Christ’s death dealt with sin once and for all. In that sense he has nothing more to do with sin. Christians are united with Christ in his death, and therefore they too should have nothing more to do with sin. They should live no longer to please themselves but to please God (4:1-2). Christians must have no more involvement with the disgusting practices of their former days, no matter how much their reformed behaviour brings jeers and insults from their former friends (3-4).
Ungodly people must one day face divine judgment and condemnation, but in the case of believers, Christ has already borne that judgment and condemnation. The only judgment of sin that they experience is the suffering of their present physical existence, which reaches its climax in death. Those believers who are now dead believed the gospel that was preached to them while they were still living (i.e. during their earthly lives). Therefore, although they experienced physical death as one of the natural consequences of sin, they now live spiritually with God (5-6).
The final great events of the world’s history could begin at any time. Christians should be alert, but should not get over-excited. They should control themselves, pray, and act with love at all times (7-9). They should use their God-given abilities with diligence, whether in teaching God’s Word or in giving practical help to others. Above all they must work in such a way as to bring praise and glory to God (10-11).
Joy amid persecution (4:12-19)
Christians should not be surprised when they have to suffer because of their faith in Christ. Their association with him means that they have to share his suffering now, just as they will share his glory in the future. They should be glad when they suffer for his sake, because it gives them added assurance that they are God’s people. They know that God is testing and purifying their faith (12-14). They have no need to be downhearted because of persecution, provided such suffering is undeserved and not because of wrongdoing (15-16).
If present sufferings are, in a sense, God’s judgment on his people for a good purpose, how great will be the sufferings of unbelievers when God acts in judgment against them! When believers know that they suffer because it is God’s will for them and not because of any wrongdoing on their part, they will trust God to use these trials for their good (17-19).
1. Forasmuch then as Christ When he had before set forth Christ before us, he only spoke of the suffering of the cross; for sometimes the cross means mortification, because the outward man is wasted by afflictions, and our flesh is also subdued. But he now ascends higher; for he speaks of the reformation of the whole man. The Scripture recommends to us a twofold likeness to the death of Christ, that we are to be conformed to him in reproaches and troubles, and also that the old man being dead and extinct in us, we are to be renewed to a spiritual life. (Phi 3:10; Rom 6:4.) Yet Christ is not simply to be viewed as our example, when we speak of the mortificaion of the flesh; but it is by his Spirit that we are really made conformable to his death, so that it becomes effectual to the crucifying of our flesh. In short, as Peter at the end of the last chapter exhorted us to patience after the example of Christ, because death was to him a passage to life; so now from the same death he deduces a higher doctrine, that we ought to die to the flesh and to the world, as Paul teaches us more at large in Rom 6:1. He therefore says, arm yourselves, or be ye armed, intimating that we are really and effectually supplied with invincible weapons to subdue the flesh, if we partake as we ought of the efficacy of Christ’s death.
For he that hath suffered The particle ὅτι does not, I think, denote here the cause, but is to be taken as explanatory; for Peter sets forth what that thought or mind is with which Christ’s death arms us, even that the dominion of sin ought to be abolished in us, so that God may reign in our life. Erasmus has incorrectly, as I think, rendered the word “he who did suffer,” (patiebatur ) applying it to Christ. For it is an indefinite sentence, which generally extends to all the godly, and has the same meaning with the words of Paul in Rom 6:7,
“He who is dead is justified or freed from sin;”
for both the Apostles intimate, that when we become dead to the flesh, we have no more to do with sin, that it should reign in us, and exercise its power in our life. (44)
It may, however, be objected, that Peter here speaks unsuitably in making us to be conformable to Christ in this respect, that we suffer in the flesh; for it is certain that there was nothing sinful in Christ which required to be corrected. But the answer is obvious, that it is not necessary that a comparison should correspond in all its parts. It is then enough that we should in a measure be made conformable to the death of Christ. In the same way is also explained, not unfitly, what Paul says, that we are planted in the likeness of his death, (Rom 6:5;) for the manner is not altogether the same, but that his death is become in a manner the type and pattern of our mortification.
We must also notice that the word flesh is put here twice, but in a different sense; for when he says that Christ suffered in the flesh, he means that the human nature which Christ had taken from us was made subject to death, that is, that Christ as a man naturally died. In the second clause, which refers to us, flesh means the corruption, and the sinfulness of our nature; and thus suffering in the flesh signifies the denying of ourselves. We now see what is the likeness between Christ and us, and what is the difference; that as he suffered in the flesh taken from us, so the whole of our flesh ought to be crucified.
(44) The subject of this passage, from 1Pe 3:14, is suffering unjustly, or for righteousness’ sake, and Christ is brought as an example, he being just, suffered for the unjust. After a digression at the 19th verse of the third chapter, the Apostle returns here to his former subject, the example of Christ suffering in the flesh or in his body and in order to retain still the idea that he was just when he suffered, this clause seems to have been put in parenthetically, “For he who suffered ceased from sin,” that is, had no sin, but was just. And hence in the following verses he exhorts them to lead a holy life whatever might be the opposition from the world, so that they might be like their Savior, suffering unjustly, they themselves being innocent.
1.“Christ then having suffered for us in the flesh, arm ye also yourselves with the same mind, (for he who suffered in the flesh ceased from sin;)
2.so as to live no longer the remaining time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”
They were exhorted to resolve to follow the example of Christ, but in such a way as not to suffer for their sins, but for righteousness’ sake. It is implied that they had been evil-doers, but they were no longer to be so, otherwise their suffering in the flesh would not be like that of Christ. To suffer as well-doers, and not as evil-doers, was to suffer as Christ did. — Ed.
2. That he no longer Here he sets forth the way of ceasing from sin, that renouncing the covetings of men we should study to form our life according to the will of God. And thus he includes here the two things in which renovation consists, the destruction of the flesh and the vivification of the spirit. The course of good living is thus to begin with the former, but we are to advance to the latter.
Moreover, Peter defines here what is the rule of right living, even when man depends on the will of God. It hence follows, that nothing is right and well ordered in man’s life as soon as he wanders from this rule. We ought further to notice the contrast between God’s will and the covetings or lusts of men We hence understand how great is our depravity, and how we ought to strive to become obedient to God. When he says, the rest of time in the flesh, the word flesh means the present life, as in Heb 5:7
3. For the time past of our life may suffice Peter does not mean that we ought to be wearied with pleasures, as those are wont to be who are filled with them to satiety; but that on the contrary the memory of our past life ought to stimulate us to repentance. And doubtless it ought to be the sharpest goad to make us run on well, when we recollect that we have been wandering from the right way the greatest part of our life. And Peter reminds us, that it would be most unreasonable were we not to change the course of our life after having been enlightened by Christ. For he makes a distinction here between the time of ignorance and the time of faith, as though he had said that it was but right that they should become new and different men from the time that Christ had called them. But instead of the lusts or covetings of men, he now mentions the will of the Gentiles, by which he reproves the Jews for having mixed with the Gentiles in all their pollutions, though the Lord had separated them from the Gentiles.
In what follows he shews that those vices ought to be put off which prove men to be blind and ignorant of God. And there is a peculiar emphasis in the words, the time past of our life, for he intimates that we ought to persevere to the end, as when Paul says, that Christ was raised from the dead, to die no more. (Rom 6:6.) For we have been redeemed by the Lord for this end, that we may serve him all the days of our life.
In lasciviousness He does not give the whole catalogue of sins, but only mentions some of them, by which we may briefly learn what those things are which men, not renewed by God’s Spirit, desire and seek, and to which they are inclined. And he names the grosser vices, as it is usually done when examples are adduced. I shall not stop to explain the words, for there is no difficulty in them.
But here a question arises, that Peter seems to have done wrong to many, in making all men guilty of lasciviousness, dissipation, lusts, drunkenness, and revellings; for it is certain that all were not involved in these vices; nay, we know that some among the Gentiles lived honourably and without a spot of infamy. To this I reply, that Peter does not so ascribe these vices to the Gentiles, as though he charged every individual with all these, but that we are by nature inclined to all these evils, and not only so, but that we are so much under the power of depravity, that these fruits which he mentions necessarily proceed from it as from an evil root. There is indeed no one who has not within him the seed of all vices, but all do not germinate and grow up in every individual. Yet the contagion is so spread and diffused through the whole human race, that the whole community appears infected with innumerable evils, and that no member is free or pure from the common corruption.
The last clause may also suggest another question, for Peter addressed the Jews, and yet he says that they had been immersed in abominable idolatries; but the Jews then living in every part of the world carefully abstained from idols. A twofold answer may be adduced here, either that by mentioning the whole for a part, he declares of all what belonged to a few, (for there is no doubt but the Churches to which he wrote were made up of Gentiles as well as of Jews,) or that he calls those superstitions in which the Jews were then involved, idolatries; for though they professed to worship the God of Israel, yet we know that no part of divine worship was genuine among them. And how great must have been the confusion in barbarous countries and among a scattered people, when Jerusalem itself, from whose rays they borrowed their light, had fallen into extreme impiety! for we know that dotages of every kind prevailed with impunity, so that the high-priesthood, and the whole government of the Church, were in the power of the Sadducees.
4. Wherein they think it strange The words of Peter literally are these, “In which they are strangers, you not running with them into the same excess of riot, blaspheming.” But the word, to be strangers, means to stop at a thing as new and unusual. This is a way of speaking which the Latins also sometimes use, as when Cicero says that he was a stranger in the city, because he knew not what was carried on there. But in this place, Peter fortifies the faithful, lest they should suffer themselves to be disturbed or corrupted by the perverse judgments or words of the ungodly. For it is no light temptation, when they among whom we live, charge us that our life is different from that of mankind in general. “These,” they say, “must form for themselves a new world, for they differ from all mankind.” Thus they accuse the children of God, as though they attempted a separation from the whole world.
