Introduction
Are you letting your circumstances, or your fears about what might happen next, steal the peace Jesus promised? Here is the central teaching I want to press into your heart: real peace is offered to those who are “in Christ Jesus,” even in troubling times, because God is sovereign, God cares, and God strengthens us to stand firm.
Peter wrote 1 Peter to believers living as pilgrims and exiles, out of place in a hostile world, facing pressure, slander, and suffering. That context isn’t only “back then.” It’s also “right now.” And it’s fitting that Peter ends his letter the way the angels announced Jesus’ birth: with peace, a message delivered to fearful people in an unsettling world (Luke 2:10–14). As we close this letter, I want you to see that Peter’s final words aren’t a casual “peace out.” They are a deeply theological promise: “Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus” (1 Peter 5:14). That peace is meant to steady you, whether the trouble is “out there” in the world or “in here” in your personal life.
Main Points
Are you letting your circumstances, or your fears about what might happen next, steal the peace Jesus promised? Here is the central teaching I want to press into your heart: real peace is offered to those who are “in Christ Jesus,” even in troubling times, because God is sovereign, God cares, and God strengthens us to stand firm.
Peter wrote 1 Peter to believers living as pilgrims and exiles, out of place in a hostile world, facing pressure, slander, and suffering. That context isn’t only “back then.” It’s also “right now.” And it’s fitting that Peter ends his letter the way the angels announced Jesus’ birth: with peace, a message delivered to fearful people in an unsettling world (Luke 2:10–14).
As we close this letter, I want you to see that Peter’s final words aren’t a casual “peace out.” They are a deeply theological promise: “Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus” (1 Peter 5:14). That peace is meant to steady you, whether the trouble is “out there” in the world or “in here” in your personal life.
Peace Belongs To Those In Christ
Peter’s closing greeting is simple but loaded: “Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus” (1 Peter 5:14). That phrase matters.
- Peace is not merely a mood, a personality trait, or the absence of conflict.
- Peace is a gospel gift rooted in union with Jesus, for those who are in Christ.
This is why the Christmas announcement of peace wasn’t sentimental; it was invasive grace. Heaven came to earth, into political occupation, personal hardship, poverty, instability, and fear. And God still brings peace into a world like that.
So I want you to ask yourself plainly: Am I trying to get peace without Christ, or am I receiving peace because I am in Christ?
Humility Under God’s Mighty Hand
Peter says, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). Here is one of the great discipleship lessons of this whole letter: humility is expressed through submission.
Throughout 1 Peter, submission shows up in hard places:
- submitting to governing authorities (1 Peter 2:13–17),
- enduring unjust treatment in the workplace (1 Peter 2:18–20),
- persevering in difficult marriages with godly conduct (1 Peter 3:1–7),
- and finally, submitting to God Himself as the ultimate act of trust.
This is where peace begins to grow: I stop pretending I’m in control. I bow under the mighty hand of God. The hand over my life is not random fate, not political chaos, not “the universe”, it is the sovereign hand of a good God.
And Peter connects that humility to a promise: in due time God exalts the lowly. That is the pattern fulfilled in Jesus Himself, humbling to the manger and the cross, then exalted in resurrection and glory (Philippians 2:5–11). Christmas only makes sense with Easter in view.
Cast Your Cares On A Caring God
Peter continues: “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). This is not a small command. It’s an invitation to unload the weight you were never meant to carry.
Notice the logic:
- Humble yourself under God’s hand (v.6),
- by casting your anxieties onto God (v.7).
Worry often reveals a battle over control: Who is really responsible for my life? Who holds my future? Jesus addresses this directly in Matthew 6, pointing to birds and lilies and asking what worry can actually change (Matthew 6:25–34). Worry can feel productive, but it’s powerless.
So I’m discipling you toward a better form of humility: not merely “thinking about yourself less,” but thinking about God more. Study His power. Consider His sovereignty. Remember His goodness. Worship lifts your eyes, shrinks your pride, and steadies your heart.
If you’re restless, anxious, or exhausted, don’t just try harder, cast your cares on the God who cares. Christianity is not faith in an impersonal force. We believe in a personal God who proved His care by sending His Son.
Watchful Living In A Real Spiritual War
Peter immediately adds, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Don’t miss the tension:
- We cast our cares on God,
- but we do not become careless.
Peter names the true enemy. Not merely the Roman Empire. Not only Nero. Not primarily hostile neighbors or cultural pressure. The adversary is the devil.
