1 Peter 3: Bless Instead of Repaying Evil for Evil

Introduction

"Not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but instead blessing, knowing that to this you were called, that you may inherit a blessing." This verse, 1 Peter 3:9, is the foundation of a message preached at the Église Évangélique Libre d'Onex.

The preacher starts from an observation: we are already blessed in Jesus Christ with every spiritual blessing. And like Abraham, we are blessed so that we can become a source of blessing for others. "I believe we need to rediscover what it means to bless other people."

To bless is to speak well of someone, to wish them well, to pour out grace. It reaches our brothers and sisters, our families, our colleagues, our neighbors, and even those who insult us.

Message Outline

1. Christ took the curse so that you could be blessed

Galatians 3:13-14: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, so that the blessing of Abraham would reach the Gentiles too and we would receive the promised Spirit by faith.
This is not first about a spell or witchcraft (in that case, you need deliverance), but about a general curse: being cut off from God because of disobedience to his word.
Christ was cursed and rejected, not only by the men who crucified him, but by his Father, so that we could be blessed by the Father.
In Genesis 12:1-3, God tells Abraham, "I will bless you," and "You will be a blessing." For us, the blessing of Abraham means that if we are blessed, it is so that we become a source of blessing for others.

2. You are already blessed with every spiritual blessing

Ephesians 1:3: God "has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." It is in the past tense: if you have been born again and have received the Holy Spirit, you are already blessed.
The rest of the chapter lists them: chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish, adopted as God's children, sealed with the Holy Spirit, the guarantee of our inheritance.
"We know where we are going." There are plenty of celebrities in this world, but what matters is to be known in the heavenly places.
Christians often say, "I'm not blessed, you have no idea what I'm going through." Yet blessings are first of all spiritual. The persecuted Church endures far more suffering and threats than we do in Switzerland.
God is not indifferent to our needs, and we bring them to him in prayer. But we must first become aware of our spiritual blessings, before the material, financial or health-related ones.

3. Rediscovering words of blessing

"We leave cursing to the Satanists. We are here to bless."
Numbers 6:22-27: "Yahweh bless you, and keep you. Yahweh make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. Yahweh lift up his face toward you, and give you peace." In this way the priests put God's name on the Israelites.
Under the old covenant, it was mostly Moses whose face shone. Under the new, the ministry of the Spirit is more glorious: let us spend more time in God's presence, and a little more of his glory will show on our faces.
The end of 2 Corinthians is not a simple greeting, it is a word of blessing: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
Jesus sends out his disciples and tells them to say, "Peace be to this house" (Luke 10:5). Bring grace and peace.
Almost every epistle opens with "grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." John goes further with Gaius: "I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers" (3 John 2).
The preacher hopes we will find "real words of blessing" again, not blessings that are "a bit sloppy." "There is power in speaking words of blessing to one another."

4. Blessing instead of repaying evil for evil

1 Peter 3:8 sets the stage for verse 9: be of one mind, full of brotherly love, compassion and kindness.
We are called to bless the brothers and sisters we struggle with ("we haven't always managed it, me first"), but also the unpleasant, aggressive neighbor, the one who insults us, gossips about us or slanders us.
To bless means to speak well, to wish well, to show grace. To Timothy, Paul adds mercy: "Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" (1 Timothy 1:2).
Loren Cunningham, of Youth With A Mission, spoke of reacting "in an opposite spirit" to the one coming against us. That other spirit is the Holy Spirit within us. "It's a whole learning process."
The preacher tells the story of a Youth With A Mission team on an evangelism campaign in a city marked by pride. Nobody would stop. They knelt on the sidewalk to humble themselves before God, and passers-by began to take an interest and be touched.
"A gentle answer turns away wrath" (Proverbs 15:1). The aim is not to bless in order to be blessed ("Lord, I've blessed quite a few people, so don't forget me"). But God is with blessing: whoever waters will himself be watered.

