The First Letter of Peter- 22

Subtitle: Closing Words

1 Peter 5:12-14. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, May 3, 2026.

As we finish this letter, we have reached the place where Peter gives his closing words to the recipients of it. 

It is mostly a basic closing of a letter. It mentions the carrier of the letter and gives greetings to people in the churches of Asia Minor from Peter and others with him.

Yet, there are a couple of items in this passage that have created some controversy. 

Let’s look at our passage.

Peter’s closing words (v. 12-14)

Peter first explains that the letter has come to them through a man named Silvanus.  Silvanus is mentioned as a fellow worker with Paul and Timothy in 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians.

We should also make the connection between this Silvanus and the shortened form of his name used by Luke in Acts, Silas.  Though Peter and Paul use the longer form, Luke seems disposed to using a more intimate and informal name for him.

Silas was a Jewish Christian who was among the men of Jerusalem in the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15.  He accompanied Paul back to Antioch in order to verify the decision of the Jerusalem Council.  Luke describes him as a prophet and teacher who is clearly of Jewish descent.  Silas ends up accompanying Paul on his 2^nd Missionary journey through the areas addressed by Peter’s letter.  He would know the people and be familiar to them, having ministered among them with Paul.

Peter refers to Silvanus as a “faithful brother” and comments that this is his opinion or estimation of him.  The gist of this is simply that the one these churches know as a faithful brother already has also been found by Peter to be faithful as a brother in Christ, i.e., a spiritual brother.

By the way, this is how the New Testament really began.  Letters were written by apostles to particular churches or group of churches in a region.  We are not told how Silvanus distributed this letter to so many churches.  Did he come bearing multiple copies?  What church did he go to first?  Some of these questions we cannot know.  However, it is most likely that the letter was first given to a particular church, which would most likely make a copy of it.  Since Silvanus is well acquainted, it is most likely that he personally saw to the distribution.  It would allow him to touch base and minister to the churches similar to Paul’s attitude in his missionary journeys.  Thus, Silvanus would come to a particular town, a church member would make a faithful copy, and he would then take the letter to another town, most likely taking time to exhort the church on the contents of the letter.

Similarly, Paul’s letters to the church in Corinth would slowly be copied and shared with other churches in the region.  At some point, the Church felt it was important to assemble the verified letters of the apostles that had long acceptance in different regions into a collection.  This ultimately became the New Testament.  By the time this assembling happened, it would have been impossible to make up a letter that was not original to the apostles and pretend like it was.  Too many churches had copies of these letters over too long of a time.  The cry of “foul” would have been deafening from the churches if such was attempted.

Peter then summarizes his purpose in the letter.  He has both testified and exhorted them in the true grace of God.  He testified in that he declared what he heard and saw.  He has exhorted in the sense that he is calling them to stay true to what they have received.  This is what I know to be true, and this is what you should do.

So, what is the true grace of God?  We can start with pointing to Jesus.  Jesus as the Son of God and Son of Man had come as God’s Anointed to save Israel and the Gentiles.  This is opposed to all the false claimants to be God’s Messiah.  Jesus is the true Christ versus the false Christs that came before him, and those that came after him.  Peter gave faithful testimony to the person, work, and teaching of Jesus.

These teachings were taught and written down for the strengthening of those who believed.  These Scriptures are an analog revealing Jesus the Messiah to those who read it.

However, it is not enough to receive the truth about Christ in verbal and written form.  We must remain firm in our faith. 

Some versions differ between Peter giving a command, “Stand firm in it,” and Peter simply declaring, “in which you stand.”  The difference between the two is a couple of letters in the verb “stand.”  We do not know how the difference came about in some of the old manuscripts.  Regardless, both are good and true.  They had received the Gospel, so it is entirely appropriate for Peter to testify and to exhort that this is the true grace of God, in which you currently stand firm.

Yet, they will need to be faithful until the end of their lives.  Over time, threats will come against the true grace of God.  They will need to stand firm in what they have received.  Thus, it would be entirely appropriate to voice this as a command.

For us today, we may not know which form Peter initially intended.  However, we do know that Scripture challenges us with both ideas.  It is good for believers to be standing firm in what the Scriptures reveal about Jesus, but it is also important for us to persevere in standing firm to the end of our life.

There is generally nothing controversial in a section that sends greetings, but we have such here.  Peter’s phrase, “She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you,” has two areas of contention.

The first has to do with who or what is the pronoun “she” referencing?  This has been generally interpreted as referring to the body of believers where Peter is, i.e., the church he is at.  The word for church in Greek is a feminine term and thus takes a feminine pronoun.  It is singular because the group is spoken of as a singular entity, a local expression of the greater Church of Jesus.  This also fits with the fact that we know Peter is addressing churches in Asia Minor.  A pronoun without connection to a person or name would more naturally connect to another church.  In fact, the description of being chosen together with the recipients of the letter further strengthens the idea of “she” referring to the local church in Peter’s location.

It wasn’t until later that the idea was floated that “she” could refer to Peter’s wife.  The problem with this is that she is never mentioned in the letter, and it would not be the most natural interpretation of Peter’s words.

Just as the early church referred to each other as brothers and sisters (spiritually), churches were commonly referred to as sisters.  This ties into the Hebrew usage in the Old Testament of the current citizens of a city being the daughters of the city (seen as a mother), e.g., the daughters of Jerusalem etc.

Another example of this in the New Testament is in 2 John 1:13. “The children of your elect sister send you greetings.”  The current believers who make up the chosen sister church where I am at send you greetings. 

