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When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He recognized the government of God, lived a human life that was absolutely under the government of God, and committed everything related to Him to God’s government—John 6:38; 1 Pet. 2:21-23:
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The Lord kept committing all the insults and injuries that He suffered to the One who judges righteously in His government, the righteous God, to whom He submitted Himself—vv. 21-23.
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He put His trust in this righteous One, recognizing His government—v. 23.
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As believers in Christ, we need to realize that we are under God’s government, to respect God’s government, and to learn to acknowledge God’s government—5:6:
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As God is governing us, He supplies us with whatever we need; God grants us His provision so that we may cooperate with His government—v. 5; 2 Pet. 1:1-4; 3:13.
Morning Nourishment
1 Pet. 2:21 …Christ also suffered on your behalf, leaving you a model so that you may follow in His steps.23 Who being reviled did not revile in return; suffering, He did not threaten but kept committing all to Him who judges righteously.
2 Pet. 1:3 Seeing that His divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness, through the full knowledge of Him…
With God’s government there is God’s provision. God grants us His provision so that we may cooperate with His government. In other words, if we would carry out God’s government, we need God’s provision; that is, we need the divine supply. In 2 Peter the writer first presents the divine supply. We see how God’s power provides all the supply for our need. This is the main significance of this book. Furthermore, the Epistle of 2 Peter shows us a continuation of the picture of God’s government unveiled in 1 Peter. Therefore, what we have in 2 Peter is the divine provision and the divine government. (Life-study of 2 Peter, p. 1)
Today’s Reading
[In 1 Peter 2:23], according to the usage of the verb “kept committing” in Greek, “all” needs to be inserted here as its object. This word refers to all the sufferings of the Lord. He kept committing all the insults He suffered and all His injuries to Him who judges righteously in His government, to the righteous God, to whom He submitted Himself. This indicates that the Lord recognized God’s government while He was living a human life on earth.I am somewhat concerned that in your reading of this verse you may not pay attention to the word judges. We are accustomed to saying that we commit things to the Lord who is faithful or merciful or kind. Have you ever said, “I commit everything to God who judges righteously”? I do not think that many of us have had this practice. The reason we do not pray like this is that our prayer, expression, and utterance are still too traditional. This keeps us from applying many of the thoughts and utterances in the pure Word.
While the Lord Jesus was on earth suffering, He kept committing all to the One who judges righteously. This brief word indicates not only that the Lord lived a life that was a model for us, but also that He lived a life absolutely under God’s government. He Himself was always under the government of God, and He committed everything related to Him to God’s judgment.
In 1 Peter 4:12 Peter says, “Beloved, do not think that the fiery ordeal among you, coming to you for a trial, is strange, as if it were a strange thing happening to you.”…Fiery ordeal here means burning. It signifies the burning of a smelting furnace for the purification of gold and silver, like the metaphor used in 1:7. Peter considered the persecution the believers suffered as such a burning furnace used by God to purify their life. This is God’s way to deal with the believers in the judgment of His governmental administration, which begins from His own house (4:17-19).
The fiery ordeal is God’s way to deal not with sinners and opposers but with believers, the members of His household. The burning furnace is a means used by God to carry out the judgment of His governmental administration. In the administration of His government, God uses fiery ordeals as a furnace to purify any dross the believers may have. Yes, as believers in Christ we are gold, yet we still have a lot of dross. Therefore, we need to be purified. This purification cannot be accomplished simply through teaching, fellowship, or attending the meetings of the church. We all need to pass through the burning furnace. God puts us into a burning furnace, into fiery ordeals, to burn away our dross. This is regarded by Peter as a judgment in God’s governmental dealing with the believers. (Life-study of 1 Peter, pp. 185-186, 275-276)
Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Peter, msgs. 1, 13