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.

I am so stuck on this truth… that I come across as this is what you would expect the pastor to say…

• Theology in suffering must replace the therapy of suffering in the church today.
• Bible tells us that suffering is the result of sin
• We enter and leave the world by causing others to suffer
• Throughout life we deal with suffering… Psalm (1/3), Lamentations, every prophet (except Haggai) include a lament in their book, Jesus lamented over Israel.

Those suffering around us today:

• 4 Families in Idaho who lost their college students
• Hospitals are full with RSV patients
• Homicide rate in Indianapolis is setting records
• We’ve all got friends who are going through relationship issues
• There is grief for loss in this room as we are in the holiday season
• Financial issues for many

It overwhelms us… it encompasses every human being. You will suffer. You will not avoid it. Will you suffer with purpose or without purpose?
This is not a message about who has suffered the most…
Paul –
2 Corinthians 1:8-10 - We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and he will deliver us.[1]
2 Corinthians 11:23-30 - I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one: with far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, many times near death.
24 Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. 26 On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; 27 toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing. 28 Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?
30 If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses.[2]
2 Corinthians 12:6-9 - For if I want to boast, I wouldn’t be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me, 7 especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. 8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”
Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.[3]
Paul in prison in 62 AD in Rome.
 - Epaphroditus was sent to deliver an offering to Paul and care for him.
 - Epaphroditus got sick on the way.
ADVANCE OF THE GOSPEL
PHILIPPIANS 1
12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. 14 Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word, fearlessly.

• It is not a question of “if you will suffer”… it is “when will you suffer”
• It is going to happen… why do you think you can avoid suffering even for a day?
• Will you suffer with purpose or without purpose?
• Will suffering compel you to love Jesus more?
• Will suffering purify your motives?
• Will your suffering reorient your focus on Jesus and the Good News?

I am begging you not to waste your suffering!!!

• Will your chains of suffering be an opportunity for you to share about the sufferings of Jesus and how He has triumphed?

1. You ask the question… “Why are chained here?”
    - You are not “chained here”… you are free!
    - You are free to tell others of the Truth!
   
   
2. Will the other Christians benefit from watching you suffer? WE WATCH!!!
   
   
3. Will non-Christians become Christians because of your suffering?
   -People are watching you suffer!!!
   
   
4. Will you suffer with purpose or will you waste your suffering?

Misconceptions of Suffering…
       1) Suffering is not avoided by you having a lot of faith.
       2) Suffering does not automatically make you a victim.
       3) Suffering is not necessarily a result of sin.
       4) Suffering is not to be pursued. (It makes us holy…)
       5) Suffering is not to be avoided.
       6) Suffering is not to be excused because God uses it. (Because God uses it doesn’t justify the sin)
       7) Suffering is no excuse to allow injustice and evil. (We must still be just and avoid evil)
       8) Suffering is for us… not an act of atonement… but for sanctification. (We aren’t paying God back for sin… don’t believe in karma… penance… purgatory)
       9) Suffering is not to be fully understood in this life.
      10) Suffering is not beyond the sovereign goodness of God.
15 To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. 16 These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment.
 - Some Bible teachers teach from very corrupt motivations.
        - It is about producing numbers…
        - It is about controlling the behavior of their congregation
18 What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.[4]
 - Paul… are you sure that is what you meant to say!?!

• Paul tells us that in suffering… the key is to rejoice.
• You wrongly identify joy with an emotion… and you can’t command an emotion!
• I couldn’t command Sam and Chloe to mourn last weekend!
• Roughly 18 times in the NT… Joy and suffering are mentioned together.

You suffer through your finances… your poverty… your loss of loved ones… separations and divorces of relationships… your unemployment… your addiction… your sin… your unmet expectations!
Jesus is the perfect example of suffering…

1. Jesus took our sin and purchased our salvation through His suffering
2. Jesus suffered for us
3. Jesus continues to suffer with us (“Saul, why do you persecute me?”)
4. Jesus will put an end to all suffering… this world comes to an end.
5. John 16:33 – In this world… you will have tribulation… you will suffer!

• You will suffer… suffer well… suffer with Jesus… let Jesus use the suffering!
• Don’t waste any of your suffering… It cost you much!
• Invest in the people who know Jesus and the people who need to know Jesus!

Romanian pastor… “Christians are like nails… the harder you hit them… the deeper they go.”
I pray that you go deeper in Christ by each blow of suffering that you receive!

[1] Christian Standard Bible (2 Co 1:8–10). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (2 Co 11:23–30). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (2 Co 12:6–9). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Php 1:12–18). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.