1 Peter 4:1-6
When we last left off, two weeks ago, we examined Peter’s response to the question of why suffering exists in the world, or why bad things happen to good people. Part of the answer is that how we respond to suffering is part of our witness to other people. When we can rejoice while suffering, and not repay evil with evil, we witness to the goodness of God.
Today’s text is going to expand upon that idea. It is important to have the right attitude toward suffering. Suffering is not an unfair God playing favorites, but a loving God helping His children grow to be more like Himself. Suffering can help to bring about maturity in the life of a believer.
When we suffer, we have two choices before us. We can choose to orient our lives under God’s will, or we can choose to orient our lives under the world’s will. Both choices are going to lead to continued suffering, just at different times in your life.
If you choose to follow God’s will, you will continue to suffer in the short term. This is inevitable. Jesus didn’t say if you suffer, but when. The world’s way tells you that you can avoid such suffering in the short term by doing what it wants, but what the world fails to disclose is that the suffering will return in eternal life. God’s way promises an end to suffering in eternal life.
The question before us is not do we want to suffer, but when we want to suffer. The answer cannot be never. Suffering is not necessarily a bad thing. It simply depends on when you suffer. Suffering in the short term is beneficial because it grows us into the person we were made to be, who lives in God’s presence for eternity. Suffering for eternity is simply the consequence of refusing to grow into that person when given the opportunity. There is no benefit to this kind of suffering. This is what Peter is going to explain in the following verses.
One more thing before we dig into the verses themselves. Peter is going to give two reasons why suffering is important, and then in the next two sections, we will look at the reasons. The first aspect of suffering is that those who choose suffering now are choosing to live in God’s will, and he will explain that more in verses 7-11.
The second aspect is that choosing suffering now is necessary in light of judgment day, and that will be explained more in verses 12-19. Therefore, to get the full picture of what Peter is saying, you need to be here for the next two weeks.
In verse 1, Peter tells us, therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, to arm ourselves with the same understanding. This is an interesting phrase because it speaks of military preparation for battle, but Peter has just spent considerable time telling us not to retaliate when someone causes us to suffer. What makes this phrase interesting is that we must arm ourselves for nonretaliation when we are caused to suffer. How do we do that?
We arm ourselves with the same attitude as Christ. He suffered in the flesh. Why is this important? It helps us recognize the fight we are fighting. The person or persons who cause your suffering are not the enemy. Our fight is not against people but against powers and principalities not of this world. The best way to prepare for a fight against the forces opposed to God is to be armed with the attitude of Christ. When we take up physical arms, we show our lack of understanding of the battle we fight.
Peter goes on to declare that the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin. If you endure suffering, then you no longer sin. The key to living a sinless life is to suffer more. Obviously, that is not what Peter is saying here. If that were true, then there is no point in encouraging everyone to live godly lives. What does this mean?
Peter’s point is that those who embrace suffering in the short term are choosing the path Jesus established and lived out. This is the path God has set before us and is the path that leads to eternal life in His glory. Therefore, it is not that we sin no more but that sin does not hold us in bondage any longer because Jesus walked this path and has set us free.
We are set free to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will. As I mentioned earlier, this theme will get picked up again in verses 7-11.
In verse 3, Peter reminds everyone that they have already spent enough time doing what the Gentiles, or pagans, choose to do, and then goes on to list some of those things. This list is not exhaustive. There are many other things that we don’t need to do, which include acting out in anger, being bitter because we are suffering, and so on.
The reason these things are listed is that they are things that show a lack of self-restraint. These things are done because they offer pleasure to the doer. We might not think so, but that is because we are not tempted towards these things. In general, however, these are pleasure-seeking activities that lead to destructive behavior.
Some of these are pretty extreme, and we rightfully question how anyone could be involved in them, but they were pretty common in pagan religious systems of the time. Therefore, they were culturally and socially acceptable at that time. If we wanted to take the time, we could come up with a list of things today that our culture and society engage in that are just as acceptable but just as destructive as well.
The point Peter is making here comes through in verse 4. The culture is surprised that those who have chosen to follow God’s way are not joining in with them in this same way of living. The sense here is that society is dumbfounded that Christians don’t think the way they do. As a result, they insult or try in some way to make life miserable for you. It could be not understanding why you don’t want to go out on Saturday night because you have church on Sunday morning, or you don’t believe in taking advantage of people so you can make more money, or any other thing you have chosen to exclude because of your faith in Christ.
The natural reaction to such things is to mock and slander. Peter says, “Let them.” Don’t retaliate, don’t slash back, don’t repay evil with evil. Instead, continue to focus on God’s will and let God deal with them.
In verse 5, we see that they will have to give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. Nothing we can do to them in this life will in any way compare to the judgment they will face when this life is over.
Everyone has a choice to make on how they are going to live, but one day that choice goes away. You cannot choose to reject suffering in the short term and then expect to reject suffering in eternity. It doesn’t work that way.
So many think they can do whatever they want now, and then right before they die, they will decide to follow Jesus, and everything will be okay. Now, I believe the person who confesses Christ one second before they die still spends eternity with Him, but we are not always fortunate to get that opportunity. We don’t know when that last second is going to come. Playing this game is very dangerous and has eternal consequences.
They may be surprised now that you don’t join with them in their behavior, but one day that surprise is going to turn into something else, and we can only pray that happens before it’s too late.
If we are really committed to living God’s way, then we recognize that anything we do in retaliation doesn’t make a difference. To live God’s way is to trust that He is going to work it all out in the end, and we are content with whatever He decides.
Verse 6 can be confusing and has led to some bad beliefs. Is Peter really saying that you can preach to the dead? Do people have a chance to change their fate after they die? This is not what Peter is saying here.
Peter’s point here is very relevant for our time. It is fashionable to look back at people from previous generations, who have now died, and to judge their worth based on their beliefs and actions. If they didn’t hold to modern standards, they are now rejected. How we judge them doesn’t matter in eternity. This is especially true for Christians who have died.
Let the world judge them as they may, there is nothing they can do to them for God has already judged them in Christ, and they are now living in the spirit according to God’s standards. In short, the suffering, the slandering, the mocking, only affect us for the short time we are alive.
Basically, Peter is using Jesus’ point in Matt 10:28 here. Don’t worry about what other people say and do to you; continue to focus on what God expects of you because He is the only one who matters in the end, because only He gets to decide where you spend eternity.