OCTOBER 28, 2012
1. WE HAVE THE SPIRIT (1 PETER 4:12-14)
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
· "fiery ordeal" is literally "smelted in a furnace."
Isaiah 48:10-11
10 "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 "For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act;
For how can My name be profaned?
And My glory I will not give to another.
NASB
· Christians must understand that God wants to separate true faith from mere pretense and uses the instrument of suffering to accomplish His purpose.
Though they be sharp and fiery, yet they are designed only to try, not to ruin them, to try their sincerity, strength, patience, and trust in God.
(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)
13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.
That is, sufferings of the same kind that he endured, and inflicted for the same reasons.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
· Because suffering prepares us for the coming of Christ we are to rejoice in trials.
J Vernon
· Suffering is what develops you.
14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
NASB
· Christians have to submit to insults - some subtle, some not subtle.
· It is all part of the verbal abuse that unbelievers will heap on believers.
Matthew 5:10-12
10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. 12 "Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
NASB
2. GOD CAN BE GLORIFIED (1 PETET 4:15-16)
15 By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler;
· Peter warns the Christian to lead such an exemplary life that can never be classified as a criminal who is guilty before a court of law.
· By interfering in the lives of others, a meddler disrupts the peace and harmony in the local church and community.
16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God.
NASB
· In the early church, the bold confession I am a Christian was often heard on the lips of martyrs.
· In their suffering they praised God.
3. OUR SALVATION IS SECURE (1 PETER 4:17-18)
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
The word "judgment" here krima (NT:2917) seems to mean "the severe trial which would determine character." It refers to such calamities as would settle the question whether there was any religion, or would test the value of that which was professed. It was to "begin" at the house of God, or be applied to the church first, in order that the nature and worth of religion might be seen. The reference is, doubtless, to some fearful calamity which would primarily fall on the "house of God;" that is, to some form of persecution which was to be let loose upon the church.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
· Notice that the word judgment, not punishment, is used.
· Christ Jesus endured Gods' wrath, suffered punishment in behalf of God's people.
· God will never punish His elect people, because Christ suffered in their place.
· If God is going to judge His own, what about the lost world which would not hear or obey the gospel of God!
· How terrible their judgment will be!
B H Carroll: “Peter's thought here is that Christians are judged in this world and sinners in the world to come,…. The thing is this, that our salvation comes through our Lord, so that we ourselves are full of faults, infirmities; we commit sin, we have to be chastised for it, and this judgment comes on us in this world. This is precisely Peter's thought.”
B H Carroll: “I will give an incident originally quoted by a great author in his book on infidelity. An old man, a very pious, true Christian, was deeply concerned because his two boys were infidels, and all through his life he had tried to illustrate the truth and power of the Christian religion before those boys, and it seemed to have no effect on them. They would not heed his precepts, nor follow his example. Finally, he got the idea in his head that he ought to pray God to make his death powerful in leading these boys to Christ, so when the time came for him to die, to his surprise, instead of everything being bright and he as happy as an angel and singing like a lark, he was in the most awful distress of mind. It was all dark to him. Promises, which, when he was well, seemed as bright as stars, were now darkness, and instead of being able to show his children the triumphant glory of a dying saint, he was showing his children that he was groping as he came to pass away, and so he died. The boys observed it very carefully. They had expected the old man to die a very happy death. They thought he was entitled to it. But when they saw a man that lived as righteously as he had, who when he came to pass away, had to go through deep water, one said to the other, "Tom, if our father had such a time as that, what kind of a time do you reckon we are going to have?" And it influenced their conversion. They had the thought of Peter: "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and the ungodly appear?" If he had died very happy, they would have taken it as a matter of course, and would not have been disturbed in mind at all, but when they saw him go through such an ordeal as that, it began to shake them as to what would become of them.”
18 And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?
NASB
· From the human side, salvation is a process: we have been saved from the guilt of sin (justification), we are being saved from the power of sin (sanctification), and we will be saved from the presence of sin (glorification).
4. GOD IS FAITHFUL AND POWERFUL (1 PETER 4:19)
19 Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
NASB
· Peter asks Christians to remember that nothing happens outside of God's will, for God is in control of every situation.
· If we are to follow our Lord's example and commit our very souls to God, what would we even think of holding back from Him?
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