BE READY TO SUFFER - 1 PETER 4:12-19

Be Ready To Suffer
1 Peter 4:12-19

In these verses, Peter returns to the topic of suffering. He told his readers not to be surprised when a fiery trial comes upon them, to test them, as if it were something strange. (12)  Why would they think it strange?

Then, as now, believers often assumed that doing God’s will meant every thing would go smoothly. At the present time there is an entire industry devoted to this idea: the prosperity gospel.

But Peter knew better. He had learned this partly from rebuke and partly from instruction.

The rebuke came when Peter attempted to keep Jesus from the cross. Mark tells us the story. As Jesus began to teach the disciples that he must suffer many things, including death, Peter actually took Jesus aside and rebuked him. Jesus responded by rebuking Peter in front of the other disciples. It was a stinging rebuke. He said “ Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but the things of man.” (Mark 8:31-33) Peter did not want the way of Christ to be suffering. He wanted it to be glory in earthly terms.

The Christian life is more about suffering than success in earthly terms. It is about self denial, not self indulgence.

Peter also heard Jesus instruct the disciples to prepare for suffering and persecution. He told them the world would hate them because it hated him. (John 15:18). John must have remembered this also, for he later wrote “do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. “ (1 John 3:13) Jesus told the disciples they would have tribulation. (John 16:33). He told James and John they would drink the cup he would drink. (Matthew 20:23).

So, Peter knew suffering would come and prepared his readers for it. We are in a similar situation today in America. Many believers are surprised that much of our culture is turning away from the church and seeking to harm it. But, here is the deal: you are either of the world or of Christ.

Jesus made this clear. He said the Father gave the Son people out of the world. (John 17:2, 6) The Father gave you to the Son to give you eternal life.  And so, he called you out of the world and into his kingdom. You are in this world, but not of it.

You recognize this when you are uncomfortable with the world, despite the people of the world around you being comfortable with it. They rejoice in abortion. You recoil from infanticide. They celebrate gender fluidity. You contemplate God’s creation of male and female only. (Genesis 1:27) They deride those who go to church. You delight in gathering to worship.

The people of the world notice your discomfort also, and they do not like it. Jesus said “the world has hated them (the disciples) because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world.” (John 17:14)

That is where persecution comes from.

If you know these truths, you should not be surprised when persecution comes.

Not only were Peter’s readers not to be surprised at suffering, they were to rejoice in it. (13) They were to rejoice that they were able to share Christ’s sufferings. It is an honor to suffer for Christ, since he suffered for us. It is an honor to suffer for his church. Paul, who suffered a lot, had his same thought. He said “Now i rejoice mu sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, the church. (Colossians 1:24)

They were also to rejoice in their sufferings so they would be glad when Christ’s glory is revealed. The more you are suffering for Christ, the more you would be glad to see his return. If life is easy for you now, you do not as easily look forward to his return. I actually had a family member tell me at one point she did not want Christ to come soon because she was having too good of a time on earth.

If we suffer, we are blessed because the Holy Spirit rests on us. This is a corollary to Jesus’ words of comfort to the disciples: “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will begin to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. (Matthew 10:19-20) When we need him, the Holy Spirit is there to help us.

In the hour of greatest trial there is a great consolation. With great suffering on earth comes great support from heaven.

However, you can only rejoice in suffering if you suffer for the right reason. (15) If you suffer because you committed a crime or meddled in other people’s business, your suffering is a result of wrongdoing and receiving what you deserve.

But, if you suffer for your faith in Christ, you should not be ashamed. (16) instead, you should glorify God in Christ. As God was glorified in the death of Christ, he will also be glorified in the suffering of his saints.

Peter said judgment begins with the church, the house of God. (17) What does that mean? The context is Peter exhorting the church—the house of God—which was facing persecution, to persevere in suffering. “Judgment” includes a judgment that is for the purpose of discipline, though not necessarily for any specific sin.

