1 Peter 4:1-19

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
Series: 1 Peter

Rusty's Notes

FOLLOWING CHRIST
1 PETER 4
1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding—because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin--

• Don’t forget where we left off last week with 1 Peter 3:18 – For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,[1]
• Christians will suffer in this world because they are inherently opposed to the world and sin.
• According to Peter, if we suffer because we are at odds with the world, then it means that we have ceased from sin.
• This does not mean that Christians do not or cannot choose to sin, but rather that they are no longer characterized by it.
• Christians are designed to live according to the will of God.

2 in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will.

• 'the flesh' is not used here or anywhere else in 1 Peter (it is used seven times; all but one of them are in 3:18—4:6) in the Pauline sense of the sinful nature in human beings (as, e.g., in Rom. 7—8), but in the normal Jewish sense of human existence as weak, fallen, and therefore subject to pain and death.
• In the New Testament, God’s will is ultimately Jesus Christ.
• The will of God is that we believe in Him and then allow Him to live through us daily (see also 1 John 3:23).
• This will of God is ultimately the opposite of the lusts of men or, in the context, the lusts of the Gentiles.
• Christians are no longer compatible with the sins of the Gentiles.
• The time of acting like this has passed because it no longer makes sense for those who have been born again.
• Warren Wiersbe - "We may not always understand what He [God] is doing, but we know that He is doing what is best for us. We do not live on explanations; we live on promises."

3 For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the Gentiles choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry.

• It would seem that Peter is writing to a predominately Gentile audience.

4 They are surprised that you don’t join them in the same flood of wild living—and they slander you. 5 They will give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.

• We can take comfort in the fact that it is not our job to judge the world.
• God is the judge, and He will judge perfectly because He is perfect love and perfect goodness.

6 For this reason the gospel was also preached to those who are now dead, so that, although they might be judged in the flesh according to human standards, they might live in the spirit according to God’s standards.

• God has been proclaiming the good news of Jesus in one way or another since the beginning of time.
• The Gospel has been presented throughout the ages in different ways (Abraham being saved by faith, as an example).
• The finished work of Christ is not simply for the front end of Christianity.
• Jesus’ work is the entirety of Christianity.
• We cannot know God apart from His work, and within His work, the nature of God is revealed.
• Notice that considering this reality, Peter states that the Gospel is for believers and unbelievers.
• It is for believers because it is the revelation of the God in whom we now believe.
• But it is also for those who have not believed because God wants to save the entire world.

 
END-TIME ETHICS
7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer.

• We are to pray soundly and soberly.
• In other words, we should pray prayers that make sense and are biblical.
• We ought not to pray in a way that is contrary to the Gospel or the nature of God.
• God is not strongarming us into praying.
• Therefore, we can pray without feeling forced into a certain language.
• We are to pray according to how the Spirit leads us to pray.

8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.

• Jesus is producing love within all of His children in each moment.
• He is perfect love and loves us perfectly and empowers us to transmit this love to others in beautiful ways.
• There will be no sins committed when we are loving.
• And our love for others and their love for us covers any failings we may have.

9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

• God’s grace has many layers and aspects.
• This grace is expressed through the various gifts given to believers.
• We have these spiritual gifts as a gift of grace and, therefore, ought to use these gifts to magnify the finished work of Christ.
• This is what God is empowering us to do.
• We are to live as if Christ lives within us and empowers us to serve in whatever way He has gifted us.
• This is what glorifies God.

11 If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

• The church is the body of Christ on Earth.
• We represent Him to the world in both word and deed.
• As we preach the Gospel of grace, we communicate the heart of God to people.

 
CHRISTIAN SUFFERING
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you.

• Peter affirms that suffering is normal for the Christian.
• Because Christians are inherently opposed to the world, there is a natural predisposition to suffering and persecution.
• This does not mean that God is trying to break or crush us to mature us.
• God is not the author of this suffering.
• He does, however, use it to mature us.
• God is not testing His children.
• External circumstances such as suffering, and persecution test our attitudes and responses to suffering.
• God uses these responses, as well as the circumstances themselves, for our good.
• He uses it to deepen understanding of Christ’s love.
• Our place is to make the decision to trust in Christ in the midst of the trials.

13 Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.

• We can respond to suffering in one of two ways.
• We can question God, become angry at God, and become victims.
• Or we could make a different choice despite our feelings and choose thankfulness.
• It is important to remember that if we are God’s children, He produces joy within us.
• So, we are not called to conjure up the Christian life on our own amid however the sufferings of Christ impact us.
• God’s glory is revealed within us in this way regardless of our sufferings.

14 If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

• Peter’s point is not that we ought to seek suffering in order that we may be blessed but rather that persecution proves that we belong to God.
• Because we belong to God, His Spirit rests upon us.
• The language of God’s Spirit resting on us speaks of what prophets and people like David longed for.
• Yet only in the New Covenant does God’s Spirit permanently rest upon us.
• Christians wear the Spirit of Christ amid this world and all reviling that occurs because of the world’s antagonism towards us.

15 Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. 16 But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.

• The name Christian repelled people during the days of the early church and does the same thing today.
• We have tried to make the term more palatable to people, but the name “Christ” in it is a stumbling block.
• All who suffer because of the name Christian ought to be proud that they have the best thing going on earth.

17 For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

• This is not speaking of divine judgment.
• Peter is equating judgment with the persecution being faced by Christians.
• Christians are being judged in this world; however, unbelievers will be judged in the next life by God.
• But believers will never be judged by God because they have obeyed the Gospel.

18 And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? (Proverbs 11:31)
19 So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.[2]

• While God possesses every one of His children, we still need to trust in Him consciously.
  
• This choice is often made despite the feelings we are experiencing. [3] 

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Pe 3:18.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Pe 4:1–19.
[3] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 1 Peter 4.