I think it is most natural and most fitting with the evidence of history to see this as a reference to the believers of a particular church.

The second question in the above phrase is the identity of Babylon.  Is this a literal reference to Babylon or is it a symbolic reference to Rome?

The earliest evidence we have that still exists is from around AD 313.  Eusebius in his Church History cites an earlier work from Papias.  He states that Papias had written a five-volume work called Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord.  Eusebius claims that Papias, along with other early church fathers, believed Babylon in verse 13 to be a symbolic reference to Rome.

We should also note that there is no known counterclaim that literal Babylon was intended.  Thus, the evidence of history at this point would be on the side of a symbolic reference to Rome.

However, it is not implausible that Peter could have gone to literal Babylon.  There was a large Jewish community in Babylon that eventually became the source for the Babylonian Talmud.  It would make sense that the Apostle to the Jews could be sent by the Holy Spirit to testify there.  Yet, there is no evidence from history that states such.  It is simply a conjecture that could only be substantiated if we assume Babylon is literal here.

John has a similar thing in the Revelation of Jesus Christ.  There is a reference to “Mystery Babylon” which sits on seven hills.  The testimony of the early church is that this referred to Rome.

Babylon was prophesied against by the Old Testament prophets.  But, a close reading of those prophecies will note that Babylon comes to be treated as a Symbol or a System that is created by a rebellious spirit behind it.  This spirit of empire and domination by wicked spirits is used of an end-time city/powerhouse that will be destroyed by the Beast.

Why has this become an issue?  The Reformation led to many arguments between Protestants and Roman Catholics.  A main contention between them had to do with the authority of the Pope.  Did God give him authority to command all the Church of God on earth?  Roman Catholics say yes and Protestants say no.

In arguing these cases, several lines of arguments cross this verse.  The Roman Catholics point to Peter as being the Rock (foundation) of the Church.  They also claim that he was the first Bishop of Rome.  He then handed his authority down to the next Bishop upon his death.  They then claim an unbroken line of succession from Peter to the current Pope.  The authority of Peter belongs to the current Pope.

Protestants may argue against Peter ever being in Rome, except perhaps at his execution.  They will also argue that Peter was never a bishop in Rome, definitely not the first bishop.  In fact, the New Testament never speaks of Peter going to Rome.  Even when Paul goes to Rome at the end of Acts, it already has a church of believers there.  If there were not already a bishop of this church, then he would have definitely set some faithful elders into those positions, as was his way among all the churches he started.  Peter is not mentioned as residing there.  He is most likely still in Jerusalem or that region.

Regardless of all of the above, Protestants can be polarized into believing that they have to believe this is literal Babylon in order to prove the argument of the Romanists wrong.  I believe this is a fallacy.  Regardless of whether this is a symbolic reference to Rome or a literal reference to Babylon, this does not matter with the argument over Papal succession and authority.  The truth is the truth, and men are quite capable of taking a true statement and using it to substantiate a false claim.  It is the claim that is false and not the statement used to support it.

Ultimately, it has no bearing on our faith where Peter is writing this letter.

Peter then gives them greetings from “my son, Mark.”  Mark is not his literal son, but his son spiritually.  This is the nephew of Barnabas who abandoned Paul’s first missionary journey into Asia Minor.  He eventually became a helper with Barnabas and then later with Peter.  Mark with Peter was similar to the way Timothy was for Paul, a younger minister that aided them in their ministry.

This Mark is the same one who wrote the Gospel of Mark.  Mark was too young to know all that Jesus did, but his Gospel has historically been described as the account of Jesus from Peter’s perspective.

Peter takes advantage of the greetings that he gives in order to remind them to greet one another with the kiss of love.  Now, the kiss of love is the opposite of the kiss of betrayal given by Judas to Jesus.  The kiss of betrayal is a superficial pretense that covers wickedness underneath.  Christians are to greet one another with a kiss of love, not hypocrisy. 

Of course, how cultures greet one another are various.  It was common in those days to kiss on the cheek those you meet.  In our culture, we might say to greet one another with a handshake of love.  We should not be outward jerks to one another, but neither should we be fake with one another.  Christians must do the inner work of being able to love other Christians.

Personality clashes and events that happen between two people can muddy the waters of our love for one another.  It takes forgiveness and repentance for a group too remain in the love of Christ for one another.

Finally, Peter blesses them by saying, “Peace be unto you all who are in Christ.”  The Christian has peace with God because they have believed upon the One that He has sent to save us.  When we embrace Jesus, we are no longer enemies to God, and He is no longer an enemy to us.  If this is rightly understood and believed, it gives a person an inner sense of peace by the Holy Spirit regardless of the chaos and threats of suffering that surround them.  It is a peace that passes all understanding.  If you know that you are okay (right) with God, then the threats and slander of men are easier to ignore.

Yet, Peace also describes the eternal purpose of God for those who belong to Jesus by faith.  We are in Christ like Noah and his family were in the ark.  Judgment is coming upon this earth, but the one who believes and follows Christ is in the safe place that God has provided for them.  Jesus is not just a way to avoid judgment.  He is one with whom we have a relationship through the Holy Spirit.

Our challenge is to hold fast the proven and true Word of God we have received from faithful believers before us.  Yet, that word teaches us how to know the Lord Jesus and how to follow him.  May we stay faithful to Jesus, the Faithful One, until the end of our life!

Closing Words audio

The Glory of Jesus the Christ

1 Corinthians 1:26-31.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Resurrection Sunday, April 5, 2026.

Today we are going to contrast the glory of this world with the glory of Jesus who is the Christ.  You may or may not have anything glorious about you, at least by the world’s standards.  What you are currently doing may never be praised by other people.  But God sees our life like a Father watching over a child.  He helps as needed but also wants us to choose and grow to be like Him.