Sometimes God uses suffering to test our faith so that we may display our deep commitment to Jesus. Sometimes He uses it to strengthen our faith; it is far easier to trust God after being put “through the wringer” than it is before we faced any serious difficulties. Other times He might use it to bestow some kind of reward, if we have endured faithfully.

However, the word can also include judgment in the sense of bearing some kind of suffering because of repeated sin. Though we have seen that this suffering is not the kind that glorifies God and brings blessing to the believer, it can result in blessing if the believer turns from the sin in question as a result of God’s discipline.

This is part of the process of sanctification. God is making you more like Christ. He does this even when you have given up. He does this when you don’t care. In fact, God cares more about your sanctification than you do. He will discipline those he loves. (Hebrews 12:5) He will bring the work he started in you at salvation to completion. (Philippians 1:6)

Judgment will also come on those “who do not obey the gospel of God.” (17) Yet for them, it will not result in purification but eternal condemnation. Peter made a contrast here for emphasis, saying, if God will judge the church, or individual sinners, in a way that brings suffering, how much more will he do to those who reject him. Peter quoted Proverbs 11:31 (from the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament) as authority for his statement.

In verse 19, Peter concluded his teaching with a summary: those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust themselves to God, their faithful Creator, while continuing to do good. And that is the answer to it all. Look only to Christ, not to yourself, or others, to truly bear suffering.

Keep looking, looking continuously, knowing he loves you.

LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF THE END - 1 PETER 4:7-19

Living In the Light of The End
4:7-19

This is the third time Peter has told us the motivation to live the Christian life in holiness and in willingness to suffer. First, it was because of our eternal life, and imperishable inheritance. Second, it was because of the suffering\death of Christ. This time it is because of the return of Christ. The return of Christ is the beginning of the end.

Peter said the end of all things is at hand (7). Yes, we live in the last days. The “last days” began when Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection were concluded.  Now, we wait for his return. All of the events concerning salvation have occurred and the only event remaining is the return of Christ, which inaugurates the resurrection and judgment. His return could happen at any time, so we should live accordingly.

Notice that Peter does not say to speculate about the date of Jesus’ return or on what signs would accompany his return. Rather, living in the light of the end is to encourage us to live in a Godly way.

What behavior does Peter encourage? He said to be self-controlled and sober minded.These two words, and traits, are very similar. We exercise control over our passions and our temper. We are serious about the things of the Lord. We are to think seriously and clearly about our life in this world. If we do not, it will affect our prayers.

If we are thinking correctly, and believe the return of Christ could be soon, we are praying that God will save lost people, build up his church, and glorify his name. If we are preoccupied with worldly thoughts, we will not pray as we should. We pray that God will give us things, make us happier, and protect us from suffering.

We should also keep loving each other earnestly. (8) (The New International Version leaves out the Greek word translated “keep”.)  Peter wrote this in the way that makes it a command. He has already written this in 1:22, so he shows us he thinks this is very important.

We should not be surprised at this, for Jesus gave us the same command. Jesus said “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) Paul also wrote “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Paul also wrote : “the fruit of the Spirit is love…” (Galatians 5:22) The Holy Spirit fills us with love and gives us the ability to love.

Paul also described love for us in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a. It is a daunting list of things we do as a matter of love. For example, Paul wrote that love is patient and kind, does not insist on its own way, and is not irritable or resentful. He said love is the most excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:31b.)

A Christian loves because Jesus loves him, because he is a disciple, and because God’s love is in our hearts. How do we know you are a Christian? We can tell by the traits you exhibit. We know because you love other Christians. And when you earnestly love a fellow believer, you can look past his sins. That is what Peter meant by love covers a multitude of sins. (8) (There is probably a reference here to Proverbs 10:12.)

In contrast, when you do not love, you focus on the other persons sins as a way to run them down or to reject them. You do what Jesus said not to do in Luke 6:42. You concentrate on the speck in your brother’s eyes to avoid looking at the log in your own eye.

