For the Audio Version on YouTube, click here – 1 Peter 4:12-19
For the Audio Version on Spotify, click here – 1 Peter 4:12-19
1 Peter 4:12-16
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
Chapter 4 commenced with Peter encouraging the believers to welcome suffering, if it comes their way, just as our Master Himself suffered for our sake when He gave His life for us. He then goes on to give a few practical tips on how to live out our faith. He encourages us to not perceive suffering as a strange phenomenon but to rather rejoice if and when it does show up.
Peter gives us two reasons why we should rejoice in our suffering – the first being that we thereby identify with the sufferings of Jesus, meaning, that just as Jesus suffered on our behalf when He gave His life for us, we too can now willingly face suffering as we live our lives for Him.
The second reason Peter encourages us to rejoice in our suffering, is on account of the fact that we will be partakers of the glory in heaven when Jesus returns the second time. At that time instead of suffering, we will be filled with exceeding joy – a joy that will never perish, spoil or fade.
He goes on to say that if we are reproached or suffer on account of our faith in Jesus, then we are blessed because it’s a proof that we have the Holy Spirit, (whom he refers to as the Spirit of glory and of God) within us. Is that not the most beautiful gift to have as believers in Jesus – the Holy Spirit in our lives?
He goes on to remind us that though the name of Jesus be blasphemed by those who trouble us, the fact is that God’s name is also being glorified in the process. Our response to suffering for the sake of Christ should be such a witness to those persecuting us that they will realize how loving is the God we worship and thereby give glory to God through us.
Peter then goes on to differentiate between suffering and suffering. There is one suffering that we as believers will face on account of our faith in Jesus, but there’s another kind of suffering that we can bring upon ourselves, and that is based on our own wrong doing. Peter reminds us to not live in such a way that we bring suffering upon ourselves, and he mentions some of the ways we can do that – by taking other people’s lives, stealing other people’s belongings, doing evil to others, and getting involved with other people affairs. The common thread that Peter seems to use to link all the mentioned wrong-doing is that we should not take advantage of other people.
He then says that if anyone suffers as a Christian, then we should not be ashamed of it but should rather glorify God through it, because to suffer for the sake of Christ is truly an honour, and for this we should glorify God.
1 Peter 4:17-19
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.
Peter then reminds us that when the Day of Judgment comes, the Lord Jesus is going to begin judging, not the world around us first, but rather the house of God, meaning the Church itself. It’s quite obvious why Jesus will start judging us first – it’s because we were entrusted with the good news of Salvation, and we were required to live a new and different life from those around us. As Jesus said in Lk.12:48 “Everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” Again in Lk.19:26, Jesus said, “…To everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
Peter goes on to say that if judgment begins with us, the very people of God, what would be the condition of those who rejected Christ, by not putting their faith in Him? He goes on to quote Prov.11:31 –“If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
He then encourages those who endure suffering on account of their faith, to realize that this is in accordance with the will of God, and to commit their souls to God. Our bodies are wasting away every day. The suffering we face may cause us to suffer a lot of physical harm, but he reminds us to commit our souls to God – the soul can never be destroyed by anyone on earth. Those who oppose us can at the most attack our bodies and take our lives, but our souls are safe in the hands of God. Jesus Himself said in Mt.10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
He further reminds us to not discontinue doing good to others, just because we face suffering, but to continue to do good, knowing this for a fact, that God, whom we serve is not unaware of the good we do, but is our faithful Creator. If God is our faithful Creator, then it’s obvious that He will be faithful to reward us for our faith, in spite of the sufferings we endure.
