Suffering to Sanctification
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 7 viewsNotes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
As we get to chapter 4 Peter continues to the theme of suffering and sanctification. He continues to point us to the suffering of Christ and the sanctifying impact it has on the believer. The suffering of Christ is not a secondary doctrine of the Christian faith. The suffering of Christ is a primary, essential doctrine of what we believe. We see it in all of Scriptures, especially in the Peter’s first epistle!
As Peter opens up chapter 4 Peter continues to exhort the church to not forget Christ suffering and to live lives that reflect the suffering of Christ.
Notice how he begins chapter 4 calling the church to,
I. Remember Christ’s Suffering.
I. Remember Christ’s Suffering.
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh,
Now we get two words to remind us to think back, to look back at what we have learned about the suffering of Christ, Since and therefore, these words are calling us to think back to what Christ has done in his suffering. Consider the paragraph we just finished.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
What do we learn about the suffering of Christ form that paragraph?
Once for all
Righteous for the Unrighteous
Reconciles us to God
Temporary, he was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit....
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
Christ suffering is an example we might follow.
Remember 1 Peter
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Christ suffering is for our sanctification! So that we might die to sin.
Christ suffering enables us to live righteously.
Christ suffering heals us spiritually!
Considering the breadth of Christ suffering, can you see how important it is to the believer. Meditating on the suffering of Christ should put to death nominal Christianity. A right view of the suffering of Christ should slay selfish desires of the flesh that keep us from spiritual warfare and worship!
Peter is continuing to remind the exiles and sojourners that their suffering righteously is one of the primary ways in which they will maintain a faithful witness to a watching world. When they/we suffer without reviling, or threatening, or speaking sinfully it makes the lost step back and think why?
When we remember the suffering of Christ, we must never forget that it was in the flesh. Jesus suffering was not just a spiritual suffering, although there was a spiritual aspect of his suffering. But Jesus suffered in His physical, fleshly body.
The abusers physically slapped him in the face.
They pressed the crown of thorns into the flesh of his scalp, and blood ran down the flesh of his face.
The cat of nine tails ripped real flesh off of His back.
The spikes were driven through the meat, flesh, and tendons of his hands.
The splinters of the cross dug into the flesh of His back.
The flesh of his tongue stuck to the roof of His mouth as he thirsted.
The flesh of his lungs strained for air as he suffocated on the cross.
The flesh of his side was pierced by the sword as they finished him off.
We as those saved through this suffering should always remember, we should never forget, and we should always be mindful that Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to being us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.
This is the intellectual side of our faith, we are to remember, trust in this suffering, and rejoice in this suffering.
The apostle Paul explains it this way,
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
Philippians 3:8-
Is our desire to gain Christ, be found in him, know him and the power of his resurrection, share in his sufferings, and become like him in his death? Peter is going to continue to help us see how to share in his suffering and become like him.
Robert Leighton writes, “We are more obliged to make his suffering our example, because it was to us more than an example; it was our ransom.” (Leighton pg. 385)
This brings us to our second point, as those who are reconciled to God we are to,
Since therefore, Christ suffered in the flesh,
II. Respond to Christ’s Suffering.
II. Respond to Christ’s Suffering.
Since therefore, Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking,
Peter calls believers to arm yourselves, to prepare for battle, to prepare for defense, to be ready to guard and protect. However, he is not calling men and women of God to prepare for battle the way the world would. Instead, in remembering the sufferings of Christ we are to arm ourselves differently. We are not first to reach for weapons of this world, but instead we are to look to our example in suffering to respond.
Peter has alluded to this spiritual arming in this letter a couple of time already.
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
He calls the church to prepare our minds for action, get ready, be serious, set your hope on the King and the General of this battle Jesus Christ.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
He reminds the beloved what the root of the war is, the passions of the flesh. As we prepare for action, and arm ourselves we are recognizing that there is a battle and we must be prepared to fight. Therefore we must look to Christ and live by the Spirit not by the flesh.
As you look to Christ as your example of One who suffered in the flesh we are to arm yourselves with the same way of thinking,
This leads us to the question, what did Christ think about suffering? If we are to think about suffering of Christ in the flesh the same way he did, how are we to think?
“way of thinking” in the Greek is,
ἔννοια, ας, ἡ the content of mental processing, thought, knowledge, insight,
Another way to say this is we are to “get ready for suffering by considering the way Christ suffered, by taking the knowledge we have learned about Christ and his suffering and apply that to our own thought life.
Where can we go in the Scriptures to learn how Christ thought about suffering?
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”
Matthew 26:
First, we learn is Jesus felt sorrow in regards to his upcoming suffering.
, And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed,
Secondly, Jesus sought the Father in times of suffering.
, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me;”
Third, Jesus asked for release from affliction.
, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Fourth, Jesus submitted to the Father’s will in suffering!
Fifthly, Jesus was satisfied suffering according to the will of the Father.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”
John 4:31
Back to the context, Peter is urging these suffering believers to remember Christ’s suffering. He wants them to think about they way Christ suffered in the flesh, the brutality, and the severity of Christ fleshly suffering. He wants them to be mindful of the fact that the suffering of Christ was real, this was not a fairy tale, this was not fiction, but a fulfillment of OT prophecy and a fact. Christ has truly suffered in the flesh unto death.
And don’t forget it was for you, the righteous for the unrighteous. But not only does Peter want these believers to remember Christ suffering, he wants them to prepare themselves with the same way of thinking, with the same mindset of Christ!
Christ was sorrowful over suffering,
Christ sought the Father for help in suffering.
Thomas Brooks
Christ submitted to the Father in suffering.