As part of this love, we show hospitality to each other without grumbling. (9) In New Testament times, those who traveled and preached had to rely on other Christians to take them in for the night. Christians were known for this hospitality. It was essential to the mission of the church. That is why Paul often ended his letters asking the church to take in someone he sent to them.

Hospitality was also to be offered graciously, without grumbling.  It is easy to get tired of having guests. We all like to retreat to the comfort of our own homes. But God wants us to share our homes with other believers. We do this when we let members of a traveling choir or youth group stay in our home. We also do this when we just invite another believer over for dinner and fellowship.

We also serve each other with the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit has bestowed on us. They are not for our personal self esteem or aggrandizement. Each one of us received at least one gift. (10) We are to use that gift to serve the church as a whole and each other. You can see lists of spiritual gifts in 12:1-8, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, and Ephesians 4:8-16.

Peter divided the gifts into two categories: speaking and serving. Speaking includes prophecy, teaching, tongues, and exhortation. (Romans 12:6-7, Ephesians 4:11) Serving includes giving, leading, mercy, helps, healing and miracles. (Romans 12:8, 1 Corinthians 12:9-10 and 28-30)

If your gift is speaking, you should speak the oracles, or words of God, not your own words or ideas.

If you gift is serving, you serve in the strength God provides. All gifts are used to serve each other, serve the church, to the glory of God. The thought of this brings Peter to doxology: to him (God) belong glory and dominion forever!

So live in a way that helps others see the glory of God.

ARM YOURSELVES - 1 PETER 4:1-6

Living the New Life\Arm Yourselves
1 Peter 4:1-6

Peter again uses Christ as our model. Here it is his suffering. Peter stated in 3:18-22 that Christ suffered for our sins. This suffering was his death on the cross. His death, including his resurrection and ascension, was a victory over sin. He defeated Satan and he defeated sin.

When Christ died to sin, he was done with it. He died once for sins. Not that he sinned and quit sinning, but that he was finished with his work in regard to sin. Since we are united with him (we are “in Christ”) in his death, we have died to sin. We are done with it and can have victory over it. We do not ever get completely sin free, but we have the ability in Christ to turn away from it as a life style and to pursue Christ instead.

Here Peter says, since Christ suffered, we should expect to suffer. We should arm ourselves with a willingness to suffer. To arm yourself is to pick up a weapon and prepare to fight. Here the weapon is an attitude: willingness to suffer for Christ and to turn away from sin. Those who have come to the point of being willing to suffer for Christ are focused on living a life that glorifies him rather than a life that satisfies and glorifies the flesh. They stopped letting sin have dominion over them. They live a life of seeking God’s will. Those who live according to God’s will glorify him, not the flesh.

In verse 3, Peter says you spent enough time living as an unsaved person lives. He uses the word “Gentile”,  as one who does not believe in and follow Jesus.

In Old Testament times, the Jews were the chosen people of God who lived according to his will and were blessed by him (at least when they were doing right). Everyone else was a Gentile, a person not a part of the chosen people.

Now the church is the chosen people of God who are to live according to his will. (2:9) Peter picked up the language of the Old Testament to refer to everyone else as Gentiles.

Peter listed some those things the Gentiles do. They live in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. All of the same things exist today. Paganism is certainly on the rise, as people seek a spiritual experience that has no moral requirements, or at least not the Christian ones. Worship of the creation is common. People put their requests out to the universe rather than pray, they treat the universe as a being rather than a thing.

The physical passions are the same, of course, because humans are the same. so the drunkenness and orgies continue. It has been interesting to see a celebrity “dust up” over this issue. A young model got drunk and intimate with the boyfriend of a celebrity. The celebrity family is angry and has cut the model off from their life until she humiliates herself to them. She was just doing what the “Gentiles” do.

Peter reminds us that these Gentiles will be amazed that we do not join them in their debauchery. (4) That amazement will turn to anger and they will malign us. “Malign” means to same harmful things about or to slander a person. Why does this happen?

