As aliens, how are we to respond if we experience suffering in our lives?

1 Peter 3:13-22

Introduction:

Review of last two Sundays

2:13-17: In submission to governmental authority

2:18-21: In submission to your boss at your workplace

2:21-25: Jesus as our example

3:1-7: In your home and marriage

Wives are called to submit to their husbands and to live in a pure, reverant manner

Husbands are called to live with their ways, seeking to demonstrate understanding

Our passage for this morning is built off Peter’s thought in 3:8-12

“Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing. For the one who wants to love life and to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, and let him turn away from evil and do what is good. Let him seek peace and pursue it, because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.”

3:8-12: Pastor Chipman helped us to see that as aliens, when it comes to our relationship with people in general:

We are called to be like-minded

Sympathetic

Loving

Compassionate

Humble

We are called to bless

Because of this amazing truth, Peter asks his audience a rhetorical question in verse 13. Look at the text with me. It says, “Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good?” These actions that Peter lists in verses 8-12, the citizens of Rome appreciated. Even our society today appreciates and values these qualities in any human being. So in one sense, Peter is explaining that there is enough common ground of the definition “good” for Christians to be able to get along with other members of their community. But as we will see in 14-22 and onward, Peter acknowledges that though the gaze of the Lord is upon the believers and that they share enough common ground with society of what “good” is, they do live in a world that is charged with suspicion and hostility, which at times has exploded with violence and persecution, in the past and will in the future. I mean, let us not forget that Christians truly are “aliens” in this world. Though we share enough common ground with the world on what is defined as “good”, we do still disagree with the world on many things about what is and is not “good”. Peter understands this. This is, after all, the main reason most likely why Peter wrote this letter. Christians in his day were suffering for their faith. He even acknowledges in chapter 4 that by choosing to abstain from certain socially acceptable practices (that is, what the world considers “good”), tension will rise from that. And it may be that suffering comes from that tension with the world. This is the case for the believers during this time. They have been targets of:

accusations and slander (1 Peter 2:12, 3:16)

ignorant and foolish talk (1 Peter 2:15)

evil (3:9).

We have seen examples of this is chapter 2 and we will see more of this in our passage for today. After instructing his readers of how Christians (i.e. “aliens”) are to live, Peter transitions in his letter to provide exhortations and encouragement that addresses the suffering his readers are experiencing and will experience.

So for this morning, we will be looking at Peter’s answer to the question, “As aliens, how are we to respond if we experience suffering in our lives?” Hopefully, we can leave today knowing exactly what Peter wants us to do and to remember if we shall ever experience suffering. Let us read the passage in its entirety, and then let’s pray. Follow along with me:

1 Peter 3:13-22 (CSB)

13. Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good?

14. But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear or be intimidated,

15. but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

16. Yet do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.

17. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

18. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

19. in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison

20. who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water.

21. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

22. who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

Let’s pray.

Main Body

1. We are to remember that suffering for righteousness brings about God’s blessing (14a)

The first point I would like us to see from the text is that we are to remember that suffering for righteousness brings about God’s blessing (2X). Take a look with me at the beginning of verse 14: “But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed.” How can suffering and blessing go together? How can Peter make such a claim? He makes a similar claim in chapter 4 verse 14, “If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed…” Both times when Peter makes this claim, he is echoing the words of Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 5:10-12, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward in great in heaven.” Often when we think of “blessing” our minds immediately go to the joys and riches of life. Very rarely does anyone ever think suffering as a blessing for living obediently unto God. Peter here is reminding his audience of what a privilege it is to live rightly because of Christ and to suffer for it. This is nothing less than a blessing. This is a sign of God’s favor and is evidence of their salvation. Because of your faith, you may lose relationships with friends or family, you may not get that promotion, you may get humiliated and always be the one people joke about at the office or classroom, you may get backstabbed, you may be avoided, you may get a bad grade, you may fail and have to retake a class, you may lose money, you may get hurt, or you may die. But take heart brothers and sisters, for anyone who suffers for the sake of Christ, your reward is great in the kingdom of Heaven.