Then the Apostle anticipated this, and forbade the faithful to be discouraged by such reproaches and calumnies; and he proposed to them, as a support, the judgment of God: for this it is that can sustain us against all assaults, that is, when we patiently wait for that day, in which Christ will punish all those who now presumptuously condemn us, and will shew that we and our cause are approved by Him. And he expressly mentions the living and the dead, lest we should think that we shall suffer any loss, if they remain alive when we are dead; for they shall not, for this reason, escape the hand of God. And in what sense he calls them the living and the dead, we may learn from 1Co 15:12
6. For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, or, He has been evangelized to the dead. We see in what sense he takes the former passage in the third chapter, even that death does not hinder Christ from being always our defender. It is then a remarkable consolation to the godly, that death itself brings no loss to their salvation. Though Christ, then, may not appear a deliverer in this life, yet his redemption is not void, or without effect; for his power extends to the dead. But as the Greek word is doubtful, it may be rendered in the masculine, or in the neuter gender; but the meaning is almost the same, that is, that Christ had been made known as a redeemer to the dead, or that salvation had been made known to them by the gospel. But if the grace of Christ once penetrated to the dead, there is no doubt but that we shall partake of it when dead. We then set for it limits much too narrow, if we confine it to the present life.
That they might be judged I omit the explanations of others, for they seem to me to be very remote from the Apostle’s meaning. This has been said, as I think, by way of anticipation, for it might have been objected, that the gospel is of no benefit to the dead, as it does not restore them to life. Peter concedes a part of this objection, and yet in such a way, that they are not deprived of the salvation obtained by Christ. Therefore, in the first clause, when he says, “that they might be judged in the flesh, according to men,” it is a concession; and “judged” means here, as often elsewhere, condemned; and flesh is the outward man. So that the meaning is, that though according to the estimation of the world the dead suffer destruction in their flesh, and are deemed condemned as to the outward man, yet they cease not to live with God, and that in their spirit, because Christ quickens them by his Spirit.
But we ought to add what Paul teaches us in Rom 8:10, that the Spirit is life; and hence it will be, that he will at length absorb the relics of death which still cleave to us. The sum of what he says is, that though the condition of the dead in the flesh is worse, according to man, yet it is enough that the Spirit of Christ revives them, and will eventually lead them to the perfection of life. (45)
(45) Whitby, Doddridge, and Mackight, regard the dead here as the dead in sins, according to Eph 2:1. The first thus paraphrases what follows, “That they might condemn their former life, and live a better;” the second, “That they might be brought to such a state of life as their carnal neighbors will look upon it as a kind of condemnation and death;” and the third, “That although they might be condemned, indeed, by men in the flesh, yet they might live eternally by God in the Spirit.”
Beza, Hammond, and Scott, consider that the dead were those already dead, that is, when the Apostle wrote, and even before the coming of Christ, taking the dead in the same sense as in the former verse: but they differ as to the clause which follows. The two first interpret it as signifying the same as dying to sin and living to God, a meaning which the former part of the clause can hardly bear: but the view of Scott is, that the gospel had been preached to those at that time dead, that they might be condemned by carnal men, or in the flesh, as evildoers, but live to God through the Holy Spirit. The only fault, perhaps, with this rendering is as to the word flesh, which seems to mean here the same as flesh in 1Pe 3:18, that is, the body; and the word spirit is also in the same form, for Griesbach in that verse regards the article τῷ as spurious. Then the rendering would be, “That they might be condemned in the flesh by men, but live as to God through the Spirit.” There are two previous instances of the word spirit, when denoting the Holy Spirit, being without the article, that is, in 1Pe 1:2
It seems an objection, that the gospel had been preached to them for this end, that they might be condemned to die by wicked men; but this had been expressly stated before, in 1Pe 2:21 : “For even hereunto, (that is, suffering, mentioned in the former verse) were ye called;” or, “For to this end ye have been called.” Then Christ in his suffering is mentioned as one whom they ought to follow.
There is no other view so consistent with the whole tenor of the Apostle’s argument. — Ed.
7. But, or, moreover, the end of all things is at hand Though the faithful hear that their felicity is elsewhere than in the world, yet, as they think that they should live long, this false thought renders them careless, and even slothful, so that they direct not their thoughts to the kingdom of God. Hence the Apostle, that he might rouse them from the drowsiness of the flesh, reminds them that the end of all things was nigh; by which he intimates that we ought not to sit still in the world, from which we must soon remove. He does not, at the same time, speak only of the end of individuals, but of the universal renovation of the world; as though he had said, “Christ will shortly come, who will put an end to all things.”
It is, then, no wonder that the cares of this world overwhelm us, and make us drowsy, if the view of present things dazzles our eyes: for we promise, almost all of us, an eternity to ourselves in this world; at least, the end never comes to our mind. But were the trumpet of Christ to sound in our ears, it would powerfully rouse us and not suffer us to lie torpid.
But it may be objected and said, that a long series of ages has passed away since Peter wrote this, and yet that the end is not come. My reply to this is, that the time seems long to us, because we measure its length by the spaces of this fleeting life; but if we could understand the perpetuity of future life, many ages would appear to us like a moment, as Peter will also tell us in his second epistle. Besides, we must remember this principle, that from the time when Christ once appeared, there is nothing left for the faithful, but with suspended minds ever to look forward to his second coming. (46)
The watchfulness and the sobriety to which he exhorted them, belong, as I think, to the mind rather than to the body. The words are similar to those of Christ:
“Watch ye, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.” (Mat 25:13.)
For as an indulgence in surfeiting and sleep renders the body unfit for its duties, so the vain cares and pleasures of the world inebriate the mind and render it drowsy.
By adding prayer, he points out an exercise especially necessary, in which the faithful ought to be particularly occupied, since their whole strength depends on the Lord; as though he had said, “Since ye are in yourselves extremely weak, seek of the Lord to strengthen you.” He yet reminds them that they were to pray earnestly, not formally.
(46) There is no ground to suppose, as Hammond, Macknight, and some others have supposed, that “the end of all things” was the end of the Jews as a nation, the destruction of the temple and its worship. And it is strange that such a notion should be entertained, especially when we consider that the Apostle refers to the same subject in his Second Epistle, where the end of the world is plainly spoken of. — Ed.
8. And above all things He commends charity or love as the first thing, for it is the bond of perfection. And he bids it to be fervent, or intense, or vehement, which is the same thing; for whosoever is immoderately fervent in self-love, loves others coldly. And he commends it on account of its fruit, because it buries innumerable sins, than which nothing is more desirable. But the sentence is taken from Solomon, whose words are found in Pro 10:12,
“Hatred discovers reproaches, but love covers a multitude of sins.”
What Solomon meant is sufficiently clear, for the two clauses contain things which are set in contrast the one with the other. As then he says in the first clause that hatred is the cause why men traduce and defame one another, and spread whatever is reproachful and dishonorable; so it follows that a contrary effect is ascribed to love, that is, that men who love one another, kindly and courteously forgive one another; hence it comes that, willingly burying each other’s vices, one seeks to preserve the honor of another. (47) Thus Peter confirms his exhortation, that nothing is more necessary than to cherish mutual love. For who is there that has not many faults? Therefore all stand in need of forgiveness, and there is no one who does not wish to be forgiven.
This singular benefit love brings to us when it exists among us, so that innumerable evils are covered in oblivion. On the other hand, where loose reins are given to hatred, men by mutual biting and tearing must necessarily consume one another, as Paul says (Gal 5:15.)
And it ought to be noticed that Solomon does not say that only a few sins are covered, but a multitude of sins, according to what Christ declares, when he bids us to forgive our brethren seventy times seven, (Mat 18:22.) But the more sins love covers, the more evident appears its usefulness for the wellbeing of mankind.
This is the plain meaning of the words. It hence appears how absurd are the Papists, who seek to elicit from this passage their own satisfactions, as though almsgiving and other duties of charity were a sort of a compensation to God for blotting out their sins. (48) It is enough to point out by the way their gross ignorance, for in a matter so clear it would be superfluous to add many words.
(47) The quotation is from the Hebrew, and the sentence in the Sept. is evidently different. The same words are found also in Jas 5:20.
(48) ”Though charity, or benevolence, hides the faults of others from the severity of our censure, yet charity or almsgiving is totally unable to conceal our own from the observance of our all-righteous Judge. Indeed, the only cover for these, or to speak more properly, the discharge of all their stains, is faith, — is the blood of Christ, working with repentance towards God.” — Bishop Warburton, quoted by Bloomfield. — Ed.
9. Use hospitality, or, Be hospitable. After having generally exhorted them to love one another, he specially mentions one of the duties of love. At that time hospitality was commonly used, and it was deemed in a manner a sacred kind of humanity, as we have stated elsewhere. He then bids them mutually to exercise it, so that no one might require more from others than what he himself was prepared to render. He adds, without murmurings, for it is a rare example that one spends himself and his own on his neighbor without any disparaging reflection. Then the Apostle would have us to show kindness willingly and with a cheerful mind.
