Silvanus 1 Peter 5:12

Peter the apostle attributed “glory and dominion” to God Almighty for the promises he made to those who “suffer a while”, and in verse twelve of chapter five of his letter, Peter begins his conclusion to his letter as he mentioned a man named “Silvanus” as we read:

By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein you stand.

The verse begins, “By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you,...” Peter began with the words, “By Silvanus” which means “woody” and was “a Roman citizen, the companion of the apostle Paul on several of his missionary journeys” “a faithful” or “trustworthy, one who kept his plighted faith, worthy of trust and can be relied on” “brother” which means “one born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother or a fellow believer who is united to another by the bond of affection” “unto you” which refers to the “scattered” Christians. “Silvanus” was one of the traveling companions with Paul, and he was used as a witness of the validity of this letter from Peter as he was the agent by which this letter was delivered.

The verse goes on to say, “as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein you stand.” Peter continued with the phrase, “as I suppose” which means “reckon, count, compute, calculate, impute and number” “I have written” or “wrote, delineated letters on a tablet, parchment, paper or other material” “briefly” which means “”, “exhorting” or “calling to one's side, summoning, addressing and speaking”, “and testifying” which means “to bear witness and establish by testimony” “that this is the true” or “truthful” “grace” which means “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness, good will, lovingkindness and unconditional favor” “of God” which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “wherein” or “in, unto, to and towards” “you stand” which means “cause to put or set in place”. Peter commended “Silvanus” as a worthy agent of the “true grace of God”, and his desire was for the “scattered” Christians to receive him among them.

When we consider Peter's words in this verse, we notice the way Peter named and commended “Silvanus” to the Christians. His mention may seem incidental, however, when we look closely, we see how well Peter spoke of “Silvanus”. There is much to be said about people who come alongside others to help in the ministry. “Silvanus” ministered to Peter and Paul, and he was used to minister to the “scattered” Christians. May the Lord Jesus help us to know the value in coming alongside others who minister His gospel throughout the world.

Next time Peter mentions “the church in Babylon”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.