This happens because the law of God is written on the heart of every person. They may not know God, but they know his standards. Paul wrote that “what can be known about God is plain to them, because god has shown it to them”.  (Romans 1:19) He said they suppress the truth by their unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18) Therefore, his wrath is upon them.

When you do not partake in ungodly behavior, it is a reminder to them of their violation of God’s standards and they feel God’s judgment, although they will interpret it as your judgment of them. When they feel this way they have two options. They can repent and seek God or they can reject him and you. If they do not repent, in order to feel good about what they do, they must malign you.

Here is an example. Remember the story above about the model who is criticized for getting intimate with a celebrity’s boyfriend. In contrast, Mike Pence, the American vice president, is being reviled because he will not meet alone with a woman who is not his wife. Here is a man working hard to be faithful to his wife and avoid even the appearance of unfaithfulness, and he is reviled for it.

Peter reminds us that they will give an account to God at the final judgment. (5) Hebrews 9:27 says it is appointed for men and women to die one and after that comes the judgment. The unbelievers might have social popularity and good reputation now, and believers suffering the opposite, but the day will come when that will change.

Verse 6 tells us this, the judgment, is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead. The NIV says “now dead”. This is an interpretation of the text, as the word “now” is not in the Greek text. But the interpretation is correct. It was preached to them so that although they would die (judged in the flesh the way people are), they would live in the Spirit. As 3:18 said Christ died in the flesh but was made alive in the Holy Spirit, so believers will die a physical death but also be raised.

This does not mean that Jesus goes, or went, to lost people in the afterlife and gives them a second chance to believe and be saved. The verse does not say Christ himself preached, but that people preached the gospel of Christ. It means that people who are now dead heard the gospel, believed, and will live through the resurrection.

Here are the take aways from this passage:
-we live this life armed with the willingness to suffer
-this willingness helps us conquer sin
-the world will oppose us
-the world will be judged
-we will be raised to live forever with the Lord

Love

Who will you tell that you love on Valentine’s Day? And how will you express that love?

Sadly, I’m convinced that there are too many loveless relationships in the world, and even in the church. For starters, there are many things we call love that just do not rise to the level of what love is. And then to complicate matters, we lack a clear definition of what love does.

So in the midst of all the love hype surrounding Valentine’s Day, I want to give you 24 concrete definitions of love.

These definitions don’t come from Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, or Shakespeare. We get our best standard of love from the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. His sacrifice of love is the ultimate example of what love is and what love does.

1. LOVE IS willing self-sacrifice for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the person being loved is deserving.

2. LOVE IS being willing to have your life complicated by the needs and struggles of others without impatience or anger.

3. LOVE IS actively fighting the temptation to be critical and judgmental toward another while looking for ways to encourage and praise.

4. LOVE IS making a daily commitment to resist the needless moments of conflict that come from pointing out and responding to minor offenses.

5. LOVE IS being lovingly honest and humbly approachable in times of misunderstanding.

6. LOVE IS being more committed to unity and understanding than you are to winning, accusing, or being right.

7. LOVE IS making a daily commitment to admit your sin, weakness, and failure and to resist the temptation to offer an excuse or shift the blame.

8. LOVE IS being willing, when confronted by another, to examine your heart rather than rising to your defense or shifting the focus.

9. LOVE IS making a daily commitment to grow in love so that the love you offer to another is increasingly selfless, mature, and patient.

10. LOVE IS being unwilling to do what is wrong when you have been wronged, but looking for concrete and specific ways to overcome evil with good.

11. LOVE IS being a good student of another, looking for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs so that in some way you can remove the burden, support them as they carry it, or encourage them along the way.

12. LOVE IS being willing to invest the time necessary to discuss, examine, and understand the relational problems you face, staying on task until the problem is removed or you have agreed upon a strategy of response.