10As every one hath received He reminds us what we ought to bear in mind when we do good to our neighbors; for nothing is more fitted to correct our murmurings than to remember that we do not give our own, but only dispense what God has committed to us. When therefore he says, “Minister the gift which every one has received,” he intimates that to each had been distributed what they had, on this condition, that in helping their brethren they might be the ministers of God. And thus the second clause is an explanation of the first, for instead of ministry he mentions stewardship; and for what he had said, “as every one hath received the gift,” he mentions the manifold graces which God variously distributes to us, so that each might confer in common his own portion. If then we excel others in any gift, let us remember that we are as to this the stewards of God, in order that we may kindly impart it to our neighbors as their necessity or benefit may require. Thus we ought to be disposed and ready to communicate.
But this consideration is also very important, that the Lord hath so divided his manifold graces, that no one is to be content with one thing and with his own gifts, but every one has need of the help and aid of his brother. This, I say, is a bond which God hath appointed for retaining friendship among men, for they cannot live without mutual assistance. Thus it happens, that he who in many things seeks the aid of his brethren, ought to communicate to them more freely what he has received. This bond of unity has been observed and noticed by heathens. But Peter teaches us here that God had designedly done this, that he might bind men one to another.
11If any man speak As he had spoken of the right and faithful use of gifts, he specifies two things as examples, and he has chosen those which are the most excellent or the most renowned. The office of teaching in the Church is a remarkable instance of God’s favor. He then expressly commands those called to this office to act faithfully; though he does not speak here only of what we owe to men, but also of what we owe to God, so that we may not deprive him of his glory.
He who speaks, then, that is, who is rightly appointed by public authority, let him speak as the oracles of God; that is, let him reverently in God’s fear and in sincerity perform the charge committed to him, regarding himself as engaged in God’s work, and as ministering God’s word and not his own. For he still refers to the doctrine, that when we confer any thing on the brethren, we minister to them by God’s command what he has bestowed on us for that purpose. And truly, were all those who profess to be teachers in the Church duly to consider this one thing, there would be in them much more fidelity and devotedness. For how great a thing is this, that in teaching the oracles of God, they are representatives of Christ! Hence then comes so much carelessness and rashness, because the sacred majesty of God’s word is not borne in mind but by a few; and so they indulge themselves as in a worldly stewardship.
In the meantime, we learn from these words of Peter, that it is not lawful for those who are engaged in teaching to do anything else, but faithfully to deliver to others, as from hand to hand, the doctrine received from God; for he forbids any one to go forth, except he who is instructed in God’s word, and who proclaims infallible oracles as it were from his mouth. He, therefore, leaves no room for human inventions; for he briefly defines the doctrine which ought to be taught in the Church. Nor is the particle of similitude introduced here for the purpose of modifying the sentence, as though it were sufficient to profess that it is God’s word that is taught. This was, indeed, commonly the case formerly with false prophets; and we see at this day how arrogantly the Pope and his followers cover with this pretense all their impious traditions. But Peter did not intend to teach pastors such hypocrisy as this, to pretend that they had from God whatever doctrine it pleased them to announce, but, he took an argument from the subject itself, that he might exhort them to sobriety and meekness, to a reverence for God, and to an earnest attention to their work.
If any man minister This second clause extends wider, it includes the office of teaching. But as it would have been too long to enumerate each of the ministerial works, he preferred summarily to speak of them all together, as though he had said, “Whatever part of the burden thou bearest in the Church, know that thou canst do nothing but what has been given time by the Lord, and that thou art nothing else but an instrument of God: take heed, then, not to abuse the grace of God by exalting thyself; take heed not to suppress the power of God, which puts forth and manifests itself in the ministry for the salvation of the brethren.” Let him then minister as by God’s power, that is, let him regard nothing as his own, but let him humbly render service to God and his Church.
That God in all things may be glorified When he says, In all, the word may be in the masculine or in the neuter gender; and thus men or gifts may be meant, and both meanings are equally suitable. The sense is, that God does not adorn us with his gifts, that he may rob himself and make himself as it were an empty idol by transferring to us his own glory, but that, on the contrary, his own glory may everywhere shine forth; and that it is therefore a sacrilegious profanation of God’s gifts when men propose to themselves any other object than to glorify God. He says through Jesus Christ, because whatever power we have to minister, he alone bestows it on us; for he is the head, with which the whole body is connected by joints and bindings, and maketh increase in the Lord, according as he supplieth strength to every member.
To whom be praise, or glory. Some refer this to Christ; but the context requires that it should be rather applied to God; for he confirms the last exhortation, because God justly claims all the glory; and, therefore, men wickedly take away from him what is his own, when they obscure in anything, or in any part, his glory.
12Beloved, think it not strange, or, wonder not. There is a frequent mention made in this Epistle of afflictions; the cause of which we have elsewhere explained. But this difference is to be observed, that when he exhorts the faithful to patience, he sometimes speaks generally of troubles common to man’s life; but here he speaks of wrongs done to the faithful for the name of Christ. And first, indeed, he reminded them that they ought not to have deemed it strange as for a thing sudden and unexpected; by which he intimates, that they ought by a long mediation to have been previously prepared to bear the cross. For whosoever has resolved to fight under Christ’s banner, will not be dismayed when persecution happens, but, as one accustomed to it, will patiently bear it. That we may then be in a prepared state of mind when the waves of persecutions roll over us, we ought in due time to habituate ourselves to such an event by meditating continually on the cross.
Moreover, he proves that the cross is useful to us by two arguments, — that God thus tries our faith, — and that we become thus partakers with Christ. Then, in the first place, let us remember that the trial of our faith is most necessary, and that we ought thus willingly to obey God who provides for our salvation. However, the chief consolation is to be derived from a fellowship with Christ. Hence Peter not only forbids us to think it strange, when he sets this before us, but also bids us to rejoice. It is, indeed, a cause of joy, when God tries our faith by persecution; but the other joy far surpasses it, that is, when the Son of God allots to us the same course of life with himself, that he might lead us with himself to a blessed participation of heavenly glory. For we must bear in mind this truth, that we have the dying of Christ in our flesh, that his life may be manifested in us. The wicked also do indeed bear many afflictions; but as they are separated from Christ, they apprehend nothing but God’s wrath and curse: thus it comes that sorrow and dread overwhelm them.
Hence, then, is the whole consolation of the godly, that they are associates with Christ, that hereafter they may be partakers of his glory; for we are always to bear in mind this transition from the cross to the resurrection. But as this world is like a labyrinth, in which no end of evils appears, Peter refers to the future revelation of Christ’s glory, as though he had said, that the day of its revelation is not to be overlooked, but ought to be expected. But he mentions a twofold joy, one which we now enjoy in hope, and the other the full fruition of which the coming of Christ shall bring to us; for the first is mingled with grief and sorrow, the second is connected with exultation. For it is not suitable in the midst of afflictions to think of joy, which can free us from all trouble; but the consolations of God moderate evils, so that we can rejoice at the same time.
14If ye be reproached He mentions reproaches, because there is often more bitterness in them than in the loss of goods, or in the torments or agonies of the body; there is therefore nothing which is more grievous to ingenuous minds. For we see that many who are strong to bear want, courageous in torments, nay, bold to meet death, do yet succumb under reproach. To obviate this evil, Peter pronounces those blessed, according to what Christ says, (Mar 8:35,) who are reproached for the sake of the Gospel. This is very contrary to what men commonly think and feel; but he gives a reason, Because the Spirit of God, called also the Spirit of glory, rests on them. Some read the words separately, “that which belongs to glory,” as though the words were, “glory and the Spirit of God.” But the former reading is more suitable as to the sense, and, as to language, more simple. Then Peter shews, that it is no hindrance to the happiness of the godly, that they sustain reproach for the name of Christ, because they nevertheless retain a complete glory in the sight of God, while the Spirit, who has glory ever connected with him, dwells in them. So, what seems to the flesh a paradox, the Spirit of God makes consistent by a sure perception in their minds.
On their part This is a confirmation of the last sentence; for he intimates that it is enough for the godly, that the Spirit of God testifies that the reproaches endured for the sake of the Gospel, are blessed and full of glory. The wicked, however, attempted to effect a far different object; as though he had said, “Ye can boldly despise the insolence of the ungodly, because the testimony respecting your glory, which God’s Spirit gives you, remains fixed within.” And he says that the Spirit of God was reproached, because the unbelieving expose to ridicule whatever he suggests and dictates for our consolation. But this is by anticipation; for however the world in its blindness may see nothing but what is disgraceful in the reproaches of Christ, he would not have the eyes of the godly to be dazzled with this false opinion; but on the contrary they ought to look up to God. Thus he does not conceal what men commonly think; but he sets the hidden perception of faith, which God’s children possess in their own hearts, in opposition to their presumption and insolence. Thus Paul boasted that he had the marks of Christ, and he gloried in his bonds. (Gal 6:17.) He had at the same time sufficiently found out what was the judgment formed of them by the world; and yet he intimates that it thought foolishly, and that those are blind together with the world, who esteem the slanders of the flesh glorious.
15. But (or, For)let one of you Here also he anticipates an objection. He had exhorted the faithful to patience, if it happened to them to be persecuted for the cause of Christ; he now adds the reason why he had only spoken of that kind of trouble, even because they ought to have abstained from all evil-doing. Here, then, is contained another exhortation, lest they should do anything for which they might seem to be justly punished. Therefore the causal particle is not, here superfluous, since the Apostle wished to give a reason why he so much exhorted the faithful to a fellowship with the sufferings of Christ, and at the same time to remind them by the way to live justly and harmlessly, lest they should bring on themselves a just punishment through their own faults; as though he had said, that it behoved Christians to deserve well of all, even when they were badly and cruelly treated by the world.