The glory of this world hits us at a very young age.  Who are the smart kids in class?  Who are the strong kids or the beautiful kids?  Most of us are somewhere in the middle of that experience.  You could say that nothing about us stood out from the rest.

The word glory (as a verb glorying) is synonymous with the idea of a boast or boasting.  At its root, there is the idea of something either worthy of praise or something that is simply praised by people.  Thus, to obtain glory in this world is to obtain something that is praise-worthy by the world’s standard.  A person who glories in their own accomplishment is praising themselves.

Paul challenges us not to boast in ourselves but to boast in the Lord Jesus.  Of course, God is not against our gifts and achievements per se.  He is the God who made muscles, but He did not make them for a muscle-bound man to praise himself and use those muscles only for selfish ends.

I said earlier that most of us are probably average.  However, we are quite innovative when it comes to this area of boasting.  Glory has a sphere to it: global, national, regional, local, my family, etc.  This area can be fraught with a driven pursuit that feeds upon that glory which is not healthy.

When people have a lot of glorious things in their life, it is hard for them to see the glory of Jesus and believe in him.  We might even see that it is impossible with a man, but all things are possible for God.  The problem for a rich man is not that he is rich.  His problem is that he boasts in himself and sees the riches as proof of how great he is.  He will idolize those riches to the exclusion of a relationship with God.

The glory of Rome and empires

Rome represents the glory of this world that is in ignorance of God’s Word.  They were an empire that ruled over a large region of the world.  They were able to project their power long distances from Rome, their capital city.  The Romans may have run into some Jews, but in the end, they did not know God.  They did not know His Word.  This ignorance was due to the rebellion of their (and our) ancestors at the Tower of Babel. 

Those first generations were in rebellion to the truth and knew it.  They purposefully rejected God and so were rejected by Him.  Of course, another generation grows up that begins to listen to justifications by their rebellious fathers.  This continues until a generation arises that is not even aware of the earlier rebellion.  They become ignorant that there was a time in which their ancestors lived and believed differently.  There is also a spiritual dynamic to this justification.  Many false religions have their roots in deceiving spirits that lead men into error and into permission-systems that give them power over whole societies.

In seeking a way different from God’s command, they followed the same path of Adam and Eve.  They (we) listened to the serpent’s lie and follow a path of false hopes and false glory, a glory that ignores and is ignorant of God.

Such a path is precarious.  The Romans were not always the empire.  Before them, there was the Greeks, and the Persians, and the Babylonians, and the Assyrians, etc.  All nations lust after this kind of glory, the glory of dominating others and being the head of the nations. 

The glory of Israel

In some ways, Israel was no different, but it was not as far down the path that the nations had gone down.  God had kept a remnant among them, and His Word was still prevalent if not followed.  Israel represents a glory that arrogates and twists God’s Word to itself.  Thus, many gave lip service to God’s glory, but in the end, they were only concerned with their own glory.

God’s work among Israel was glorious.  Somewhere along the line, the glory of God became mixed up with their own glory.  To arrogate is to presumptuously appropriate to oneself without right or authority.  This is a subtle rebellion that masks itself under a thin veneer of righteousness.  The religious leaders as a whole had twisted the system to their purpose and their glory.  This essentially ignored God’s Word while continuing a sick insistence that they were adhering to God’s Word faithfully. 

The glorious construction of temples and palaces within the people of God was not wrong.  God had told them to build the temple and make it glorious.  However, this was to point to God’s glory.  Even boasting in a temple is beneath our calling.  We can glory in all the wrong things about what God is doing in us, missing the purpose for which He gives the gifts that He does.

Idolatry and the altar of self

This is what Paul is talking about in this passage.  Christians were not generally from the great of Rome or Israel.  Yet, God had chosen them, the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.

When our glory is self-seeking, it becomes an idol, idolatry.  Few people obtain the heights of worldly glory.  However, everyone glories in something.  It is because we were made by a glorious God in order to dwell within His glory.  We were made to be in relationship with the ultimate glory, God Himself.  When we cast off God, the glory within in us is simply a mark of His purpose.  Detached from God, this kind of glory is destined to fade and decay, like a corpse without a spirit.

There are pitfalls to glory that Christians must learn to navigate.  It is a mistake to glory in lesser things to the exclusion of the greater.  It is a worse mistake to glory in shameful things.  The only antidote to such pitfalls is to remain in humble relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ.  Another pitfall is to be corrupted by personal glory, thinking that we are its source.  Such vainglory causes people to be entitled, over-protective, immoral, and arrogant.

God’s Word warns against all of these things and shows us that all humanity is in a slavery and a bondage to sin.  We are unable to break free from its tyrannical hold and step into the purpose for which God made us, at least without Jesus.  This brings us to the glory of Jesus the Christ.

The Glory of Jesus the Christ

The glory of Jesus is that he is the only human who perfectly lived in connection to the Glory of God the Father.  He perfectly lived out the purpose of God.  What was that purpose?  It was to restore humanity to its intended place at God the Father’s side.  It is to be His image-bearers, imaging His purpose on the earth through our lives.

Does this mean that Jesus has failed?  Jesus has not failed.  He has and is accomplishing all that the Father desires.

Paul ends this passage (vs. 31) by quoting Jeremiah 9:23-26.  “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.  It pictures a person who understands and knows God the Father.  The knowing here is not a knowing of information.  It is a knowing of experiencing life with another.  Jesus is the only one who truly understood and knew God.  He heard the words of the Father and lived them out, speaking them exactly.  He never gave up believing in the will of the Father, even when it lead to a cross.