Story of Job, story of Jospeh, Story of David

2. We are to not make people big and God small in the midst of our suffering (14b)

So the first point is to remember that suffering brings about God’s blessing. The next two points for this morning’s message comes from verses 14 through 17, and I would like to read these verses first and then dive into the points that I believe Peter is trying to make. Follow along with me. Peter says: “Do not fear what they fear (or some your translations may say “Do not fear them”) or be intimidated, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

A second response to suffering is that when we suffer for the sake of Christ we are to never make people big and God small. Peter here in the second half of verse 14 and 15 is actually quoting from Isaiah 8:12-13. And in Isaiah, the Lord spoke to the prophet to not fear what those in Jerusalem and Judah feared, which happened to be the nations around them. Rather, God exhorted Isaiah in verse 13 to, “regard only the LORD of Armies as holy.” Pastor Chipman in his commentary writes, “As the Lord exhorted Isaiah to be courageous and not fear the nations surrounding Judah…so Peter exhorted his readers to fortitude before those who opposed them.” Peter is essentially saying to the believers, just as Isaiah was instructed to fear not and to regard the LORD as holy, you too are to not fear those that are trying to hurt you and make sure you regard Christ the Lord as holy. Peter’s instruction to not be afraid or to not fear them was by no means an attempt to belittle the believers’ persecution, for Peter understands it was very real. He in fact, has been in their shoes at times in his life.

For our leader’s meetings, we just finished Ed Welch’s book which is titled, “When People are Big and God is Small”. If you have not read this book yet, I strongly encourage you to grab a copy and bump this book up to the top of your reading list. In this book, Welch dives into a discussion of a sin that is common to everyone in this room, the fear of man. I think we fear man more than we truly realize. We as human beings have a natural desire to be wanted and accepted, but rather than finding that satisfaction completely from God alone we look to human beings as well. Peter certainly battled the fear of man in his own life. I cannot help but think that Peter, as he was penning these words, was reflecting on his own personal experiences. Let me read to you an excerpt from Welch’s book. [Read book]

I think that by the time Peter wrote this letter, he finally understood that when a believer has a relationship with thee sovereign God and ultimately trusts in his providential care regardless of the outcome, the believer has the ability to take that suffering, though very real and very painful, and lessen its’ weight, its’ burden. We can do this because of the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. Peter now gets it, and I believe this is why he says in verse 17, “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil”.

3. We are to honor Christ (15a):

So first, let us remember that suffering for righteousness brings about God’s blessing. Second, let us not make people big and God small in the midst of our suffering. Third, Peter instructs the believers to honor Christ in the midst of their suffering. And they are to honor Christ in three distinct ways. Take a look at verses 15 and 16 again. This is where we find our three ways to honor Christ in the midst of our suffering. Rather than fearing and being intimidated by man, Peter tells the believers, “but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, (1) ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. (2) Yet do this with gentleness and respect, (3) keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.”

By being prepared to give an answer (15b)

Hopefully you were able to spot them, but the first way we honor Christ in the midst of our suffering is by always being prepared to give an answer for the hope we have.

By responding with gentleness and respect (16)

And we are to always give an answer in a gentle and respectful manner, which is the second way that we honor Christ. To anyone who may ask, whether it be a friend, a colleague, or even in legal court, Peter charges the believers to be ready to give an answer. As we have learned from previous weeks of studying 1 Peter, as aliens we are charged to live in quietness. But this does not mean that we are to be merely passive, neutral, and never share our hope in Christ. No, we are to called to give an answer for the hope that is within us. And just because we charged to give a defense does not mean that this is to be done in a defensive and divisive manner, as many wrongfully do, especially on social media. But as believers, we are charged to give a defense of our hope in Christ in a humble and respectful manner. As Wayne Grudem puts it, the believer is not to attempt “to overpower the unbeliever with the force of human personality or aggressiveness, but trusting the Holy Spirit himself quietly to persuade the listener.” If one truly does place their hope in Christ, it should be evident enough for one to recognize and ask, if not ask, at least wonder to themselves. I do not know how else a Christian can suffer or even be asked about their hope, if their hope is not evident. How do you manifest your hope in Christ? Are you intentional about manifesting your hope in Christ to the world to make them wonder and hopefully ask?

