What are his commandments?

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420» 1Pet 2:11 . . Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain
from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul.

"fleshly lusts" pertain to human nature's longings and cravings. Not all are
bad for us. The ones we need to avoid indulging are the inordinate ones, viz:
those that wage war against the soul, i.e. have a marked effect upon the
core of our being.

* An example of this is located in the 13th chapter of 2Samuel.
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421» 1Pet 2:12 . . Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that
in the thing in which they slander you as malefactors, they may on account
of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of
visitation.

The Greek word for "malefactors" is somewhat ambiguous. It can, among
other things, refer to a bad influence.

Curiously, some of the principles and core values held dear by Christians are
sometimes regarded by non Christians as detrimental to the so-called
greater good; especially in socialist, communist, and/or totalitarian societies.

The Greek word for "visitation" is another ambiguous word that can mean,
among other things, inspection and/or evaluation.

Webster’s defines "inspection" as a checking or testing of an individual
against established standards.

If it turns out that the criticism hurled at believers was unjustified, then the
hurlers will have to pay. In so doing, how will they glorify God? Well, the
slanderers themselves may not pay their respects to God, but their
retribution will certainly honor His standards.
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[Magenta]

"fleshly lusts" pertain to human nature's longings and cravings. Not all are bad for us.
The ones we need to avoid indulging are the inordinate ones, viz: those that wage war
against the soul, i.e. have a marked effect upon the core of our being.

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is
contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.

 

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422» 1Pet 2:13-15 . . Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for The
Lord's sake : whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as
unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the
praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye
may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

Every ordinance of man of course includes traffic laws like J-walking, unsafe
lane changes, drifting through stop signs, tailgating, road rage, exceeding
speed limits, feeding parking meters, crossing streets against the light,
blocking driveways, failure to yield the right of way, illegal U-turns; etc.

"foolish men" would include employee theft, factions like ANTIFA, and
activists involved in civil disobedience.

"ignorance" can be defined as a lack of knowledge, education, and/or
awareness. Used the wrong way; labeling someone ignorant is an effective
insult. But to us it means that someone hasn't been sufficiently catechized to
know any better.

* Human government isn't the end-all; it's only a tier in the hierarchy. The
top tier belongs to the supreme being, and His word is the final word. (e.g.
Acts 4:19 & 5:29)
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423» 1Pet 2:16a . . Live as free men

Some of Christ's believing followers in the Roman empire were slaves; so it
was legally impossible for them to live as free men without risking severe
consequences.

I think what we're looking at here is that Peter is encouraging the Christians
to whom he wrote to voluntarily accept their status as slaves instead of
resenting it. In other words: free men have choices; and even though some
of the Christians were slaves against their will, they were free to choose to
make the best of it or let it get to them.

A pretty useful platitude that I once heard goes like this: Bloom where
you're planted. So; if you should find yourself planted in adverse
circumstances; make up your mind to make the best of it. This is something
wherein you have a choice; even though you have no choice about being
stuck. It's really all about attitude adjustment.
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424» 1Pet 2:16b . . Do not use your freedom as a cloak for evil; live as
servants of God.

That passage is likely a reiteration of the one below:

"You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into
an opportunity for the flesh" (Gal 5:13)

No sin that a believer commits will ever again put them in danger of the
wrath of God.

"I assure you, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent
me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they
have already passed from death into life." (John 5:24)

However, believers should never regard John 5:24 as a license to steal, so to
speak. It's freedom to steal, but certainly not license because theft is just as
wrong for God's servants as it is for His opponents (Rom 6:1-15). Just
because believers won't suffer the sum of all fears for theft is not an eo ipso
exemption for them to have a go at it.
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425» 1Pet 2:17a . . Honor all men.

Right after the Flood, God outlawed taking human life; and the reason given for the
ban was not because killing people is necessarily wrong, but because people
were made in the likeness of God. (Gen 9:5-6)

James criticizes the use of language that expresses a wish that someone be
sent to Hell. The reason given is not because that sort of language is
necessarily wrong, but because people were made in the likeness of God.
(Jas 3:8-9)

I gather that failure to treat everyone with dignity-- regardless of age, race,
gender, or status --not only dishonors men but by extension also dishonors
God in whose likeness all men were made.

FAQ: Does that mean even serial killers, mass murderers, and monsters like
Osama Bin Laden, Robert Mugabe, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Saddam
Hussein, and crooks like Al Capone and Bernie Madoff have to be treated
humanely and with dignity the same as everyone else?

REPLY: Yes, absolutely because the honor that Peter is talking about doesn't
have to be earned, merited or otherwise deserved.

Take for example Lev 19:32 which reads like this:

"Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere
your God. I am The Lord"

Senior citizens don't have earn your respect, i.e. it's neither merited nor
otherwise deserved. The only requirement is age; and failure to dignify
senior citizens fails to satisfy God's expectations.

NOTE: I've seen young Christians in Sunday school treat senior citizens as
peers, and sometimes even as children. That kind of conduct is not only
disturbing, but it's also very unbecoming for Christian people.
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[GWH]

1 John 2:3-5
King James Version
3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

So what are his commandments?

The 205 commandments or teachings of Jesus are being presented a few at a time for your commentary on the TOJ thread.

 

[studier]

The 205 commandments or teachings of Jesus are being presented a few at a time for your commentary on the TOJ thread.

TOJ thread?

 

[GWH]

TOJ thread?

The Teachings of Jesus (a unique effort to list/enumerate them as far as I am aware :^)

 

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426» 1Pet 2:17b . . love the brotherhood

The Greek word translated "brotherhood" appears in only two places in the
entire new testament; both are in the apostle Peter's epistles: one here and
the other in 1Pet 5:9.

It's a curious word because it doesn't specifically refer to "the church which
is his body". Adelphotes basically means a fraternity; defined by Webster's
as a group of people associated or formally organized for a common
purpose, interest, or pleasure; i.e. persons of the same class, profession,
character, or tastes: for example leagues, guilds, societies, and trade
unions.

Just to be on the safe side, I think we should assume that Peter's
instructions apply to anyone and everyone identifying themselves as a
Christian regardless of their denominational affiliation.

One thing to our advantage is that the Greek word for "love" in 1Pet 2:17 is
impersonal, viz: it requires neither fondness nor affection; it only requires
that we be humane, e.g. civil, courteous, friendly, peaceable, hospitable,
sympathetic, tolerant, lenient, forgiving, charitable, and generous. In other
words; we don't especially have to like everyone identifying themselves as
Christians; we just have to be friendly.
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