Christ was satisfied in the Father in times of suffering.
How can you and arm ourselves with this way of thinking?
It is OK to be sorrowful during suffering.
It is of utmost importance that we seek God in the midst of this suffering!
Thomas Brooks writes, “A holy, a prudent, silence does not shut out prayer for deliverance of our afflictions. Though the psalmist lays his hand upon his mouth in the text, yet he prays for deliverance “Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand. Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry for help.”
John MacArthur states succinctly, “That purpose (way of thinking) is a willingness to die because Christians know death produces the greatest victory!”
Notice the final truth in verse 1 of Chapter 4, Christians,
III. Repent because of Christ’s Suffering.
III. Repent because of Christ’s Suffering.
Notice what Peter says, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
Here Peter is reminding those who have been born again and have a living hope through the death and resurrection of Christ, who have suffered in the flesh have ceased to sin.
This phrase shifts from the sufferings of Christ to the suffering of believers, where Peter writes, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.
If we are not careful we can come to some wrong conclusions on this verse. Peter is not saying that those who have believed ans suffered have come to a point of sinless perfection. Because we know from many other texts of Scripture that is not the case. As believers we will battle sin until the day we die and reach that final state of glorification.
However, as those who have truly understood the sufferings of Christ and the truths of the Gospel that his sufferings are for our salvation, we become willing to suffer for Him. As we begin to live out the gospel we will suffer and in the suffering we will “cease to sin,” or refuse to sin, repent of sin.
Tom Schreiner writes, “The point is not that believers who suffer have attained sinless perfection, as if they do not sin at all after suffering. What Peter emphasized was that those who commit themselves to suffer, those who willingly endure scorn and mockery for their faith, show that they have triumphed over sin. They have broken with sin because they have ceased to participate in the lawless activities of unbelievers and endured criticisms that have come from such a decision.”
It is important that we don’t take our eye off of Christ who is the main subject of this verse. His suffering is not only our atoning sacrifice but the suffering of Christ is our ultimate example in suffering.
He suffered so that we might die to sin. He suffered to break the power of sin of the life of those whom are new creations in Him. The suffering of Christ is the reason we repent, not just confessing our sin, but turning from, stopping, and cease from sin. Again we know that this ultimate cessation won’t happen until the day we die. But there will be a constant recognition, repentance, and rejection of sin. Our willingness to suffer will show our obedience to Christ who suffered once for all sin.
Spurgeon explains, There is no escaping from the bondage of sin except by that wonderful means which God has ordained: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (). There is no way of getting the power with which we can smite sin, the great adversary of our souls, except by laying hold upon the conquering cross of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Spurgeon, C. (2014). Spurgeon Commentary: 1 Peter. (E. Ritzema & J. Strong, Eds.) (). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
The apostle John explains this new life and new walk,
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Peter continues the explanation of this ceasing from sin in verse 2.
so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.
Instead of living for the passions of the flesh we being to live for the will of God. As we contemplate on the sufferings of Christ, we arm ourselves with the same way of thinking as Christ. As we put on the mind of Christ we look to him as our example in suffering.
Paul says it this way,
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
When have the mind of Christ or arm ourselves with the same way of thinking we will walk in humility. We will desire to live as Christ lives. We begin to see the failures in the flesh and seek to put off the things of the flesh and put on the things of the Spirit.
Peter is going to explain later in detail what these passions of the flesh are, but I think we can imagine what he is speaking to. The passions which we had before Christ that we would seek to fulfill in whatever manner necessary to feed our desires of the flesh.
Now as the sufferings of Christ become more precious to us, the passions of the flesh all of the sudden fail to fulfill us. Therefore, as long as we continue to live on this earth we are to seek to live in humble obedience to the will of God.
We are to be prepared to suffer, for the sake of Christ and the gospel. We are to be willing to war against the passions of the flesh, by putting to death the deeds of the flesh. It should be our passionate desire to grow in sanctification. To pursue holiness because this is the will of God.
Paul explains this to the Thessalonians,
Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
Peter exhorts us to live the rest of our lives no longer for human passions but for the will of God.
Paul tell us, For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that you abstain from sexual immorality! Do you see the parallel?
What then does our life look like?
Do you and I spend time contemplating and remembering the sufferings of Christ? Do we often think of Jesus walking in the flesh, the God-man leaving his throne in heaven to be born in a manger, living a life of obscurity, fulfilling the Messianic office to the point of death for you and I? If we don’t start with that, if we don’t believe, trust in, and assent to the truths of Christ, living, dying, and rising in the flesh Peter’s following exhortations are meaningless.
Upon remembering the sufferings of Christ, are we responding to His suffering by preparing our minds for a spiritual battle. Are we arming ourselves with a humble, obedient mind, willing to suffer to the point of death. What does this look line in the life of the Christian?
Finally, are our lives marked by a cessation of sin? In other words are we responding in trust and repentance. Is there a desire in our lives to lay aside the passions of the flesh and live according to the will of God?
Let me close with this illustration from the life of Andrew Fuller and 18th century Baptist Pastor Theologian.
He writes, “Within a few days or tow after I had been baptized, as I was riding through the fields, I met a company of young men. One of them, especially on my having passed them, called after me, in very abusive language, and cursed me for having been dipped. My heart instantly rose in the way of resentment: but, though the fire burned, I held my peace, for before I uttered a word, I was checked with this passage, which occurred to my mind:--”In the world ye shall have tribulation.” I wept and entreated the Lord to pardon me; feeling quite willing to bear the ridicule of the wicked, and to go even through great tribulation, if at last I might enter the kingdom.” Paul Brewster - Andrew Fuller Model Pastor Theologian