BELOVED I URGE YOU: Agapetoi parakalo (1SPAI): (Romans 12:1; 2Corinthians 5:20; 6:1; Ephesians 4:1-note; Philemon 1:9,10)

Note: Mouse over underlined links for Scripture popup.

Kenneth Wuest's paraphrase of this verse is a virtual "mini-commentary"...

Divinely loved ones [loved by God], I beg of you, please, as aliens and those who have settled down alongside of pagan [unsaved] people should, be constantly holding yourselves back from the passionate cravings which are fleshly by nature [fleshly in that they come from the totally depraved nature], cravings of such a nature that, like an army carrying on a military campaign, they are waging war, hurling themselves down upon your soul

Fleshly lusts always hurt the soul. They do serious injury to the body, for they are contrary to the laws of health; but the main point for you to consider is that they “war against the soul.” No men or women can ever commit an act of uncleanness of the body without grievously injuring the soul. It leaves a weakness, a defilement, a wound, a scar upon the soul; so may God graciously keep us from it altogether! (1 Peter 2 Commentary)

D L Moody captured the essence of Peter's exhortation when he exclaimed...

"I have more trouble with D. L. Moody than with any man I know."

The man I see in the mirror each morning is my greatest impediment to holiness and godliness. Stop saying "The devil made me do it!"

Beloved (27) (agapetos from agape) means dear or very much loved (in context by God their Father!). It is a love called out of one’s heart by preciousness of the object loved. The "Beloved" are those to whom Christ has shown love.

As an aside, it is interesting to note how this "man's man", the crusty old fisherman, Peter, loves the tender word beloved, using it 8 times in both epistles (See all uses - 1 Peter, 2 Peter)

Here Peter uses beloved to remind his readers that God loves them, a truth which has a way of preparing his recipients for his exhortation. This is a good principle for all believers to follow. Before you exhort, begin (sincerely, from the heart) with "Beloved" which has a way of affirming that the one being addressed is beloved.

In the present context the idea of course is that the readers are beloved of God and because of this wonderful truth, they should feel a duty and a motivation (out of love with a desire to please the Father, to not disappoint Him or bring shame to His holy Name)

Being the beloved of God should elicit an obedient response from your heart, motivated by love for God. Peter is saying "I urge you, I beg you in a passionate way" using parakaleo in much the same way as Paul does in Romans 12:1 after presenting the grand truths of the "Christian's constitution" writing...

I urge (parakaleo) you therefore (because of the liberating, exhilarating truths in Romans 1-11 and the fact that they have received such incredible mercies), brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. (See note Romans 12:1)

Paul is exhorting the Roman Christians to pursue a holy walk worthy of the gospel to which they had been called and which he so masterfully expounded in the preceding 11 chapters. So Peter gives an urgent passionate plea to people who are the beloved of God to reciprocate that love with obedience which begins with the believer making a volitional choice (even that "want to" or desire being enabled by the indwelling Spirit)

John Piper explains the thrust of Peter's exhortation declaring that believers...

must cultivate the mindset of exiles. What this does mainly is sober us up and wake us up so that we don't drift with the world and take for granted that the way the world thinks and acts is the best way. We don't assume that what is on TV is helpful to the soul; we don't assume that the priorities of advertisers is helpful to the soul; we don't assume that the strategies and values of business and industry are helpful to the soul. We don't assume that any of this glorifies God. We stop and we think and we consult the Wisdom of our own country, heaven, and we don't assume that the conventional wisdom of this age is God's wisdom. We get our bearings from God in his word. When you see yourself as an alien and an exile with your citizenship in heaven, and God as your only Sovereign, you stop drifting with the current of the day. You ponder what is good for the soul and what honors God in everything: food, cars, videos, bathing suits, birth control, driving speeds, bed times, financial savings, education for the children, unreached peoples, famine, refugee camps, sports, death, and everything else. Aliens get their cue from God and not the world." (The War Against the Soul and the Glory of God :: Desiring God) (Read &/or listen to Piper's related sermons on 1Thes 4:1, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8 This is the Will of God for You: That You Abstain from Sexual Immorality and Battling the Unbelief of Lust) (See other sermons by Piper on sexuality)

Urge (3870) (parakaleo from para = beside + kaleo = to call) means literally to call to one's side and so refers to the act of calling someone to one’s side in order to give aid or help. Urging or exhorting implies an earnest and persuasive address aimed at encouraging the readers to face their trials and inner temptations. Always at the root of parakaleo is the idea of enabling a person to meet a difficult situation with confidence and gallantry.

Peter urges believers to be dedicated to relentless, even ruthless opposition (cf Jesus' strong words on adultery - Mt 5:27- note; Mt 5:28 - note, Mt 5:29 - note; Mt 5:30 - note) to the power of Sin in our lives. Peter knows the pain that becoming a slave to Sin can bring and he is exhorting believers by the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body (Ro 8:13 - see note;  cp Col 3:5 - see note; Ro 6:12 see note; Ro 6:13 - see note; Ro 6:14 see note).

Present tense salvation (practical or progressive sanctification - see Three Tenses of Salvation) is a war we are in until the day we see Jesus face to face and the enemy does not just want to take us prisoner but to destroy us and in so doing to bring disgrace and dishonor to the holy Name of God. Make no mistake about this truth! But take courage because of 1 Peter 1:5 (note) and 1Jn 5:18. God is in control but He is calling believers to be holy as He is holy and exhibit Spirit empowered Self Control (Gal 5:23 - note). 

First, Peter calls us for discipline (cp 1Ti 4:7-8, 9-10, see notes) that is inward and private...this is where it starts. If I am to live a godly life (cp Titus 2:11-12, see notes) on the outside, it doesn't start on the outside, it on the inside. I will only work out what is on the inside as Paul teaches in Philippians...

work out (present imperative = not a suggestion but an absolute continual necessity if we would win the battle with lust!) your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God Who is at work (energeo = present tense - continually - i.e., we are not in this battle alone! We have an "ever ready" source of spiritual energy. Praise God!) in you, both to will (give us the want to, for our old nature does not want to please God) and to work (energeo = present tense - continually) for His good pleasure (eudokía). (See notes as Php 2:12; 13)

It follows that living as an alien and stranger in the world with an evangelistic mission the goal of which is to silence the ungodly critics (1Pet 2:12 - note, Phil 2:15 - note) and to win the skeptical unbeliever begins with integrity of life and integrity of life begins with an "inside job".