Were any one to object and say, that no one can be found to be so innocent but that he deserves for many faults to be chastised by God; to this I reply, that Peter here speaks of sins from which we ought to be entirely freed, such as thefts and murders; and I give further this reply, that the Apostle commands Christians to be such as they ought to be. It, is, then, no wonder, that he points out a difference between us and the children of this world, who being without God’s Spirit, abandon themselves to every kind of wickedness. He would not have God’s children to be in the same condition, so as to draw on themselves by a wicked life the punishment allotted by the laws. But we have already said elsewhere, that though there are always many sins in the elect, which God might justly punish, yet according to his paternal indulgence he spares his own children, so that he does not inflict the punishment they deserve, and that in the meantime, for honour’s sake, he adorns them with his own tokens and those of his Christ, when he suffers them to be afflicted for the testimony of the Gospel.
The word ἀλλοτριοεπίσκοπος seems to me to designate one who covets what belongs to another. For they who gape after plunder or fraud, inquire into affairs of others with tortuous or crooked eyes, as Horace says; (49) but the despiser of money, as the same says elsewhere, looks on vast heaps of gold with a straight eye. (50)
(49) Sic tamen ut limis rapias quid prima secundo
Cera velit versu. Sat. lib. 2:5, 53.
(50) Quisquis ingentes oculo irretorto
Spectat acervos.
— Carm. lib. it. Od. 2:23.
The sin here referred to must have some public act, punishable by law. The word means an observer of other people’s affairs, but he must have done so for some sinister purpose. He was probably a pryer into matters of state or government in order to create discontent and to raise commotions; and this was an evil which prevailed much at the time among the Jews. Hence “seditions,” or factions, would convey probably the right meaning. — Ed.
16Yet if any man suffer as a Christian After having forbidden the Christians to do any hurt or harm, lest for their evil deeds, like the unbelieving, they should become hateful to the world, he now bids them to give thanks to God, if they suffered persecutions for the name of Christ. And truly it is no common kindness from God, that he calls us, freed and exempted from the common punishment of our sins, to so honorable a warfare as to undergo for the testimony of his Gospel either exiles, or prisons, or reproaches, or even death itself. Then he intimates that those are ungrateful to God, who clamor or murmur on account of persecutions, as though they were unworthily dealt with, since on the contrary they ought to regard it as gain and to acknowledge God’s favor.
But when he says, as a Christian, he regards not so much the name as the cause. It is certain that the adversaries of Christ omitted nothing in order to degrade the Gospel. Therefore, whatever reproachful words they made use of, it was enough for the faithful, that they suffered for nothing else but for the defense of the Gospel.
On this behalf, or, In this respect. For since all afflictions derive their origin from sin, this thought ought to occur to the godly, “I am indeed worthy to be visited by the Lord with this and even with greater punishment for my sins; but now he would have me to suffer for righteousness, as though I were innocent.” For how much soever the saints may acknowledge their own faults, yet as in persecutions they regard a different end, such as the Lord sets before them, they feel that their guilt is blotted out and abolished before God. On this behalf, then, they have reason to glorify God.
17For the time is come, or, Since also the time is come. He amplifies the consolation, which the goodness of the cause for which we suffer brings to us, while we are afflicted for the name of Christ. For this necessity, he says, awaits the whole Church of God, not only to be subject to the common miseries of men, but especially and mainly to be chastised by the hand of God. Then, with more submission, ought persecutions for Christ to be endured. For except we desire to be blotted out from the number of the faithful, we must submit our backs to the scourges of God. Now, it is a sweet consolation, that God does not execute his judgments on us as on others, but that he makes us the representatives of his own Son, when we do not suffer except for his cause and for his name.
Moreover, Peter took this sentence from the common and constant teaching of Scripture; and this seems more probable to me than that a certain passage, as some think, is referred to. It was formerly usual with the Lord, as all the prophets witness, to exhibit the first examples of his chastisements in his own people, as the head of a family corrects his own children rather than those of strangers. (Isa 10:12.) For though God is the judge of the whole world, yet he would have his providence to be especially acknowledged in the government of his own Church. Hence, when he declares that he would rise up to be the judge of the whole world, he adds that this would be after he had completed his work on Mount Sion. He indeed puts forth his hand indifferently against his own people and against strangers; for we see that both are in common subjected to adversities; and if a comparison be made, he seems in a manner to spare the reprobate, and to be severe towards the elect. Hence the complaints of the godly, that the wicked pass their life in continual pleasures, and delight themselves with wine and the harp, and at length descend without pains in an instant into the grave — that fatness covers their eyes — that they are exempt from troubles — that they securely and joyfully spend their life, looking down with contempt on others, so that they dare to set their mouth against heaven. (Job 21:13; Psa 73:3.) In short, God so regulates his judgments in this world, that he fattens the wicked for the day of slaughter. He therefore passes by their many sins, and, as it were, connives at them. In the meantime, he restores by corrections his own children, for whom he has a care, to the right way, whenever they depart from it.
In this sense it is that Peter says that judgment begins at the house of God; for judgment includes all those punishments which the Lord inflicts on men for their sins, and whatever refers to the reformation of the world.
But why does he say that it was now the time? He means, as I think, what the prophets declare concerning his own time, that it especially belonged to Christ’s kingdom, that the beginning of the reformation should be in the Church. Hence Paul says that Christians, without the hope of a resurrection, would of all men be the most miserable, (1Co 15:19;) and justly so, because, while others indulge themselves without fear, the faithful continually sigh and groan; while God connives at the sins of others, and suffers them to continue torpid, he deals rigidly with his own people, and subjects them to the discipline of the cross.
When the faithful see that it is well with the wicked, they are necessarily tempted to be envious; and this is a very dangerous trial; for present happiness is what all desire. Hence the Spirit of God carefully dwells on this, in many places, as well as in the thirty-seventh Psalm, lest the faithful should envy the prosperity of the ungodly. The same is what Peter speaks of, for he shews that afflictions ought to be calmly borne by the children of God, when they compare the lot of others with their own. But he takes it as granted that God is the judge of the world, and that, therefore, no one can escape his hand with impunity. He hence infers, that a dreadful vengeance will soon overtake those whose condition seems now favorable. The design of what he says, as I have already stated, is to shew that the children of God should not faint under the bitterness of present evils, but that they ought, on the contrary, calmly to bear their afflictions for a short time, as the issue will be salvation, while the ungodly will have to exchange a fading and fleeting prosperity for eternal perdition.
But the argument is from the less to the greater; for if God spares not his own children whom he loves and who obey him, how dreadful will be his severity against enemies and such as are rebellious! There is, then, nothing better than to obey the Gospel, so that God may kindly correct us by his paternal hand for our salvation.
18And if the righteous It has been thought that this sentence is taken from Pro 11:31; for the Greek translators have thus rendered what Solomon says,
“Behold, the just shall on the earth be recompensed; how much more the ungodly and the sinner?”
Now, whether Peter intended to quote this passage, or repeated a common and a proverbial saying, (which seems to me more probable,) (51) the meaning is, that God’s judgment would be dreadful against the ungodly, since the way to salvation was so thorny and difficult to the elect. And this is said, lest we should securely indulge ourselves, but carefully proceed in our course, and lest we should also seek the smooth and easy road, the end of which is a terrible precipice.
But when he says, that a righteous man is scarcely saved, he refers to the difficulties of the present life, for our course in the world is like a dangerous sailing between many rocks, and exposed to many storms and tempests; and thus no one arrives at the port, except he who has escaped from [a] thousand deaths. It is in the meantime certain that we are guided by God’s hand, and that we are in no danger of shipwreck as long as we have him as our pilot.
Absurd, then, are those interpreters who think that we shall be hardly and with difficulty saved, when we shall come before God in judgment; for it is the present and not the future time that Peter refers to; nor does he speak of God’s strictness or rigour, but shews how many and what arduous difficulties must be surmounted by the Christian before he reaches the goal. Sinner here means a wicked man (52) and the righteous are not those who are altogether perfect in righteousness, but who strive to live righteously.
(51) It certainly appears as a quotation, as the words are literally the same. It is to be observed that the Hebrew has “on earth,” which seems to confirm the view that saved here refers to deliverances from the troubles, trials, and persecutions, which the righteous have to go through during life; and that scarcely, or hardly, or with difficulty, as rendered by Doddridge and Macknight, is to be limited to the time of the Christian’s course in this world; for, as Macknight observes, the Apostle speaks in his Second Epistle of an abundant entrance into the heavenly kingdom being vouchsafed to all faithful Christians. See 2Pe 1:11 — Ed.
(52) The two words, “ungodly,” ἀσεβὴς, and “sinner,” ἀμαρτωλὸς, exactly correspond with רשע and חוטא in Hebrew; the first is he who is not pious, not a worshipper of God, having neither fear nor love towards him; and the second is the wicked, and open and shameless transgressor, who regards not what is just and right. Grotius says, that the first is he who shews no piety towards God; and that the second is one who observes no justice towards man. — Ed.
19Wherefore let them that suffer He draws this conclusion, that persecutions ought to be submissively endured, for the condition of the godly in them is much happier than that of the unbelieving, who enjoy prosperity to their utmost wishes. He, however, reminds us that we suffer nothing except according to the permission of God, which tends much to comfort us; when he says, Let them commit themselves to God, it is the same as though he had said, “Let them deliver themselves and their life to the safe keeping of God.” And he calls him a faithful possessor, because he faithfully keeps and defends whatever is under his protection or power. Some render the word “Creator;” and the term κτίστης means both; but the former meaning I prefer, for by bidding us to deposit our life with God, he makes him its safe keeper. He adds, in well-doing, lest the faithful should retaliate the wrongs done to them, but that they might on the contrary contend with the ungodly, who injured them, by well-doing.
