Scripture: 1 Peter 4:1-2
Peter is writing to Jewish believers who were suffering for their faith. Theirs was a hard lot indeed. They faced hardships because they were Jews and faced added difficulties because they were Christians.
In all of this physical hardship they could rejoice in the fact that they were following in the footsteps of Christ, 3:21. They were suffering as a Christian, 4:16—for His sake and because they were His followers. They could learn from His example to anticipate glory, v12-13. The footsteps of Christ through suffering lead to heavenly and eternal glory!
However, there is another level of instruction from Christ’s sufferings that they were to recognize and embrace. Christ’s sufferings were not merely the pattern of how to deal with the persecution they faced daily; but, they set the standard for how to deal with sin in their own life day by day.
These words, v1, are an appeal to the Christian—those who have been justified through the death of Christ. They are to share His mind with regard to sin at work within us. It is easy in such dire circumstances to focus only on the wickedness that drives opposition/persecution and so to have a limited view of the relevance of Christ’s sufferings. Peter is teaching them here to see the sin inside and act in the light of what Calvary reveals on that score.
I THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST—A VITAL BASIS
As a motivation and a pattern, the Apostle Peter directs our attention to the sufferings of Christ. And yet he means more than this! The sufferings of Christ are the very basis of our experience of Christian warfare. They outline the strategy, like a map of a battlefield, the Christian soldier must constantly live by. Peter directs us to the very heart of the doctrine of justification in these words. This is the essence of what it means to be a Christian. There can be no Christian warfare apart from the experience of justifying union with Christ by faith as implied here.
1. Christ has suffered in the flesh on behalf of His people. There are two issues Peter is highlighting here:
a. The substitutionary sufferings of Christ at Calvary. For us… The context is clear that these were sufferings for sin in our place. Cp 2:24.
b. These sufferings were in the flesh. Christ suffered as a perfect man for fallen men. He paid the penalty of sin in the nature that had sinned and so satisfied Divine justice. Romans 8:3. He intends for us to make the connection to real life, personal human issues. There is a strong parallel to be observed between in the flesh v1a (Christ) and in the flesh, v1b , 2 (believers). Calvary was at one level a profoundly human experience. The doctrines of Christ’s sufferings relate to real human trials and issues.
2. Our real union with Him in those sufferings, v1. Very deliberately Peter uses the same expression (suffered in the flesh) a second time in the text but the he in the second instance is referring to the justified sinner as the rest of the sentence makes clear. When Christ suffered and died, I suffered and died in Him. Cp 2 Cor 5:14-15, Rom 6:1-13. This is the basis of pardon in justification.
3. The effect of this justifying union with Christ. There is a ceasing from sin. Legally, it is the cessation of activity that occurs at death! The application of that death in our sanctification is a process that involves an ever-increasing ceasing from sin. Cp Rom 6:6.
II THE PURPOSE OF GOD FOR THE JUSTIFIED.
1. There is a strong statement of purpose here, v2. that… Christ died to accomplish something in His people beyond their pardon and acceptance with God. He died to change the sinner into a new creature who would live the rest of his days for God’s glory.
2. Two opposing influences:
a. The will of God, v2. The will of God is revealed in His word; it is communicated to, and impressed upon, us by His Spirit. Cp 1 Thess 4:4, Rom 12:2.
b. The lusts of men, v2. Lusts are simply ‘desires’ and often implicitly sinful desires. Cp v3-4, Matt 15:19, Eph 2:3. Certainly the context here sets up a conflict between the desires of men and the will of God. They are mutually exclusive in this instance. Cp Gal 5:17
3. It governs the rest of the believer’s life. The application of this statement of purpose is for the rest of time in the flesh! From the point of justification this purpose applies. It is our physical life on this earth that is obviously in view. The remainder of it belongs to the Lord. We are no longer to live in any other way. Cp 1Cor 6:18-19.
III A BATTLE WHICH CAN ONLY BE FOUGHT WITH A CALVARY MINDSET.
1. A battle to fight. The conflict between the will of God and the lusts of men involves spiritual warfare. Peter’s words are a call to arms! Arm yourselves…take up weapons. This is the inevitable outcome of a saving identification with Christ’s sufferings. Cp Rom 13:12-14
2. The same mind, v1. The mindset of Christ in His sufferings is the single weapon that the Christian has in this spiritual battle. There are two aspects to Christ’s sufferings which Peter is emphasizing:
a. Self-sacrifice. The Saviour displays this and the degree to which it is implemented. He suffered and died. There is a crucifixion that was submitted to. Cp Phil 2:5, Luke 9:23.
b. Warfare. It is sometimes overlooked that the Saviour at Calvary was actively engaging Satan/sin to defeat it comprehensively. His self-sacrifice was the means to complete triumph and victory. Cp Heb 12:3
3. The seat of this warfare is in the Christian’s mind. The Apostle traces the Christian’s warfare to its source—the mind of the believer. It is not just a question of a checklist of external actions; but actions that are governed by a mind that is engaged in a self-sacrificing war with sin. The Apostle is referencing the inward principle of war, the inclination of the Christian’s mind, that is the evidence of justification. To have the mind of Christ is to be organically/systemically opposed to sin. Cp Rom 7:25.