13. LOVE IS being willing to always ask for forgiveness and always being committed to grant forgiveness when it is requested.

14. LOVE IS recognizing the high value of trust in a relationship and being faithful to your promises and true to your word.

15. LOVE IS speaking kindly and gently, even in moments of disagreement, refusing to attack the other person’s character or assault their intelligence.

16. LOVE IS being unwilling to flatter, lie, manipulate, or deceive in any way in order to co-opt the other person into giving you what you want or doing something your way.

17. LOVE IS being unwilling to ask another person to be the source of your identity, meaning, and purpose, or inner sense of well-being, while refusing to be the source of theirs.

18. LOVE IS the willingness to have less free time, less sleep, and a busier schedule in order to be faithful to what God has called you to be and to do as a spouse, parent, neighbor, etc.

19. LOVE IS a commitment to say no to selfish instincts and to do everything that is within your ability to promote real unity, functional understanding, and active love in your relationships.

20. LOVE IS staying faithful to your commitment to treat another with appreciation, respect, and grace, even in moments when the other person doesn’t seem deserving or is unwilling to reciprocate.

21. LOVE IS the willingness to make regular and costly sacrifices for the sake of a relationship without asking for anything in return or using your sacrifices to place the other person in your debt.

22. LOVE IS being unwilling to make any personal decision or choice that would harm a relationship, hurt the other person, or weaken the bond of trust between you.

23. LOVE IS refusing to be self-focused or demanding, but instead looking for specific ways to serve, support, and encourage, even when you are busy or tired.

24. LOVE IS daily admitting to yourself, the other person, and God that you are unable to be driven by a cruciform love without God’s protecting, providing, forgiving, rescuing, and delivering grace.

God Bless,
Paul Tripp

CHRIST OUR MODEL - 1 PETER 3:18-22

Christ Our Model
3:18-22

Peter again shows that Christ is our model. He also suffered. And he suffered for righteousness. He suffered for our sins even though he was righteous, that he could bring us to God. (18) This is substitutionary atonement. Jesus died for our sins.

Jesus’ death was not a defeat, because he was resurrected. We will follow him to the same destiny. Jesus was raised from the grave and ascended to heaven. Heaven is also our destiny after physical death, so we do not need to fear it. The troubles of this life are temporary because Christ has triumphed.

Now for the difficult part. Even Martin Luther said he could not be sure what Peter meant here.

Peter said Christ was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. (18) The ESV does not capitalize the word “spirit”, interpreting the verse as meaning Christ’s spirit lived although his body was killed.

The NIV, KJV and CSB say Jesus was made alive by the Spirit, capitalizing the word “Spirit”, meaning the Holy Spirit raised Christ from the dead.

I believe the NIV is correct here. The contrast is between Jesus’ death and his resurrection. It is not about some interim period between death and resurrection. The resurrection is where the victory is. And, Jesus was raised bodily, not just in the spirit. The Holy Spirit was the agent of the Christ’s resurrection.

Jesus’ spirit did not need to made alive. His spirit, like ours, would continue alive after death of the body regardless of the work of the Holy Spirit. It is that Christ’s body that must be “made alive”, just as ours will be made alive at the Resurrection.

This is why it is a hope for us to anticipate. Paul made this same statement in 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 when he contrasted our “natural” bodied with our “spiritual” bodies. Natural bodies are the bodies we live in now. Spiritual bodies are those we have after the Resurrection.

We may be persecuted, tortured, or even killed in the body. But we will be raised with a new, glorified body for eternity, as Jesus was.

There is a similar thought in 1 Timothy 3:16. It says Jesus was “manifested in the flesh”. He took on human flesh at his incarnation, his birth as a human being. And, he was vindicated by the Spirit (and the ESV capitalizes here). How was he vindicated? He was resurrected (“taken up to glory”).

Peter then says that Christ, in the Holy Spirit, went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison. (19) They were in prison because they did not obey in the days before the flood. So, the question is, who are these spirits in prison? There are several views.