1Pe 4:1. Forasmuch then, &c.- "I have already observed, that Christ suffered, though he was perfectly innocent: as therefore Christ, your great Lord and Master, hath suffered for you in the flesh, do you also wear the same spirit, as armour; (Eph 6:11.)conscious that you ought to suffer for the truth, if called thereunto: for it is rationally to be supposed, that he, who has uponthis account suffered in the flesh, hath ceased from leading an unholy life, and is resolved to live, during the residue of his abode in the flesh, not in conformity to the lusts of men, but to the will of God," 1Pe 4:2. Dr. Bentley would read these verses thus; As Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind; for he that suffered in the flesh, hath died for our sins, 1Pe 4:2 that we should no longer live in the flesh, &c.
1Pe 4:3. For the time past of our life, &c.- St. Peter did not mean that it is lawful for men to satiate themselves with vice, and that they need not leave it off till they are weary of it; but he stirs up those to whom he wrote, to care and diligence for the future, in the practice of holiness, from the consideration of their having lived so long in the vices of the Heathens. It would have been the greatest shame for them, now that they were better instructed, to have continued in, or returned any more to such abominable practices: their future lives were to be consecrated unto the true God. There is no reason to interpret the word idolatries in a figurative sense, more than any other of the vices mentioned in this verse: on the contrary, St. Peter, by calling their idolatries abominable, seems to lay a particular emphasis upon this last expression; so as to make one ready to suspect, that those Christians had once been guiltyof some of the most cruel and debauched of the rites of the idolatrous Heathens. Some think that St. Peter joined the vices mentioned in this verse with abominable idolatries, because the Heathens were guilty of such horrible excesses, even in their religious worship. Surely Christianity was a most astonishing blessing to mankind in delivering them from such abominations!
1Pe 4:4. Wherein they think it strange, &c.- In the Syriac the words run thus: And behold now, they are amazed and blaspheme you, because you do not grow wanton with them in the same intemperance as formerly. 'Εν ω, wherein, or in which, refers to the will of the Gentiles, 1Pe 4:3. The word ξενιζονται, rendered they think it strange, properly signifies, they are strangers; but it appears that many Greek writers used it for being astonished, or standing in admiration of a thing, as new, absurd, or surprizing: and accordingly it is so rendered in some of the ancient versions and fathers. Indeed the allusion is fine, and what obtains in many languages, to express men's admiring or wondering, as strangers do at the customs and manners of a people in a foreign country. Thus in England we say that "such a thing is very strange," when we mean that it is very surprising, or very different from what we have known, expected, or been used to. Their idolatrous neighbours and acquaintance had formerly looked upon these Gentile Christians, as of the same country and religion; but now they regarded them as strangers, or as a people whose conduct was new, strange, and surprising. See 1Pe 4:12. Act 17:20 and 2Ma 9:6. Possibly St. Peter in the word συντρεχοντων, running, might allude to the orgies of Bacchus; in which his worshippers ran forward, like persons agitated by the furies, and, with the vehemence and transport of madmen, rushed together to the commission of the most abominable wickedness. The word αμαχυσις, rendered excess, has various significations. It is used for a puddle or sink of waters, and here may be applied metaphorically, for a sink or gulph of vice. It is used elsewhere for sloth, effeminacy, confusion, prodigality, excess, or profusion; in which last sense Archbishop Leighton understands it. The word 'Ασωτια signifies riot, luxury, prodigality, or a lewd and dissolute life: see Pro 28:7. St. Peter has joined these two words to express the astonishing wickedness and debauchery of the Heathens, and that even in their religious worship. He adds, that on this account they railed, or spoke evil of them: they railed at them as unsocial, and deserters of the sacred temples. Genuine converts from vice to true experimental religion, are more exposed to the ridicule and insults of their old companions than others; and indeed it was no small trial to the primitive Christians, when they were accused as morose and unsocial, and of different manners from the rest of mankind. There was great occasion for resolution and fortitude in those who adhered to Christianity; as they dared to dissent from the rest of their neighbours in matters of religion. But neither this nor any other temptation was to make them depart from truth, or practise wickedness: though Christianity was a sect every where spoken against; yet to the judgment of men they were to oppose the judgment of Christ who will soon judge the quick and the dead; for a day and a thousand years are the same to him.
1Pe 4:6. For, for this cause was the gospel preached, &c.- "For this is the end for which the gospel was preached to those believers, who are now the dead in Christ (1Th 4:16.), as well as to those who are still living upon earth, that they, by a divine power attending it, being thoroughly mortified and dead to their former inclinations and courses of life, might be eventually censured and condemned, and even put to death, for their novel and unsociable principles and behaviour, as being judged according to the dictates of corrupt nature, and of mere natural men; but that they might really live after a spiritual and joyful manner, by a holy conformity to the image and will of God in their renewed souls, as being quickened from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, and assisted by his Spirit to do the things that are pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ; and might at last be raised up to a glorious and immortal life, by his Spirit that dwelleth in them." (Rom 8:11.) See this verse more fully treated on in the Inferences.
1Pe 4:7. But the end of all things is at hand:- That is, of all things relating to the Jewish temple, city, and nation:-an event, which so strongly corroborated the prophecies, and was on many accounts so alarming in itself, and so confirmatory of the Christian religion, that we cannot wonder the sacred writers dwell so often upon it. In opposition to the fleshly lusts of the Heathens, hinted at 1Pe 4:6 and mentioned expressly, 1Pe 4:2-4 the Christians are exhorted to be sober, or temperate; and in opposition to the stupor and security of the unbelieving Jews, they were to watch unto prayer; that they might not be involved in the like calamities with the unbelieving Jews and apostate Christians.
1Pe 4:8. And above all things have fervent charity- See on Jam 5:12. Lest they should imagine that the sobriety and prayer recommended in the preceding verse were all that was required of them, St. Peter here inculcates mutual love, as a principal part of their duty. They were to make conscience of all the duties of the Christian life, but to lay the greatest stress upon the most important; and this, both in the idea of St. Peter and St. Paul, is love. Comp. 1Co 13:13. Instead of charity, as we have frequently observed, the word αγαπη should be rendered love. Have fervent love; for love will cover a multitude of sins. See Pro 10:12.
1Pe 4:9. Use hospitality, &c.- We have had frequent occasion to remark the especial necessity and importance of hospitality, for the want of inns in the Eastern world. Dr. Robertson, speaking of the little intercourse between nations during the middle ages of Christianity, observes as a proof hereof, "that there were no inns, or houses of entertainment for the reception of travellers, during those ages. Among people (says he) whose manners are simple, and who are seldom visited by strangers, hospitality is a virtue of thefirst rank. This duty of hospitality was so necessary in that state of society which took place during the middle ages, that it was not considered as one of those virtues which men may practise or not, according to the tempers of their minds, and the generosity of their hearts: hospitality was enforced by statutes, and they who neglected this duty, were liable to punishment. The laws of the Slavi were remarkably rigorous: they ordained, that the moveables of an inhospitable person should be confiscated, and his house burned. In consequence of these laws, or of that state of society which made it proper to enact them, hospitality abounded while the intercourse among men was inconsiderable, and secured the stranger a kind reception under every roof where he chose to take shelter. This too proves clearly, that the intercourse among men was rare; for as soon as this increased, what was a pleasure became a burthen, and the entertaining of travellers was converted into a branch of commerce." See his History of Charles V. vol. 1: p. 326. But by the word hospitality, I conceive all other supply of the wants of our brethren in outward things to be here comprehended. Now, for this, the way and measure, indeed, must receive its proportion from the estate and ability of persons. But certainly the great straitening of hands in these things, is more from the straitness of hearts than of means. A large heart, with a little estate, will do much with cheerfulness and little noise, while hearts glued to the poor riches they possess, or rather are possessed by, can scarcely part with any thing, till they be pulled from all. Now, for supply of our brethren's necessities, one good help is, the retrenching of our own superfluities. Turn the stream into that channel where it will refresh thy brethren, and enrich thyself, and let it not run into the dead sea. Thyvain excessive entertainments, thy gaudy variety of dresses, these thou dost not challenge, thinking it is of thine own; but know, as follows, thou art but steward of it, and this is not faithfully laying out; thou canst not answer for it; yea, it is robbery; thou robbest thy poor brethren that want necessaries, whilst thou lavishest thus on unnecessaries. Such a feast, such a suit of apparel, is direct robbery in the Lord's eye, and the poor may cry, That is mine which you cast away so vainly, by which both I and you might be profited, Pro 3:27-28. With-hold not good from him therefore to whom it is due, &c.
1Pe 4:10. As every man hath received, &c.- "And as all talents for public offices, as well as private capacities of usefulness in the church, are the free gift of God, let every one who is favoured with them, be careful to employ them, in proportion to what he has received, for the advantage and edification one of another, as persons entrusted with, and accountable to their great Lord and Master for the various gifts andendowmentswhichhehasgraciously bestowed upon them, that they may manage them with wisdom and faithfulness, like honorable stewards, (καλοι οικονομοι, ) for the good of the church for which he gave them." By the manifold or various grace of God, we may understand, that great diversity, of gifts, which all proceeded from one and the same Spirit, and which were all of pure grace, or free favour; for none of the Christians could demand any of them by any claim of justice, or as a debt due to him. Now every one of those gifts was to be made use of, not merely for the private advantage of the persons upon whom they were bestowed, but for the glory of God, and the public good of mankind; and more particularly of the Christian church; that the Christiansmight promote divine knowledge, experience, and piety in each other. See Rom 12:6-8.
