Powers in Submission

Title: Powers in Submission

Two months ago, at the start of this Peter and Jude sermon series, Dr. Hock Seng gave us an introduction to an inter-testamental Jewish literature known as 1 Enoch.[1] That was really helpful because though Peter and Jude both made quite a few references to such literature, they are so unfamiliar to us, even pastors too. If you missed the talk, then I encourage you to check out the notes that can be found on our church website. Fortunately, we also revisited the story of Noah in great detail two years ago, so that particular sermon series would be another useful resource we have online.[2] For the benefit of today's passage, I will now rehash some of the key elements of the story found in 1 Enoch. You can think of it as listening to a fan-fiction version of the story of Noah.

The story began in the ancient mythological times, when “The angels desire the beautiful daughters of humans (1 Enoch 6). Two hundred angels bind themselves with an oath and take human wives for themselves (1 En. 6-7). They teach dangerous arts that produce violence and evil on earth (1 En. 8-9). God decides to destroy the earth (with the Flood) (1 En. 10). The angels are bound and thrown into a dark place, where they await final punishment (1 En. 10). The announcement of doom to the fallen angels is carried out by Enoch himself.”[3]

What is different in Peter’s version of the story is that it is the resurrected Jesus who eventually made the proclamation of victory and judgment to the imprisoned spirits. The same Jesus “22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” If I were to sum up the purpose of referencing this story, it is to declare the final victory of Christ. At the grand finale of the story, Jesus triumphed over all evil, spiritual, cosmic forces. He has ultimate power over all of them. He has victory over them. If this is the purpose of the story, we might be wondering, this sounds like a fairy tale of angels and demons, what has that got to do with us?

I think that in some ways, its relevance to us is no different to the first century listeners of Peter’s letter. Their main concerns in life were likely also not these imprisoned spirits of the ancient days. But just like in the days of Noah, they too experience metaphorically the terrors of chaotic waters. They too struggle with major forces beyond their control as mere humans. Instead of disobedient angels, their suffering came from the persecution from the Roman political powers, from an Emperor who sees himself as semi-divine, from an unjust and oppressive class system, from enemies of God who threaten God’s people with brute strength and perverted values. In their helplessness and seeming defenselessness, this story is a comforting assurance of the truth: that God’s salvation for his people can overcome all these powers; that the final victory belongs to God. These evil powers may seem strong, but the real power lies in God.

Similarly for us, I doubt we are much worried about angels and demons these days. Unlike Peter’s times, we are also free from direct persecution because we live in a land of religious freedom. But even in this day and age, we can sense helplessness and defenselessness against the powers of the world; powers that represent chaos, rebellion and moral depravity. What can you do when the Russians roll in with tanks and anti-aircraft missiles? How do you deal with the racial rage that is burning in Ferguson, Missouri? I’m personally not fond of prescribing spiritual reasons to naturalistic human causes, and so I’m interpreting all these as purely symbolic of powers of evil, forces that are anti-God’s will for order and justice in this land. I’m reminded of what the British writer Arthur C. Clarke said as his Third Law of prediction: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Who needs fallen angels and demons when in the modern day, we have tons of weapons of mass destruction, or giant financial institutions whose greed and fall can cripple a global economy, or fear and disinformation that can easily go viral in modern communication? Any of these can trigger an avalanche of chaos that will overwhelm our world. So we feel small and weak. Our individual efforts against huge problems like the escalating climate change seem so feeble. But to those of us persevering on God’s side, the moral of the story remains: no matter how much it seems like the scales are tipped in favor of violence, sin and uncontrolled forces of corruption, the imbalance of power will eventually be overturned, and God will lead to the victory of his people. Whether it is during the time of Noah, or the example of Jesus, they point to the same theological truth: Vindication. The day you are proven right all along about your faith in God.

As I was preparing this message about vindication and ultimate victory, I am mindful of its similarities with some other religions. It is common amongst religions to talk about afterlife vindication as some kind of payoff for your earthly life. For some people, their idea of vindication can come in the form of a better reincarnation in the next life, for example.[4] I may be oversimplifying but Islam also has their version of paradise for their believers. I’m personally not a fan, but if you were into the joy of 72 virgins after death, then that could be a message of vindication for you. I did some research into the reliability of such claims, but what I discovered was too sexually explicit to describe in a sermon. It is also hotly debated amongst Islamic scholars. But no matter its accuracy, it “has lead to the 72 virgins concept being widely used as a way to entice other Muslims into carrying out "martyrdom operations" for Islam”. [5] Hence a message of vindication has its inherent danger. It may lead one to conclude that the end justifies the means. I can do whatever it takes in this life, so long as I get what I need in the afterlife. This has happened in Church history as well. “Pope Urban II made (an offer) to those soldiers who volunteered for the 1st Crusade. Said Urban in his rallying speech, “All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins.” Basically, Urban II was offering the forgiveness of sins in exchange for military service.”[6] With an offer like that, it was no surprise to find the worst criminals of those times joining the crusades in order to get into heaven. At the Holy Land, they pillaged and slaughtered everything in sight, thinking that their salvation would be further secured.

