"1Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit." (1 Peter 4.1-6)
To my mind, we need to bring an important question to our text: like Mr T, is Peter simply telling us to get some nuts? Is he simply telling us to get it together, to quit our jibber-jabber and get on with the hard graft of Christian living?
He tells us in verse 1: “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.” Peter’s command has an almost military-like quality. He uses Mr. T language: arm yourself with the attitude of Christ. He who has suffered in his body is done with sin. In other words, is Peter simply telling us to man up and follow Jesus? Is Peter trying to beat us into submission with his words? Is he coming to us like Mr T and telling us to toughen up?
Peter continues in verse 2. As a result of what Christ has done, we are not to live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. He goes on (verse 3): “You have spent enough time in the past doing what the pagans choose to do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatory.”
Fool, you’ve spent enough time doing foolish things. You’ve had you’re fill of pleasure. Now flex your moral muscle sukka. Turn from that old way of life and suffer for the sake of what you profess. Get some nuts. It’s time to meet your friend Pain. Do it fool or there’ll be trouble with a capital Mr. T.
Is that what Peter is saying? I think that’s very important question to ask of our passage. I think in one sense it is close to what Peter is saying. I think that Peter is calling Christians to suffer for the sake of deep moral commitment to God – without a doubt. But this deep moral commitment has been brought about in us through the regenerating (life-giving, life-transforming, heart-changing) power of the gospel.
This is the very important thing to take note of; this is what makes Peter’s commands so different to Mr T’s aggressive and completely arbitrary commands. We are called to suffer for the sake of a deep moral commitment. But we are only called to such a life and we can only choose to live such a life because of the gospel. What God has done through Christ precedes Peter’s command that we live and suffer for Christ. What God has done through Christ – the gospel – precedes and enables us to respond to Peter’s commands (in verses 1 and 2) with a “Yes” and an “Amen”.
In fact, verse 1 of chapter 4 has a double meaning. The verse also applies to us; those who suffer for the sake of their faith in God, refusing to sin, do suffer in some sense. Those who choose to suffer only suffer because they are done with sin. As soon as any Christian begins to fight sin, suffering of one kind or another will ensue.
We’re going to flesh out the meaning of this verse as it applies to us in a moment. But first let’s zone in on what it says about the Person of Jesus. He is the one who has suffered and dealt with sin. The therefore of verse 1 sends us back into the packed verses of the chapter 3. There, in verse 18 and onwards Peter writes: “For Christ died once for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring to God.” This really is the heart of the gospel: Jesus the Righteous One died for you and I – undeserving, amoral wretches – so that we might live to God. By dying our death on the tree, Jesus dealt with the sin-issue at the heart of our being that separates us from the Holy, Creator God we were made to serve.
But Peter doesn’t stop there. Jesus is Saviour; yes. But, says Peter, Jesus Christ is also the Lord. Peter continues in chapter 3 verse 19 and following: Jesus was put to death in the body he but he was raised to life again. Essentially, chapter 3 verses 19 to 22 are like a victory parade: Jesus Christ the Son of God – the one who was put to death to rescue sinners – has been raised from death. He has ascended to the Father’s side and in so doing he has made a mockery of death; he has made a mockery of Satan; he has made a mockery of evil.
Peter says that (verse 21 and 22) Jesus “has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand – with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” There is no square inch of the cosmos that has not been submitted to Christ’s all-consuming, total rule. There is no unseen, spiritual power that has not been submitted to him. He is over all things; he is above all things. He is the Lord.
"Therefore" says Peter in chapter 4 verse 1: Therefore because Christ is the one who has died for you; because he is the one who bore your sins in his body on the tree – because he has rescued you from futility, from meaninglessness and death, from sin and hell; because he has saved you, live for him. Now give him your life.
But that’s not all. Therefore, says Peter (chapter 4 verse 1), because Jesus Christ is the LORD – because there is no square inch of reality not presently under his reign and lordship – because angels and demons and powers and authorities and principalities and nations and worlds are subject to him – bow down before him and serve him with your life.
Jesus is at God’s right-hand. He is the Lord of life. He orchestrates your day-by-day living. He sustains your very being moment by moment. Therefore: live for him. Obey him and serve him. He is the LORD. He is the Supreme Lord; there is no authority higher than Jesus Christ. There is no other god that can contest his supreme and total authority. He is Lord and King. He is Lord and King and therefore (as we’ll see in a moment) it is utterly fruitless to ignore him and disobey him.
“Since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in is body is done with sin” (chapter 4 verse 1). Arm yourselves with the same attitude as Christ who suffered for you: you have been saved by him that you may now live for him.
Unless we place Peter’s commands in the context of the gospel truth he unfolds in chapter 3 verses 18 to 22 we will only meet a Mr.T lookalike: a cranky moralising bully telling us to restrain ourselves and live better lives. We must see that Peter’s commands are rooted in the only thing that can and will enable us to follow through with what he asks of us.
The gospel is a rescue mission from beginning to end; a gratuitous, unexpected act of love, completely undeserved. Peter can only call us to conform to a new way of life because we have been saved from what we were becoming when we did not know God. He is calling us now to live a new way of life not for the sake of morality, or respectability. He is calling us to live it out because the alternative is utter folly. It is poor foolishness. Peter wants to walk away from a life that will only bring spiritual death. Like an apostolic Mr T, Peter warns us not to be a crazy fool by running headlong into the abyss of destruction when abundant life is offered us on a plate.
Signing Off -
The Scribbling Apprentice
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