UNLESS A MAN IS SOBER OF MIND AND BODY

1 Peter 5:8

1Pe 5:8 Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.

Be sober, be vigilant,.... The apostle had exhorted to each of these before; see 

1Pe 1:13 but thought fit to repeat them; sobriety and watchfulness being exceeding necessary and useful in the Christian life; and the one cannot well be without the other: unless a man is sober in body and mind, he will not be watchful, either over himself or others, or against the snares of sin, Satan, and the world; and if he is not on his watch and guard, he is liable to every sin and temptation. The Syriac version renders the words, "watch", and "be ye mindful", or "remember"; watch with diligence, care, and industry, keeping a good lookout, minding and observing everything that presents, and remembering the power and cunning of the enemy; and the Ethiopic version renders them thus, "be ye prudent, and cause your heart to understand"; referring them not to temperance of body, but sobriety of mind, and to a prudent conduct and behaviour, as having a subtle as well as a malicious enemy to deal with:

because your adversary the devil; he who is a defamer and calumniator; who accuses God to men, and men to God, and is therefore styled the accuser of the brethren; he is the saints' avowed and implacable enemy. Satan is an enemy to mankind in general, but more especially to the seed of the woman, to Christ personal, and to Christ mystical, to all the elect of God: the word here used is a forensic term, and signifies a court adversary, or one that litigates a point in law, or opposes another in an action or suit at law. The Jews (c) have adopted this word into their language, and explain it by בעל דין, "a law adversary", or one that has a suit of law depending against another. Satan accuses men of the breach of the law, and pleads that justice might take place, and punishment be inflicted, and which he pursues with great violence and diligence:

as a roaring lion; so called, both on account of his strength, and also because of his rage, malice, and cruelty, which he breathes out against the saints, who, though he cannot destroy them, will do all he can to terrify and affright them; so the young lions in Psa 104:21 are, by the Cabalistic Jews (d), understood of devils; to which, for the above reasons, they may be truly compared:

walketh about; to and fro in the earth; see Job 1:7 as a lion runs about here and there, when almost famished with hunger; and it also denotes the insidious methods, wiles, and stratagems Satan takes to surprise men, and get an advantage of them: he takes a tour, and comes round upon them, upon the back of them, at an unawares, so that they have need to be always sober, and upon their guard:

seeking whom he may devour; this is the end of his walking about: and the like is expressed in the Targum on Job 1:7

"and Satan answered before the Lord, and said, from going about in the earth למבדק בעובדי, "to search into the works" of the children of men, and from walking in it;''

that so he might have something to accuse them of, and they fall a prey into his hands. This is the work he is continually employed in; he is always seeking to do mischief, either to the souls, or bodies, or estates of men, especially the former; though he can do nothing in either respect without a permission, not unless he "may"; and though this, with respect to body and estate, is sometimes granted, as in the case of Job, yet never with respect to the souls of any of God's elect, which are safe in Christ's hands, and out of his reach; this hinders not but that saints should be sober and watchful.

Do not give a foothold in your daily life in Christ to the enemy!

1Pe 5:9 Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset--rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.

5:8 Although we should not worry, we must be sober and vigilant, because we have a powerful adversary, the devil. To be sober means to be serious-minded, to take a realistic approach to life, to be intelligent concerning the stratagems of Satan. Pentecost well says:

An individual who takes no cognizance of the nature or character of the world, one who is unmindful of the purposes and attacks of our adversary, the Devil, can afford to live in a lighthearted or flippant way. But for one who sees life as Jesus Christ sees it, there must be an entirely new attitude, an entirely new outlook characterized by sobriety.

There must also be constant vigilance, a preparedness to meet every attack of the wicked one. Here the adversary is described as a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. The devil has different poses. Sometimes he comes like a snake, seeking to lure people into moral corruption. Sometimes he disguises himself as an angel of light, attempting to deceive people in the spiritual realm. Here, as a roaring lion, he is bent on terrorizing God's people through persecution.

5:9 We are not to surrender to his fury. Rather we must resist him through prayer and God's word. We do not have strength in ourselves to oppose him, but as we are firm in our faith, in our dependence on the Lord, we can resist him.

One of Satan's devices is to discourage us with the thought that our sufferings are unique. As we pass through the fire of affliction, it is easy to faint under the mistaken idea that no one else has as much trouble as we do. Peter reminds us that the same sufferings are experienced by our Christian brotherhood throughout the world.

5:10 True victory in persecution is to see God behind the scenes working out His wonderful purposes. No matter what our trials, we should remember first of all that He is the God of all grace. This lovely title of our God reminds us that His dealings with us are not based on what we deserve, but on His thoughts of love to us. No matter how fierce our testing, we can always be thankful we are not in hell where we ought to be.

A second strong consolation is that He has called us to His eternal glory. This enables us to look beyond the sufferings of this life to the time when we shall be with the Savior and be like Him forever. Just think of it! We have been picked up from the scrap heap and called to His eternal glory!

A third comfort is that suffering is just for a while. When contrasted with the eternal glory, life's afflictions are less than momentary.

The final encouragement is that God uses suffering to educate us and mold our Christian character. He is training us for reigning. Four aspects of this training process are listed.

Perfect—Trials make the believer fit; they supply needed elements in his character to make him spiritually mature.

Establish—Suffering makes Christians more stable, able to maintain a good confession, and to bear up under pressure. This is the same word the Lord Jesus used with Peter: “ . . .strengthen [or establish] your brethren” (Luk 22:32).

Strengthen—Persecution is intended by Satan to weaken and wear out believers, but it has the opposite effect. It strengthens them to endure.

Settle—This verb is related to the word “foundation” in the original. God wants every believer to be firmly planted in a secure place in His Son and in His word.

Lacey says:

The inevitable suffering of the Christian life always yields the same blessed result in the character of believers; it will refine the faith, adjust the character, establish, strengthen and settle the people of God.

5:11 In view of the marvelous way in which God overrules persecution and suffering for His glory and our good, it is little wonder that Peter bursts into this doxology: “To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Only to such a One is glory due; only in the hands of such a One is dominion safe!