1 Peter 4:12-19
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Good evening! I hope that you guys are having a great week. We are going to finish up chapter 4 of 1 Peter tonight. Last week, James covered the previous passage, and I had the chance to spend a little time with our students.
We are going to look at verse 12-19 tonight. Let’s read this passage together and we’ll dive in.
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And
“If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
One of the things that frustrates me in our current day is the fact that the lie of “easy Christianity” is so prevalent.
We live in a culture that says that good people do not suffer, and bad people do. Therefore, if you suffer, you are bad.
There are many passages in scripture that refute this, but it all boils down to the basic understanding that people have in their hearts that human beings are, by default, morally neutral.
The majority of people on this planet, whether they would admit it out loud or not, believe that humans are morally neutral and that the measure of a person is found by counting up their deeds. If the good out-weighs the bad, then they are good. If it’s the other way around, they’re bad.
This is a fallacy.
Scripture tells us that no one is good. No one is righteous.
Christ is the only one who can be counted as good.
Because of Adam’s sin in the garden, all of humanity is under the curse.
And because of that, we are separated from God. We are His enemies. We deserve His holy wrath.
There is nothing that we can do to absolve that guilt.
However, God, in His infinite mercy, has made a way for us.
We now, through Christ’s atoning sacrifice, can have fellowship with Him.
That does not make us good, but it makes us justified in God’s sight.
Peter understands this here. All of the first century writers…all of the writers of Scripture for that matter, understood this. We are not good, we are blessed and chosen.
So, as we think about persecution, we have to understand the POV as it were. We have to see this from God’s perspective, and not from our own. He is the center of the universe, not us.
Now that we have that as our baseline, we can address some things from the text.
First of all, the idea that Christians won’t have to suffer, that we can live “our best life now,” is ludicrous. Peter blatantly tells us:
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
We have talked at length about how Christ Himself warned the disciples (and us) about the trials we will face.
Peter pulls no punches.
The whole point of 1 Peter is to prepare the churches in Asia Minor for the coming persecution.
As Peter begins wrapping up his letter, he bluntly says, “Don’t be surprised by this persecution.”
How many of you have read or seen The Hobbit? My family, over the past week has been rewatching the movies, The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings.
Yeah, we’re kinda nerdy.
Anyway, in the Hobbit, we have Bilbo Baggins - who is a hobbit. Hobbits are small humanoid creatures that are about the size of a normal 10 year old. They love resting, relaxing, gardening, parties, and eating.
Bilbo finds himself wrapped up in an adventure (something no self-respecting hobbit would ever do!), and it starts by an unexpected ring of the door bell. He opens his door to find a dwarf on his front stoop. Flustered, he lets him in, and begins to (try to) be a gracious host. He is interrupted again by a ring. Another dwarf. And then another. And others.
13 dwarfs and a wizard (Gandalf) show up at his door unexpectedly. He was surprised. And honestly, he was put out by it.
The Greek word used here for surprise - xenizo (xsin-EE-zo) - actually means: to become emotionally or cognitively impacted by the introduction of something new or strange. And it gets its source from “to entertain, or to receive as a guest.”
Peter is encouraging his readers to not be put out, or pained by the trials that are to come. The implication is that we are to receive those trials as if they were an expected guest at a party. We are to expect them, and welcome them.
Don’t misunderstand: We are not supposed to pray for persecution, but we are not supposed to be surprised by it.
Hebrews–Revelation Comment
Whereas non-Christians are “surprised” when believers refuse to join in their debauched behavior (cf. 4:4), Christians must never be “surprised” at the ill behavior of non-Christians toward them (the same word is used in both places). Earlier, in 1:6–7, Peter encouraged his readers as they endured “various trials” designed to test and purify their faith, as if “by fire.” Here again the “fiery trial” is far from random and thus is no cause for surprise; it is designed by God to “test” the quality of one’s commitment to Christ (in 4:19 he will speak of such suffering as “according to God’s will”).
As we look to the next verse, we see that we are to rejoice!
Who rejoices when they are suffering?
But is that what Peter is saying?
13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
We are to rejoice, not that we are receiving tribulations, but that by being persecuted we are sharing in Christ’s sufferings. We are being made more like Christ. We are being associated with Christ. And we know that we will be joined with Him in the last day.
That hope isn’t because we are sick and sadistic. It is because we know that those who would try to persecute us are those who also sought to kill Christ. Those that persecute us, would persecute Him. We are given a great honor by being associated with Christ. That is what we see in the next verse:
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
If we are insulted because of Christ, we are actually blessed because to be insulted by the world that hates Christ, we show we are not part of that world, rather we are joined with Christ.
And the reason we rejoice is the hope of Christ’s return, of His ultimate victory (13).
Our rejoicing in our sufferings points to the future rejoicing and gladness of being a part of His family when “His glory is revealed.”
So, if we have to take persecution for the name of Christ, we are blessed. This is an indication, according to Peter, that the Spirit rests on us.
1 Peter: An Introduction and Commentary (Revised Edition) f. Do Not Be Surprised at Your Trials, but Rejoice (4:12–19)
The blessing named in verse 13 was future; the blessing named here is present. The Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you indicates an unusual fullness of the presence of the Holy Spirit to bless, to strengthen,56 and to give a foretaste of heavenly glory.
1 Peter: An Introduction and Commentary (Revised Edition) f. Do Not Be Surprised at Your Trials, but Rejoice (4:12–19)
Yet the word glory in the verse suggests another theme as well: the New Testament fulfilment of the Old Testament cloud of God’s glory (the ‘shekinah glory’) is to be seen in the powerful dwelling of the Holy Spirit within Christian believers
So, there is a future and current aspect to this joy and glory that Peter talks about.