In Jeremiah, we are told that such a person discovers some things about God.  He is full of faithful, covenant-keeping love.  His judgments are all just and true, dependable.  Finally, His dealings are all right and good with everyone.  Jesus taught us to trust the Father no matter what.

Such a person also delights in the purpose of the Father.  Jesus delighted in God’s purpose to redeem humanity.  He delighted in the covenant-keeping love of God, not just for himself, but he imaged that love to the world around him.  He delighted in the just and true judgments of God but also imaged such to the world.  He delighted in righteous dealings with all.

It may be strange to think of Jesus delighting in going to the cross.  The Father did not so much delight in the cross as He delighted in what the cross would make possible.  And so Jesus delighted in the joy that was on the other side of the cross, not avoiding it, but going through it.

We can shrink back from difficult paths that God sets before us.  However, such difficult paths only enhance the glory of God and our knowledge of Him.  It is often the price of intimacy.

Jesus laid down his life as a sacrifice to pay the price for our sins.  He did so to make it possible that we could be forgiven and restored to the place intended for us at the Father’s right hand.

Let’s end with contrasting the glory of the cross with the glory of the resurrection.  The resurrection is a glorious and overcoming glory.  It is shocking in its power against an enemy that appears to be invincible (death).  It is similar to the glory of God to bring forth all of creation by His Word.  A part of us wants God to simply speak a word and fix everything.  This would be a fix that doesn’t require me (you) to change.  God will change us, but it cannot happen without death.

The glory of the cross is that Jesus sacrificed his mortal life to save us.  He is not throwing his life away because it is worthless.  Rather, he is laying down something of supreme value.  He was using it for the Father’s good purpose, to redeem humanity, you and me.

Jesus did not cling to the lesser glories that he could accomplish in his mortal flesh.  He did embrace the greater glory of one who knows the Father and trusts Him.  On the other side of laying down the false glories and the lesser glories of this world is the resurrection glories of Christ.

May we go forth and live for the glory of Jesus the Christ alone.  May we understand these two poles of the glory of God.  The glory of the cross involves pain and isn’t desirable in our flesh, but it leads to the glory of resurrection which involves great joy!

Glory of Jesus audio

The First Letter of Peter- 16

Subtitle: Our Witness before the World- Part 8

1 Peter 3:18-22.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, March 8, 2026.

Peter once again points us to Jesus and the example of how his suffering was used to accomplish our salvation.  You could say 1Peter 2:21-25 uses the example of Jesus to show us how to go through suffering.  In our passage today, Peter points to Jesus again.  He uses the suffering of Jesus to show us why suffering happens.

Following this, Peter will then challenge believers in Jesus to follow his example by having the same mindset towards suffering.  If we will join him in his suffering, then we will also join him in his coming glory.

Let’s look at our passage.

What Jesus accomplished through suffering (v. 18-22)

Jesus faced many threats of suffering in his years of ministry leading up to the cross.  Yet he embraced the suffering because of what it would accomplish.  This section walks through what was made possible through the suffering of Jesus.

We are first told that he was suffering for our sins (the just for the unjust).  This is clearly talking about his suffering on the cross, but it can be extended to the suffering of his whole mortal, human experience.  In fact, Peter emphasizes that Jesus suffered just once for our sins.

Unlike the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, the Lamb of God only needed to die once in order to atone for the sins of humanity.

Of course, lambs have nothing to say about being sacrifices.  Jesus did have something to say about it.  He could have refused, but instead, Jesus went through the suffering of the cross, of death, in order to cover our sins.

Though God uses suffering in our life, it is not His plan that we should only experience suffering.  Suffering has its season, but God always intends it to be followed by glory.  Think of it this way.  Is Jesus suffering today?  Of course, not!  We can make a case for an internal pain to watch so many refuse his offer of salvation, but that is another matter.

If we run away from suffering and expect God to remove it from our life, we are not paying close attention to the way Jesus made salvation possible for us.

It wasn’t fair for the “Just One” to be sacrificed for us unjust ones.  It wasn’t fair, but it was love.  In fairness, God would not help us.  In fairness, God would not become a man.  In fairness, He would not suffer in our place.  None of this is fair, but it is love! 

When we are tempted to complain about suffering for the sake of doing what is righteous, it is usually the unfairness of it that fuels our protest.  Yet Jesus was perfect, sinless.  I on the other hand cannot say that about myself.  What excuse do I have to reject the call of Jesus to pick up my cross and follow him?

How am I using my forgiven life?  Am I trying to get comfort and ease, or am I trying to bring sinners to repentance?  Am I suffering the painful things involved in sharing the Good News with others? 

Jesus embraced the suffering of the cross in order to bring us to God (v. 18).  Mankind had been separated from God in the Garden of Eden.  Originally, God had put humanity upon the earth to have dominion over it, in a way that imaged Him.  This imaging was based upon relationship.  This is why God would come down in the cool of the day and talk with them.  The Fall of chapter three fractured that relationship.  It put sin between us and God and affected our ability to image him.

Jesus becomes a means for healing that breech.  His suffering makes it possible first to be brought to God as spiritual children through a new, spiritual birth.  However, we are also going to be brought into the presence of God when we die.  Our souls will be allowed to enter into the presence of God as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:8. “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”

This is the picture at the end of the book of Revelation.  It pictures God the Father dwelling with Jesus and the saints, never to be separated again.    This relationship could not be possible without the suffering of Christ.