AS ALIENS: hos paroikous: (1Peter 1:1-note, 1Pe 1:17-note; Genesis 23:4; 47:9; Leviticus 25:23; 1Chronicles 29:15; Psalms 39:12; 119:19,54; Hebrews 11:13-note) (Torrey's Topic "Pilgrims & Strangers")

Aliens (3941) (paroikos from para = beside + oikos = dwelling, home) means literally  to dwell near and thus to have a home alongside of. It refers to a person living in a foreign land alongside of people who are not of his kind or to a period spent in a foreign land  without taking out or being granted rights of citizenship. In short, paroikos refers to dwelling at a place only for a short time. The idea is that of a sojourn which describes one's stay in a foreign place as a temporary resident. Today we say something like believers are "short timers", dwelling temporarily and not being tethered to this terra firma on which we currently reside.

We as believers don't belong in the godless society we are residing in. We're outsiders and our citizenship is in heaven, Paul explaining that...

our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. (see notes Philippians 3:20;  3:21)

We are aliens this should be our theme song...

This world is not my home,
I'm just a passin' through,
My treasures are laid up
somewhere beyond the blue.

Our status in this world is as those who do not belong which is why John writes...

Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever. (1John 2:15, 16, 17)

Believers have the high and holy privilege of for as Paul writes God has...

He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (see note Colossians 1:13).

It is a privilege to be redeemed (1Pet 1:18 see note; 1Pe 1:19 - see note). It is a privilege to be made a citizen of heaven (Phil 3:20 see note; Phil 3:21 see note). And here in verse 11, Peter says the responsibility and practice that comes with our privileged position is that we should shun the things of this present evil age, for as John says the whole world lies in the power of the evil one (Satan).

Look at the Psalmist's prayer

I am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide Thy commandments from me. (Ps 119:19) (Spurgeon's note)

We are aliens in this world but not in that to come in which we are now fellow citizens. (Eph 2:19 -See note)

Paroikos is used to describe the patriarchs especially Abraham who went out not knowing where he was to go (see notes Hebrews 11:9, 11:13) as well as the children of Israel (Acts 7:6).

Peter's point is that as saints we are no longer

citizens of this present evil age but are destined for another world where we will live eternally as heavenly citizens, children in the family of God!

Doctrine always precedes duty and this great truth should affect how we conduct ourselves in this evil "foreign" land. Heaven is our real home and we are merely temporary dwellers on earth. Furthermore, since we do not know at what time our Lord might return, we should live in anticipation of His coming by holding lightly the things that are passing away and "clinging tightly" by faith to the future hope (certainty) of heaven (cp 1Pet 1:5 - note; 1Pet 1:13 - note).  (See related study of Christ's Second Coming)

Numerous Scriptures allude to the fact that saints are aliens and strangers - consider taking a few moments and pondering these passages (Genesis 12:1; Acts 7:2-3; Luke 14:26,27,33, Lev 25:23, Hebrews 11:9,10,13 Genesis 23:4; 47:9; Lev 25:23; 1Chr 29:15, Ps 39:12; 119:19, 54)

Here are all 4 uses of paroikos in the NT...

Acts 7:6 "But God spoke to this effect, that his offspring would be aliens in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.

Acts 7:29 "And at this remark Moses fled, and became an alien in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

Ephesians 2:19 (note) So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,

1 Peter 2:11 (note) Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul.

Paroikos is use 32 times in the (Gen. 15:13; 23:4; Exod. 2:22; 12:45; 18:3; Lev. 22:10; 25:6, 23, 35, 40, 45, 47; Num. 35:15; Deut. 14:21; 23:7; 2 Sam. 1:13; 1 Chr. 5:10; 29:15; Ps. 39:12; 105:12; 119:19; Jer. 14:8; 49:18; Zeph. 2:5)

Aliens and strangers describe the Christian in his position in this world because he has died to this world, Paul testifying...

may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)

The truth of our death with Christ to the power of sin, the control of Satan and the lure of this present evil age prompted Paul's great exhortation to the saints at Colossae...

If (Since) then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (See notes Colossians 3:1; 3:2; 3:3).

AND STRANGERS: kai parepidemous:

Strangers (3927) (parepidemois from para = near by and here implies a transitory sense describing one who passes near but on to something beyond + epidemos = stranger, epidemos from epi = in or among + demos = a people) literally means a stranger alongside and so a stranger or sojourner. This person is not simply one who is passing through, but a foreigner who has settled down, however briefly, next to or among the native people. What a picture of the believer in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation!

Parepidemos then means to settle down alongside of the pagans. Christians have always had to live among the pagans, among those whose habitual practices are dominated by the fallen desires of their flesh. We are living beside them, but we are not to live like them.

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From Our Daily Bread - Pilgrims...As Christians, we need to think of ourselves as travelers who are just passing through this sinful world. We are not permanent residents, but pilgrims on a journey to a better land. Therefore, we need to “travel light,” not burdening ourselves with an undue attachment to the material things of life. The more we care for the luxuries and possessions of earth, the more difficult will be our journey to heaven. The story is told about some Christians who were traveling in the Middle East. They heard about a wise, devout, beloved, old believer, so they went out of their way to visit him. When they finally found him, they discovered that he was living in a simple hut. All he had inside was a rough cot, a chair, a table, and a battered stove for heating and cooking. The visitors were shocked to see how few possessions the man had, and one of them blurted out, “Well, where is your furniture?” The aged saint replied by gently asking, "Where is yours?” The visitor, sputtering a little, responded, “Why, at home, of course. I don’t carry it with me, I’m traveling.” “So am I,” the godly Christian replied. “So am I.” This man was practicing a basic principle of the Bible: Christians must center their affections on Christ, not on the temporal things of this earth. Material riches lose their value when compared to the riches of glory. To keep this world’s goods from becoming more important to us than obeying Christ, we need to ask ourselves, “Where is our furniture?” -D. C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

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TO ABSTAIN: apechesthai (PMN): (1Peter 4:2 - note; Lk 21:34; Acts 15:20,29; Ro 8:13-note; Ro 13:13-note, Ro 13:14-note; 2Cor 7:1; Gal 5:16-21-notes; 2Ti 2:22-note ; 1Jn 2:15, 16, 17)

I beg you not to surrender to those desires that fight against you.  (CEV)

be constantly holding yourselves back from the passionate cravings which are fleshly by nature [fleshly in that they come from the totally depraved nature] (Wuest)

Abstain (568) (apechomai or apecho from apó = away from - the idea of putting some distance between, marker of dissociation, implying a rupture from a former association + écho = have) means to be away or be at a distance.

Peter calls for the believer to hold himself away from contact or influence of the strong desires that originate from our utterly depraved nature inherited from Adam and still latent even in those who have been born again.

The present tense is used here and calls for one to continually hold themselves (middle voice) away from "the reefs" of destructive lusts, no matter how hard the wind blows nor how high the waves rise...be like a ship holding off from the shore so as not to suffer shipwreck of your faith (cp 1Ti 1:!9). We have an anchor of our soul (Hebrews 6:19, 20 - note) both sure and steadfast...this hope will like an anchor help motivate us to live separated lives waiting anxiously for the appearing of the Captain of our souls Who will guide us safely home to heaven's shore. This is shouting ground and reason enough to keep on holding one's self from the powerful desires latent in this old hibernating Adamic bear (Ro 7:18 see note; Ro 7:21 - see note).

