And who is he who harms you if you are eager to do good?
Truth to Learn
The real lesson for today is, let us live our lives as examples of the goodness of God, knowing that He is watching over us. In doing so, we can truly give God the glory for anything that happens to us knowing that our future is secure!
Behind the Words
The King James translation of today’s verse is: “And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” The word translated “followers” is mimētai, from which we get our English word “mimic.” It means “someone who is an imitator or follower.”
The New International translation of this verse is: “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?” The word translated “eager” is dzēlōtai, from which we get our English word “zealous.” This is what is called a transliteration, a word that is transferred literally from one language to another. It means “ardently active, devoted, or diligent.”
The only difference in the Greek text for these two translations of today’s verse is this one word. But, no matter which translation you prefer, the meaning is essentially the same.
The verb translated “harm” comes from the Greek kakuō. Sound familiar? It comes from the same root as a word we looked at in verse eleven, the word kakos, which means general badness or evil.
Meaning Explained
Peter is saying that if you are zealous about doing good (or if you are followers of doing good), who is there that will harm you for this?
The answer to this question in not “no one!” (Excuse the double negative.) That is, Peter is not saying nothing bad (as we see it) will ever happen to those who are benevolent and keep their tongue under control. What he said in the previous verse is that God will watch over and listen to those who live their life in such a manner. God is a good God, one who truly loves us. Peter is telling us that since God is watching over us when we are zealous for good or when we follow goodness, who can really do anything bad to us without God allowing it for His eternal purpose.
Let us look at Christ as our supreme example. He surely was zealous for good, He was the epitome of goodness, and yet, at least from a human perspective, bad things were done to Him. These bad things, however, resulted in glorious goodness for all who believe, so they weren’t really bad in God’s eyes.
The other way to look at this is to realize that we already have been declared righteous in God’s book (if we have truly been saved). And, we have already been adopted into His family, which includes the promise of spending eternity with Him in heaven. Therefore, if we behave the way His children should, there is no permanent badness that can be done to us!
Application
Are you a follower of what is good? Are you zealous to do good things? If not, then you are not behaving like a child of God. If you are, no real eternal harm can possible happen to you. You’re in good hands!
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved
