15. A New Slant on Suffering

We all have this natural reaction, this gut survival instinct, that suffering is somehow not the way life ought to be (or how we would choose how things should be).

Peter, in this letter all along, has been making the case that suffering should come as no surprise to the Christian. He sums up this case here in the text before us. In fact, when suffering comes for the right reasons, it is actually an opportunity for joy and blessing.

I. The Blessing of Suffering, 12-16

II. Suffering Now as Part of God’s Process of Judgment and Salvation, 17-18

III. Trusting God amid Suffering, 19

I. The Blessing of Suffering, 12-16

1 Peter 4:12–16 ESV

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.

Peter addresses them as “beloved.” He is speaking as a pastor to them, encouraging them to understand their calling as followers of Christ. (Jobes)

Peter really understands what suffering is. He knows from first-hand experience how vicious and terrifying persecution can be. He had seen it himself – seen men executed for their Christian faith.

Peter, James, and John were the inner circle of the Lord’s disciples. We imagine that the three men were close. They had shared a great deal, including some absolutely marvelous experiences, such as the Lord’s transfiguration.

When Peter is writing this letter, James had been dead now for years, having been executed by Herod Agrippa I.

Peter probably knew Stephen. In all likelihood, he was present at his stoning. Peter had himself been jailed and threatened with death more than once.

He would have known some, if not most, of the Christians that Paul had thrown into prison before his conversion.

But, what is more, Peter here, as he has already in this letter (2:21), linked the suffering of Christians for their faith to the sufferings of Christ himself. And Peter knew about that suffering. He had seen if with His own eyes and was an apostle, an authorized messenger of the Gospel, and this Gospel included what He had seen and heard, what he had experienced, with Christ.

Peter knew how horrible it had been for a sinless man to be considered by other men, not only not the Messiah, but not even a good and righteous man.

He knew what pain and humiliation it was for the Lord to have the world deny and reject everything that he was and heap scorn on all that he lived his life for. And then he had seen such sorrow and pain.

Peter was in the Garden the night before the crucifixion when the Lord Christ, as it were, sweated great drops of blood. The last thing in the world Peter could think at that time was that such suffering as Christians suffered, such suffering as was a kind of partnership in the Lord’s own suffering, was a small thing. When he speaks of their “fiery trial,” he means what he says. He knew how terrible it was, how devastating, how heart-breaking, how sad!

But that fact makes only the more remarkable what Peter says. “Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings.”

He gives them several pieces of counsel:

A. Don’t be caught off guard

B. Rejoice and be glad

C. Glorify God

A. Don’t be caught off guard!

Peter makes a startling claim in 1 Peter 4:12

1 Peter 4:12 ESV

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 tend to think that suffering and hard times is an abnormal state of life that should be avoided if at all possible. And in a sense, it is are abnormal — the effects of sin and decay upon the world since our first parents sinned against God and its shock-waves through time ruined the blessedness they once had in the Garden of Eden has its reign. We won’t see everything made right and as it should be until the return of our Lord Jesus. The whole of creation, Paul tells us, groans. Trials and troubles will befall us if we seek to live for God in this world because it is suffering the effects of the Fall, the sin and degradation of all things. So yes, it is abnormal, but no, it is the way things are for now. And praise God, it will not always remain as it is now!

What Peter is doing is giving us the run-down of possible “side effects” of the Lord’s working out of all things according to His plans and purposes and for our God in Christ. And yes, that may include suffering.

So we shouldn’t be blind-sided and bewildered by suffering — we’ve already been given a heads-up that it indeed could come, so we may be better prepared.

› Instead, we should

B. Rejoice and be glad!

1 Peter 4:13–14 ESV

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.

Evil and sin targeted the perfect human being, our Lord Jesus Christ. It should be of no surprise, then, that we who follow in his footsteps should find ourselves also to be targets of the forces of evil and sin that came against Jesus.

Because we are united with Christ in His suffering, rejection, and execution, suffering is part of the package for the Christian in this world. But to suffer because one is a Christian is at the same time is to be blessed because it marks one as belonging to God’s obedient followers, upon whom his Spirit rests (4:14). (per Jobes)

The blessing is not only in the future; it is already theirs. They are blessed, in one way, in that their persecution shows them to be the faithful followers of Christ and so people who can be sure that they will share in his triumph. (Rayburn, A Strange Pleasure).

The blessing comes, though, not because of an opportunity for self-improvement but because of the presence of God. (Jobes)

But this blessing is also because of God’s presence with us: because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

They are also blessed for the ministry of the Holy Spirit that the Lord Jesus promised to his people when they suffer for his sake.

Matthew 10:19–20 ESV

19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

(Rayburn, A Strange Pleasure)

So we rejoice. He isn’t saying we should be emotionally exhilarated (Rayburn, A Strange Pleasure). It means that we find hope in the conviction of the certainty of God’s work and word in Christ, and we may stand upon it, we may find our only comfort in life and in death.

