1 Peter 4:1-6, Living in Light of Christ’s Triumph

Introduction

Please open your Bible with me to 1 Peter 4. As we turn our attention to worship through the preaching of God’s Word, we will be looking at 1 Peter 4:1-6. I will first read the passage. Then, as always, we will pray and ask the LORD to help us understand and apply His Word to our life and ministry together here. Please follow along with me now as I read 1 Peter 4:1-6.

READ 1 PETER 4:1-6

[Matthew 4:4 Responsive Reading - “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”]

PRAY

In 1519 the Spanish Conquistador, Hernan Cortes, along with around 600 men landed on the coast of Mexico to explore and seek the conquest of the Aztec Empire. Due to a number of factors––political rivalries; exhaustion from the journey––there were some factions forming among the men such that some sought to return home. But, upon landing on the coast, Cortes ordered his men to destroy the ships that brought them to the new world. Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “burn the boats.”

Cortes knew the difficulty that lay ahead in their exploration and conquest. He knew as long as they had an out to return home, the men would be less devoted to the task at hand. Destroying the ships meant that his men only had one way out to survive. They now had to be fully committed to the fight in front of them as their only hope. They had to forget what was behind them, all that they had known, and push forward with full determination. That was their only hope of survival. That was the key to their triumph in what they had been sent to do.

What does this little history lesson have to do with our study of 1 Peter. Well, Peter has been encouraging his readers who are suffering for their faith in Christ. As we saw the last two weeks, he has reminded them of Christ’s triumph over all his enemies. His triumph was achieved in His vicarious suffering and death on the cross. He was resurrected, having defeated sin, death, and the grave on behalf of those who were to believe in Him. His triumph was proclaimed to His enemies.

His triumph is portrayed in our baptism as we are united to Him in His life, death, and resurrection. His triumph has been vindicated in His ascension to the right hand of the Father as he now rules and reigns with all authority having been given to Him. In light of Christ’s triumph, Peter now turns to apply these truths to our Christian lives. By God grace through faith and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, if you are a Christian, you have been given new life in Christ. You are His disciple. One of His followers called to follow Him in every sphere of life.

That is not an easy calling this side of eternity. Faithfully living for the glory of Christ as one of His followers will bring heartache and suffering because it puts us at odds with the world we live in. Peter gets very practical, where the rubber meets the road, in his application here for day to day living as a Christ follower. There is no hope for us in going back to our former way of living before Christ. We are to “burn the boats,” so to speak. We are to set our minds on what lies ahead, fully committed to our calling in Christ as His followers.

MAIN POINT––Arm yourselves with the mindset of Christ as you live for the will of God, knowing that He will judge the living and the dead.

Arm Yourselves With Christ

The first thing I want us to notice is the clear connection between this passage and what has come before it. Peter says beginning in verse 1––“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh.” This is where I get to say the common refrain “whenever you come across ‘therefore’ you need to look and see what it is there for.” Peter is drawing a conclusion from what he presented in the previous passage concerning Christ’s triumph over all through His life, death, and resurrection. His triumph has practical implications for those of us who are united to Him by faith.

I feel the need to offer a word on this for a moment. It is sometimes common for folks to wonder why we concern ourselves so much with doctrine. Why don’t we just focus on “more practical” things. There’s a lot I could say to that. First, I’ll just say that as a pastor I am biblically called to teach sound doctrine and be able to refute those who contradict it (Titus 1:9). But more appropriate to what we see here in this connection with this passage we see that doctrine has practical implications for our life and ministry as the people of God.

The Bible never presents clear truths of doctrine without the implications it has for us. Peter reminds us of Christ’s triumph and some glorious doctrinal realites therein––Christ’s vicarious suffering in our place; our union with Him potrayed in baptism; His triumph proclaimed and vindicated in the spiritual realm. Then, lest we think that is just a bunch of stories and facts to keep stored in our minds, here he brings us to the reality that these doctrinal realities have real consequences for our lives here and now this side of eternity as His followers.

So, what’s the main implication of these truths for us now as Christ followers? Peter tells us. He gives a command that is a logical conclusion which follows from Christ’s triumph. He says, “arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.” What a powerful verb Peter uses here––“arm yourselves.” We are to make ready or prepare ourselves for something. Like a soldier trains and prepares for battle so that he is ready to respond appropriately to the fight, we too are to arm ourselves with Christ’s way of thinking.

This is not merely a preparation for suffering, though that is certainly part of it. It is more than that. It is a call to be ready to respond to suffering the way that Christ did. The time to determine how you will respond amidst suffering is not when it hits you. We are to prepare ourselves for suffering that can and will come at any moment. We are to have a settled mind and conviction of who we will follow when things get hard. Will we follow ourselves and our own wisdom and the course of this world? Or will we press on to follow Christ?