Jesus was put to death to his mortal flesh, but then, made alive to his spiritual, resurrected life.  The emphasis here (v. 18) is on the heart of what Christ is doing.  He is not just dying for our sins.  He is making a new mode of living possible for humanity, at least those who put their faith in him.  Jesus made the way and showed the way to right relationship with God.  However, he also paved the way to a resurrected life in a spiritual body (see 1 Corinthians 15:35f.

It was suffering that moved Jesus from a mortal life to an immortal life.  Of course, this was not done instantaneously.  He suffered many things.  Even his suffering on the cross did not happen until the timing of the Father.  It also happened in the way that the Father intended.

We are called to follow this pattern.  Embrace whatever suffering we may have to face in this life for following Christ in order to be brought into a glorious, spiritual body at the time of God’s choosing.

We are next told (v. 19) that it was in this new state that Christ could go and preach to the disobedient spirits that were held in prison.  Some versions interpret “spirit” at the end of verse 18 as the Holy Spirit.  Thus, they open verse 19 with “by Whom.”  They emphasize that Jesus went to do this act of verse 19 by the Holy Spirit.  I don’t believe this is what Peter is saying.  As a mortal, Jesus could not go into the grave (Sheol/Hades).  However, he could go as a spirit being.  In fact, all human spirits would go into the grave at death and await the judgment.  So verse 19 should open with the phrase “by which.”

Who are these spirits in prison?  Verse 20 makes it clear that these were disobedient in the time leading up to The Flood of Genesis during Noah’s time.  Peter flies right on by the statement in verse 19 because the people of his day would know exactly what he is referencing.  Let me clear up a couple of things first.

The NKJV says that Jesus “preached” to the spirits in prison.  This makes it sound like they are being offered salvation.  However, the word is better translated as proclaimed or made a proclamation.  Jesus made some proclamation to these disobedient spirits held in prison.  A proclamation can be anything.  We will come back to this because I don’t want to lose sight of all that Jesus accomplished.  Let’s just say Jesus was able to proclaim something to some criminal spirits in the underworld because of his suffering.

Because this connects to the time of Noah, Peter makes another point about how our present salvation connects to the salvation that happened for Noah and his family.  The waters that destroyed others are the same waters that lift up Noah and his family to a new world.  This is all done by God’s wisdom.  Peter describes the waters of The Flood as being a picture of the waters of baptism that new followers of Jesus go through.  We will come back to this later as well.

Finally, in verse 22, Jesus in his resurrected, spiritual existence could now enter into the heavens, sit at the right hand of the Father, and have all angels, authorities and powers subordinated to him.  This doesn’t mean that none of them are still in rebellion, but that his presence at the right hand signifies his power and authority over everything, whether in the heavens or on the earth.

The angels are clearly spiritual beings.  The words “authorities” and “powers” are terms that speak to varying levels of position in a hierarchy.  This would clearly apply to other spiritual beings that were of varying levels of authority and power.  Yet these words can also be used of human authorities and powers. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said, ““All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”  The only authority that would not be subordinated to Jesus is the Father Himself.  Think of it.  A human sits at the right hand of God the Father exercising authority and power in the Father’s place (imaging Him perfectly).

None of this could have been accomplished without a mindset that accepted suffering for what it was: the path to the salvation of God!  We cannot lose sight of this in our lives today.  Salvation is not possible without embracing a certain amount of suffering (emotionally and physically).  We can willingly choose to suffering things in order to reach our friends and loved ones for Christ.  Instead of complaining about the unfairness of it all, we are challenged to join Christ in this great purpose of saving “whosoever will.”  Of course, the suffering is not forever.  It will come to an end, and we will enter into the glory of those who suffered with Christ!

Two issues that need explanation

Let’s circle back and deal with these two issues that need further explanation.  First, let’s look at the flood and how it points to water baptism today (the end of verse 20 and all of verse 21).

Verse 21 opens with a statement that water baptism is a “figure” (KJV), “antitype” (NKJV), “symbolizes” (NIV) of The Flood.  These are all good interpretations.  A symbol always corresponds to something (singular or plural).  We have to ask ourselves how the waters of the Flood are picturing water baptism.

The Flood waters were a judgment upon all mankind. They brought destruction.  However, God’s grace used this same thing to save Noah and his family who represented the believing remnant at that point.  This is a key point.  The same thing used to destroy some is used to save some.  The waters were bad for the wicked and good for Noah and company.

We can question God’s grace when we are going through suffering.  We can only see how it is destroying our life.  However, if we trust God, our suffering can be used to save us and others, just like Jesus. 

In this sense, Jesus is the Greater Noah.  The seven family members symbolize the complete remnant of believers who are the family of Christ spiritually.  New believers are also new members of the family of Christ.  All new members are baptized in water.

Water baptism is a picture of several things.  Spiritually, it is a picture of dying to our old way of life and being raised up to live a mortal life like Jesus did, in obedience to the Father, the Word, and through the power of the Spirit.  Yet it is also a prophecy that my body will one day die.  The water is a symbol of being buried (put under the ground).  Jesus has the power and has promised to raise us up into spiritual, glorified bodies.  Water baptism declares that death will not be a destruction to us because we are going to be raised up in glory like Jesus was.

Death will take all humanity.  It will be destruction to many, but it will also be the path to the New Heavens and the New Earth that God is going to create.  It is the path into a new relationship between God the Father and all of remnant humanity.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 even points to the Red Sea crossing as a type, symbol, of water baptism.  The people of Israel were baptized by God when they went through the waters.  This was a path of life to Israel, but a path of death to those bent on wickedness, namely Pharaoh and his army.  On top of this, Paul also points to the cloud (water vapor) that followed them through the desert.  It too was a picture of water baptism.  The cloud becomes a protection to them in order to bring them to the Promised Land.