1Pe 4:11. If any man speak, &c.- St. Peter having, in the preceding verse, spoken of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which were distributed among the Christians in great diversity,-and recommended it to everyone to make use of his own spiritual gifts for the good of the church,-in this verse he descends to particulars, and instances in the two offices of a pastor or teacher, and a deacon, who were very commonly in that age, not only chosen by the direction of the Spirit, but who likewise had extraordinary helps from God, to direct and assist them in the discharge of their particular office. Perhaps St. Peter, by using the word λογια, oracles, might allude to the high-priest's consulting the oracle by Urim and Thummim. When he inquired in that manner, the divine oracle gave answers to the children of Israel, and that oracle, in the LXX. is frequently called λογιον . The teacher or minister in the Christian church was to speak as giving answers to the people, as uttering divine oracles, or as teaching the word of God, not of men. The original of if any man minister, might be rendered, if any man officiate or serve as a deacon, let him, &c. See Act 6:2.
1Pe 4:12.- St. Peter here returns to what he has often touched upon in this epistle; namely, to exhort the Christians to behave with patience and integrity under their present severe persecution. To which purpose he uses the following arguments: first, He insinuates that it was not a strange or unusual thing, for the people of God to be persecuted: secondly, Though they suffered here as Christ did, they should hereafter, if faithful, be glorified with him: thirdly, Besides the prospect of that future glory, they had at present the Spirit of God for their support and comfort: fourthly, That it was an honour for any one of them to suffer, not as a malefactor, but as a Christian: fifthly,Thoughafflictionsbegan with the Christians, yet the weight of the storm would fall upon the unbelievers.-From these considerations he exhorted them to persevere in their duty, and trusts all events with God, 1Pe 4:12-19.
Think it not strange, &c.- See on 1Pe 4:4. By serious and frequent meditations Christians should be prepared for the cross, and then they would not think persecution a strange thing: it would not then terrify or surprise them. See ch. 1Pe 1:6 1Pe 2:21. 1Th 3:3-4. By πυρωσις, fire or burning, is meant that trial as it were by fire, or that hot and fiery persecution of the Christians, which had then proceeded chieflyfrom the unbelieving Jews. The image is the same here as in ch. 1Pe 1:7 where see the note. This may help to explain Mat 24:7-9. For this fiery trial was a literal and exact accomplishment of that part of our Lord's prophecy, then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, &c. This fiery persecution happened only for a trial of the Christians. It was not to burn them up, or a fire kindled to their destruction; but it was to prove them, whether they would conceal or deny the truth; whether they would give up Christianity, or continue true to their profession.
1Pe 4:13. But rejoice, inasmuch, &c.- But, in proportion to your partaking the sufferings of Christ, rejoice, that at the revelation of his glory, you may rejoice with exceeding great joy. Christ will not always be concealed from the eyes of men: there is a time coming, when he will make himself conspicuous to all, and be revealed from heaven, as theuniversal Judge, with the greatest glory, and most divine majesty. See 1Co 1:7.
1Pe 4:14. For the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you:- The Venetian reading is, The Spirit of honour, and of glory, and divine power, even the Spirit of God, resteth upon you. The meaning seems to be, in general, "You shall have the Spirit of God in a very glorious manner, to support you, in proportion to the trials which you are called to bear; and this will spread a glory round you, even though you may be treated in the most infamous manner, as the vilest of malefactors;"-which we know was the case with several of the primitive Christians. See Isa 11:2; Isa 17:14. Act 1:8; Act 2:3 and comp. Exo 40:35.
1Pe 4:15. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, &c.- Let not therefore any of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a malefactor; or as one who busily affects the government of other men, or the magistrates office. See ch. 1Pe 2:20. &c. and the Apostolic Constitutions, b, 5 : 100: 2. Dr. Lardner has well observed, "That the word αλλοτριοεπισκοπος, cannot here signify merely 'a prying into the concerns of private families;' which could not be ranked with such crimes as are here mentioned, nor expose a man to the punishment of the civil magistrate: but it may signify a man who presumes to inspect and direct the affairs of others; perhaps who aspires to public authority;-a temper which shewed itself much among the Jews, particularly at Alexandria and Caesarea, and which would naturally give great offence to the Romans, and make them very dangerous enemies. If therefore any thing of this kind might appear among Christians, it would be of particular bad consequence in those times."
1Pe 4:16. Let him not be ashamed;- There is no shame in suffering, unless it be for some crime: to be a Christian, and to suffer for being so, is an honour. Grotius's remark on the words is this: "If a man was not to be ashamed to die with Phocion, how much less to die for Christ!" It was sometimes deemed a sufficient accusation of the primitive Christians, "that they were the disciples of Jesus;" and upon that account alone many of them suffered death: but what a glorious thing was it thus to die, when their bitterest adversaries had no crime to lay to their charge, nothing to object against them, but that they were Christians!
1Pe 4:17. For the time is come, &c.- 'Ο καιρος, the time; the signal time prophesied of, Mat 24:9; Mat 24:21-22. Mar 13:12-13. By το κριμα, judgment, seems here to be meant the particular distress which was to happen before Jerusalem should be utterly destroyed.-The Christians were to expect to feel some of the first effects of that general calamity: it was to begin with them, as our Saviour had plainly prophesied in the text already referred to. It was God's way of old, to begin with sending calamities on his own people; and indeed a state of trial seems highly proper before a state of recompence. See ch. 1Pe 1:6. The present verse looks like an allusion to Eze 9:6 comp. Jer 25:29. By us here seems to be meant the Christians of that age, whether formerly Jews or Gentiles; for they appear now to have been persecuted generally every where. See ch. 1Pe 5:9. They who obey not the gospel of God, is a proper description of the unbelieving Jews: they were not chargeable with idolatry; they acknowledged and worshipped the true God; but they rejected the gospel which God revealed by his Son;-and therefore they came to so dreadful an end. See 1Th 2:14-16. Whoever compares the accounts in the Scriptures, or ancient fathers, concerning the persecutions which befel the Christians about this time, with the sufferings of the Jews as related by Josephus, will easily see, that the distress only began with the Christians, and was light compared with what afterwards fell upon the Jews: for, when Jerusalem was destroyed, the Christians escaped with their lives, and enjoyed more peace and tranquillity than they had done before. God delivered Noah in the time of the flood, Lot out of Sodom, and the Christians at the destruction of Jerusalem. See the next note.
1Pe 4:18. And if the righteous, &c.- St. Peter having, in the preceding verse, compared the case of the Christians with that of the unbelieving Jews, he intimated that the approaching calamities were only to begin at the house of God; but the end, the weight of the storm, would fall upon the unbelievingJews, because of their refusal of the gospel. But in this verse he seems to have enlarged his view, and to have compared the present case of faithful Christians, to the case of the idolatrous and wicked world at the last day, as he had already done, 1Pe 4:5. The verse before us is taken from Pro 11:31 according to the text. The apostle seems to have quoted the words, not by way of proof, but as alluding to that ancient proverb, and according the words of the Wise King to his present subject. The word scarcely, or with great difficulty, must allude to the difficulties arising to good men in their Christian course, from the dangerous snares and temptations of sin and the world. St. Peter has put it by way of question, Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? In which he alludes to an earthly court of judicature, where the innocent, or such as are sure of pardon, may appear with courage and cheerfulness; but the guilty are afraid and unwilling to appear at all. The turn of the expression in the original is very lively: The ungodly and the sinner-where shall he appear? It seems as if the apostle were solicitous to lead the sinner to consider where he should hide his head, since wherever he was, he would find God immediately appearingagainst him as an irresistible enemy. This he might say, by way of warning to persecutors, and to encourage Christians to hope and trust that God would vindicate their cause, and preserve them from turning aside to crooked paths.
1Pe 4:19. According to the will of God- That is "According to his permission, suffering as Christians, not as evil-doers: 1Pe 4:15." The soul, by a Hebraism, is often put for the whole man; but here it may be understood of the highest concerns, and of our future and everlasting welfare. See Psa 31:5. Ecc 12:7. Luk 23:46. When they suffered for righteousness' sake, they were to commit their souls or lives unto God, as unto a faithful Creator. This was another argument for patience; their suffering was not agreeable to the will of God, considered as their Governor or Judge; but God was also their Creator. But, besides his being their Creator, he is likewise faithful; that is, true to his promises, and may be depended upon, as one of sufficient power, wisdom, and goodness, to make all things conduce to the good of the pious, and particularly to raise them to a happy immortality. This promise he had made to them in the gospel, and they might trust him for the performance. By well-doing, some would understand, "a kind treatment of their enemies and persecutors;" which behaviour is unquestionably the duty of Christians when persecuted: but St. Peter seems to have used the word here in a more extensive sense, as intending to exhort them to a good behaviour in general. If they had been malefactors, and suffered as such, they could not have rationally committed their souls unto God as unto a faithful Creator: whereas such as make it their study to obeyhim, mayconfide in him in the greatest distress. He will support them in trouble, or deliver them from it; at death he will receive their spirits; and at the last day he will raise them again, and make them happy for ever.
Inferences drawn from 1Pe 4:6.-It is a thing of prime concernment for a Christian, to be rightly informed, and frequently put in mind, what is the true estate and nature of a Christian; for this the multitude of those who bear that name, either know not, or commonly forget, and so are carried away with the vain fancies and mistakes of the world. The apostle has characterized Christianity very clearly to us in this place, by that which is the very nature of it, conformity with Christ, and that which is necessarily consequent upon that, disconformity with the world.