Paul explains to the saints at Thessalonica that...

this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain (apechomai/apecho - present tense = continually, as your habitual practice) from sexual immorality (see note 1Thessalonians 4:3)

Paul later uses apecho commanding the Thessalonian saints to...

Abstain (present imperative -  Continually hold themselves away from) from every form (even the appearance of)  of evil (that which is actively harmful (poneros). (see note 1Thessalonians 5:22)

Remember evil surrounds us at every turn but God never commands believers to do that which He does not enable us to do.

Peter says in essence don't play with the strong desires of the flesh. They are like a German shepherd that everyone thought was the family pet until they gruesomely mauled the family's young child. Don't play with the strong inordinate desires of the fallen flesh that still smolder like embers waiting to be fanned into roaring flames!

Even King Solomon when he let his guard down and compromised his values, experienced what he so wisely warned against...

Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? (Pr 6:27) (What is the answer to this rhetorical question dear saint? Griffiths writes "It is utter folly for all that will commit adultery, for the result will be self-destruction, wounds and dishonor, disgrace, and the unappeased anger of the wronged parties.")

Be disciplined in an inward and private way if you expect to have an outward and public impact on the world in which you must live. To do that, Peter gives a "simple" instruction - Abstain from fleshly lusts - that sums it up. And it means exactly what it says -- stay away from, keep your distance from fleshly lusts, the desires of your fallen nature

Webster's definition of abstain is to refrain deliberately and often with an effort of self-denial from an action or practice. This is not a bad definition except that ''self-denial'' is the world's way. Believers possess the indwelling Spirit of holiness, Who can bear holy fruit which includes the fruit of the Spirit, self-control (Galatians 5:23 - see note;, cp Ro 8:13 see note). Nevertheless, we still have the responsibility to make decisions and take actions that cultivate and fertilize the growth of the wonderful fruit one branch of which is self-control (2Pet 1:6 - see note).

There is a very instructive use of apecho in the first verse of Job in the Greek translation (Septuagint - LXX) where we read that...

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away (eschewed - KJV) (Hebrew = sur = turned aside, departed from; LXX  = apecho in the present tense = continually, as his habitual practice, turning away) from evil. (Job 1:1)

Comment: Job was not perfect nor sinless, but his practice when confronted by temptation to think or do evil was to turn away from it. And prior to Pentecost believers did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit! So when we under the New Covenant fail to turn away from fleshly lusts what is our excuse as those who are privileged to possess the Holy Spirit?

Read Job 1:1 again. What was Job turning from? Why did he turn? What motivated him? (cp 1Pe 1:17 - note) Ponder these thoughts and remember what God's assessment of Job was in Job 1:8...

And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.

Good men avoid sin from the love of God and love of virtue which is pleasing to Him. Paul who was certainly a God fearing man wrote...

Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.  (2Cor 5:9) (And what event motivated him - see 2Cor 5:10)

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. (Gal 1:10)

Wicked men avoid sin from a fear of punishment. Why do you avoid sin?

Called from above, and heavenly men by birth
(Who once were but the citizens of earth),
As pilgrims here, we seek a heav’nly home,
Our portion in the ages yet to come.
We are but strangers here, we do not crave
A home on earth, which gave Thee but a grave:
Thy cross has severed ties which bound us here,
Thyself our treasure in a brighter sphere.
                                                —James G. Deck

Other NT passages convey a similar theme regarding the call to believer to live a life separated from the corruption of this present evil age...

Earlier Peter had charged these born again ones...

As obedient children, do not be conformed  to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy  (aorist imperative = Do this now. Don't delay!) yourselves also in all (How much?) your behavior (How is this possible? see Titus 2:14 - note);  because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." (cp (Ex 6:7; Ex 19:6 Lev 11:44, 45, 19:2, 20:7,26, 21:8, Dt 7:6,14:2) And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man's work, conduct (aorist imperative = do this. Don't delay!) yourselves in fear (a healthy fear - a sense of reverential awe at God's holiness) during the time of your stay upon earth (See notes 1 Peter 1:14; 15; 16; 17)

Peter later instructed them...

to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. (see note 1 Peter 4:2)

Jesus warned His disciples to...

Be on guard (present imperative -  Continually, as your habitual practice), that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. (Lu 21:34, 35)

The Jerusalem council wrote that the believing Gentiles were to

abstain (apechomai - present tense = make it their habitual practice, because the war against holiness is continual) from things contaminated by idols and from fornication (porneia) and from what is strangled and from blood....if you keep (apechomai - present tense = make it their habitual practice) yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell. (Acts 15:20,29)

Paul said not only are believers to abstain from evil we are to...

by the Spirit (be) putting to death the deeds of the body (Ro 8:13 - note)

Paul reminded the saints at Rome "what time it was" writing that...

And this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. (see notes Romans 13:11; 13:12, 13; 14)

Writing to the saints in Corinth surrounded by a veritable "cesspool of moral pollution", Paul encouraged them...

Therefore, having these promises (see 2Cor 6:14, 15, 16, 17, 18 - God promises to dwell in us, walk among us, be our God, we His people, recipients of His welcome, experiencing Him as our Father and we as His children), beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting (present tense = continually bringing about) holiness in the fear of God (cp Job 1:1, 1Pe 1:17). (2Cor 7:1)

In Paul's closing words to his young disciple Timothy he commanded him...

Now flee (present imperative -  Continually, as your habitual practice) from youthful lusts, and pursue (present imperative -  Continually, as your habitual practice) righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (see note 2 Timothy 2:22)

FROM FLESHLY LUSTS: ton sarkikon epithumion aitines:  (Torrey's Topic "Self denial")   (Romans 8:13-note ; Gal 5:17-note)

See Related Resource:

The War Within: An Anatomy Of Lust (from article in Leadership Magazine, Fall, 1982)

Fleshly (4559) (Sarkikos from sarx = flesh)  refers to that which pertains to the flesh, in context the depraved nature inherited from Adam. It means having the nature of flesh, i.e., sensual, controlled by animal appetites (inherited from Adam), instead of by the Spirit of God.

Selwyn says in context sarkikos refers to

the impulses belonging to the selfish and lower side of human nature.