It may seem odd that Peter speaks of water baptism in this way, “which now saves us.”  Some have even taught that it is only the act of water baptism that regenerates a person.  However, Peter is not saying that the act of water baptism can save anybody by itself.  Look at the very next words: “not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God.”  It is not the physical act that makes us belong to Christ.  It is the internal faith that we have placed upon Jesus.  We have responded to God’s raising up of Jesus to be our Savior.  We believed.  Because we have believed, we are then water baptized as a declaration to the world and to those rebellious spirits that we are leaving them behind and following Jesus!  Death will be our promotion, but it will be their undoing.

Let’s deal with the proclamation that Jesus made to the spirits in prison.  What is this.

We know that this is not an offer of salvation because they are in prison for their disobedience in the period leading up to The Flood.  Peter does not say that they are in the grave (Sheol/Hades), but rather, that they are in prison.  This seems to be the same thing that he mentions in his second letter (2 Peter 2:4).  “For God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to [the Greek is literally “Tartarus”] and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment…”  Jude also mentions something similar in Jude 1:6. “And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day…” 

The picture given of the underworld is that all human spirits go into the Grave (Sheol/Hades) which is a holding place for the human spirits until the judgment.  The Greeks pictured Tartarus as a prison that was as far below Hades as Hades was beneath the earth.  Tartarus is a prison for angels or spiritual being who rebelled in the days before The Flood.  This is was connected to the strange passage in Genesis 6.  The sons of God was a class of spiritual beings who took human wives and created giant offspring, an offspring that was part angel and part human.  They were imprisoned by God for this.

The Book of Enoch was a popular book in the days of Peter.  It was never considered to be Scripture, and there is no need to try and elevate it to that status.

In the Book of Enoch, these imprisoned spirits want to be pardoned.  They talk Enoch into asking God for a pardon.  God’s response is that they are going to stay in prison until the time of the judgment, aka, “No!”  Enoch then goes down to these spirits and proclaims to them God’s judgment.

Peter seems to be connecting Jesus to a similar, even greater, proclamation.  Jesus is the Greater Enoch proclaiming to the spirits in prison that their rebellion has not only failed, but that he has now secured the salvation and redemption of mankind.  In short, he proclaims that they have lost.

This is a common theme in Scripture.  Jesus is the Greater Adam, the Greater Enoch, the Greater Noah, the Greater David…ad infinitum.  Their lives were a fuzzy picture of the power and work that Messiah Jesus would do to save us.

Jesus not only proclaims defeat to the spirits in prison, but he also proclaims victory to the righteous human spirits stuck in the good side of the Grave.  He could now lead them into the presence of God the Father because he has paid the price for their redemption.  The rebellion against God’s plan with humanity had failed.  The perfect man had redeemed the inheritance for humanity.  The judgment of these spirits is sure and the salvation of those they sought to supplant is sure.

All of this was obtained because Jesus embraced the suffering that came from staying true to God the Father.  His is the glory of a victor and the glory of One who brings many sons with him into glory!  May God help us to line up in his wake, choosing to work for him through the suffering that may come our way.  We can overcome the threats of the wicked and the fears of our own flesh.  “Blessed are those who overcome because they will stand with the Great Overcomer, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the end!

Our Witness 8 audio

The Letter to the Colossian Church- 3

Subtitle: The Son of the Father's Love

Colossians 1:15-20.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, July 27, 2025.

After declaring that God the Father has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints, rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and transferred us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, Paul then takes some time to describe all that the Son of His love is, has done, and is doing even now.

Of course, there is no confusion about who this Son of His love is.  It is Jesus.  He has been identified three times in the verses before this.

Let’s get into our passage.

Jesus in regard to the Father and the creation (v. 15-17)

This section is poetic and has a clear structure to it that is helpful to recognize.  Here is a representation of how the stanzas relate to one another.

“He is:

The Image of the Invisible God

The Firstborn of all Creation

For by Him all things were created

Both in the heavens and on the earth

Visible and Invisible

Whether thrones or dominions

Or rulers or authorities

All things have been created through Him and for Him

He is:

Before all things, and

In Him all things hold together”

These verses contemplate who Jesus is in relation to God the Father and the creation.  It involves several things that we could call Titles.  However, these titles are descriptive of some very important understandings about Jesus.

The Image of the Invisible God.  There are different reasons for Paul to emphasize this about Jesus, whether for Greeks or even Jews.  This connection between the man Jesus and God the Father is incredibly important for the Colossians to understand.  The Image of God language comes from Genesis chapter 1.  Adam and Eve were made in the Image of God.  Yet, they and we have not imaged God very well.  Not only did Adam fail, but the world failed to image God up to the flood when God rebooted the earth with Noah.  Noah failed to image God well as did Abraham, the patriarchs, Israel as a nation, David, the kings of Judah, and all the others. 

However, Jesus is not just another imager of God.  He is the perfect imager and is thus The Image of God.  The emphasis on God’s invisibility contrasted with the word image highlights the incarnation of Jesus, but this does not limit his imaging to the incarnation.  He didn’t have to take on the nature of a man in order to image God.  He was already imaging God to the creation before the incarnation.  No matter the state (pre-incarnate, incarnate, and glorified), He is the perfect image, imager, of God.  He is the one who allows us to see the Father for who He really is.  This is why Jesus told his disciples that to see him is to see the Father.