We talk about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but Peter paints a picture that, if I’m honest, I don’t think I’ve ever thought about before.
In the Old Testament, when the children of Israel left Egypt, they went through the desert, and God led them by a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud.
When God came down to meet with the people, the cloud rested on the tabernacle. We call that a manifestation of His glory, or some of you may have heard of it as His “shekinah glory.”
Peter seems to be suggesting here that those who hold fast to Christ, who suffer for His name, and who endure show that the blessing of God is on them, the Spirit of God is in them, and the glory of God is upon them.
Not in some weird, magical way, but in the sense that, just as God dwelled with His people in the desert, He dwells with His people now. Just as the Spirit rested on the tabernacle, now the believer is the temple of God, and the Spirit rests on us, or in us.
We forget that if we are believers, we have the Holy Spirit inside of us. We are the dwelling place of the Most High.
We should probably act like it!
That is kind of what Peter says next:
15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.
If you are a believer, you should not be doing these things.
And we all know folks that want their “Get out of Hell Free” card. They want just enough Jesus that they go to heaven, but not enough that He changes them.
This is the kind of stuff that drove Peter and Paul crazy, and they couldn’t understand.
Why have we accepted it? Why do we let it stand?
If someone claims that they are part of your family, and they use your family name, but they are out here getting on the news because of some foolishness, or they are constantly getting in trouble with the law, etc., are you going to claim them as your own?
Are you gonna go give them a piece of your mind?
Tell them, “Hey, buddy, you are bringing shame and dishonor on our family!”
When we are associated with others in the family, our actions reflect on that family.
That old adage: remember who you are, and remember whose you are.
Peter is saying here, if you are being persecuted because you are doing stupid stuff, you need to stop doing stupid stuff. And shame is implied here (because he contrasts this behavior in the next verse, as we’ll see in a second).
You should be ashamed if you are doing something shameful.
Peter then contrasts this with suffering for righteousness sake:
16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
Again, Peter sums up all of his thoughts and points to his conclusion: all of the suffering we’ve talked about so far is summed up here.
And we see the word Christian, used three times in scripture: here, Acts 11:16, and Acts 26:28.
One of the things that I had always heard was that the term Christian was applied to believer pejoratively and meant “little Christs,” as in, these are just people who want to be just like that weird Jesus guy.
And there is some truth to that, as far as we can tell. The believers in Antioch were first called Christians in part as a slur towards them, but the idea of the word meaning “little Christ” is not really accurate. It really just means follower of Christ.
Now, we are to be imitators of Christ, but the word doesn’t really mean we are to be little clones of Him.
Interestingly, though, the term had become popular enough in the vernacular of the day that Peter uses it here.
Hebrews–Revelation Comment
Those in the early church did not typically call themselves “Christians” (4:16); this was a designation given to them by others (cf. Acts 11:26; 26:28). But clearly Peter thinks of the label as useful, to be embraced with joy and confidence and never in shame (cf. 1 Pet. 2:6). In fact, it is precisely “in that name,” in and for the name of “Christian,” a follower of Christ, that we are to suffer and thereby glorify God.
If one rejoices in suffering for Christ’s sake, one shows that God is gloriously more valuable than the approval of men or the comfort and safety they might provide. If one blesses persecutors instead of retaliating, one shows that God is more than sufficient to satisfy one’s longings. The most effective way to demonstrate that God is the preeminent treasure of one’s heart is to relentlessly rejoice in him when all other sources of satisfaction are stripped away.
In verse 13 the fiery trial is described as a sharing in “Christ’s sufferings.” In verse 14 one is “insulted for the name of Christ.” And verse 16 describes suffering “as a Christian.” Thus the suffering is due to the fact that believers have openly identified with Christ and joyfully bear his name.
17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And
“If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
Now, we understand that the persecution mentioned in verse 12 is to test us or try us. It is meant to strengthen our faith.
When we see the “time for judgment” here, we don’t (or shouldn’t) think of this as divine judgment, divine wrath. Rather, this is a refining, purifying, disciplinary judgment that strengthens the moral character of the believer.
And Peter starts with those who claim Christ, moving toward those who do not obey.
The point being that, if those who follow Christ are still undergoing suffering, what is going to happen to those who reject God? How much more will their suffering be?
And we understand that the righteous (those who follow Christ) are “scarcely” saved - meaning that Christ had to die and shed His precious blood for us, not that it was difficult or a struggle for God to save us. The price was immeasurably high, and only Jesus could pay it. That is why we are scarcely saved.
Hebrews–Revelation Comment
His point is that we, God’s people, must enter through the narrow gate, facing opposition and enduring suffering all along the pathway to glory. God’s mode of bringing his people to their final inheritance is through hard and painful discipline. Again, if sin is so hated in God’s sight that even his children are made to suffer discipline so as to purify their souls, what must be the fate of those who disobey the gospel?
Finally, verse 19:
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Here we see it: the suffering is God’s will. One commentator says it this way:
Hebrews–Revelation Comment
All suffering passes through God’s hands. Nothing befalls us that he does not permit or use for our ultimate good.
So, we should rejoice, because we are being made more like Christ. And we should entrust our souls to a faithful God who is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.
He will never forsake us. He will always keep His promises. He will work even our sufferings for our good and for His glory.
So we should entrust our souls to Him while we do the things He has asked us to do.
To God be the Glory, great things He has done.
Praise The Lord! Let The Earth hear His voice!
Praise The Lord! Let the people rejoice!
Give Him the Glory, great things He has done!
Let’s pray.