Here is the one I think is best. The spirits in prison are fallen angels. The word “spirits” in the New Testament refers to angelic beings in almost all cases. (Matthew 8:16; Luke 10:20; Acts 19:12; Hebrews 1:14)

The “time of Noah” seems to refer another difficult passage, Genesis 6:1-4, which describes corrupt behavior of the sons of God with the daughters of men. The Hebrew word translated “Nephilim” literally means “fallen ones”. This interpretation of Genesis 6 was the standard interpretation in Peter’s day.

We see a similar thought in Jude 6, which refers to angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling. These angels God kept in eternal chains (bound) in gloomy darkness (prison) until the the day of judgment. Jude also compared them to the residents of Sodom who “likewise” indulged in sexual immorality. And, finally, Revelation 20:7 speaks of Satan being released from his prison after the thousand years are ended. The word “prison” is never used as a place where human beings reside after death.

Peter himself used this terminology in 2 Peter 2:4 when he wrote “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment…”

So, the resurrected Christ proclaimed his victory over Satan and his fallen angels. We see this proclamation of victory in verse 22, which says Jesus Christ is the one who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Knowing Christ’s victory over persecution and death gives us the strength and hope to face persecution. 

My Prayer For You

I pray that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Colossians 1:9-12

RIGHTEOUS SUFFERING - 1 PETER 3:13-20

Righteous Suffering
3:13-17

Peter now turns to the subject of suffering. Generally speaking, the government, or other people, do not seek to harm you for doing what is good. It does happen, however, when people or governments are opposed to Christ and Christians. Still, although persecution may cause you physical or emotional pain, the persecutors cannot take away your salvation or your relationship to God. As verse 12 said, quoting a Psalm, the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers. He sees us and hears us and is with us.

If we do suffer for the sake of righteousness, we will be blessed. We will have the favor of the Lord and reward in heaven. We must remember that suffering is not the opposite of blessing, as the prosperity gospel would have us believe. Jesus said “blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)

Paul and Silas demonstrated this rejoicing when, being attacked and beaten and thrown in the Phillipian jail, they stayed up until midnight praying and singing hymns to God while their feet were bound in stocks. (Acts 16:16-25)

Suffering has generally been the lot of Christianity. Indeed, Jesus told his disciples to expect it. He said “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) And the disciples did suffer persecution. In Acts, we saw Peter and John brought before the Sanhedrin and jailed. We know that Peter was eventually martyred and John exiled.

Again we see Peter taking the long view, looking at what we are able to do on earth because of who we are in Christ and what we have in eternity. Therefore, we should not fear the persecutors or be troubled by them. (13)

Instead of fearing the persecutors, we are to honor Christ as holy. (15) We exchange fear of men for fear of the Lord. And who knew that exchange better than Peter? Peter, in the courtyard outside the house of the high priest, denied Christ to a lowly servant girl. But, after Pentecost, he refused to back down to the Sanhedrin, the very same group that put Jesus to trial in the house of the high priest, and proclaimed he must obey God and not men. (Acts 5:29) Peter had exchanged his fear of men with the fear of the Lord, honoring Christ as Lord in his heart.

In giving this instruction, Peter was reflecting the word of the Lord in Isaiah 8:12. The Lord spoke to Isaiah and told him “do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.”

As a side note, Peter made a statement of the divinity of Jesus here, equating him with the Lord of hosts in the Old Testament.)

Jesus had also instructed Peter and the other disciples not be afraid of those who can destroy the body, but to fear the one who could destroy both the soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)

As believers, we are not afraid God will destroy us, for he will keep his promise of eternal life to us. But we know we are exempt from judgment because of his mercy and grace, and we honor him for that. We would not dishonor him in fear of men.

Additionally, we are to see persecution as an opportunity to witness. We are always ready to explain our hope of eternity because Jesus saved us. (15) This is a part of honoring him. Paul’s proclamation of the gospel to the governors and kings who put him on trial are an example of this.