Lusts (1939) (epithumia from epi = at, toward {the preposition "epi-" in the compound is directive conveying the picture of "having one’s passion toward"} + thumos = passion. Root verb epithumeo = set heart upon)  is a neutral term denoting the presence of strong desires or impulses, longings or passionate craving (whether it is good or evil is determined by the context) directed toward an object. (Click article in ISBE)

epithumia denotes "strong desire" of any kind, the various kinds being frequently specified by some adjective (see below). The word is used of a good desire only in Lu 22:15; Phil 1:23 [note]; 1Thessalonians 2:17 [note]. Everywhere else it has a bad sense. In Ro 6:12 [note] the injunction against letting sin reign in our mortal body to obey the "lust" thereof, refers to those evil desires which are ready to express themselves in bodily activity. They are equally the "lusts" of the flesh, Ro 13:14 [note]; Gal 5:16 [note], Gal 5:24 [note]; Eph 2:3 [note]; 2Peter 2:18 [note]; 1Jn 2:16, a phrase which describes the emotions of the soul, the natural tendency towards things evil. Such "lusts" are not necessarily base and immoral, they may be refined in character, but are evil if inconsistent with the will of God.

As an aside if you are in the grips of "lusts", click here to see a list of sermons with John Piper's sobering words on a subject that is too easily avoided from the pulpit lest the "comfortable be afflicted"! See especially ANTHEM - Strategies for Fighting Lust

Believers are no longer "in the flesh" for that phrase describes the state which is characteristic of unbelievers (eg, see Ro 7:5-note). Those desires barked out by our unregenerate nature, under the control of our ''animal'' appetites (cp the fallen flesh). The implication of the necessity to be constantly holding oneself back from these fleshly lusts is that the fallen nature whose power over the believer was broken when he was saved (Ro 6:11-note, Ro 6:17-note, Ro 6:18-note) is still present in our mortal bodies continuing to bombard us with its sin-ward pull (cp the life long nature of this struggle -  Galatians 5:17-note). "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Here's my heart, O take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above." (Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing). We are told to hold ourselves back (Beware: Not in reliance on our natural power, but in submission to and dependence upon His Spirit [cp Ro 8:13-note, Gal 5:16-note] and His all sufficient grace [2Co 12:9-note, 1Co 15:10], in short, God's supernatural provision for a supernatural life!) from carrying those thoughts, words and deeds which worked their corrupting influence in our being (Read 2Pe 1:4 -note).

The things of the flesh belong to the world (kosmos [word study]) and God’s people are citizens of another country, heaven (ouranos).

John MacArthur writes

You see, because our souls are saved and because we've received a new heart and because we've been washed and because we've been regenerated, there is a newness in us but as we have noted in the past, it is incarcerated in our unredeemed human flesh. That's why we have a spiritual battle because the new man in us is battling the flesh. And the flesh is where lust comes from. And so we are called to, literally the Greek word is, "hold oneself away from fleshly lusts." Boy, that is tough. That is tough enough because the fleshly lusts are in us, it is especially tough in our society because we live in a pornographic society. And in a pornographic society our fleshly lusts are fed constantly by the visual images of pornography and the verbal expressions of pornography that are all around us all the time. And so for us this is a great challenge for the Holy Spirit in us to give us victory. (Godly Living)  

WHICH WAGE WAR: strateuontai (3PPMI): (Ro 7:23; 8:13; Gal 5:17,24; 1Ti 6:9,10; James 4:1) (Torrey's Topic Warfare of the Saints)  

Wage war (4754) (strateuomai from strategos = army, stratos = an encamped army) means literally to perform military service, serve as a soldier in the army, go to fight,  carry on a military campaign, make a military expedition, lead soldiers to war or to battle.

Strateuomai  is used figuratively in this verse (and James 4:1) of spiritual battle, thus meaning to carry on a campaign of spiritual warfare, in both the NT uses planned and orchestrated by the indwelling flesh, the evil disposition all mankind inherited from Adam and which is still "latent" even in believers.

Note the use of strateuomai in the present tense which indicates that the spiritual campaign spearheaded by fleshly lusts against our souls is a continual struggle we can expect to engage in until the day we see our Commander in Chief, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Vincent remarks that..

The thought of wars and fightings is carried into the figurative description of the sensuality which arrays its forces and carries on its campaign in the members. The verb does not imply mere fighting, but all that is included in military service. A remarkable parallel occurs in Plato, “Phaedo,” 66: “For whence come wars and fightings and factions? Whence but from the body and the lusts of the body?”

Moulton and Milligan write that this verb

is common in the general sense “serve in the army,” “am a soldier” (whether on active service or not).

Strateuomai is used 8 times in the NT (See all the uses below) and is translated -- active service, 1; fight, 1; serves as a soldier, 1; soldier in active service, 1; soldiers, 1; wage war, 2; war, 1.

Strateuomai is used 3 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Judges 19:8; 2Sam. 15:28; Isaiah 29:7)

Luke uses strateuomai with the literal meaning...

And some soldiers (strateuomai) were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages." (Luke 3:14) (Vincent comments: Strictly, soldiers on service: hence the participle, serving as soldiers, instead of the more comprehensive term  stratiotai, soldiers by profession. Some explain it of soldiers engaged in police inspection in connection with the customs, and hence naturally associated with the publicans.)

Paul uses strateuomai literally writing....

No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier (strateuomai) (See note 2 Timothy 2:4)

 Who at any time serves as a soldier (strateuomai)  at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock? (1Cor 9:7)

Strateuomai means to engage in a conflict as referring to spiritual battle in the following verses...

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war (strateuomai)  according to the flesh (2Cor 10:3)

This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may fight (strateuomai)  the good fight (1Ti 1:18)

James uses strateuomai in a similar manner as Peter asking...

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war (strateuomai)  in your members? (James 4:1)

What a picture Peter paints in regard our old enemy, the indwelling flesh nature which is totally opposed to God and godliness. And so we see that believers are in a war until the day we go to glory.

The picture of strateuomai is not that of hand-to-hand fighting so much as it is of a planned expedition against a military objective. For example, recall Delilah’s persistent exploitation of Samson’s fleshly lusts which waged war against his soul and led to his capture by the Philistines.

We would also do well to consider the English words derived from strauteo, words such as strategy and stratagem (trick).

In Peter fleshly lusts are personified (portrayed as persons in the imagery, cf Genesis 4:7 where sin is pictured as a "wild animal crouching ready to pounce") as if they were an army of rebels or guerrillas who intend to capture and enslave and destroy the human soul. And the term implies not just antagonism, but a continual aggression that is malicious and ongoing and does not stop.

Fleshly lusts wage an incessant "search and destroy mission" against believers. The world allures us and the flesh is the beachhead by which its allurement takes place. And Peter simply says stay away from it. Don't pander your fleshly desires. They want to destroy you.

