(This article is drawn from a sermon delivered by Rev. Vemuriyi Vadeo, Pastor of Naga Christian Fellowship, Shillong, during the 23rd Conference of the Changki Theological Fellowship, held in Shillong from May 27–29, 2025)
1 Peter 3:8, “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” The phrase “finally” or “to sum up” is translated from the Greek word telos, which often signifies that a goal is reached or a result attained. However, Peter uses this term in a special manner.
Let us consider three important points.
1. “Finally” is a bridge, not a conclusion.
In this context, Peter is not concluding the letter. Rather, he is transitioning from earlier teachings – such as being born again, ridding ourselves of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander, and growing like newborn babies. Peter reminds believers that they are God’s chosen people, called to be different, to submit to one another, and to live in love.
Thus, telos is used here as a bridge between foundational truths and practical living.
2. Peter, once brash, now exhorts gentleness.
It is remarkable that Peter, once known for his temper, impulsiveness, and brashness, now speaks of virtues like sympathy, compassion, humility, and love – traits once foreign to him. This shift is evidence of the transforming power of new birth in Jesus Christ. Peter has been changed from the inside out.
3. These five virtues are normative, not optional.
The five virtues Peter lists – harmony, sympathy, brotherly love, compassion, and humility – are written in the present tense in Greek grammar, indicating that these are to be continually and consistently practiced. These are not occasional acts but ongoing attributes for every believer. They are the norm, not the exception.
These instructions were given to believers facing persecution under the grandeur and pride of the Roman Empire. These virtues stood in stark contrast to the prevailing culture of dominance and division.
1. Be Like-Minded (Harmonious)
This is similar to Paul’s exhortation in Romans 12:16:
“Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.”
To be like-minded means to share the same convictions about God, salvation, and Christian living. It is not about cultural uniformity but about spiritual unity. Diversity in background does not disqualify oneness in faith.
“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in everything, charity.” – St. Augustine
The essentials include:
i). The Holy Trinity
ii). The divinity and humanity of Christ
iii). Salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone
iv). Salvation by grace alone
v). The resurrection of Jesus Christ
vi). The virgin birth of Jesus Christ
vii). Authority of the Scripture
viii). Repentance
ix). Being born again
x). The gospel
xi). The Church as the Body of Christ
Unity does not mean sameness in language, dress, or food. Rather, it is unity in the truth of the Gospel. Compromising biblical essentials leads to spiritual erosion.
A.W. Tozer wrote:
“Peter was not asking all the brothers and sisters to settle for some kind of regulated uniformity. He was recommending a spiritual unanimity… that will give us a unity in certain qualities and disposition.”
2. Be Sympathetic
Sympathy means to sincerely feel with and for others – to “suffer together.” A sympathetic community shares in one another’s joys and sorrows.
Romans 12:15 puts it plainly:
“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”
Sympathy leads to shared participation in one another’s lives. Peter teaches that this, too, is normative for believers – something God enables us to do by His grace.
3. Love One Another (Brotherly Love)
“Brotherly love” refers to deep affection for one another as members of the same spiritual family.
In Peter’s time, society was built on divisions: rich vs. poor, master vs. slave, Roman vs. barbarian. But in Christ, these walls were broken down.
Peter addresses believers as “God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered…” (1:1). Yet they are one family in Christ.
This unity in love was unthinkable in the Roman world, but made possible by the Gospel. We, too, are called to this love – not as an ideal, but as a daily expectation.
4. Be Compassionate (Kindhearted)
The Greek word here is splagchnon – one of the strongest terms for compassion. It literally refers to a gut-wrenching, visceral kind of love.
In the Old Testament, the word hesed (lovingkindness) conveys similar depth. Compassion in this sense is not just action, but deep feeling from the core of one’s being.
Peter emphasizes genuine inward compassion, not surface-level kindness. Outward actions without inward sincerity amount to hypocrisy.
“May the Lord help us feel so deeply for one another that our insides ache with compassion.”
5. Be Humble
Peter continues in 1 Peter 5:5–6:
“All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another… Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
Humility was despised in the Roman world. Emperors announced their greatness, and society promoted status. But Christ taught – and lived – humility.
Biblical humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. It is to see oneself rightly before God.
Philippians 2:5–7 offers a perfect picture:
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God… made himself nothing, taking the nature of a servant.”
True humility is not self-conscious or boastful. The moment we become proud of our humility, we are no longer humble.
Conclusion
These five virtues – harmony, sympathy, love, compassion, and humility – are not random, but deeply connected. Together they form the framework of “one anothering” in Christ.
This way of life is humanly impossible. But by the new birth in Jesus Christ and through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we are made able to live in this manner.
God has not only called us into this kind of life – He has also equipped us for it.
So, let us walk in harmony, share in each other’s burdens, love deeply, feel genuinely, and humble ourselves before God and one another.
May we truly become a ‘one anothering’ people – living out the Gospel through unity, love, and humility – for the glory of Jesus Christ.