2/10/2025
“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” (1 Peter 2:17)
Love is relating with a person, place or activity on the premise of its true and accurate worth. This is why the Bible says to first of all, “Honor all people…” (1 Peter 2:17). It doesn’t matter that these do not share your beliefs, level of maturity or education. We honor everyone. Why? Because every person on this planet, no matter how sinful, is worth Jesus. Jesus is the worth that the Father ascribes to every single person on this planet and this is why you have got to let this truth move you out of your comfort zone to do more for others. To honor, means to esteem highly. It means to see beyond status, race, and other social markers and esteem everyone on the merit of their true worth–Jesus.
And this takes us to the next thing we are admonished to do in 1 Peter 2:17 which is, loving the brotherhood. 1 John 4:20 says, “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” Loving your brothers and sisters is proof that you love God. How? Your brother and sisters in Christ are the very offspring of God. 1 John 3:1 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” The world cannot love your brothers and sisters in Christ. Only you can.
Next, 1 Peter 2:17 says to “...Fear God…” To love God is to fear Him. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). God is a Spirit and the love language of a Spirit is reverence. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Love, as we have come to learn, is not an emotion but a quality of knowledge that provokes action toward another. And as we now see, to God, love is reverence.
Lastly, the Bible says “...Honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17). King here refers to a sovereign and the agents of that sovereign. There are spiritual and physical sovereigns and the Bible way to love them is to honor them by being law abiding. In the case of our spiritual sovereign, Jesus, the Bible says, “Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). The way to love a king is to yield to the king’s voice. And this is the same for agents of a king. Romans 13:4 NIV says, “For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”
Have a beautiful day!
Faith-Filled Confession
I honor and delight in everyone God brings my way today, knowing their complete and absolute worth is Jesus. I would only see them as they are and not as they pretend to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen
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