Suffering for the Name of Christ

1 Peter 4:12-19, NRSV

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. 16 Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. 17 For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?”

19 Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.

I. Outline

Suffering in Light of Eschatology (1 Pet 4:12–19)

Rejoice in Suffering and Do Not Be Puzzled! (1 Pet 4:12–13)

Suffer as a Christian, Not as a Jerk (1 Pet 4:14–16)

Judgment Begins Here (1 Pet 4:17–18)

Recap: Suffer in the Will of God, and Trust Him (1 Pet 4:19).[1]

II. Exegetical Issues

Boundaries of the Passage:

Verse 12 is clearly the beginning of a new section in the letter. “Having described two of the results of Christ’s sufferings in the flesh as being applicable also to His members, viz. (a) the termination of sin, (b) a life of service in the spirit, St Peter now begins the concluding section of his epistle with the third characteristic of suffering, that it is the process by which Christ’s members are brought to glory as He was. This thought was introduced by the concluding words of the last section.”[2] Verse 19 concludes the discussion of suffering and chapter 5 begins a new section exhorting the elders regarding the tending of the flock.

Issues of Translation:

There are a few issues of translation in this text, I would like to focus on verse 17 and the translation of ‘οίκου τού θεού’. Much has been written about this phrase and whether it should be translated as “the household of God” or if the proper translation is “the house of God.” Some have argued, and we see in the NRSV as well as the NIV and other translations, the personal interpretation of this phrase to mean the household or family of God.

There are, however, serious objections to the personal interpretation of oikos

tou theou in 1 Pet 4:17. First, in a passage that, as we have seen, contains

various reminiscences of OT texts that relate the coming and presence of God

among his people to a temple/tabernacle sanctuary, Peter has again selected a

term that has roots in the OT. In the LXX when oikos is joined with the genitive

theou or kyriou its semantic field is narrowed to exclude, so far as our evidence

shows, the concept of "household" (dwellers in a house). In the LXX "house of God" refers exclusively to a sanctuary in which God meets his people.[3]

I tend to agree with those who believe that οίκου τού θεού should be translated as “house of God.” I believe that Peter is clearly tracing back to the Old Testament texts such as Malachi 3 that refer to the temple and house of God does a better job of helping the reader make the connection to those allusions that Peter is making. “Particularly in a text in which the NT author is consciously directing his readers' thoughts to OT backgrounds, translational equivalents should be chosen for key words that allow the OT allusions to be seen through the translation as well as doing justice to the word's immediate context.”[4]

Analysis of Key Words:

πυρώσει– Throughout this section of Peter’s letter, the author is linking suffering for doing good with receiving God’s blessings. The use of πυρώσει, translated commonly as fiery trial or fiery ordeal, is important for the reader to understand as it harkens back to language of God’s purifying fire.

Johnson demonstrates that the metaphor should be interpreted in light of the Old Testament background, particularly Prov 27:21; Ps 66:10; Zech 13:9; and Mal 3:1–4. The text in Ps 66:10 (65:10, LXX) is instructive, “For you, O God, tested [edokimasas] us; you refined [epyrōsas] us like silver.” Zechariah used the verbs “refine” (pyroō) and “test” (dokimazō) in describing the Lord’s testing and refining of his people.[5]

Text Critical Issues:

There is a variant reading in verse 16. Some manuscripts end verse 16 with εν τω ονόματι τούτω, while other manuscripts have εν τω μέρει τούτω. Most modern translations translate this as ‘in that name’ or ‘because you bear that name.’ Using the text with μερει, the translation becomes more ambiguous and difficult to understand. The KJV translates this phrase, ‘on behalf of this.’ It is not clear what ‘this’ is and what it is referring to.