In the classic allegory "The Holy War" (read it) John Bunyan pictures a city and he calls the city Man's Soul because it represents the soul of man. And he pictures the city as surrounded by high walls. And the enemy wants to assault the soul of man but he has no way over the walls or through the walls. The only way the enemy can get to the soul is through the gate. The only way that the World or Satan can get to the otherwise impregnable soul of a believer is through the gate of fleshly lusts, the gate of fallen desire. Beloved, if you keep the gate closed, you cannot lose the war. You say, "How do you do that?" (Gal 5:16-note) It's all about living in the spiritual dimension. It's all about walking in the Spirit's power (Ro 8:13-note). The battle begins on the "inside" (Ro 13:12, 13, 14 - see notes 12, 13, 14). We wage war on the inside. And the weapons of our warfare are spiritual not fleshly (2Cor 10:3, 4, 5).

AGAINST THE SOUL: kata tes psuches:  

Against (2596) (kata) generally describes a downward movement and when used as a hostile sense as in this verse conveys the idea of "against".

Soul (5590) (psuche or psyche from psucho = to breathe, blow, English = psychology, "study of the soul") is  the breath, then that which breathes, the individual, animated creature. However the discerning reader must understand that psuche is one of those Greek words that can have several meanings, the exact nuance being determined by the context. It follows that one cannot simply select of the three main meanings of psuche and insert it in a given passage for it may not be appropriate to the given context. The meaning of psuche is also contingent upon whether one is a dichotomist or trichotomist. Consult Greek lexicons for more lengthy definitions of psuche as this definition is only a brief overview. (Click an excellent article on Soul in the Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology; see also ISBE article on Soul)

There are over 650 uses of psuche in the Septuagint (LXX) most for the Hebrew word nephesh. Here are links to some 101 uses in the NAS (Matt 2:20; 6:25; 10:28, 39; 11:29; 12:18; 16:25f; 20:28; 22:37; 26:38; Mark 3:4; 8:35ff; 10:45; 12:30; 14:34; Luke 1:46; 2:35; 6:9; 9:24; 10:27; 12:19f, 22f; 14:26; 17:33; 21:19; John 10:11, 15, 17, 24; 12:25, 27; 13:37f; 15:13; Acts 2:27, 41, 43; 3:23; 4:32; 7:14; 14:2, 22; 15:24, 26; 20:10, 24; 27:10, 22, 37; Rom 2:9; 11:3; 13:1; 16:4; 1 Cor 15:45; 2 Cor 1:23; 12:15; Eph 6:6; Phil 1:27; 2:30; Col 3:23; 1 Thess 2:8; 5:23; Heb 4:12; 6:19; 10:38f; 12:3; 13:17; Jas 1:21; 5:20; 1 Pet 1:9, 22; 2:11, 25; 3:20; 4:19; 2 Pet 2:8, 14; 1 John 3:16; 3 John 1:2; Jude 1:15; Rev 6:9; 8:9; 12:11; 16:3; 18:13f; 20:4) and in the NAS is translated as everyone (1), heart  (2), heartily (1), life (36), lives (7), mind (1), minds (1),person(1), persons(3), soul (33), souls(14), suspense (1), thing (1).

BAGD's lexicon makes the point that...

It is often impossible to draw hard and fast lines in the use of this multivalent word. Generally it is used in reference to dematerialized existence or being... Without psuche a being, whether human or animal, consists merely of flesh and bones and without functioning capability. Speculations and views respecting the fortunes of psuche and its relation to the body find varied expression in our literature. (Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature)

Lawrence Richards adds that as...

As with many biblical terms, the basic meaning of psyche is established by its OT counterpart, rather than by its meaning in Greek culture. "Soul" refers to personal life, the inner person. Of its over one hundred NT uses, psyche is rendered by the NIV as "soul(s)" only twenty-five times...While there is much overlap in the NT uses of psyche and pneuma (spirit), there seems to be some areas of distinction as well. Often the focus of contexts in which these terms appear overlaps. Thus, both are used in speaking of personal existence, of life after death, emotions, purpose, and the self. But psyche is also used of one's physical life and of spiritual growth, while pneuma is associated distinctively with breath, worship, understanding, one's attitude or disposition, and spiritual power (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency)

(1) One meaning is reference to the principle of life generally, the vital force which animates the body which shows itself in breathing, the "life principle" (the breath of life) as found even with animals (cf Luke 12:20 "...this very night your soul is required of you...", Acts 3:23 "every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed") .  To the Greeks the psuche was the principle of physical life. Everything which had physical life had psuche. Everything which is alive has psuche; a dog, a cat, any animal has psuche, but it has not got pneuma or spirit. Psuche is that physical life which a man shares with every living thing; but pneuma or spirit is that which makes a man different from the rest of creation and kin to God.

(2) A second meaning refers to the earthly, natural life in contrast to supernatural existence (Mt 6:25 [note] "do not be anxious for your life...", Ro 11:3 [note] "...they are seeking my life..."). This refers to So that the word denotes “life in the distinctness of individual existence” (Cremer).

(3) A third meaning of psuche is in reference to the inner nonmaterial life of man for which the physical body serves as the dwelling place often with focus on various aspects of feeling, thinking, etc and thus can refer primarily to the mind, to the heart, to desire (Lu 10:27 "love the Lord...with all your soul", Mk 14:34 "My soul is deeply grieved...", Eph 6:6 "doing the will of God from the heart [psuche]", Heb 12:3 [note] "so that you may not grow weary and lose heart"). One might say this meaning refers to the inner self, the essence of life in terms of thinking, willing, and feeling. Here psuche describes the seat and center of the inner human life in its many and varied aspects.

It should be noted that there is an additional meaning of a derivative of psuche (psuchikos) which is used to described a "soulish" person, one who is still unregenerate and in Adam, and thus a person whose life is dominated by the unredeemed nature (1Cor 2:14, 15:44, 45, 46, James 3:15, Jude 1:19)

Wuest says psuche (corresponding to meaning #3 above) is

"that part of man which wills, and thinks, and feels, or in other words, to the will power, the reason, and the emotions, to the personality with all his activities, hopes, and aspirations." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)

Vincent says

psuche denotes life in the distinctness of individual existence, ‘the centre of the personal being, the I of each individual.

Henry Alford writes that

The psuche is the centre of the personal being, the ‘I’ of each individual. It is in each man bound to the spirit, man’s higher part, and to the body, man’s lower part; drawn upwards by the one, downward by the other. He who gives himself up to the lower appetites, is sarkikos (fleshly): he who by communion of his pneuma (spirit) with God’s Spirit is employed in the higher aims of his being, is pneumatikos (spiritual). He who rests midway, thinking only of self and self’s interests, whether animal or intellectual, is the psuchikos (sensual), the selfish man, the man in whom the spirit is sunk and degraded into subordination to the subordinate psuche (soul).