As you know, just a couple weeks ago, Ravi Zacharias passed away and went to be with the Lord. He was one of the first people that came to my mind as one who regularly demonstrated a readiness to give an answer, and to do so in a gentle, respectful, and humble manner. When he passed away, there were many videos of his ministry surfacing on social media. There was one in particular that really stood out to me. Ravi was sitting in a chair on stage and he was allowing the audience to ask him questions. One of the questioners was a young man and he confronted Ravi and asked him, “Why are you so afraid of subjective moral reasoning? I mean, do you think we all (and he points to everyone in the auditorium) are just going to start raping and pillaging just because we don’t have a book to tell us what to do? Are you afraid of that? Because I am not, that’s not going to happen…” Ravi slowly gets up from his chair, and with a face that is just beaming with compassion and sympathy he responds to young man, “Do you lock your doors at night?” The crowd, including the young man, begin to laugh because they get it. Ravi then gives an answer in further detail to the young man. But as one put it on social media, Ravi demonstrated “disarming humor, piercing analysis, and gracious warmth.” In his ministry and to those that he discipled, Ravi would often say, “Answer the questioner, not the question.” [1] Sometimes we can easily be offended by the questions thrown our way. It might seem like an attack on our faith and even on us a person. And maybe it is. But deeper than that, it is a cry of the heart. Therefore our tone matters, and this is why Peter charges his believers to respond with gentleness and respect, something that Peter also had to learn the hard way. Remember when Jesus was arrested, Peter went for his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. But Jesus rebukes him, “No more of this!”. And Jesus restores the cut off ear of the servant. I don’t believe any, or maybe most, of us necessarily has a problem with physically fighting people if they attack our faith. But I do think that many of us are tempted to fight with our tone of voice whenever we communicate truth. MCC remember, truth communicated ungraciously does not advocate the gospel. Sam Allberry says, “We can un-preach with our manner what we think we’re preaching with our words.” So we do not give a defense by fighting, whether physically or verbally. And we also are not to be passive. But whenever asked, we give a defense with gentleness and respect.

By keeping a clear conscience (16)

So we honor Christ in the midst of our suffering by always being prepared to give an answer for the hope we have. And we are called to give an answer in a gentle and respectful manner. Last, we are called to honor Christ by keeping a clear conscience. How do we do that? We do this by our speech as we have already discussed, but we also do this by actually walking the talk. How hypocritical of a believer to express their hope in Christ yet live in ways that clearly contradict that hope and their hope is in something different. Obviously sinless perfection is impossible, but it is possible that we strive to have a good conscience before God. This involves avoiding on a daily basis that which we know is wrong and disobedient. It also involves immediately repenting of sin that we are aware of and asking God for forgiveness.

When we honor Christ in the midst of our suffering by keeping a clear conscience and always being prepared to give an answer for the hope we have with gentleness and respect, we then have a pure testimony. And when we have a pure testimony, we will always defeat the hateful talk of those who try to damage our faith. This is the point Peter is making in verses 16-17. “Yet do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

4. We are to remain hopeful and encouraged (18-22)

Let us move on to verses 18-22. As a recap: in the midst of suffering, let us remember that suffering for righteousness brings about God’s blessing, we are not make people big and God small, and third, believers are to honor Christ. Finally, in the midst of suffering believers are to remain hopeful and encouraged. Follow with me as I read 18-22: “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit, in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.”

There is a lot going on in 18-22. Many scholars agree that verses 18-22 are probably some of the hardest verses to understand in all of the New Testament. I found it quite humorous in Spurgeon’s commentary when he said, “Nobody understands this passage. Some think that they do.” I do believe though that even though there are many elements of these verses that are muggy, I think we can take a step back, pull out what we do know for certain and find the big picture of what Peter is getting at. The big picture is that Jesus is victorious over all powers. Let’s see if we can uncover that. And just so you know, walking through this passage is going to require your best listening and concentration. So stay with me!

Zoom in on verses 18-20. At the end of verse 18 we see that after Christ was put to death in the flesh, he became alive in the Spirit. And while he was alive in the Spirit, verse 19 says that he went and proclaimed. The first question we have to ask is, what did he proclaim? Whatever it was that he did proclaim, he proclaimed is to the spirits in prison. Well who are these spirits? Are the spirits in prison a reference to human spirits? Angelic spirits? Are they angels who were simply disobedient in the days of Noah and were thrown into the prison of Hell? Other questions that arise are did this take place between Christ’s death and resurrection? Or did this take place during the days of Noah when Christ was in his preincarnate state? These are good questions that ought to be asked. I and many others really appreciate Thomas Schreiner’s commentary, where he clearly lays out the three most common viewpoints of this passage in a simple sentence for each view:

“18-20 refers to Christ’s preaching through Noah to those who lived while Noah was building the ark.” (1 Peter 1:10-11)

“18-20 refers to the OT saints who died and were liberated by Christ between his death and resurrection.” (Eph. 4:8-9)

“The text describes Christ’s proclamation of victory and judgement over the evil angels.” (1 Peter 3:21-22)

Each viewpoint has legitimate arguments to support its view, and we can discuss that if you want following the service. Come see me. Better yet, go see one of our elders.

