Arming Yourself Against Unjust Suffering (Pt.1)

According to Acts 2:23, Jesus was “delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, [and] nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men[who] put Him to death.”

Since He suffered, so can and will we

Jesus said in John 15:20, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”

4 times in 1 Peter he gives direct reference to Christ’s suffering and death (1:11; 2:21; 3:18; 4:1)

And now Peter continues his theme of suffering and tells his readers that they are to arms themselves too

He begins verse 1 with...

LESSON

I. The Example (v.1a)

Who is our example? “Christ”

He says, “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh”

“Therefore” refers back to 3:18 where it says, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.”

The entire section that begins in 3:18 and runs to verse 22 refers to the triumphant suffering of Christ

Peter brings that forward in chapter 4

Christ’s death was triumphant because it brought us “to God” by providing physical and spiritual atonement for our sins and it was triumphant over the “spirits now in prison” and Satan who tried to prevent it

Peter says that between His death and resurrection, He made “proclamation” or proclaimed His triumph to them

So when Peter says in 4:1, “Since Christ has suffered in the flesh,” he is referring to Christ’s death on the cross

That leads us to the main verb in verse 1 which is a...

II. The Command (v.1b)

Peter says to “arm yourselves also”

Just as Christ armed Himself, you need to arm yourself too

The verb “arm” (hoplizo, aor.mid.imp.) occurs only here in the NT

It is a military term that speaks of preparation for battle

The noun form of this word (hoplon) is used in 2 Corinthians 10:4 to speak of “weapons”

Another form is used in Ephesians 6:11 translated “armor”

The verb literally means “to arm oneself with weapons” or “to put on as armor”

Where else are we told to put on armor? Ephesians 6:10-17.

This verb occurs in the aorist tense and calls for an act that demands resolution and determination

They needed to be resolute and determined to “arm” themselves for the battle

That’s the preparation they needed to make

This verb also occurs in the middle voice which tells us it was their personal responsibility to pursue this action

So this is a call for a “disciplined readiness to carry on their Christian mission” (D. Edmond Hiebert, 1 Peter, 257).

So as Christ suffered and died, you need to prepare yourself for suffering and ultimately death if God wills it so

Peter already gave how they were to imitate Christ in their suffering in 2:21-23 by not committing sin, or having any deceit in their mouth or reviling when reviled or threatening when threatened

Just as Jesus “entrusted Himself to Him who judges righteously” (2:23), you need to do the same

So Peter says, “Your're in a battle and you need to be armed with this ultimate weapon.” What is it? It’s an...

III. The Attitude (v.1c)

Peter wanted them to “Arm [themselves] also with the same purpose”

The word “purpose” (ennoia) is translated “attitude” in the NIV and it means the “same mind, the same idea, the same principle, the same thought”

You need to arm yourself with the same principle that was manifest in the suffering of Christ

Philippians 2:5, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”

The “attitude” that Paul talks about here is the mind of humility

He “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil.2:8)

Jesus was “willing” to die for our sin

We too must be “willing” to die like Christ when we suffer

That is the ultimate of persecution

Instead of trying to escape persecution, we must willingly accept it

Even if it means we die

But even in death, you can triumph like Christ did

Christ was willing to die and you need to arm yourself with that same idea, that you too are willing to die, because you understand that in dying, there is triumph

The only alternative is to recant by denying Christ

Peter wants his readers to understand that some of them are going to be martyrs, so they needed to arm themselves with that same thought

They needed to be willing to die for righteousness sake, because it can be triumphant

The potential for death marks the Christian life

We have been reading and praying for the persecuted church and what have we been learning? They are being martyred and they are willing to be martyrs for Jesus

Jesus said in Luke 9:23-24, “23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

What does it mean to “take up his cross daily” but to be willing to die

Paul said he died “daily” in 1 Corinthians 15:31.

He said in 2 Corinthians 6:4-10, “4 but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, 5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, 6 in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, 7 in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, 8 by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; 9 as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, 10 as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.”

In Acts 16:22-24, he was “beaten with rods” and “struck…with many blows” and thrown “into prison”

He referred to this in 1 Thessalonians 2:2 as suffering and mistreatment

In chapter 3, he talked about being hindered by hostile men from “speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved” (v.16)

He said this hindrance was from Satan (v.18)

Ultimately he was beheaded

Prior to that he said in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, “6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

He was ready to die

He said in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

This is the greatest weapon you possess

The worst anyone can do to you is kill you

From your viewpoint that is the best they can do

With that mindset you have ultimately thwarted them

Many martyrs throughout history armed themselves with the same idea

There is great triumph in death

Jesus died and triumphed over sin and so will you

Peter mentions the believers...

IV. The Triumph (v.1d)

“because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin”

The phrase “suffered in the flesh” is the same phrase used earlier

It means “death” — suffering to the point of death

This is where the passage gets difficult

Some believe that it is referring to our identification with Christ in His death

Romans 6:3-7, “3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.”