Vincent offers the follows thoughts on psuche

The soul (psuche) is the principle of individuality, the seat of personal impressions. It has a side in contact with both the material and the spiritual element of humanity, and is thus the mediating organ between body and spirit. Its meaning, therefore, constantly rises above life or the living individual, and takes color from its relation to either the emotional or the spiritual side of life, from the fact of its being the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions, and the bearer and manifester of the divine life-principle (pneuma). Consequently psuche is often used in our sense of heart (Lk 1:46; Lk 2:35; Jn 10:24; Acts 14:2); and the meanings of psuche, soul, and pneuma, spirit, occasionally approach each other very closely. Compare Jn 12:27 and Jn 9:33; Mt 11:29 and 1Co 16:18. Also both words in Lk 1:47. In this passage psuche, soul, expresses the soul regarded as a moral being designed for everlasting life. See Heb 6:19; Heb 10:39; Heb 13:17; 1Pe 2:11; 1Pe 4:19. John commonly uses the word to denote the principle of the natural life. See Jn 10:11, 15; Jn 13:37; Jn 15:13; 1Jn 3:16" (Vincent, M. R. Word studies in the New Testament. Vol. 2, Page 1-400).

John Piper writes

KEEP YOUR BEHAVIOR EXCELLENT AMONG THE GENTILES: ten anastrophen humon en tois ethnesin echontes (PAPMPN) kalen: (Behavior: Heb 3:2; Ps 37:14; 50:23; 2Co 1:12; Ep 2:3; 4:22; Phil 1:27; 1Ti 4:12; Heb 13:5; James 3:13; 2Pet 3:11) (Excellent: Ro 12:17; 13:13; 2Co 8:21; 13:7; Phil 4:8; 1Thes 4:12; 1Ti 2:2; Heb 13:18) (Gentiles: Ge 13:7,8; Phil 2:15,16)

You are not to be disturbers of the peace; you Christian people are to cultivate the spirit of conciliation wherever you dwell, submitting yourselves, “for the Lord’s sake,” even to come things which you do not like. (1 Peter 2 Commentary)

Keep (2192) (echo) is literally "hold". The present tense calls for an attitude or habitual way of life -  continually "holding" your outward behavior excellent.

Behavior (391) (anastrophe from aná = again, back + strépho = turn - idea is turning back in forth in a place equates with living there) means one's way of life or conduct, with apparent focus on overt daily behavior. It means a man’s whole conduct, not simply his talk.

Thayer adds that the root verb (anastrepho) means “to conduct or behave one’s self, to walk,” the latter meaning not referring here to the physical act of walking but to the act of determining our course of conduct and the carrying out of that determined course of action. Anastrophe means in biblical use has the moral and spiritual aspect of one’s manner of life is in view.

Vincent comments that...

The process of development in the meaning of the word is interesting. 1. A turning upside down. 2. A turning about or wheeling. 3. Turning about in a place, going back and forth there about one’s business; and so, 4, one’s mode of life or conduct. (Word studies in the New Testament)

Excellent (2570) (kalos) conveys the basic meaning of good with emphasis on that which is beautiful, handsome, excellent, surpassing, precious,   commendable, admirable. Inherently excellent or intrinsically good: providing some special or superior benefit. In classical Greek usage, kalos was originally as descriptive of outward form and so meant beautiful. It was also used to speak of usefulness, and so described a fair haven or a fair wind.

A similar word agathos is distinguished from kalos in that while agathos is inherently, morally, or practically good, kalos takes that a step further and adds the idea of aesthetically good, beautiful, fair and appealing to the eye. Thus kalos is used to describe a qualification of an elder as

For example we encounter both kalos and agathos in 1Timothy 5:10...

If you're going to try to witness to the unbelieving world then your behavior must be genuine, honest, excellent, lovely, winsome, gracious, fair to look at, noble, righteous (all of these adjectives are inherent in the meaning of the Greek word for "excellent" kalos). In other words, the related of a brand new quality of life, a transformed life empowered by the Spirit of Christ, must be visible to the unsaved world. Stated another way, Jesus did not call secret disciples.

Wiersbe writes

We are soldiers involved in a spiritual battle. There are sinful desires that war against us and want to defeat us (Gal 5:16-26). Our real battle is not with people around us, but with passions within us. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor or Logos)

Among the Gentiles - believers are witnesses to the lost world that surrounds them. Gentile has nothing to do with race but in this context refers to unsaved people (1Cor 5:1; 12:2; 3Jn 1:7). These unsaved people are watching believers, speaking against us (see below), and looking for excuses to reject the Gospel. If we are going to witness to the lost people around us, we must live winsome, "beautiful" lives before them.

Barclay concludes that this...

is timeless truth. Whether we like it or not, every Christian is an advertisement for Christianity; by his life he either commends it to others or makes them think less of it. The strongest missionary force in the world is a Christian life. In the early church this demonstration of the loveliness of the Christian life was supremely necessary, because of the slanders the heathen deliberately cast on the Christian Church. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos)

SO THAT IN THE THING IN WHICH THEY SLANDER YOU AS EVILDOERS: hina en o katalalousin (3PPAI) humon os kakopoion : (1Peter 3:1,16; 1Pe 4:14-15, 16; Mt 5:11; 10:25; Lk 6:22; Acts 24:5,6,13; 25:7) (Mt 5:16; Titus 2:7,8)  

Which they are sure to do. The better you are, the more will they censure you. This is the only homage that evil can pay to good, to fall foul of it, and misrepresent it: “ that whereas they speak against you as evildoers,” (1 Peter 2 Commentary)

So that (2443) (hina) expresses purpose. The purpose in context is that God would be glorified by the Gentiles when He returns (same phrase first time Lk 19:44).

Early Christians were falsely accused of rebellion against the government with such false accusations as: terrorism (burning Rome), atheism (no idols or emperor worship), cannibalism ( Lord’s Supper), immorality (love for one another), damaging trade and social progress, and leading slaves into insurrection. Cf. Acts 16:18ff; 19:19,24-25, 26, 27.

Slander (2635) (katalaleo from katá = against, down + laleo = to speak) (see study of related word katalalia) means to speak down  or against and so to speak evil against. It means to traduce expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood or misrepresentation.

Katalaleo means to speak against a person and refers to the act of defaming or slandering another. It means to speak  evil or malicious words intended to damage or destroy another person. The greatest slanderer of course is the Devil (false accuser, slanderer) also called Satan (means adversary), the one who continually opposes God’s people, slandering them and accusing them before God.

Slander is synonymous with calumny which refers to a misrepresentation intended to blacken another’s reputation or  the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to damage another’s reputation. (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary)

Evildoers (2555) (kakopoios from kakós = evil, cp study on kakia + poiéo = to do or make) describes one who is pernicious, injurious, evil or behaving in a bad way. Kakopoios is a strong word expressing the idea of a very wicked person who should be punished. From the standpoint of the pagans in ancient times this term was one of abuse or contempt and they openly "threw" it at Christians. When the pagans called believers evildoers, they were abusing them verbally, showing their contempt. The pagan world commonly sought to abuse Christians verbally as those who were despised, distrusted and hated.

