1 Peter 4 calls believers to arm themselves with the mind of Christ, who suffered in the flesh, and to spend the rest of their lives on the will of God rather than the lusts of men. “The end of all things is at hand,” so they are to pray, love fervently, open their homes, and use every gift as stewards of God’s grace. Then Peter faces the persecution ahead: “think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you.” To suffer as a Christian is no shame, judgment begins at the house of God, and the sufferer can commit his soul to a faithful Creator.
A study in 1 Peter 4 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 16 min read
Arm Yourselves Likewise With The Same Mind
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”
1 Peter 4:1-6
Chapter 3 ended with Christ, who “suffered for sins, the just for the unjust.” Chapter 4 picks up the thought: “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind.” The mind of Christ is a weapon. It is the settled decision to do the Father’s will whatever it costs, the decision Jesus made in Gethsemane when He prayed, “not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).
“He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin” does not mean that suffering itself makes anyone sinless. It describes a person who has made that decision. When someone has chosen to suffer rather than sin, sin has lost its hold on him. He has settled the question, and he lives “the rest of his time” for “the will of God,” not for “the lusts of men.”
“Christ’s self-sacrificing love is revealed upon the cross. He gave all He had, and then gave Himself, that man might be saved.”
Ellen G. White · Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 79
Many of Peter’s readers had come out of paganism, with its drunken festivals and “abominable idolatries.” Their old friends could not understand why they no longer joined in. “They think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.” A changed life always puzzles the world, and sometimes it offends. But those who mock will “give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.”
Verse 6, like 3:19, is sometimes read as preaching to the dead in the grave. But Peter is not teaching a second chance after death. The gospel “was preached” (past tense) to people who are now dead, while they were still alive. Some of them had been “judged according to men in the flesh”: the world condemned them, slandered them, perhaps even put them to death. But because they received the gospel they will “live according to God in the spirit.” Man’s verdict is not the last word. God’s is, and He will raise His faithful dead to life at the resurrection.
The End Of All Things Is At Hand
“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 4:7-11
“The end of all things is at hand.” Every generation of believers has been called to live as if Christ might come in its lifetime. That expectation does not make Christians anxious or idle. Peter draws practical conclusions from it: “be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” A clear mind, and a life of prayer.
“Every action, every word, and every moment of our lives should bear the impress of our holy faith. The end of all things is at hand, and we have no time to be idle or to live in pleasure, at cross-purposes with God.”
Ellen G. White · Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 191
“Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” Love does not pretend that sin is harmless, and it does not cover sin from God; only the blood of Christ does that. But love refuses to broadcast a brother’s faults, forgives readily, and seeks to restore rather than expose (Proverbs 10:12; James 5:20).
That love shows itself in open homes. “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” In the first century, travelling Christians depended on the homes of other believers, and churches met in houses. Hospitality given grudgingly is not really hospitality at all.
“The privilege granted Abraham and Lot is not denied to us. By showing hospitality to God’s children we, too, may receive His angels into our dwellings. Even in our day, angels in human form enter the homes of men and are entertained by them.”
Ellen G. White · Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 342
And every believer has a gift. “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” A steward manages what belongs to someone else. Our gifts are not ours to show off; they are God’s grace, placed in our hands to serve others. Peter names two broad kinds. Those who speak should speak “as the oracles of God,” faithful to His word and not their own opinions. Those who serve should serve “as of the ability which God giveth,” in His strength rather than their own. The purpose of it all: “that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”
Think It Not Strange
“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.”
1 Peter 4:12-16
The pagan world thought it “strange” that Christians would not join in its excesses (verse 4). Now Peter tells the Christians not to think it “strange” when the world turns on them. Persecution is not a sign that God has abandoned His people. It is what the world did to their Master.
“The fiery trial which is to try you” recalls 1:7, where faith is “tried with fire” like gold. A refiner’s fire does not destroy the gold. It burns away the dross. The three Hebrews in Babylon’s furnace lost nothing but their bonds, and One “like the Son of God” walked with them in the flames (Daniel 3:25).
“Trial is part of the education given in the school of Christ, to purify God’s children from the dross of earthliness. It is because God is leading His children that trying experiences come to them. Trials and obstacles are His chosen methods of discipline, and His appointed conditions of success.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 524
“Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings.” Peter had once rebuked Jesus for speaking of the cross (Matthew 16:22). Now he tells the church that sharing Christ’s sufferings is a reason for joy, because those who share His sufferings will share His glory “when his glory shall be revealed.”
But there is an important qualification. Suffering is only a blessing when it is suffering for Christ. A murderer, a thief, an evildoer or “a busybody in other men’s matters” who suffers the consequences has no claim to be a martyr. Notice that Peter lists meddling in the same breath as theft. A Christian who suffers because he is quarrelsome or interfering should not call it persecution.
“Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed.” The name “Christian” was first given at Antioch (Acts 11:26), and it was probably meant as an insult. Peter tells believers to wear it with honour.
“It was God who gave to them the name of Christian. This is a royal name, given to all who join themselves to Christ.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 157
Judgment Must Begin At The House Of God
“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”
1 Peter 4:17-19
“Judgment must begin at the house of God.” Peter is echoing Ezekiel 9:6, where the judgment on Jerusalem was to “begin at my sanctuary.” The trials of the church in Peter’s day were a refining judgment on God’s own household. But the verse also states a principle that runs through all of Scripture: God judges His professed people first.
The same order appears in the final judgment. Before Christ returns, the cases of those who have professed His name are reviewed in the heavenly sanctuary (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14). That is why Adventists call it the investigative judgment. The judgment of the wicked comes later.
“So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment the only cases considered are those of the professed people of God. The judgment of the wicked is a distinct and separate work, and takes place at a later period.”
Ellen G. White · The Great Controversy, p. 480
“If the righteous scarcely be saved” (quoting Proverbs 11:31 in the Greek Old Testament) does not mean that God saves His people reluctantly. It means that salvation cost Heaven everything, and that the path passes through real trial. If that is true for those who trust Christ, what hope is there for “them that obey not the gospel of God”?
So Peter closes the chapter with rest, not fear. “Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” The One who made us knows how to keep us. We keep on doing good, and we leave our safety in His hands.
“Look away from yourselves to Jesus. He is all and in all. The merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour will avail to cleanse from the least and greatest sin. In trusting faith commit the keeping of your souls to God as unto a faithful Creator. Be not continually in fear and apprehension that God will leave you. He never will unless you depart from Him.”
Ellen G. White · Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 542