I admit it sounds good but it doesn’t help with the next phrase, “ceased from sin”

Though we are identified with Christ in His death, we still sin

When will we stop sinning? When we suffer in the flesh and what does that mean? When we physically die

That’s what the phrase meant at the beginning of verse 1 when referring to Christ

He “suffered in the flesh”

The triumph for the believer is at death because at death he has now “ceased from sin”

The word “ceased” (pauo, perf.pass.inf.) means to “stop” or “finish”

It refers to a cessation of sin

It’s used in the perfect tense to emphasize a state or condition which is a “definite break with sin” (Hiebert)

At death you enter into a condition, a permanent, eternal state free from sin

This is what we are trying to do our whole Christian life…not sin

At death it is gone!

So if you have the idea in your mind, if they kill you, you’re going to be where you’re trying to get, free from sin, that eliminates all fear

All the threatening is gone out of persecution

When a believer dies, he enters a permanent condition free from sin

Christ is the model of that

This was true of Christ

He wasn’t a sinner and never sinned but He came into a world, according to Romans 8:3, in the likeness of sinful flesh

And He came not only in the likeness of sinful flesh, but for sin.

And then He subjected himself to evil men doing wicked things to Him, so He felt the brunt of sin

And then on the cross, 2 Corinthians 5:21 says He was made sin and 1 Peter 2:24 says, He bore our sin

He came in the likeness of sinful flesh

He came to receive the worst evil that sinful men could do to Him

He went to the cross and was made sin and bore sin, but when He died, He was free from sin

And all of that which He suffered in His incarnation came to an end

He was no more in the likeness of sinful flesh

He had a glorified body

He will never again be subjected to the evil deeds by evil people and demons

He will never again bear sin, it was once for all

And so Christ also, in his death ceased from sin

He has nothing more to do with it

It has nothing more to do with Him

And so, Peter says, arm yourselves with the same thought

You want to have the ultimate weapon, then understand when you die, you are free from sin forever. (John MacArthur, sermon: The Memory that Shuns Sin, Pt.1 - https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/60-39/the-memory-that-shuns-sin-part-1)

But while you’re here you have sin at work in your members or in your flesh

Romans 7:5, “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.”

That’s why Paul also said in...

Romans 7:18, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.”

He also said in...

Romans 7:23, “but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.”

Jesus even said in...

Mark 7:21, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,”

What does the entire Bible tell us about sin? To stop it!

But that is difficult to do while you are in this flesh

It’s not until you die that you get that imperishable, honorable, glorious, powerful spiritual body

1 Corinthians 15:42 says we are “sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body”

1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”

That’s what were waiting for!

So with that thought in mind, Peter says in verse 2 that you need to be armed with this same idea because of what you’re to do...

V. Here and Now (v.2)

“so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”

This is what he has been saying up to this point

1 Peter 1:13-17 “13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;”

1 Peter 1:22, “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,”

1 Peter 2:1-2, “1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,”

1 Peter 2:11-18, “11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. 18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.”

1 Peter 2:21-23, “21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

1 Peter 3:1, “1 In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives,”

1 Peter 3:7-11, “7 You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. 8 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9 not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. 10 For, “The one who desires life, to love and see good days, Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. 11 “He must turn away from evil and do good; He must seek peace and pursue it.”

1 Peter 3:15-16, “15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 16 and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.”

This is why you want to be armed with this idea

The goal of your life is sinlessness not “the lusts of men” but you’ll never reach it until you die but in the meantime you live for the will of God

The word for Peter uses “lusts” (epithumia) is a strong word used for a strong desire

The context determines it use, whether it is a good or bad desire

It occurs in 1 Timothy 3:1 of a good desire but in James 1:14 of an evil desire

We no longer live for “the lusts of men”

Ephesians 4:22, “that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,”

Titus 3:3, “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”

2 Timothy 2:22, “Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

Romans 13:13-14, “13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

We now live “for the will of God”

The will of God is your sanctification

1 Thessalonians 4:1-3.

Ephesians 5:17-18, “17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,”

Galatians 5:16, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

The will of God is your submission

To civil authority (1 Pet.2:13-15)

To employers (1 Pet.2:18)

To spouses (1 Pet.3:1-7)

To one another (1 Pet.3:8; Eph.5:21)

The will of God is your suffering (Phil.1:29-30)

CONCLUSION

Until we die and enter heaven, our life is swallowed up in the will of Him who saved us

We live here and now in a holy manner of life

Peter already said in 1 Peter 1:15, “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;”

He said in 1 Peter 2:12, “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Our being persecuted should never be on account of our sin but for righteousness sake

And if we are persecuted for righteousness sake, we must “arm” ourselves with the same idea Christ had

Our eye is on the triumph that is ours where we cease from sin and are made perfect in heaven

With those thoughts the threat is gone

Because that is the worse they can do to us, it is the best thing that can happen to us

Are these your thoughts?

Maybe you’re here today and you have not surrendered yourself to Christ

You can right now

Call on Him right now to save you

Turn from your sin and embrace Him and the work He did for you when He suffered and died on the cross