Lesson 13 — Unity and Blessing in the Fellowship

⁸Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.⁹Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.¹⁰For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;¹¹let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."1 Peter 3:8–12

Peter has spent three chapters shaping the believer's life toward the outside world (the state, the workplace, the watching neighbors, the unbelieving spouse). Now, with the word Finally, he turns to the inside of the church. The royal priesthood is first a fellowship, and the health of its inner life is the condition of its outward witness. A church that bites itself cannot bless the world. So Peter gathers five virtues, one calling, and one Psalm, and asks: when the assembly is together, what should it feel like? It should feel like blessing.

1. Five virtues of the fellowship

The list is compact and luminous: "Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind" (3:8). Notice that Peter addresses "all of you," because these are not the gifts of a few leaders but the shared disposition of every member. In a brethren assembly, where every priest ministers, this is the air the whole room breathes.

Unity of mind (homophrones). Not identical opinions on everything, but a shared mind, the same foundational allegiance to Christ that holds differences without fracture.
Sympathy (sympatheis). To feel with. The brother's joy is mine, the sister's grief is mine. No cold distance in the body.
Brotherly love (philadelphoi). The warm family affection of 1:22. The church is not an organization we join; it is a family we are born into.
A tender heart (eusplanchnoi). Literally "good bowels," the seat of compassion in the ancient idiom. A heart that moves toward the other's need, not away from it.
A humble mind (tapeinophrones). The humility that does not need to win, does not need to be seen, does not need to be first.

Notice thisThree of the five are about the mind (unity of mind, humble mind) and the heart (tender heart, sympathy). The fellowship Peter wants is not built by programs but by inner dispositions. A roomful of tender, humble, like-minded people is already a witness before anyone says a word.

2. The calling: to bless

Then the command that reframes everything: "Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing" (3:9). The natural reflex when wronged is to return it: evil for evil, insult for insult. Peter says no. The royal priest blesses instead.

Notice the weight of the motive: to this you were called. Blessing the one who wrongs us is not a higher option for the spiritual; it is the calling. And it is also the path to our own blessing: that you may obtain a blessing. The God who blessed us calls us to be a blessing, and the very act of blessing is the way we inherit more of the blessing ourselves (Henry on 1 Pet 3:9). Adrian Rogers catches the logic: the Christian is a walking blessing, because he has been blessed, and the blessing flows through him rather than stopping on him (Rogers, on 1 Pet 3:9).

The devotional pointThe priest is a conduit, not a reservoir. The blessing of God is meant to flow through him to the very person who wronged him. When we return a curse for a curse, we dam up the blessing; when we bless instead, the river keeps flowing, and we are watered in the flowing.

3. The Psalm of the good life

To ground it, Peter quotes Psalm 34 (the same Psalm he drew on in 2:3): "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it" (3:10-11). Peter is writing to sufferers, and he tells them, in the words of David, that the good life is found not in avenging yourself but in the disciplined tongue, the turned-away-from-evil life, and the pursued peace.

Notice the three actions in the quote. First, the tongue: the discipline of blessing starts in the mouth (cf. James 3). Second, the turning: a concrete refusal of evil and a choice of good. Third, the pursuit of peace: peace is not passive, something we fall into; it is something we chase. "Seek peace and pursue it" is active, energetic, the believer going after harmony as a hunter goes after game (Guzik on 1 Pet 3:11).

4. The Lord's face, for and against

The passage ends with a sobering pair: "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil" (3:12). The same God who watches over the righteous with attentive eyes and open ears sets His face against the one who does evil. Peter is warning the church, do not suppose the inner life of the assembly is a small thing. The God who hears our prayers is also the God who turns His face from the one who repays evil for evil.

The single takeawayThe royal priesthood is a blessing people. We share one mind, feel with one another, love as family, keep tender hearts, and walk in humility. And when wronged, we bless instead of retaliating, because to this we were called. The God whose eyes are on the righteous waters the blessing we give away.

Try thisIdentify one person in the assembly (or beyond it) who has wronged you, even slightly, and whom you are tempted to repay in kind. This week, bless them instead, in a word of gratitude, a prayer kept, a kindness done. Trace the calling: you were called to bless, and the blessing comes back through your hands.

Application — head, heart, hands

Head. Believe that the inner life of the assembly is the condition of its outward witness, that you are called to bless rather than retaliate, and that the God whose eyes are on the righteous is the source of the blessing you give away.

Heart. Cultivate unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and humility. Mortify the cold distance, the rehearsed grievance, and the sharp tongue that repays evil for evil.

Hands. Govern your tongue this week (verse 10), turn from one concrete evil (verse 11), and pursue one peace that has eluded you. And bless, specifically, the person you are tempted to curse. The priest is a conduit.

Check your understanding

What does Peter command instead of repaying evil (3:9)?

To repay evil with a greater evil returned
To bless, for to this we were called
To ignore the wrongdoer completely in silence
To publicly denounce the wrongdoer at once

"Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing" (3:9). Blessing the wrongdoer is the calling, and it is the path to inheriting blessing ourselves. The priest is a conduit, not a reservoir.

Check your understanding

In Psalm 34 (quoted in 3:11), how is peace to be treated?

It is to be sought and actively pursued
It is to be waited for until it simply arrives
It is impossible in this present evil age
It belongs only to the leaders of the church

"Let him seek peace and pursue it" (3:11). Peace is active, not passive. The believer goes after harmony the way a hunter goes after game. The good life of Psalm 34 is found in the disciplined tongue, the turned-from-evil life, and the pursued peace.

Check your understanding

What does 3:12 say about the Lord's posture toward evil?

He overlooks it as long as we mean well
He rewards it whenever the end is just
His face is against those who do evil
He ignores it until the final judgment day

"The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil" (3:12). The God who attends to the righteous with open ears sets His face against the evildoer. The inner life of the assembly is not a small thing to Him.

Read for the next lessonRead David Guzik on 1 Peter 3:13-17, and re-read verse 9 until "bless" feels like a calling rather than a loss. The next lesson returns to the theme of suffering, now for righteousness' sake: 1 Peter 3:13-17, "Blessed Are Those Who Suffer for Righteousness," with Christ set apart as Lord in the heart.