We have first here, the preaching of the gospel as the suitable means to a certain end. Secondly, The express nature of that end.
1. The preaching of the gospel as a suitable means to a certain end; for this cause. There is a particular end, and that very important, for which the preaching of the gospel is intended; this end many consider not, hearing it, as if it were to no end, or not propounding a fixed determined end in their hearing. This therefore is to be considered by those who preach this gospel, that they aim right in it at this end, and no other. There must be no self end. It is necessarily incumbent upon ministers of the gospel, that they make it their study to find in themselves this work, this living to God, otherwise they cannot skilfully nor faithfully apply their gifts to work this effect on their hearers; and therefore acquaintance with God is most necessary.
How sounds it to many of us, at the least, but as a well contrived story, whose use is to amuse us, and possibly delight us a little, and there is an end! and indeed no end, for this turns the most serious and most glorious of all messages into an empty sound. If we keep awake, and give it a hearing, it is much; but for any thing further, how few deeply beforehand consider, "I have a dead heart; therefore will I go unto the word of life, that it may be quickened: it is frozen, I will go and lay it before the warm beams of that Sun which shines in the gospel; my corruptions are mighty and strong, and grace, if there be any in my heart, is exceeding weak; but there is in the gospel a power to weaken and kill sin, and to strengthen grace; and this being the intent of my wise God in appointing it, it shall be my desire and purpose, in resorting to it, to find it to me according to his gracious intendment; to have faith in my Christ, the fountain of my life, more strengthened, and made more active in drawing from him; to have my heart more refined and spiritualized, and to have the sluice of repentance opened, and my affections to divine things enlarged; more hatred of sin, and more love of God and communion with him."
When you come to hear the gospel, inquire within, "Why came I hither this day? what had I in mine eye and desires ere I came forth, and in my way as I was coming? Did I seriously propound an end or no, and what was my end?" Nor does the mere custom of mentioning this in prayer satisfy the question; for this, as other such things usually do in our hand, may turn to a lifeless form, and have no heat of spiritual affection; none of David's panting and breathing after God in his ordinances; such desires as will not be stilled without a measure of attainment, as the child's desire of the breast; as our apostle resembles it, chap. 1Pe 2:2.
And then again, being returned home, reflect on your hearts, "Much has been heard, but is there any thing done by it? Have I gained my point? It was not simply to pass a little time that I went, or to pass it with delight in hearing; rejoicing in that light, as they did in St. John Baptist's, Joh 5:35 for a season (προς ωραν ), as long as the hour lasts! It was not to have my ear pleased, but my heart changed; not to learn some new notions, and carry them cold in my head, but to be quickened, and purified, and renewed in the spirit of my mind? Is this done? Think I now with greater esteem of Christ, and the life of faith, and the happiness of a Christian? And are such thoughts solid and abiding with me? What sin have I left behind? What grace of the Spirit have I brought home? or what new degree, or at least new desire of it, a living desire, which will follow its point?" Oh! this were good repetition.
It is a strange folly in multitudes of us to set ourselves no mark, to propound no end in the hearing of the gospel. The merchant fails not only that he may fail, but for traffic, and traffics that he may be rich. The husbandman plows not only to keep himself busy with no further end, but plows that he may sow, and sows that he may reap with advantage: and shall we do the most excellent and fruitful work fruitlessly? hear only to hear, and look no further? This is indeed a great vanity, and a great misery, to lose that labour, and gain nothing by it, which, duly used, would be of all others most advantageous and gainful; and yet all meetings are full of this.
Now, when you come, this is not simply to hear a discourse, and relish or dislike it in hearing; but a matter of life and death, of eternal death and eternal life; and the spiritual life, begot and nourished by the word, is the beginning of that eternal life. Which leads us to consider,
2. The express nature of the end, that they might live to God in the spirit. Men pass away, and others succeed; but the gospel is still the same, has the same tenor and substance, and the same ends. As Solomon speaks of the heavens and earth, that remain the same, while one generation passes, and another cometh, Ecc 1:4.; the gospel surpasses both in its stability, as our Saviour testifies, Mat 5:18 they shall pass away, but not one jot of his word. And indeed they wear and wax old, as the apostle teaches us; but the gospel is from one age to another, of the most unalterable integrity, has still the same vigour and powerful influence as at the first.
They who formerly received the gospel, received it upon these terms; therefore think it not hard: and they are now dead; all the difficulty of that work of dying to sin is now over with them; if they had not died to their sins by the gospel, they had died in them after a while, and so died eternally. It is therefore a wise prevention, to have sin judged and put to death in us before we die; if we will not part with sin, if we die in it, and with it, we and our sin perish together; but if it die first before us, then we live for ever.
And what thinkest thou of thy carnal will, and all the delights of sin? What is the longest term of its life? Uncertain it is, but most certainly very short: thou and these pleasures must be severed and parted within a little time; however, thou must die, and then they die, and you never meet again. Now, were it not the wisest course to part a little sooner with them, and let them die before thee, that thou mayest inherit eternal life, and eternal delights in it, pleasures for evermore? It is the only wise and profitable bargain; let us therefore delay it no longer.
This is our season of enjoying the sweetness of the gospel; others heard it before us, and now they are removed, and we must remove shortly, and leave our places to others, to speak and hear in. It is high time that we were considering to what end we speak and hear; high time, without further delay, to lay hold on that salvation which is held forth to us: and that we may lay hold on it, we must immediately let go our hold of sins and those perishing things which we hold so firm, and cleave to so fast. Do they that are dead, who heard and obeyed the gospel, now repent their repentance and mortifying the flesh? Or, do they not think ten thousand times more pains, were it for many ages, all too little for a moment of that which now they enjoy, and shall enjoy to eternity? And they that are dead, who heard the gospel and slighted it, if such a thing might be, what would they give for one of these opportunities which now we daily have, and daily lose, and have no fruit or esteem of them! You have seen many, and you that shifted the sight have heard of numbers, cut off in a little time. And yet, who has laid to heart the lengthening out of his day, and considered it more as an opportunity of securing that higher and happier life, than as a little protracting of this wretched life, which is hastening to an end? Oh! therefore be entreated to-day, while it is called To-day, not to harden your hearts, Psa 95:7-8. Heb 3:7; Heb 4:7.
Think therefore wisely of these two things, of the proper end of the gospel, and of the approaching end of thy days, and let thy certainty of this latter drive thee to seek more certainty of the other, that thou mayest partake of it; and then this again will make the thoughts of the other sweet to thee. That visage of death, which is so terrible to unchanged sinners, shall be amiable to thine eye: having found a life in the gospel as happy and lasting as this is miserable and vanishing, and seeing the perfection of that life on the other side of death, thou wilt long for the passage.
Be more serious in this matter, of daily hearing the gospel; consider why it is sent to thee, and what it brings; and think, it is too long I have slighted its message, and many who have done so are cut off, and shall hear it no more: I have it once more inviting me, and it may be this may be the last invitation I shall receive: and in these thoughts, ere you come, bow your knee to the Father of spirits, that this one thing may be granted you, that your souls may find at length the lively and mighty power of his Spirit upon yours, in the hearing of this gospel, that you may be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
Now, if this life be in thee, it will act: all life is in motion, and is called an act; but most active of all is this most excellent, and, as I may call it, most lively life. It will be moving towards God; often seeking to him, making still towards him as its principle and fountain, exerting itself in holy and affectionate thoughts of him; sometimes on one of his sweet attributes, sometimes on another; as the bee among the flowers. And as it will thus act within, so it will be outwardly laying hold on all occasions, yea, seeking out ways and opportunities to be serviceable to thy Lord; employing all for him, commending and extolling his goodness, doing and suffering cheerfully for him, laying out the strength of desires, and parts, and means, in thy station, to gain him glory. If thou be alone, then not alone, but with him; seeking to know more of him, and be made more like him. If in company, then casting about how to bring his name into esteem, and to draw others to a love of religion and holiness by speeches, as it may be fit, and most by the true behaviour of thy carriage; tender over the souls of others, to do them good to thy utmost; thinking, each day, an hour lost when thou art not busy for the honour and advantage of him to whom thou now livest; thinking in the morning, "Now, what may I do this day for my God? How may I most please and glorify him, and use my strength and understanding, and mine whole self, as not mine, but his?" And then in the evening, reflecting, "O Lord, have I seconded these thoughts in reality? What glory has he had by me this day? Whither went my thoughts and endeavours? What busied them most? Have I been much with God? Have I adorned the gospel in my converse with others?" And if thou findest any thing done this way, this life will engage thee to bless and acknowledge him the spring and worker of it. If any step has been taken aside, were it but to an appearance of evil, or if any fit season of good has escaped thee unprofitably, it will lead thee to check thyself, and to be grieved for thy sloth and coldness, and see if more love would not beget more diligence.
But wouldst thou grow upwards in this life? Have much recourse to Jesus Christ thy Head, the spring from whom flow the animal spirits which quicken thy soul. Wouldst thou know more of God? He it is that reveals the Father, and reveals him as his Father; and in him thy Father, and that is the sweet notion of God. Wouldst thou overcome thy lusts entirely? Our victory is in him; apply his conquest; We are more than conquerors, through him that loved us, Rom 8:37. Wouldst thou be more replenished with graces, and spiritual affections? His fulness is, for that use, open to us; life, and more life, in him, and for us; this was his business here, he came, that we might have life, and might have it more abundantly, Joh 10:10.