Yet, Hebrews 1:1-3 makes this even more explicit.  Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory, i.e., that which proceeds out from Him into the creation.  He is also the express image of the Father’s nature.  He is no shadow or lesser picture of the Father.

Now, Greeks don’t have a problem with God’s coming down and manifesting upon the earth.  However, it would be impossible for them to be killed by mortals, or to truly die at the hands of a mortal.  Paul is making sure that these Colossians understand the extraordinary claims being made about Jesus.  This very same man who died on a cross for our sins is the Image of God.

The Firstborn of all Creation.  We now see the connection between Jesus and the creation.  He is the firstborn of all creation.  But, what does this mean?  The firstborn is mentioned in several other places in the New Testament.  In Romans 8:29, Christians are conformed to his image so that he will be the firstborn of many sons.  In Hebrews 1:6, “When God brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all the angels of God worship him.  This is quoting from Psalm 97:7.

The idea of firstborn has led some to speculate that it refers to Jesus being a created being.  They would not see him as eternal, but is this what Paul (and Scripture) is trying to get across?  I don’t believe so.

Psalm 89:27, a prophecy is written in which God states: “I shall make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.”  The prophecy is a long one and deals with the failure of the sons of David to live up to the prophecies that God has given about David and Messiah.  Notice above that God is going to make this one His firstborn.  This is not about birth order or even actual birth.  The firstborn was more a status than it ever was a statement of who came into being first.  This status term declares his right to have the first place among all others.  He is the heir to the Father’s business and the Father’s holdings are for him.  So, when it comes to all created things, Jesus has the primary place over it all.  It is his inheritance.  How and why becomes clearer as we go forward.

All things created by him.  He has this firstborn status because everything was created by him.  The word can also have the sense of in him.  The Son was pre-existent to all created things.  We then get a series of pairs that are intended to make clear that we are talking about every created thing, whether in the heavens or on the earth.  Things you can see and the things you can’t see.  No matter how powerful something is, it owes its place to him (excepting the Father, of course).  This is expressed in the thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

It was common for emperors to use son terminology of the kings who had pledged allegiance to them, even a firstborn as a status of preeminence above the others, not a description of which of them was born first.  This section makes it clear that all things which fit into the category of created things were created by him, i.e., he is not a created being.  If a person feels that it stretches the words in this passage to state that, John 1:3 makes this even more explicit.  “All things came into being through him, and apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being.”  Jesus cannot have “come into being” by making himself.  It is clear that John is shutting down the idea that Jesus was a created being.  Yet, he is the firstborn of creation.

Paul then gives some prepositional phrases to help us contemplate this creator position of Jesus.  All things are created “through him.”  Jesus was the active agent or means of creation.  This essentially says the same thing as by him, but it has a sense of the Father’s involvement in the creative process. 

The next preposition is that all things were created for him, the firstborn.  They are for him in the sense that they belong to him, but also in the sense of their purpose being for him and his purposes.

By him, through him, and for him seem to contemplate the Son as the beginning of all things, the progress of all things and the end, or purpose of all things.

Paul then tells us that the Son is before all things.  This preposition involves time.  To be before all creation would place him before time itself.  Yet, he is also before all things in the sense of being in front of all things; he has first place, primacy, over all things.  Even before creation is brought into being, John chapter one interprets Genesis one as saying that Jesus is He who comes forth from the Father to create.  “Let there be light!”  The Son was the first light that came forth from the Father to create all things.

All things hold together in him.  The final statement in this section adds another concept to the first preposition, “in him.”  Things not only have their existence in him (by him), but their place in relation to one another are held together in him.  Without him nothing would hold together in every way that we can conceive.  He holds the molecules together, but also ask yourself this.  What keeps this world from falling completely apart and destroying everything?  What keeps this world going forward?  Do we have a guarantee that, even with what we see, it can survive?  Jesus is what holds all creation together, even with heavenly and earthly forces bent on rebellion against the Creator.

Jesus in regard to the Church and the New Creation (v. 18-20)

Though it is not stated above, there is a problem in the creation, both in the heavens and on the earth.  The rebellion of spirit beings have defiled the heavens and led humanity into that rebellion as well.  Though God made everything “very good,” it has been messed up by humans and fallen spirit beings.

This section moves to contemplating Jesus in regard to the Church and the New Creation, i.e., the fixing of the old creation.

Just as the Word, the Firstborn of Creation, came forth and created all things in the first place, so he has come forth in the man Jesus to make all things new.  The Son of God’s love began that work and is still in the process of making all things new.

The Head of the Body, the Church.  This first identity statement matches the style of the first identity statement in the last section (the image of the invisible God).  However, towards the Church, Jesus is the head, and we are the ones who are supposed to image him.  Calling Jesus the Head is a way of referencing his supremacy, but also his directive power.  The Church is designed to respond to the directives of the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Of course, this brings up a problem between the commands of Christ and the execution by His Body.  Jesus has told us to “love one another,” and even “Love your enemies.”  Groups of Christians can find themselves doing things that are adverse to the commands of Christ.  There is generally some rationalization in which we give lip service to such obvious commands, and then, go on to neutralize them with our ideas.  In fact, this is the threat in Revelation 2:5.  There, Jesus warns the Ephesians that he will remove their candlestick if they don’t repent.  Christ is the judge of his Church.  He may allow things to go on for a while.  Churches may flaunt his commands while giving lip-service to them.  However, Jesus will eventually deal with them.