Paul warned that persecution and affliction would happen...

And after they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:21-22)

For to you it has been granted (charizomai from charis = grace - pictures suffering as "a gift of grace"!) for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake (see note Philippians 1:29)

And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (see note 2 Timothy 3:12)

And so it is virtually inevitable that believers will be criticized. At the time Peter wrote this Letter, writes Erdman that...

the Christians were being slandered as irreligious because of not worshiping the heathen gods, as morons and ascetics because of refraining from popular vices, as disloyal to the government because of claiming allegiance to a heavenly King. (Charles R. Erdman, The General Epistles, p. 66)

Peter's (and Paul's) point is that such unfair criticism is unavoidable, but under no circumstances should believers give the world a reason that justifies such reproach. Unfair slander is best refuted by an unbroken record of good deeds, for then the slanderers will be compelled to glorify God in the day of visitation (see below for alternative interpretation of day of visitation)

Guzik notes that...

Christians were falsely accused of great crimes in the early church. Pagans said that at communion Christians ate the flesh and drank the blood of a baby in a cannibalistic ritual. They said that Christian “agape feasts” were wild orgies. They said that Christians were antisocial because they did not participate in society’s immoral entertainment. They said that Christians were atheists because they did not worship idols.

But over time, it was clear that Christians were not immoral people - and it was shown by their lives. “The striking fact of history is that by their lives the Christians actually did defeat the slanders of the heathen. In the early part of the third century Celsus made the most famous and the most systematic attack of all upon the Christians in which he accused them of ignorance and foolishness and superstition and all kinds of things - but never of immorality.” (Barclay) (David Guzik. The Enduring Word Commentary Series)

THEY MAY BECAUSE OF YOUR GOOD DEEDS AS THEY OBSERVE THEM: ek ton kalon ergon epopteuontes (PAPMPN): (See Torrey's Topic "Good Works") (Ep 2:10; Titus 3:8; James 2:18, Mt 5:16; Ro 15:6; 1Co 6:18, 19-20)

Good deeds - see study on Good Deeds -

At that time when the Lord moves on the heart of the unsaved and enables them to discern the truth of sin and the gospel and opens their hearts, they'll remember the lives of faithful Christians. What a beautiful, marvelous thought. And that is exactly what God has called us to...to live that kind of life.

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Good (2570) (kalos) implies much more than telling the truth and doing what is right. It carries with it the idea of beauty, comeliness, that which is admirable and honorable. To use a cliché of the '60s, we must be "beautiful people" in the best sense of the word.

We do not witness only with our lips; we must back up our "talk" with our "walk." There should be nothing in our conduct that will give the unsaved ammunition to attack Christ and the Gospel. Our good works must back up our good words. Jesus said this in Mt 5:16 (note), and the entire Bible echoes this truth.

The powerful impact Christians can make on the lost when they combine a godly life with a loving witness is well known to most believers.  We all know of instances of some wonderful conversions simply because dedicated Christians let their lights shine. On the other hand, we can recall with grief some lost persons who rejected the Word because of the inconsistent lives of "professed" believers.

Peter encouraged his readers to bear witness to the lost, by word and deed, so that one day God might visit them and save them.

Observe (2029) (epopteuo from epoptes = eyewitness) means to observe something, implying both continuity (watch over a period of time) and intent (view carefully).

The present tense conveys the picture that the unbelievers are continually closely inspecting your life and your ''good deeds'' much like an overseer looks very carefully for ripe fruit.

Epopteuo was a technical word and in the Greco-Roman world described one who was admitted to the highest degree of initiation in the Eleusinian mysteries. In this verse it conveys the idea of personal witness; continually beholding with their own eyes. The pagans are watching you very closely. Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord (See Ephesians 4:1-note, Col 1:10-note; 1Thes 2:12-note)

Ruth Graham says that a saint is a person who makes it easy to believe in Jesus. Let us be beautiful saints for the glory of God our Father.

GLORIFY GOD IN THE DAY OF VISITATION: doxasosin (3PAAS) ton theon en hemera episkopes: (1Pe 4:11; Ps 50:23; Ro 15:9; 1Co 14:25) (Visitation: Lk 1:68; 19:44; Act 15:14)

Glorify (1392) (doxazo) means to give a proper opinion of God.

The point is that when the unbelievers see God some day in the future, they will be forced to acknowledge (Philippians 2:10; 2:11 see note 2:10; 2:11) that the believers who they had slandered during their life on earth, had done good deeds and were like lights (Matthew 5:16-note) that given a proper opinion (glorified) of God. This does not mean these slanderers will be saved but that they will not be able to impugn God's character as other than righteous and good and holy. 

The challenge for all who belong to Him is to so shine before men that they see His good deeds in our lives and those good deeds give a proper opinion of our heavenly Father!

Day of visitation - This was a common phrase in the OT and conveyed the sense of the visitation of God or the time when God visits. In the OT God visited man in a number of ways but basically for two reasons, either for blessing or judgment. In Isaiah 10:3 there is a visit of God for judgment (similar idea in Jer 27:22).

God also visited for blessing, for deliverance, for rescue, for salvation. For example, in the OT God visited His people to bring them out of Egyptian bondage (see Ex 13:19). Similarly, God visited His people to bring them out of Babylonian bondage. In 1Samuel 2:1-10 God visited Hannah to rescue her from barrenness, and thus it was a visit for blessing.

In the present context day of visitation could mean that day when Christ returns and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. Others think the visitation refers to the time when God visits lost sinners and saves them by His grace. When those who are "visited" do trust Christ, they will glorify God and give thanks because we were faithful to witness to them even when they made life difficult for us.  The word is used in this sense in Luke 19:44. Most of the Jews however refused to receive Jesus as their Messiah in this visitation. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because it did not know the time of its visitation, that is, Jerusalem did not realize that the Messiah had come in love and mercy.

Visitation (1984) (episkope from epí = upon, perfective use, intensifying already existing idea in verb + skopeo = regard, give attention to) describes the act of watching over with special reference to being present. Therefore it can mean inspection, superintendence, investigation, or  visitation.

In Acts 1:20 episkope refers to a office or position of responsibility of caring for and protecting others. In the next paragraph episkope is used in a technical sense describing the position or function of an ecclesiastical leader.

In 1Timothy 3:1 it refers to those men who have oversight and supervision of the local church. Here episkope is emphasizes this leader’s management responsibilities and appears to be synonymous with elder (presbuteros; 1Ti 5:17; 1 Peter 5:1 [note])

Vine writes that episkope...

primarily signifies a visiting, or visitation; then, oversight. In this respect the Scripture lays stress not upon the function, but upon the character of the service; not upon the position, but upon devotion to the work. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

Thayer writes that episkope...