REFLECTIONS.-1st, The apostle,
1. Draws an inference from what he had advanced. Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind, with patience and holy resolution: for he that hath suffered in the flesh, crucifying the body of sin through union with a dying Saviour, and willingly taking up any cross which the divine Providence may lay upon him; hath ceased from sin, from his former corrupt principles and practice, and is mortified to every evil affection: that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh, to the lusts of men; but the little space which yet remains, he is earnest to redeem, and fain would spend it according to the will of God. Note; (1.) Nothing so effectually mortifies sin as a believing view of the cross of Christ. (2.) The will of God, not our vile affections, must be our guide. If we live after the flesh, we must die eternally, while the paths of grace and holiness alone can lead us to immortal life and glory.
2. The apostle argues on the reasonableness of living unto God, from the consideration of the abuse they had made of the time that was past. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when (with shame we remember it,) we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings and riot, banquetings and luxurious carousals, and abominable idolatries, joining with the Gentiles in these horrible deeds: wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them still to the same excess of riot as before, speaking evil of you and your religion, as if it made you morose, unsociable, and poor despicable objects: who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead, at the great day of his appearing and glory. Note; (1.) The remembrance of our former evil ways should often dwell upon our minds for our deep humiliation before God. (2.) The conduct of a Christian appears very strange to an ungodly world, and they wonder what there is in religion, which, for the sake of it, can induce men to forego all that they call enjoyment. (3.) They who speak evil of our good conversation in Christ, must shortly give a solemn account of their hard speeches before an awful tribunal.
3. The former saints of God were thus censured of the world, and saved by grace. For, for that cause was the gospel preached also to them that are now dead in Christ, and departed in his faith and fear, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, and undergo reproach, persecution, and some of them even death itself, for those tenets which the carnal world derides and abhors, but might, notwithstanding all the sufferings in the body, live according to God in the Spirit, under the mighty influences of his grace, in a holy conformity to his will, and expecting, through the power of the Holy Ghost, to be raised up at the last day to live with God eternally.
2nd, We have an awful position: But the end of all things is at hand. The Jewish state was soon to be destroyed; where dwelt the most inveterate persecutors of the Christian name; and to every individual is this truth most applicable, to whom death and eternity are approaching, and judgment is at the door; from which awful considerations the apostle enforces the following exhortations:
1. Be ye therefore sober, temperate in all things, not inordinately pursuing, nor immoderately using any thing in this world, knowing how short the time is. And,
2. Watch unto prayer; be on your guard against the numberless temptations which beset you, and especially be looking up by ceaseless prayer for strength to resist and overcome them. Note; Prayer is our great preservative; and we shall never fail, while we continue waiting upon God.
3. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves, cordially and tenderly affected towards each other: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins, engaging you kindly to overlook the offences of your brethren, and cast a veil of oblivion over their many infirmities, and to conceal them from the censorious world.
4. Use hospitality one to another without grudging, freely and cheerfully receiving those who, for righteousness' sake, are driven from place to place, or are travelling to spread the glad tidings of salvation, and trusting on the divine Providence for their maintenance: and in every other respect be hospitable, always keeping within the due bounds of Christian prudence and temperance.
5. As every man hath received the gift, whatever talents he is blessed with, whether of wealth, abilities, or more especially of grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, even so minister the same one to another, laying out yourselves for your mutual edification and comfort, as good stewards of the manifest grace of God, from whom you have received all that you possess, and to whom you are accountable for the due improvement of it. If any man speak, therefore, as called to the office of a preacher, let him speak as the oracles of God, with strict adherence to the sacred doctrines therein revealed, not presuming to add any thing thereunto, or diminish ought therefrom: if any man minister in the office of a deacon, or out of his worldly substance to the necessitous, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth, with all fidelity, cheerfulness, and diligence, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, and his name exalted in the advancement of his church and his kingdom in the world, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever, to the incarnate Saviour, and to the Father through him. Amen! Note; (1.) Whatever we possess, we are but stewards, and must give an account to the great Master for the talents committed to our trust. (2.) God's glory should be the great end of all our conversation, and in our lips and lives we should endeavour to shew forth his praise.
3rdly, The apostle,
1. Encourages them to bear up boldly under their expected trials. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as gold in the furnace, as though some strange thing happened unto you, and your sufferings were uncommon, and such as God's children might not have expected. But however severe your trials may be, rejoice in them, in as much as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, and herein conformed to your glorious Head; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy, and reign with him, as you have suffered for him. And, in the lesser trials of reviling and slander, if ye be reproached for the name of Christ, branded with some opprobrious name, and made the objects of derision and contempt, happy are ye; let it be your delight to be thus vile, and gladly bear this honourable badge of infamy; for the Spirit of glory, and of God resteth upon you, to comfort you under these reproaches, and to give you an earnest of that eternal glory to which these trials are the way: on their part he is evil spoken of, and his blessed operations reviled and blasphemed; but on your part he is glorified, and his name exalted by your faith and patience, and by the praises given him for the supports and comforts which you experience from him. Note; (1.) We must count no affliction strange, however grievous for the time; it is permitted to be, because God sees that we have much dross, and need that furnace to purge us from it. (2.) Our sufferings for Christ are our real honour, and shall be, if we be faithful, our highest joy. (3.) In a day of recompence we shall never regret what we have endured for Christ and his cause. (4.) We need not wonder at any reproaches cast on ourselves, when even the blessed Spirit of God himself sustains the like blasphemies, and his operations are branded as delusions and enthusiasm.
2. He admonishes them to give their enemies no such handle against them as they desired to have. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil-doer, justly chargeable with any criminal conduct whatever; or as a busy-body in other men's matters, labouring after pre-eminence and authority, or prying into the concerns of his neighbours which do not belong to him, and neglecting his own. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, and if, however innocent, through enmity to him on account of his religion, any of these atrocious crimes are charged upon him, let him not be ashamed of such malignant abuse, but let him glorify God on this behalf, that he is counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ, and enabled to despise these calumnies.
3. He supports what he had advanced, by the most weighty considerations. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God, not only in the destruction of the Jewish temple, but in very severe visitations upon his spiritual church and people, who need the correction of his rod: and if it first begin at us, and we undergo the severe discipline of the cross, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? How fearful will be the vengeance executed on them? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, plucked as brands from the burning, and hardly escaping, like Lot from the flames of Sodom, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear, who wilfully and obstinately reject all the warnings of God's providence, and the word of his grace, determined to abide in their iniquities, whatever the consequence may be. How terrible, sure, and inevitable must be their eternal perdition! Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God, patiently and submissively, commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator, content to refer themselves to him, resigned to his will, and ready to do or suffer according to his pleasure, satisfied in his faithfulness to all his promises, and trusting to reap their fulfilment in a blessed eternity. Note; (1.) God corrects his own children that they may not be condemned with the world. (2.) If the Lord chastises his own people for the evil that he sees in them, shall the rebellious sinner go unpunished? No, verily; there is dreadful vengeance hanging over him. (3.) The gate of heaven is strait; how surely then must they be excluded, who never so much as set their faces heaven-ward! (4.) Come what will, we know that our sufferings are sent or permitted of God, and that his faithfulness, power, and love, are engaged to bring every persevering believer safely through them; and this is sufficient to make us easy, yea, happy under them.
HOSPITALITY (1Pe 4:7-11) by which we understand spiritual rather than physical hospitality, though the latter need not be excluded from the thought. 1Pe 4:10-11 for example, suggest 1 Corinthians 12; Rom 12:3-8; Eph 4:7-16, etc., in which Paul is teaching the duty of the members of the Body of Christ to minister to one another of their spiritual gifts without judging.
PATIENCE (1Pe 4:12-19) 1Pe 4:12 shows that the opposition to the Christians at this time was exhibited in more than a “speaking against” them as earlier passages record. “The fiery trial among you” is the rendering of the Revised Version - it was already there. 1Pe 4:13 is characteristic of Peter, who always throws forward the fact of the present suffering of Christians unto the light of their future gory, for which reason he is called the apostle of hope (see 1Pe 1:3; 1Pe 1:7; 1Pe 1:11; 1Pe 5:1; 1Pe 5:4; 1Pe 5:10). If Christians were unwilling to suffer for righteousness’ sake it was an evidence of a low spiritual state. Let them remember therefore, that time of judgment he had referred to in 1:17.
FIDELITY (1Pe 5:1-4) In this instance “elders,” in the sense of pastors are particularly addressed, when once more the heavenly glory is brought forward as a motive for their conduct.
SERVICE (1Pe 5:5-11) Elder in this instance has reference, not to office, but age. The younger members of the flock, and indeed all of them, are to gird themselves with humility “to serve one another” (RV). Fear should move them to do this, “for God resisteth the proud.” The hope of reward should move them, for He “giveth grace to the humble,” hence the exhortation of 1Pe 5:6. It costs something to humble one’s self. It makes us anxious about our possessions or our position in life, but let us cast that anxiety upon God, for it is His business to care for us (1Pe 5:7). “It matters to Him about you,” is a literal and beautiful rendering of that verse. But there is another reason for humbling ourselves in service the activity of the evil one (1Pe 5:8-9). It is he who would restrain us from doing it. Be watching out for him at such a time, resist him in the comfort of knowing that you are not alone in such experiences. Moreover, the conflict will not be for long, and glory follows (1Pe 5:10).
QUESTIONS
1. Name the four inward obligations of The Living Hope.
2. Define spiritual hospitality.
3. How is Peter sometimes designated, and why?
4. What motives should move us to serve once another?