Just as Ezekiel saw the Glory of God leave the temple in Israel due to their lack of covenant faithfulness, so too, the Glory of God’s Spirit leaves churches to themselves.  They are no longer doing his will, and his Spirit is no longer working in them as a group.  Eventually, it will come to a head and the group will go out of existence in its present configuration.

Some people like to add the concept (or even replace) of the head being a source (similar to the headwaters of a river).  He definitely is that, whether this word is intended to give that sense or not.  Like a vine, Jesus is the source of spiritual life to all who have a living faith in him.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.  Jesus is the beginning of the Church, or renewed (redeemed) humanity.  The word translated “beginning” here can refer to the beginning of something in an abstract way, but it often refers to a leader who is the beginning of a new Kingdom, dynasty.  Jesus is the powerful leader whose actions have given birth, place, to this new group of people called the Church.

This is connected to the phrase, “firstborn from the dead,” and it connects to the earlier firstborn of all creation.  The dead is used as a group and even has the sense of the place in which the dead are kept, Hades, She’ol, the grave.  It is his reappearance from out of the realm of the dead that gives him first place among the renewed humanity.

Of course, this is in relation to his humanity.  The eternal Son was not in need of being recreated, but he took on human flesh in order to blaze a trail through death, the grave, and into a glorified existence.  When a believer in Jesus dies, they follow the path of the firstborn.  They die and are enabled to avoid being stuck in the grave.  Instead, we are allowed to ascend to the right hand of the Father and wait with the Son at his side.  We follow him through this spiritually.  We are not physically resurrected at our deaths.  It is later that all the righteous will follow the firstborn physically into the completion of our renewed humanity.

The old creation was messed up by our rebellion and sin.  It led to humans being stuck in the grave, the dead, and no mechanism for ever getting out.  Yet, Jesus has paid the price for our sins so that we can follow him out of the grave and into the immortal, indestructible bodies that the Father has planned for us.

Thus, the firstborn in this situation is parallel to his firstborn status among creation.  In both cases, he has first place and inherits it all.

So that he himself would have first place over all things.  His unique resurrection establishes the path forward for the rest of us.  This gives him first place over humanity as a human, not just as God.  As the eternal Son who created all things, he always had first place.  Yet, now, he must act in such a way as to receive the first place among the new creation.

Think about it.  In Jesus, a human is now the supreme authority over all things in the heavens and the earth.

Because it pleased [God] to have all the fullness dwell in him.  This phrase is literally, “because he was pleased to have all the fullness dwell in him.”  Since we are talking about the Son, it seems most likely that the first pronoun “he” is referring to God the Father, whereas the second one refers to the Son of His love.  It is His plan.  The Father desired the eternal Son to take on human flesh in such a way that the fullness of His Spirit dwelt in him. 

Think of the Old Testament.  We often see the Spirit of God coming upon individuals with a certain measure and for a certain event.  It was always understood that a human being could only handle so much of the power of God, the Spirit of God, without dying.  Yet, in Jesus, the fullness of God’s Spirit dwelled in him.  He was somehow fully God, and yet also fully human.

It appears that humans were not just designed to be a dwelling place in which the Spirit of God could enter and empower.  Even more, we were designed in such a way to make the incarnation of the eternal Son possible.  It made it possible for Jesus to do a work that no fallen angel could have ever forseen.

Notice that it “pleased” Him to have it so.  The incarnation of Jesus is God’s good pleasure.  It is His artistic flair in fixing all things, and we would do well to pay attention to this. 

And through him to reconcile to Himself all things.  Paul speaks of God’s intention “to reconcile all things to Himself.”  This seems to be part of the pleasure of God the Father.  It was the fullness of God in Jesus that allows him to reconcile all things back to the Father.

Reconcile is a word that involves something that is out of harmony, not as it is supposed to be, an error, etc.  To reconcile can take on various ideas, depending upon what is wrong.  God’s main intention is to reconcile humanity by making it possible for us to be released from the dead and to follow Jesus into the New Humanity.  This is a humanity that perfectly images God the Father and is in harmony with His purposes.

However, “all things” is about more than humanity.  What does it mean to reconcile the heavens?  This is where some project the idea called universalism.  It posits that God must save all, even the devil himself.  However, this is not what we see in the New Testament.  Yes, in relationships, we generally think of reconciliation as the two parties coming together and being in harmony.  Of course, this is the reconciliation that God desires.  However, reconciliation is also about making all things right.  Thus, sometimes reconciliation requires the removal of that which refuses to conform to the “very good” that God intends all things to be.  Thus, Romans 8:22 has all of creation groaning.  It awaits the manifestation of the Sons of God, i.e., redeemed and glorified humans.  Yet, at the same time, there is a warning of a day of removal of the wicked into the Lake of Fire.

Making peace by the blood of his cross…whether things on earth or in the heavens.  It was the shedding of his life-blood at the cross that makes peace with God the Father possible.  This is another way of talking about the reconciliation.  In Jesus, we who have been enemies can be transformed into not just those who have a peace treaty, but are still hostile.  Rather, it is peace with God in every way.  We are no longer enemies, and the hostility between us has been resolved.  Romans 5:1 says it this way, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Do you have peace with God?  You can only have peace with Him by putting your faith in Jesus and following him.  Peace with God also brings peace within us.  Our hearts and minds are susceptible to moments of turbulence because we live in this world.  However, the grace of Jesus enables us to see those storms settle down; “Peace, be still!” 

May God help  us to see the glorious nature of who Jesus is and what he has done for us.  And, may we firmly embrace the One who went to the cross for us, went into the grave for us, and has been resurrected to sit at the right hand of God the Father for us!

Son of the Father's Love audio