However, I believe Pope Urban II and these crusaders have gotten it totally wrong. This is not what this message of vindication and victory is about. We must be extremely wary of attempts of using vindication as a reward for acts of violence towards others.[7] In fact, it is the exact opposite. When we examine our passage today, we can see that this message comes within the context of doing good. 1 Peter 3: 8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

In the process of doing good, you may suffer unjustly. You may feel that you are not getting your well-deserved immediate returns of your good deeds or good intentions. But these are inconsequential for the true believers because we know that ultimate vindication is a certainty, and that the victory for good is already won. Therefore, our Christian hope doesn’t work as a form of means and ends. We don’t do this or that to get what we want in the afterlife. That is a victory already, regardless of your good deeds, simply by the grace of God. So it is not a matter of means and ends.

Instead of saying the end justifies the means, I prefer to say the end justifies the meaning. Our acts of love, our show of compassion, our choice to repay evil with blessing, all these make greater sense, it becomes much more meaningful, because we know that the vindication and victory are already secured. The good that we do is not just naïve wishful thinking. The victorious end justifies the meaning of our Christian living, because we know it would not be in vain. Just like the family of 8 in the ark, by putting our faith in God, we will eventually survive through the stormy weather.

Part of the difficulty of understanding Peter lies in his love for mixed metaphors. From the water of the flood, he then makes a connection to the water used for baptism. Verse 21 “this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ”. When it states that baptism saves, it doesn’t necessarily mean that baptism has any special spiritual power in itself. Peter specifically first denies baptism has any cleansing properties. Then he further clarifies that its saving is entirely because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In that sense, the phrase “baptism saves” is similar to phrases such as “faith saves”. Though the work of salvation comes entirely from God, the phrase reflects the necessity of a human response to God’s grace.

So why did Peter choose to mention baptism at this juncture of his argument? This is because one of the spiritual significance of baptism is that it is “the pledge of a clear conscience toward God”. That means that baptism is a way through which we express our commitment to God with a pure heart. We may desire the good things from God. We may admire the good values or harbor aspirations of the good life. But all these are meaningless without deliberate commitment, and I think that is a timely reminder from Peter. In the ancient story, only those who committed themselves to God, to the ark that was prepared, were “saved through the water”. Similarly for us, we are truly saved when we hold on and commit ourselves to God. One of the dictionary definitions of Baptism is: “a trying or purifying experience, or an initiation”. Even though that is not the theological definition for Christianity, I like that nuance because our faith and commitment are only revealed at those trying and purifying experiences. When we are faced with suffering for doing good, when we encounter “those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ”(v.16), are you able to go through that with your commitment to God, to stick to “gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience”(v.15)? That’s the real baptism to me. When you commit yourself and your faith can withstand and go through that, that’s when you are initiated into genuine Christian living. Peter personally witnessed how Jesus made it through the baptism of suffering for doing good. Even though Peter might have failed it the first time, we know that he eventually made it through, sacrificing his life for the good of others. His words to us are not just mere teaching, it is demonstrated with his life commitment.

Our sermon today began with the cosmic battle between good and evil powers of this world. But I think the real battle is within each of our hearts. We know we have to be doing good. The struggle is when we have to do good despite suffering unjustly for it. We have to do good despite feeling that the forces of evil and corruption are so strong and overwhelming. We are tempted to fight fire with fire. We feel powerless with just doing good. I don’t pretend that any of this is easy. But I’m hoping that your Christian faith makes it easier. It makes the life that you have committed yourself into more meaningful. We 9 “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.” (v.9) We do not care about fighting for those kind of earthly temporal victory. We do not do that because we know we already have the ultimate victory. We know that all powers are actually in submission to Christ. Instead, when we fight, we fight for the will of God even through suffering, the will that is for the good of others.

If you want to know what this means in daily application, I can do no better than use the words of Peter himself. 1 Peter 4:7-11 “The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

[1] Notes on 1 Enoch can be downloaded here: http://www.jubilee.org.sg/introduction-to-1-enoch/
[2] Check out my analysis of the speculations on “Nephilim” and “sons of God” in my sermon (part of an entire sermon series on the story of Noah): http://www.jubilee.org.sg/sermons/?sermon_id=408
[3] Lewis R. Donelson, I & II Peter and Jude (The New Testament Library), p. 116
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebirth_(Buddhism)
[5] http://wikiislam.net/wiki/72_Virgins
[6 http://www.extremetheology.com/2005/11/
pope_urban_iis_.html
[7] Check out similar sentiments in Rev ChangAnn’s sermon on Psalm 149: http://www.jubilee.org.sg/sermons/?sermon_id=548