I remember as a young soldier, years ago now, hearing this saying when it came to our repetition in training. It goes something like this––“amateurs train til they get it right, but the professionals train til they can’t get it wrong.” We would train and drill our tactics and responses in certain situations so much that it was just automatic. Muscle memory would kick in. Your job was so drilled into you that it became instinct the moment action needed to be taken. The same idea should be characteristic all the more for us as Christians.

How will you respond when you suffer for doing good? When you suffer for following Christ? Will you revert to fleshly ways and revile in return? Or will you have the mind of Christ who did not revile in return? When you suffer, will you threaten in return? Or will you rejoice in so far as you share in Christ’s sufferings and simply entrust yourself to Him who judges justly? Do you know your own weaknesses and propensity to sin and self that might derail your faithful response in the midst of suffering? Do you know how to overcome those weaknesses?

Loved ones, this is the significance of fundamental practices we hold dear as a church family. We arm ourselves with this mindset everytime we gather for worship together. We are reminded of the truths of God’s Word as we sing His praises, seek Him in prayer, and hear His Word preached. All of this serves to equip us for the work of ministry and builds us up to greater Christlikeness. We arm ourselves with this mindset when we are transformed by the renewing of our mind in accordance with God’s Word––knowing it, loving it, obeying it.

Just as Christ suffered in the flesh, we too as Christ followers, are to follow in His footsteps. We are, in Jesus’ own words, to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. Most notably, we will suffer for being conformed to Him and living for Him, rather than living for the world and according to the world's ways. That’s the primary means of suffering Peter has had in mind in this letter. That becomes all the more clear the further into the text we get. We arm ourselves with this Christlike mindset for a reason.

Look at the latter half of verse 1––“for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.” There’s a couple of ways this could be taken. It could be a reference to the believer being dead to the power of sin as a result of having died with Christ. This would be similar to what Paul teaches in Romans 6. While that is certainly a true reality for every Christian, I think Peter is coming at this reality from a different angle. He comes at it from the angle of suffering for good.

Here’s what Peter is telling us. When believers are willing to suffer and respond to it in the way Christ did, they have made a committed resolve to live for Christ no matter the cost. Per our introductory illustration, they have “burned the boats” so to speak. Their is no turning back. It is a resolve to follow Christ in His sufferings that severs the “nerve center of sin” in their lives. It is a demonstration of who you are in Christ. In other words, when you endure suffering for the sake of Christ you demonstrate that you live for Him and not yourself. Nothing deters you.

Living For God’s Will

I think this becomes all the more clear with what follows beginning in verse 2 if we just keep reading. Peter, like a good writer, clarifies what he means. Peter continues, “so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” This is why we have been saved and are now dead to sin. This is the purpose God has in saving us––that we would no longer live for ourselves and our human passions, but instead live for the will of God.

This is the consistent call on the life of the believer all over the New Testament. This is what it means and looks like to be a Christ follower. To be one who, by God’s grace through faith, no longer lives for themselves and the passions of the flesh, but for the will and glory of God. A life consecrated and fully devoted to the glory of God and making much of Him in all that we say, think, and do. A reality made possible by the work of the Spirit who made us alive together with Christ.

As a Christ follower, you have made a resolute commitment to turn away from sin and live for Christ. That will never look perfect this side of eternity. But there will be a noticeable growth and trajectory in this way over the course of your life in Christ. It is an ongoing lifelong process of dying to sin and living to Christ. Notice the contrast Peter makes in verse 3. He says, “For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.

This is what characterized the unbelieving world around Peter’s original readers. They lived for unhindered human passion to please themselves. This is the kind of lifestyle that many of these new Christians had left behind. Now that they are in Christ, the time for living in this way has passed. Lest we think our own time and place is any better, we would do well to remember that our current culture is no different and we too were saved from this kind of godless living.

I don’t think Peter’s list is meant to be exhaustive here. We ought not look at this list and think, well I’ve never done any of those things. Maybe you’ve committed these things in your own mind and heart. But there’s other ways that we lived in defiance of God before we were born again. All you have to do is trace the motivations of your heart. Do you do what you do so that others will think well of you? So that you will feel good about yourself? So you will remain part of the “in crowd.” That is a kind of self-idolatry that is so prevalent in the context which we live.

Now that we are in Christ the time of living as those who are dead in sin has passed. We have been given new life in Christ. We no longer live as the unbelieving world around us does. Our gospel shaped lives will necessarily set us apart from them in our conduct. We've considered the positive aspect of that before. Meaning, it is our distinct holy living that can positively lead to others taking notice and asking us the reason for the hope that is in us. Holy living commends the gospel we proclaim and can serve to winsomely draw others to Christ.

