By Roy E. Ciampa, Ph.D., S. Louis and Ann W. Armstrong
Professor of Religion, Samford University
The Joy Arising from Our Hope
1 Peter 4:1–2,12–19
In the face of suffering, think like Christ. (1–2)
As the passion narratives of the gospels remind us, our Lord suffered terribly on the cross and on His way to the cross, both in terms of physical pain and in terms of exposure to shame and public humiliation (see Luke 18:32; Heb. 6:6; 12:2).
Despite knowing what awaited Him, He committed Himself in radical obedience to God and rejection of sin. His willingness to suffer for the sake of obedience reflects a refusal to prioritize comfort over conviction.
Jesus could have avoided His suffering if He had been willing to walk away from what the Father had called Him to do. His suffering reflected a commitment to obedience and a rejection of the way of sin.
We are similarly called to embrace obedience even when it leads to suffering. Such an obedience also leads to refraining from acting on our sinful passions and desires for the sake of the will of God. The “will of God” to which Peter refers in verse 2 is not some mysterious set of things someone is supposed to do (buy that house or marry this person), but God’s moral and missional will: those things God has spelled out as the guiding values, commitments and priorities of those who follow Christ.
In the face of suffering, rejoice in Christ. (12–14)
As Christians in America, we sometimes take our religious freedoms for granted. In other parts of the world Christians know that they or their pastors might be arrested, and their church building might be razed to the ground at the whim of government authorities. Christians who speak out boldly might just disappear.
The fact that our sinless Lord was treated in the most unjust manner imaginable reminds us that the anomaly is not for Christians to suffer unjustly but for us to be allowed to thrive despite being vocal and public about our commitment to Christ.
As believers it can be our calling to “share in Christ’s sufferings” when, like Christ, we choose to obey God and accept the consequences, rather than compromise in order to avoid opposition by sacrificing our integrity.
As Christ’s path to glory was by way of the cross, if we follow Him even through a path of suffering, we can look forward, as Peter says, to rejoicing and being glad “when His glory is revealed.” It is only by the power of “the Spirit of glory and of God” resting on us that we can be assured of God’s blessing even as we suffer human opposition and insults.
In the face of suffering, give glory to God. (15–19)
Peter refers to various causes for suffering. We expect and approve when people suffer for doing evil. Unfortunately, one also can suffer simply because one is a Christian. How many Christians seek to blend in with their surrounding culture in order to avoid embarrassment or public shame? And so, Peter says if we must suffer as Christians (that is, as a consequence of obedience to Christ), we should “not be ashamed” but rather “glorify God in that name.”
God will glorify those who are not ashamed of Him but who glorify Him even when that is costly. To do so “in that name” is to do so as a “Christian,” as one who shamelessly identifies him or herself in terms of his or her allegiance to Jesus Christ.
In verses 17–18 (quoting from Prov. 11:31 in v. 18), Peter makes the point that while God’s people suffer in this world, the judgment that ungodly people will experience will be infinitely greater.
When we suffer unjustly, we do well to remind ourselves of God’s assurance that His faithfulness and justice will be vindicated in the end.
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