Relation to Other NT Texts:

“In this respect Peter's ecclesiology closely parallels that expressed in Eph 2:21-22: ".. . (Christ), in whom the whole building, as it is joined together, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." With this text we may compare 1 Cor 3:16-17, in which the Church's identity as the temple of God is explicated in terms of the indwelling of the Spirit of God.”[6]

Through Christ, Gentiles become partakers of the πνευματικός blessings (Rom. 15.27; Eph 1.3), while the resurrected bodies are described as πνευματικός (1 Cor. 15.46). The rock which followed the Israelites in the desert wanderings is referred to as πνευματικός (1 Cor 10.4), while the manna was πνευματικός food (1 Cor. 10.3). Eph 5.19 speaks of πνευματικόςsongs of worship (cf. Col 3.16), while in Eph 6.12 the evil spirits are called πνευματικός. Rev 11.8 uses the adverb πνευματικώς metaphorically to describe Jerusalem as 'Sodom and Egypt'. And so, 1 Peter's combination of the term πνευματικός with οίκος (cf. 4.17) implies that he intends this structure to be understood as the realm within which the Spirit of God dwells.[7]

Use of the OT and Extracanonical Sources:

There are several Old Testament sources referenced in this passage. “Peter does, of course, find the same principle expressed in Prov 11:31, which he cites in 4:18. But the origin of his train of thought in 4:17b should be traced to Mai 3:1-5.”[8]In the discussion of the ‘house of God’ in 4:17, there are also allusions to Ezekiel 9.

Interpretive Perspectives:

In my initial reading of this text, I was focused on the difference between suffering as a Christian and suffering as a criminal or mischief-maker. As I read more into the commentaries and articles, I saw the significance of the refining and purifying that was taking place because of the suffering and the glory and blessing received from God.

III. Significance for Theology and Preaching

In preaching this text, I believe that the important theme to illuminate is that our suffering for the name of Christ is not meaningless. “Those who are insulted as Christians are actually “blessed” (makarioi, cf. 3:14). They may be insulted by human beings, but they are blessed by God himself.”[9] Not only do we receive blessing from God because of our suffering, but those same sufferings, referred to as ‘fiery ordeal’ in verse 12, serve to purify us and remove the dross, as if from gold or silver.

Thesis Statement:

Christians should rejoice when they suffer for the name of Jesus Christ, because that suffering refines and purifies us, while also making us recipients of blessing from God himself.

IV. Bibliography

Blenken, G. W., ed., The First Epistle General of Peter, Cambridge Greek Testament for

Schools and Colleges (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1914).

Himes, Paul A., 1 Peter, ed. Douglas Mangum, Elizabeth Vince, and Abigail Salinger, Lexham

Research Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), 1 Pe 4:12–19.

Johnson, Dennis E., “Fire in God’s House: Imagery from Malachi 3 In Peters Theology Of

Suffering (1 PET 4:12-19)” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 29 no 3 Sep

1986.

Mbuvi, Andre Mūtūa, Temple, Exile, and Identity in 1 Peter, (London, New York T & T Clark,

2007).

Schreiner, Thomas R., 1, 2 Peter, Jude, vol. 37, The New American Commentary (Nashville:

Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2003).

Word Count: 1403

[1] Paul A. Himes, 1 Peter, ed. Douglas Mangum, Elizabeth Vince, and Abigail Salinger, Lexham Research Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), 1 Pe 4:12–19. [2] G. W. Blenkin, ed., The First Epistle General of Peter, Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1914), 101. [3] Dennis E. Johnson, “Fire in God’s House: Imagery from Malachi 3 In Peters Theology of Suffering (1 PET 4:12-19)” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 29 no 3 Sep 1986, p 291. [4] Johnson, “Fire in God’s House” 285. [5] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude, vol. 37, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2003), 218. [6] Johnson, “Fire in God’s House”, 290. [7] Andre Mūtūa Mbuvi. Temple, Exile, and Identity in 1 Peter, (London, New York T & T Clark, 2007), 95. [8] Johnson, “Fire in God’s House” 292. [9] Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude, 221.