In biblical Greek...(is) that act by which God looks into and searches out the ways, deeds, character, of men, in order to adjudge them their lot accordingly, whether joyous or sad; inspection, investigation, visitation (Vulgate usually visitatio): so universally, en episkope, psuchon, when He shall search the souls of men, i.e., in the time of divine judgment,

Vincent writes that...

The radical idea of the word (episkope) is that of observing or inspecting. Hence episkopos, an overseer or bishop. Visiting grows naturally out of this, as visitare from visere, to look at attentively. See Introduction, on Peter’s emphasis upon sight; and compare behold, in this verse. The “day of visitation” is the day of looking upon.

There are 4 uses of episkope in...

Luke 19:44 and will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."

Acts 1:20 "For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his homestead be made desolate, And let no man dwell in it'; and, 'His office let another man take.'

1 Timothy 3:1 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.

1 Peter 2:12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

There are 28 uses of episkope in the Septuagint (LXX) (Gen. 50:24f; Exod. 3:16; 13:19; 30:12; Lev. 19:20; Num. 4:16; 7:2; 14:29; 16:29; 26:22, 43; Job 6:14; 7:18; 10:12; 24:12; 29:4; 31:14; 34:9; Ps. 109:8; Prov. 29:13; Isaiah 10:3; 23:17; 24:22; 29:6; Jer. 6:15; 10:15; Ezek. 7:22) In the representative uses below note that Lxx uses episkope of a visit for good and sometimes a visit for judgment or punishment.

Genesis 50:24 And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will surely take care of (KJV = visit; Lxx = episkope) you, and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob."

Exodus 3:16 "Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I am indeed concerned about (Lxx = episkope) you and what has been done to you in Egypt.

KJV Exodus 13:19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit (Lxx = episkope; NAS = "take care of you") you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

Psalm 109:8 Let his days be few; Let another take his office (Lxx = episkope)

KJV Isaiah 10:3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation (Hebrew = pequddah = oversight, visitation, punishment; Lxx = episkope; NAS = "day of punishment"), and in the desolation (devastation) which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

TDNT explains that...

 In the Septuagint (LXX), however, it means b. “look,” “glance,” c. “care,” “protection,” d. “inquiry,” and e. “muster.” f. There is no equivalent for the verb “to miss,” passive “to be missing.” g. The true theological sense is when the term is used for “visitation.” More weakly it denotes judicial punishment in Lev. 19:20, but mostly it is used for divine visitation in judgment, as in Num. 16:29; Dt. 28:25. Disobedient nations will be visited by God (Jer. 6:15). Their idols will be broken on the day of visitation (Is. 10:3). Thunder and earthquake will accompany the final visitation (Is. 29:6). h. But the divine visitation may also be in mercy and grace, as in Gen. 50:24,25; Is. 23:16. The meaning “office” also occurs in a transition from more general “oversight” to official responsibility (Num. 4:16; Ps 109:8, where the Hebrew may mean “goods,” but the LXX, followed by Acts 1:20, has episkope in the sense of “office”).

MacArthur feels that...

Peter was teaching that when the grace of God visits the heart of an unbeliever, he will respond with saving faith and glorify God because he remembers the testimony of believers he had observed. Those who don’t believe will experience the visitation of His wrath in the final judgment. (MacArthur, J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word or Logos)

MacDonald writes that...

A day of visitation is any time the Lord draws near, either in grace or in judgment. The expression is used in Luke 19:41-42, 43, 44. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because it did not know the time of its visitation, that is, Jerusalem did not realize that the Messiah had come in love and mercy. Here it may mean: (1) The day when God’s grace will visit the critics and they are saved, or (2) the day of judgment when the unsaved will stand before God. (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

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Illustration - In the summer of 1805, a number of Indian chiefs and warriors met in council at Buffalo Creek, New York to hear a presentation of the Christian message by a Mr. Cram from the Boston Missionary Society. After the sermon, a response was given by Red Jacket, one of the leading chiefs. Among other things, the chief said: "Brother, you say that there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agree, as you can all read the Book? "Brother, we are told that you have been preaching to the white people in this place. These people are our neighbors. We are acquainted with them. We will wait a little while and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good, makes them honest and less disposed to cheat Indians, we will then consider again of what you have said."

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The first governor-general of Australia, Lord Hopetoun, inherited a brass-bound leather ledger that became one of his most cherished possessions. John Hope, one of his forebears, had owned it three centuries earlier and had used the ledger in his business in Edin­burgh. When Lord Hopetoun received it, he noticed the prayer inscribed on the front page: "0 Lord, keep me and this book honest." John Hope knew that he needed God's help to maintain his integrity.

Honesty is essential for the Christian. Shading the truth, withhold­ing the facts, juggling figures, or misrepresenting something are dis­honest activities that displease God. For this reason, and to demon­strate the new nature that comes through salvation, Christians should strive to live uprightly before God and man. The use of our time on the job, for example, must be above reproach. We should give an honest day's work to our employer. To do less will destroy our verbal witness and brand us as dishonest.

Speaking of a mutual Christian friend, an acquaintance of mine said, "He's true blue, all wool, and a yard wide," indicating that our friend was genuine, truthful, and trustworthy.

We too must strive to be honest in motive as well as in action and acknowledge our need of the Lord's help to do so by praying, "Lord, keep me honest." —P. R. Van Gorder (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom

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An office supervisor instructed her secretary to alter some question-able financial records. When the secretary refused, the supervisor asked, "Don't you ever lie?"

For many people, both public and private honesty is an obsolete virtue—a moral remnant of bygone days. Integrity is more complex than simply refusing to lie. Integrity means speaking out when remaining silent would convey the wrong impression, and it means doing what's best for others even if it causes us harm.

Sa'ad, a sensitive, hard-working man who lives in Zarayed, one of Cairo's garbage dumps, works long hours collecting trash. He is one of thousands of Egypt's garbage collectors who struggle to survive, but who seldom break out of their hopeless prison of poverty. Often he clears little more than fifty cents a day. One day Sa'ad found a gold watch valued at nearly two thousand dollars. He could have sold the watch and made a better life for himself and his family. He could have reasoned that he needed it more than the owner or that it was God's justice that allowed him to find the watch. But he didn't. He returned the watch to its owner. Sa'ad is a Christian and believes it's wrong to keep what doesn't belong to him.

If this kind of honesty is not evident in our lives, we need to reexamine ourselves. Jesus is the Truth. Truthfulness, therefore, must be the way of life for all who follow Him. —D. J. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved).

Some people are honest only because they have never had a good chance to steal anything.