Peter's point is this: the Christian faith is true! You cannot rejoice in trials such as befall you because you are a Christian unless it is true. Why do we rejoice? Because of these truths -

You rejoice 1) that God is in direct control of this world and that these sufferings you face also are under his control, and so is his purpose for your life and the life of others; perfect wisdom has appointed this trial for you; God has a plan, and that plan must be good because it is God’s plan;

You rejoice 2) that he loves his people with an unchangeable love; he hasn’t stopped loving you because you’re suffering but has appointed the trial because he loves you;

You rejoice 3) that in Christ there is forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the heaven;

You rejoice 4) that this life is followed for the one who believes in Jesus Christ with an experience so much better, and happier, and more glorious than we can conceive; our trials are for a moment; our joy is forever; and

You rejoice 5) that God the Father will not fail to reward with his smile and with his blessing those who suffer for the sake of his Son. He rewards those who love his Son and who will not betray him even when their faithfulness to him costs them dearly.

You cannot say that death is better by far as Paul did when he was threatened with death by the Roman government for his Christian faith unless it is true that for a Christian is better to die and be with the Lord in heaven than it is to continue to live in this world! But if it is true, then the conclusion is inevitable: affliction, persecution, even death are matters concerning which Christians can rejoice in this more profound sense.

How is it with you? If you are in Christ today, your outlook on life must be fundamentally different from that of unbelievers precisely because of the mighty things we know to be true! (Rayburn)

C. Glorify God

1 Peter 4:15–16 ESV

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.

Not all suffering has the blessing of God.

It is only suffering as a Christian and for Christ that brings such a blessing. There is a lot of suffering that is punishment for unrighteousness.

The terms murderer, thief, and evildoer, we all understand.

The term meddler is Peter’s gentle reminder that there are right ways and foolish ways to bear witness to one’s faith and to condemn the pagan culture.

Human nature being what it is, no doubt there were some Christians who brought down upon themselves the wrath of the pagans with whom they lived by arguing for the gospel in a way that wasn’t wise or thoughtful or gentle or temperate.

Theirs was the way of public criticism, of rude interruptions, of thoughtless interference with family relations, and so on, matching tit-for-tat the crass maligning of believers that the pagans do. (Rayburn, A Strange Pleasure) If you fight fire with fire, everyone gets burnt. The truth of the Word of God gets lost in the recklessness of our words.

So, if you are going to suffer, make sure it is for the right reasons. If we suffer, let it not be for things that bring real shame — but for things that reflect that we belong to God and live for Him. Let us bear the name of Christian as a badge of honor.

II. Suffering Now as Part of God’s Process of Judgment and Salvation, 17-18

1 Peter 4:17–18 ESV

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?”

A. While it will be tough for believers...

B. What will it be like for the unbelievers?

A. While it will be tough for believers...

1 Peter 4:17 ESV

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?

We sometimes hear this verse used in the context of God bringing judgment upon God’s covenant people for their unfaithfulness. There are many passages in the Old Testament that speak to this. We do have many passages in Scripture which speak of the fires of affliction and persecution as refining us. And they certainly do that. What I believe Peter is driving at, though, is this:

The opposition by the world, the flesh, and the devil makes it difficult for us to remain faithful to Christ to the end.

Will we have the resolve and stamina to persevere to the end? Will the insults, abuse, ostracism, and even more severe and threatening pressures drive us to deny Christ, renounce the faith, and return to the world’s unbelieving ways? Yes, it is difficult for even a righteous person to persevere to the end and be saved.

B. What will it be like for the unbeliever!

1 Peter 4:18 ESV

18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Proverbs 11:31 ESV

31 If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!

› That leads us to Peter’s third point: that we must be

III. Trusting God Amid Suffering, 19

1 Peter 4:19 ESV

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

We must commit to the work

We must commit ourselves to our faithful Creator

A. We must commit to the work

But what Peter is doing here is reminding us that if we are suffering for righteousness’ sake, we may be encouraged with the thought that God’s process of bringing judgment and salvation, that His plan for all things, is right on track. All of us must face this judgment, but because of our faithful, trustworthy Saviour, and because He is indeed that, we may have faith in Christ. If we trust this Christ, we are kept by Him, we need not fear that day of judgment. (Jobes)

What did our Jesus do when He suffered when He was reviled and insulted? 1 Peter 2:23

1 Peter 2:23 ESV

23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

The Greek verb translated “continued entrusting” is interesting. It was used when describing turning over money to a friend for safekeeping. A person leaving home for an extended period would want to place his money in the custody of someone he could trust. To break such a trust was a serious offense.

Peter is telling us that if we suffer for righteousness’ sake, we may place our lives in God’s hands with full assurance that he will guard the deposit with the greatest of care. The same verb is used of Jesus on the cross when he called out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). (per Mounce)

B. We must commit ourselves to our Faithful Creator

To Whom are we entrusting ourselves? God is the “faithful Creator.” The God Who brought all things into being is completely capable of keeping completely safe what we commit to his care.

Let us follow in His footsteps! 1 Peter 2:21

1 Peter 2:21 ESV

21 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.

How do we show that we trust Him while suffering? By continuing to do good. But engaging in the very things that have brought us trouble. We must continue to live as a Christian, continue to observe appropriate social relationships, continue to minister to one another in the Church. Don’t let persecution and suffering deflect us from our calling in Christ — they are part of the package, and are working out a far greater outcome than we could ever imagine!

15. A New Slant on Suffering

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