OCTOBER 21, 2012
1. SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER (1 PETER 4:1-6)
4:1 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
· This verse is seen as the great and grand reason that Christians should willingly submit to such sufferings that God is pleased to send our way!
· To be of the same mind of Christ is to be willing to do what ever it takes to please god and to conform to His revealed will for us and we know that his will for is different for everyone.
· This means that when we sanctify the lord in our hearts, and do all that we can to do His in every way that we can, without exception, then we have ceased from the practice of sin!
· And that is what practical Christianity is all about.
2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
· The follower of Christ has abandoned a life of sin, because the ruling power of sin has been broken.
· Granted that he is unable to live a perfect life, the believer is free from the dominance of sin.
· The act of breaking with sin is spoken of as a past event.
· The Greek text indicates, literally, "he has been released" from sin."
· The liberating act, then, is a work of God and not of man.
· We who have come to Christ have set our direction toward God and away from sin.
· Our very nature is changed.
3 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.
· Giving in to peer pressure forces us to be what others want us to be; but as Christians we are to yield to the will of God.
· We are no longer to go along with our unregenerated neighbors and former friends who choose to live a life that is contrary to God's will.
4 And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you;
· Christians are strangers in a world of sin; especially if they were formerly part of that world.
· They do not feel at home anymore in an environment that is alien to them.
· Their unsaved former friends see this change in their lives and they think it strange for they do not understand what has happen to their former friends.
· Instead of being held up as an example of what a person should be or do, those who are trying to carry out the will of the Lord in their lives will have evil spoken of them!
5 but they shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
· This is a reason why we should not invest our life in the things that are fleeting and transitory.
John 5:22-29
22 "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, 23 in order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. 25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live. 26 "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, 29 and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
NASB
Acts 17:30-31
30 "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. "
NASB
· No one, whether he is living or has died, will be able to escape the Judge.
6 For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.
NASB
John 5:25
25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live.
NASB
It seems to me that the most natural and obvious interpretation is to refer it to those who were then dead, to whom the gospel had been preached when living, and who had become true Christians.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
To us there seems to be solid merit in the suggestion of Scott, as modified by John Owen (op. cit., p. 127), whose sense is: "With this end in view (i.e., the final judgment just mentioned) was the gospel preached also to those (martyrs) now dead, that they might be (as they were) judged in the flesh (and condemned to martyrdom) after the fashion of men, but might live in the Spirit according to God."
(from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)
This is a most difficult verse; the best translations I have seen of it are the following:
"For this indeed was the effect of the preaching of the Gospel to the dead (the unconverted Gentiles), that some will be punished as carnal men; but others (those converted to Christianity), lead a spiritual life unto God."-WAKEFIELD
"For this purpose hath the Gospel been preached even to the dead (i.e. the Gentiles), that although they might be condemned, indeed, by men in the flesh (their persecutors), yet they might live eternally by God in the Spirit."-MACKNIGHT.
"For this cause was the Gospel preached to them that were dead; that they who live according to men in the flesh, may be condemned; but that they who live according to God in the Spirit, may live."-KNATCHBULL.
(from Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft)
2. LOVE ONE ANOTHER (1 PETER 4:7-9)
7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
· Here Peter encourages us to view life in the light of the approaching end.
· We should wait patiently and fervently for Christ's return.
· We must always show temperance in the principles of godly, moral conduct.
8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
NASB
· The idea of hospitality finds it source in the heart of God.
· It is not a matter of home or circumstances, but it is an attitude.
· In the Bible God speaks of hospitality.
· In the very beginning, God told them how to treat a stranger in the land.
· Hospitality is an important ministry.
· It should be a habitual thing in every Christian's life.
3. SERVE ONE ANOTHER (1 PETER 4:10-11)
10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
· The primary gift given is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for that is given to all .
· But beyond the Gospel, each believer has received one or more gifts which equips them to be a fruitful part of the Church.
· Each one of us has received a gift from God.
· Not all people have the same gift, but each has "a" gift.
· Each one of us can do something that no one else can.
· We each have a responsibility and we need to fulfill it.
11 Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
NASB
· If God isn't being glorified, then we are not doing a good work.
· If we are magnifying ourselves, then it is not a good work.
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