But, Peter draws out the negative reality for us here. Look at verse 4––“With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.” The reality is that unbelievers will also malign you for not joining with them in their sin. This has perhaps been the experience for many of us here following our conversion. Friends from your life before Christ invited you to certain places and things and suddenly you no longer go with them.

They make unseemly jokes that used to have you rolling on the floor laughing, but now cause your stomach to turn in disgust. The examples could go on and on. You’re now a “kill joy” or “holier than thou.” This is where peer pressure may tug at us and tempt us to go the way of the world out of fear of man. We don't like to be isolated, mocked, or ridiculed. We naturally want to fit in and be liked and be included. It seems so much easier to go with the flow, right?

It’s easier to drift down stream than swim against the current after all, isn’t it? In fact, when we go against the grain it will often come at a cost. Peter knows this. But Peter has a reminder for us that ought to keep us firmly grounded in the midst of such suffering. Those who mock you for following Christ instead of the world will one day have to stand before God who will render judgment for their sin and rebellion against Him. That is far worse than any treatment you may face in this life at the hands of those who mock you for your faith in Christ.

God Will Judge All In the End

The reality is that in the end the good and perfect Judge will do all that is right. He will perfectly judge the living and the dead. That’s what Peter reminds us in verse 5. Unbelievers may mock you and malign you for not going the way of the world. They may call you backwards. Peter says, “but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” Now, why does Peter give us this reminder? How does this help us endure suffering armed with the mindset of Christ?

Loved ones, if you are in Christ, the coming judgment is an encouragement for you. You can endure suffering and respond to it in Christlike ways because you know that God will make all things right one day. But, it is only an encouragement for you because of what Christ has done for you. The reality is that all of us, apart from Christ, are deserving of God’s final judgment. This is the sobering reality that we all face when we consider the cross of Christ.

The cross is not just a demonstration of God’s love for those who are in Christ. It is a display of God’s judgment. That is, after all, what Christ took upon Himself as He hung on the cross. He was bearing our sins in His body on the cross. He was also bearing the full weight of God’s wrath in our place for sins that He didn’t commit, but the sins of His people. Every evil thought, every cross word, every evil deed that you have committed or ever will commit was laid on the Lamb who was slain for you and me.

I say it all the time and it cannot be said too many times. Jesus came into the world and lived the perfect life that you and I were supposed to live for the glory of God, but failed to live. He died the death every single one of us deserves for our sin and rebellion against God. Because He was the sinless Savior, not deserving death in and of Himself, God raised Him up. He did not leave Him in the grave. In doing this, God demonstrated that His wrath was satisfied against those who would believe in the LORD Jesus Christ.

But for those who will not believe and remain in defiant rebellion against God, there is a coming judgment. It is appointed once for man to die and then after that comes judgment. If you are not a Christian, your only hope is to turn from living for yourself and loving your sin to look to Christ in faith and live for Him. Our only hope is Christ and Christ alone. That is why Peter concludes with what he says in verse 6:

1Pet. 4:6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

Don’t get tripped up by what Peter is saying here. Once again, we know he’s not speaking of preaching the gospel to those who died and had not believed during this life. The immediate context makes that clear as Peter is exhorting Christians to persevere in light of the coming judgment. When he mentions “those who are dead” he is talking about Christians to whom the gospel was preached when they were alive, but who have since died and gone to be with the LORD.

Thus, when he speaks of them being “judged in the flesh the way people are” he is referring to their earthly death. This is the way of every human being this side of eternity. As long as the LORD delays His coming we will all experience the curse and judgment of death for our sin. But, for the Christian, death does not have the final word. For those who are in Christ, death ushers us into the presence of God that we “might live in the spirit the way God does.” Our great hope is that to be absent from the body is to be present with the LORD.

Though Peter doesn’t mention it here, I feel it necessary to mention that even that is not the end of the story. We will not exist in eternity as disembodied spirits. One day, Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead. All will be raised bodily at His coming. Those who died in Christ will be raised with glorified bodies to live with and enjoy Him forever. Those who died in rebellion against Him will be raised to judgment and eternal torment.

So, the question we must all ask ourselves is this––whose judgment do you fear? The judgment of those who are perishing or the judgment of God? May we all think soberly and rightly in answer to that question.

Conclusion

As you can see, Peter wants us to persevere amidst suffering with the mindset of Christ. He encourages us to this end by putting life and eternity in perspective for us. Though suffering for doing good is hard, the cost of turning back and not persevering is too great. Fix your eyes on Christ. Remember Him and His suffering. Arm yourselves with this same way of thinking. Remember that one day the Judge of all the earth will do what is right as He renders final judgment. For those who are in Christ, their will be vindication and glory with Christ.

Arm yourselves with the mindset of Christ as you live for the will of God, knowing that He will judge the living and the dead.