mighty hand” could have served to strengthen these Christians—Just as God delivered Israel from Egypt, he will deliver these Christians from persecution.

The teaching that humiliation leads to exaltation is a common theme in Scripture. 1 Samuel 2:7-8. Ezekiel 17:24. Matthew 23:12. Luke 1:52. Luke 14:11. Luke 18:14. James 1:9.

Due time does seem to refer to Jesus’s Second Coming.

These Christians need to rely on God. Humbling oneself to God means that he cast all cares and anxieties upon God. Anxiety means excessive care or worry over circumstances which one does not know how to handle.

Throughout Scripture, God’s people are exhorted not to be anxious. Psalm 55:22. Matthew 6:25-33. Luke 12:22-32. Philippians 4:6.

When pressures come upon Christians, the proper attitude is not anxiety, for that shows a lack of trust in God. These Christians can rely on God, for he cares for them. This phrase is literally “It matters to him about you.” The thought expressed here is close to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6:26, 30).

This Bible class was originally taught by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at the Owingsville church of Christ in Owingsville, Kentucky.