We also honor him in the way we do it, in gentleness and respect. And, if we keep a good conscience, those who revile our good behavior are put to shame. They may disagree with our theology, but they should have to admit that we are good people who do good deeds.

Although most of our institutions in America have lost their original identities, they were once testimonies to the culture of the good deeds of Christians. Christians founded colleges, built hospitals, and funded orphanages. Even non-believers had to acknowledge these good works.

Peter makes it clear that all suffering is not equal. Suffering for righteousness sake brings blessing. Suffering for doing evil is justice.


Christ Our Model
3:18-22

Peter again shows that Christ is our model. He also suffered. And he suffered for righteousness. He suffered for our sins even though he was righteous, that he could bring us to God. (18) This is substitutionary atonement. Jesus died for our sins.

Jesus’ death was not a defeat, because he was resurrected. We will follow him to the same destiny. Jesus was raised from the grave and ascended to heaven. Heaven is also our destiny after physical death, so we do not need to fear it. The troubles of this life are temporary because Christ has triumphed.

Now for the difficult part. Even Martin Luther said he could not be sure what Peter meant here.

Peter said Christ was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. (18) The ESV does not capitalize the word “spirit”, interpreting the verse as meaning Christ’s spirit lived although his body was killed.

The NIV, KJV and CSB say Jesus was made alive by the Spirit, capitalizing the word “Spirit”, meaning the Holy Spirit raised Christ from the dead.

I believe the NIV is correct here. The contrast is between Jesus’ death and his resurrection. It is not about some interim period between death and resurrection. The resurrection is where the victory is. And, Jesus was raised bodily, not just in the spirit. The Holy Spirit was the agent of the Christ’s resurrection. His spirit, like ours, would continue alive after death of the body regardless of the work of the Holy Spirit. It is that Christ’s body that must be “made alive”, just as ours will be made alive at the Resurrection.

This is why it is a path for us to look to. Paul made this same statement in 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 when he contrasted our “natural” bodied with our “spiritual” bodies. Natural bodies are the bodies we live in now. Spiritual bodies are those we have after the Resurrection.

We may be persecuted, tortured, or even killed in the body. But we will be raised with a new, glorified body for eternity, as Jesus was.

There is a similar thought in 1 Timothy 3:16. It says Jesus was “manifested in the flesh”. He took on human flesh at his incarnation, his birth as a human being. And, he was vindicated by the Spirit (and the ESV capitalizes here). How was he vindicated? He was resurrected (“taken up to glory”).

Peter then says that Christ, in the Holy Spirit, went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison. (19) They were in prison because they did not obey in the days before the flood. So, the question is, who are these spirits in prison? There are several views.

Here is the one I think is best. The spirits in prison are fallen angels. The word “spirits” in the New Testament refers to angelic beings in almost all cases. (Matthew 8:16; Luke 10:20; Acts 19:12; Hebrews 1:14)

The “time of Noah” seems to refer another difficult passage, Genesis 6:1-4, which describes corrupt behavior of the sons of God with the daughters of men. The Hebrew word translated “Nephilim” literally means “fallen ones”. This interpretation of Genesis 6 was the standard interpretation in Peter’s day.

We see a similar thought in Jude 6, which refers to angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling. These angels God kept in eternal chains (bound) in gloomy darkness (prison) until the the day of judgment. Jude also compared them to the residents of Sodom who “likewise” indulged in sexual immorality. And, finally, Revelation 20:7 speaks of Satan being released from his prison after the thousand years are ended. The word “prison” is never used as a place where human beings reside after death.

Peter himself used this terminology in 2 Peter 2:4 when he wrote “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment…”

So, the resurrected Christ proclaimed his victory over Satan and his fallen angels. We see this proclamation of victory in verse 22, which says Jesus Christ is the one who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Knowing Christ’s victory over persecution and death gives us the strength and hope to face persecution.