5. Watch out for words of cursing, even over yourself

James 3:9-10: with the tongue we bless God and curse people made in his image. "1 Peter 3:9 and James 3:9, easy to remember."
Words of cursing are not necessarily occult: they are simply bad words. Even parents can say them to their children.
The preacher mentions a woman he accompanied for a time, whose husband was in prison, and to whom her father had said certain words when she was a rebellious teenager.
Some have experienced rejection because they were dominated, crushed, never encouraged or valued. They end up, even as Christians baptized in the Holy Spirit, telling themselves negative words: "I'm not good enough, I won't make it, others are better."
Conversely, words of blessing that truly come from the heart will come to pass: from the Father, in the name of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit who inspires us.

6. Blessing those who do not know God too

Matthew 5:44-45: by blessing those who curse us, we become sons of our Father, who makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. "Our Father is a Father who blesses."
Some will say, "We shouldn't bless these people, we should pray that things get worse for them so that they convert." "No, no, no. Blessing is mercy."
The preacher cites the revival at Ffald-y-Brenin in Wales: a couple had reluctantly taken over a struggling Christian house in a remote corner. As they spoke words of blessing over non-Christians, they saw people sense a presence come upon them and be touched (book Que la grâce abonde, Vida publishing).
Blessing is not approving of what people do, it is wishing them well: that they would know Jesus Christ and enter into God's plan. "There was a time when I was not in God's plan at all. But one day it happened."
God does not see as we do. We see the flaws and say, "That one is a long way from converting." Yet "even though God is holy, he is not impressed by people's sins," far less than we are. Where sin abounded, grace can abound all the more (Romans 5:20).
To a relative who was looking for "someone else" to take care of a woman involved in esotericism, he replied, "Yes, you are the right person, because you are the one who met her."
People need to see that we are not rejecting them. A word of blessing can astonish them: "Nobody has ever spoken to me like that."

7. Ask the Holy Spirit: teach me to bless

Ephesians 4:29-30: "Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear." Bad words grieve the Holy Spirit.
Words that give grace can be spiritual gifts, a prophecy, a word of healing, but also quite simply words of blessing.
"This isn't about adopting a system of positive thinking or positive speech," but about surrendering our hearts and learning blessing from the Holy Spirit.
The preacher mentions a non-Christian husband: from being blessed so often, this man changed and came to the Lord too. Reproaching him with "see what you're doing" is not the right approach.
Suggested prayer: "Holy Spirit, teach me to bless, even when my husband is unpleasant, even when my children are difficult." This ties in with praise in every circumstance: not only giving thanks instead of complaining, but blessing the person who irritates us.
The message ends with a long time of prayer of blessing over the congregation, over those following online and over the sick, with an invitation to ask forgiveness for bad words spoken about others, then to bless them "to put things back in order."

Key Takeaways

Christ took the curse so that you could receive the blessing of Abraham: you are blessed in order to become a source of blessing.
You are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, even when your situation is hard.
To bless is to speak well, wish well and pour out grace, including on the one who insults you.
Blessing someone is not approving of what they do: it is wishing that they would find God's mercy.
Words of blessing are learned with the Holy Spirit; this is not positive thinking.

Personal Application

Which unpleasant or hurtful person can you bless this week instead of repaying evil for evil?
What negative words do you speak over yourself, and what blessing from the Father can you receive in their place?
Is there someone you have spoken badly about, for whom you can ask God's forgiveness before blessing them?
How can you speak a real word of blessing, not a "sloppy" one, to a brother, a sister or a family member?
Will you dare to pray this week: "Holy Spirit, teach me to bless"?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "to bless" mean in the Bible?

To bless means to speak well of someone or to wish them well. It also means pouring out grace, like Paul, who opens his letters with "grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." The preacher stresses that this is not positive thinking but learning to bless with the Holy Spirit.

What does 1 Peter 3:9 mean by "but instead blessing"?

Peter asks us not to repay evil for evil or insult for insult, but to bless, because this is what we were called to do so that we may inherit a blessing. This applies to the brothers and sisters we have difficulties with as much as to the unpleasant, aggressive or gossiping neighbor.

Can you bless someone who is living in sin?

Yes. Blessing someone is not approving of what they do, it is wishing them well, and what is good for them is that they come to know Jesus Christ. Blessing is mercy: we want them to find God's mercy and enter into his plan, like our Father who makes his sun rise on the evil and the good.