One House : 1 Peterਨਮੂਨਾ

Living for the Will of God

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

1 Peter 4:1–6 ESV

In this text, Peter shows the Christian’s response to the work of Christ that he has just presented. In yesterday’s reading, we saw how Christ suffered in death and was raised in glory so that all of the authorities and powers of darkness would be “subjected to him” (1 Peter 3:22). In “the same way of thinking,” Peter says, the Christians in his audience ought to live in such a way that the forces of darkness that live among the Gentiles around them would see how Christ has conquered them. Any Christian who suffers judgment from the world joins with Jesus in the judgment he received and will be joined with Jesus in his resurrection.

Christians do not need to live in the same way that the Gentiles around them do, practicing sin in the various ways that Peter lists, out of a sense of “peer pressure” (1 Peter 4:3). Peter acknowledges that people will always judge those who leave behind their old way of life, but declares that those who judge the Christian will be judged by Christ (1 Peter 4:4-5).

Interestingly, Peter is not telling his audience to separate themselves from the world. We must not get the impression that Christianity is a shut-in religion. Instead, Peter’s encouragement to his audience should encourage us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1 ESV). As Christians, we have a responsibility to stand firm in our faith in the midst of a broken world that has hated Jesus. Peter says that we must allow it to hate us in the same way, though we should be encouraged that God will judge both the living and the dead.