This matters because if we misidentify the enemy, we fight at the wrong level:
- If we think the enemy is only political, then our only answer is political.
- If we think the enemy is only cultural, then our only answer is debate.
- But if the enemy is spiritual, then we must respond spiritually, with truth, prayer, vigilance, and faith.
I’m not telling you earthly issues don’t matter. I’m telling you Peter refuses to let the church forget what’s underneath them.
Resist Satan By Standing Firm Together
Peter’s command is clear: “Resist him, steadfast in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9). We resist not with panic, not with obsession, but with steadfast faith, grounded in the gospel and anchored in God’s Word.
And Peter adds a crucial strategy: remember you are not alone, “knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Peter 5:9). One of Satan’s loudest lies is isolation: Where is your God now? You must be forgotten. You’re the only one.
But Peter says, “No. This is happening across the world. You belong to a suffering, and worshiping, family.” When we remember the persecuted church, the refugee believer, the underground gatherings who risk everything to meet with God’s people, we are strengthened. Their endurance testifies: the living hope is real, and God is faithful in the fire (see 1 Peter 1:3–7).
And as we resist, we don’t resist as individuals only, we resist as a body. Peter even closes with, “Greet one another with a kiss of love” (1 Peter 5:14). The point isn’t the cultural form; it’s the spiritual reality: steadfast Christians stay connected in sincere love.
Peace As The Fruit Of Standing In Grace
Just before the final greeting, Peter says he wrote “exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand” (1 Peter 5:12). That’s the summary of the entire letter:
- This is grace.
- It is true.
- Stand in it.
Peace is not denial. Peace is not pretending suffering isn’t painful. Peace is what grows when you stand in grace, when you humble yourself under God, cast your cares on Him, stay watchful, resist the devil, and remain joined to Christ’s people.
That’s why Peter can end with confidence: “Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus” (1 Peter 5:14).
Conclusion
You and I will face unsettling headlines and unsettling personal seasons. Peter trained the church not to be surprised by suffering, but to interpret it through the sovereignty of God, the care of God, and the strength God supplies.
So I want you to take this as a practical discipleship assignment: keep 1 Peter “within reach,” like medicine in a cabinet. Don’t let it collect dust in your heart. When anxiety rises, come back to these closing commands:
- humble yourself under God’s mighty hand,
- cast your cares on Him because He cares,
- stay sober and vigilant,
- resist the devil steadfast in the faith,
- remember the brotherhood,
- stand in true grace.
And then receive what Peter offers, not as a slogan, but as a promise: peace to you, because you are in Christ.
Father, we humble ourselves under Your mighty hand. You are sovereign, good, and wise, even when our world feels unstable and our hearts feel unsettled. Teach us to cast all our cares on You, not some of them, but all of them, because You truly care for us.
Make us sober-minded and watchful. Help us recognize the real enemy and resist the devil steadfast in the faith. Strengthen our church to stand together in love, to remember our suffering brothers and sisters around the world, and to endure trials without losing hope.
Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace, root us more deeply in You. Let Your peace mark our lives in a way that makes Your gospel visible. We ask for the grace to stand firm until the day You exalt Your people in due time. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
You and I will face unsettling headlines and unsettling personal seasons. Peter trained the church not to be surprised by suffering, but to interpret it through the sovereignty of God, the care of God, and the strength God supplies.
So I want you to take this as a practical discipleship assignment: keep 1 Peter “within reach,” like medicine in a cabinet. Don’t let it collect dust in your heart. When anxiety rises, come back to these closing commands:
- humble yourself under God’s mighty hand,
- cast your cares on Him because He cares,
- stay sober and vigilant,
- resist the devil steadfast in the faith,
- remember the brotherhood,
- stand in true grace.
And then receive what Peter offers, not as a slogan, but as a promise: peace to you, because you are in Christ.
Closing Prayer
Father, we humble ourselves under Your mighty hand. You are sovereign, good, and wise, even when our world feels unstable and our hearts feel unsettled. Teach us to cast all our cares on You, not some of them, but all of them, because You truly care for us.
Make us sober-minded and watchful. Help us recognize the real enemy and resist the devil steadfast in the faith. Strengthen our church to stand together in love, to remember our suffering brothers and sisters around the world, and to endure trials without losing hope.
Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace, root us more deeply in You. Let Your peace mark our lives in a way that makes Your gospel visible. We ask for the grace to stand firm until the day You exalt Your people in due time. In Jesus’ name, amen.