What we ultimately need to do is take a step back and ask what is Peter’s goal here? What’s the main point he wants us to take away? I truly appreciate John Piper’s gift of exegesis. Here is how he explains it, take a look at verse 20. Referring to the mysterious unknown spirits, verse 20 starts off, “who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah..” and then right here, it seems that Peter is making a shift in focus. Peter goes from talking about the spirits to now talking about Noah’s family. Notice, verse 20 concludes, “…while the ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water.” Peter then goes on to say in verse 21, “Baptism, which corresponds to this…” Piper explains that with all the details mentioned in 18-21 Peter is mainly picking up on the safe passage of a few believing people through water which foreshadows baptism. Now stay with me. So what do we do with this? We can be confident that Peter has in view a few faithful people, Noah and his family, and they were brought safely through water in spite of God’s judgement that was taking place around them. I agree with Piper in that the main reason that this comes to Peter’s mind is because the church in that day felt so much pressure and felt so small in the Roman empire. Peter says in chapter 4 verses 17-18, “For the time has come for judgement [just like the flood in Noah’s day] to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome [that is, this judgement, this rain that will fall on everybody] be for those who disobey the gospel [just like the people of Noah’s day who didn’t listen to the good news from God]? And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty [like those that got into the ark just in the nick of time], what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Verses 17-18 of chapter 4 are referring to those in the day of Peter. And when we come back to chapter 3 verse 20 where it says “In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water.” I believe that Peter is trying to ultimately encourage the church. Because you see just like in the days of Noah, God can save his people no matter how enormous the judgement and suffering is upon them. It doesn’t matter how massive the opposition seems to be, like the spirits mentioned in verse 18, he can save his people in the most unspeakable manner. And he did that through Christ.

So now the natural question that follows is “What is Peter getting at in verses 21-22 with baptism? Is Peter saying that baptism saves us?” Well let’s quickly take a look at it. Peter says, “Baptism, which corresponds to this [and this is referring to how the floodwater in Noah’s day is a foreshadow to baptism], now saves you [now if we stop there, we could come to many false conclusions, but the rest of the verse will help us to understand what Peter means] (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but [Let me pause right here. One commentator points out that Peter could have said “to save you from your sin..but he doesn’t. And I think we can come to the conclusion that Peter is not saying that one must be baptized in order to be redeemed.] the pledge [or an appeal] of a good conscience toward God) [So Peter’s focus here is not on the effectiveness of the water, but what the baptism through water symbolizes. And it symbolizes the act of the heart, or the pledge, towards God. Baptism is expressing an act of the soul. So baptism “saves you” because it represents inward faith. And the rest of the verse he clarifies how baptism “saves us”] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ [baptism “saves” only insofar as it unites us with Jesus Christ so that his resurrection saves us from death, which is our ultimate enemy. And it is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ that carries us through death into eternal life. And if that’s not enough for the recipients of Peter’s letter, Peter puts a cherry on top with penning verse 22. He writes] , who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him [Peter is trying to emphasize that through Christ’s resurrection the believers of Peter’s day and our day are not just saved from death, but they are also saved from the angels, authorities, and all powers. They are saved from those who persecute them. They are saved from Rome.].” So as a review baptism, similar to Noah being rescued, is the means in which believers are saved insofar as it is a pledge (or an appeal) for a good conscience by relying solely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ to save believers from death and all other demonic beings.

Conclusion

Coming full circle, according to 1 Peter 3:13-22, how are we as aliens to respond to suffering in this world?

Let us remember that suffering for righteousness brings about God’s blessing

We are not make people big and God small

We are to honor Christ by being ready to give an answer with gentleness and respect.

We are to remain hopeful and encouraged.

Christian you may suffer unjustly for your faith. That may happen in your life. It may have already happened in your life. But those who have tried to hurt you because of your faith are not the overpowering threat to your life. You are victorious in Christ. And one day, you will be with him in glory. And the pains of this world will be gone.

So as we partake in the Lord’s supper, maybe you’re sitting here and the Lord is convicting your heart. Maybe you have responded wrongly towards your suffering of your faith. Maybe you responded to someone in a divisive manner who questioned the integrity of your beliefs. Maybe you tried to run away from your suffering rather than embracing in it. Maybe you got mad at God and chose to not be faithful during that time. Maybe you didn’t see your suffering as a blessing, and you forgot about the hope you have in Christ. Go to God now and confess your sins. He is faithful to forgive. Let us also pray for those who are experience suffering for their faith in Christ. Lift up our brothers and sisters around the world who are experiencing persecution. Last, let us not forget to go to Christ rejoicing for our victory in him. Would the men who have been asked to pass the elements come forward. If you are a guest with us at MCC, if you have made a profession of faith in Christ and have been baptized, we welcome you to partake in the Lord’s Supper with us. If that is not the case for you, we kindly ask that you allow the elements to pass.

[1] Sam Allberry, “3 Lessons I Learned from Working with Ravi Zacharias,” The Gospel Coalition, 19 May 2020, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/lessons-ravi-zacharias/.