Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.--1 Peter 4:1-6
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
We have reached Chapter 4 in our 1st Peter study. Recall that this entire epistle was written by Peter to encourage people who were facing suffering and persecution for their faith. We are only going to look at the first two verses but the message from Peter here is so powerful and if believed and taken to heart can change the face of your suffering. John MacArthur calls it the believer's ultimate weapon.
Peter starts off with "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,"
The therefore hearkens back to what was discussed in chapter 3...The message that culminated at the end of Chapter 3 was that Christ was triumphant in suffering...He is our model. Here he says that even if we suffer for righteousness sake we are blessed and that it is better if it is the will of God to suffer for doing good rather than doing evil. Peter then has us look at Christ...He, the Just One, suffered for the us, the unjust, and look at the result...look at the victory. He triumphed over sin, the grave, demons, His Father's judgment, and because of that God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name above all others. It is Christ who is seated at His Father's right hand...angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. The idea is that Christ triumphed in suffering and we can also.
Suffered in the flesh is a reference to Christ's death on the cross. Peter is saying that as Christians we need to arm ourselves for battle with the same purpose that Christ had in His suffering. What was that purpose? His purpose was to triumph over sin and death. Likewise, this is also our purpose. A person can be triumphant in suffering...even the suffering of death. All of us are going to face suffering and and death in this life and if we live for Christ, persecution for His name will also come our way. The question is are we going to leave the fragrance of Christ in the wake of our suffering or the aroma of death. Are you willing to accept the potential of death for your faith as part of the Christian life. (see Matt 10:38, 39; 2 Cor 4:8-11) That is your ultimate weapon in whatever suffering you face especially the suffering you face for naming His name. The worst they can do is kill your body and then as it says in the next part of the verse..he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. Dying brings about every believer's goal...the end of sin! Their evil would only bring about that which is precious to you...you win! You thwart them.
Now you may not face death for your faith, but living the Christian life is costly from the world's perspective. Picking up your cross means exactly that...dying to sin and also to those things that you want and living for the will of God. Putting off sin and putting on Christ. Submitting to Him moment by moment as He purges those things from you that not only keep you from seeing Him fully, but also prevent others from seeing the fullness of who He is in your life. Arm yourself with the purpose of Christ...your suffering can be triumphant...in fact, the time of your greatest suffering...your greatest darkness may be the time of your greatest triumph. If you are a believer...truly a believer...recanting is not even a consideration. Like Peter you know that He has the words to eternal life. Be willing to suffer in the flesh knowing it has the potential for producing not only the greatest results in your Christian walk but the greatest triumph in the end...the cessation of sin. Be willing to live your life here as it says in the next verse not for the lusts of the flesh but for the will of God. This is the reasons the martyrs could die singing...this is the reason that thousands of others have faced death or persecution with joy and hope. It did not eliminate the suffering, pain and grief they felt, but it gave it a meaning eternally and them a perspective that nothing in this world can conquer.
They knew that it would bring about their earthly goal...the cessation of sin. A believer because He has the Spirit of God dwelling inside him, hates sin. He fights it all his life. Sin killed Christ...it costs Him His life. It caused Him to cry out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" A believer who loves Christ will hate sin...He will cry out like Paul in Romans 7 saying, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" Death then frees us from sin and brings us to where we have longed to be: with Him...face to face...awake and in His likeness. How precious a promise...how precious a hope. The very worst thing that man can do to us in this life...kill us...has truly the most precious consequences for us.
Here are the entire two verses practically. Christ triumphed in His death. He triumphed over sin...He suffered once for all and it was finished. You ought to have the same mind and the same purpose that He had both in suffering and in death. His life was triumphant over sin moment by moment...He lived not for the lusts of the flesh but for the will of His Father. That is the thought that we need to arm ourselves with. Our death is our moment of triumph...we have endured to the end...we have reached our goal. When we awake, we are in His likeness and have ceased from sin.
So, I can get up each morning with the joy of the Lord, knowing that victory is mine in whatever I am facing or will face. By faith, I can shout it out when I get up and instead of turning to my husband or my kids and telling them my back is killing me or that my head is hurting or that I am sad about this or sad about that, I can REJOICE! VICTORY IS MINE!!!...Now I might still need some Tylenol and some coffee, but I can thank God I can still walk to the cabinet and get it. I can thank God that the worst thing this world can do to me is kill me, and in so doing, bring about what is most precious to me. Think like that and there is nothing you cannot face in Him who strengthens you.
Love
Mom
For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I BELIEVED AND THEREFORE I SPOKE," we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.--2nd Corinthians 4:6-18
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