Peter,
the Servant of God
By Sara
Stoner
Peter
addresses his second letter to the churches as this: “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of
Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the
righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ”. Notice that he addresses himself first of all
as Christ’s servant. In the three years he walked with Christ, at times he
seemed to be one step ahead of the Lord. Where is the man who confidently said
to Jesus shortly before His betrayal, “Although all shall be offended, yet will
not I”? And when Jesus confirmed,
“…before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice”, Peter spoke the more
vehemently “If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise”. And this spoke all the disciples (Mark 14 29-31, Matt 26:35). And where is the man who took up the sword in
the garden, singlehandedly defending Jesus against the Jews who would take
Him? That man has died, and in his place
is the new man, Peter, the rock, upon whose confession that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of the living God, the Church would be built: Peter, the
servant of Jesus Christ. He well defines himself as a servant, one who is no
longer acting in the strength of his own flesh, but willing to listen to His
master’s commands, willing to do Jesus’ will rather than his own, willing and
now able to follow in His master’s steps, even unto death.
To
be a servant of God and of Jesus Christ is a very high calling. Those who desire to be God’s servants and
Christ’s servants are in good company.
Moses is several times mentioned in scripture as ‘the servant of God’. God asked Satan to consider, ‘my servant,
Job’, ‘a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil’. Daniel was ‘the servant of the living God’,
as was Abraham, Jonah, Elijah, Isaiah, James, Jude, Paul, Epaphras, Phebe, and
many others specifically named in the Scriptures. Israel as a nation was and is
God’s servant. God said, “This people have I formed for myself; they shall show
forth my praise” (Isa. 43:21).
When
we consider God’s servants, we must consider God’s primary servant, the One
sent from the Father to do His will. “Behold, My servant, whom I uphold; mine
elect in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My spirit upon Him: He shall bring
forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall
not cry, nor lift up, or cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall He not break, and the
smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto
truth. He shall not fail, nor be
discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His law” (Isa.
42:1-4). There are none to compare to this servant. That is why we must behold
Him. Paul wrote to the Philippian church to have this same mind of servant hood
in them as was in their Lord Jesus Christ. “Let nothing be done through strife
or vain glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves” (Phil. 2:3). How are they able
to do this? – By beholding God’s Servant.
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus
(because we have been given the mind of Christ), who, though He was in the form
of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied
Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of
men. And being found in human form, He
humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a
cross” (Phil. 2: 5-8 ESV). Peter had
beheld this suffering, dying and now risen Servant. Now as Peter, the servant
and apostle of Jesus Christ, he wrote to the church, “Clothe yourselves, all of
you, with humility one toward another, for God opposes the proud but gives
grace to the humble. Humble yourselves,
therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt
you…” (I Peter 5: 5-6 ESV).
There
is yet to come a day of reckoning for all of God’s servants. In Jesus’ parable of the talents, the men who
were faithful and increased what they were given received the same joyous
welcome, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy
lord”. But the servant who hid his talent, Jesus considered a wicked and
slothful servant and was cast into outer darkness. Jesus said of His servants,
“If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am there shall also my
servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor” (Jon 12:26). Paul encouraged the Colossian slaves who
worked to please the Lord that “of the Lord, ye shall receive the reward of the
inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:24). Those servants who have been ill treated and
whose blood has been shed for the sake of the gospel will be avenged. We have
much to look forward to in the world to come, as John saw in the Revelation,
“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall
be in it; and His servants shall serve Him, And they shall see His face: and
His name shall be in their foreheads” (Rev. 22:3-4).
