In our study of 1 Peter chapter four, we look at our call to be holy and how our minds play a big part in our walking the talk. In the previous chapters, we have examined the call but now we will look at the power we have to answer the call as well as some of the effects of doing so.
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Therefore, since the Messiah suffered physically, you too are to arm yourselves with the same attitude. For whoever has suffered physically is finished with sin,
"Therefore" refers us back to verse 18 of chapter 3 and it reminds us that Jesus died for our sins physically but makes us alive by the Spirit. Peter is telling us that, since we were saved from sin and are made alive by the Spirit, our minds should also be transformed to seek the will of God. We are released from sin and God has provided a way for us to live the Christian life (walk the talk). The way to live the Christian life is to turn our minds over to God and the direction of the Holy Spirit. We are done with sin; we do not belong in sinful situations; we cannot be comfortable in them and if we listen to the direction of the Spirit, God will lead us out of those situations. If we are comfortable in sin, we need to check our relationship with Jesus Christ.
with the result that he lives the rest of his earthly life no longer controlled by human desires, but by God's will.
Jesus did not purchase us on the "lay-away plan" He purchased us for the here and now as well as for eternity. Since we are His now and the focus of our minds has been changed, we do not live to satisfy ourselves. Our transformed minds are focused on serving God and doing His will. How do we know His will? We are told, in Ephesians 2:10, that God prepared things for us to do, as Christians, even before we came to be Christians. Listening to the Spirit and watching for these things is a large part of the will of God for the life of a believer.
For you have spent enough time already living the way the pagans want you to live - in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, wild parties and forbidden idol-worship.
Peter is reminding us here that we are done with all of these things. When we have had enough of carrying the burden of sin, we come to Jesus in repentance and wanting to be done with sin. If we still want to do these things, we need to check our understanding of sin and its effects.
They think it strange that you don't plunge with them into the same flood of dissoluteness, and so they heap insults on you.
Did you lose "friends" when you came to Christ? That is what is being described here as we are told that the world thinks it is strange that we do not do things that dishonor our Lord and Savior. Not only do they think we are strange but we will be persecuted because of it. We are to expect this as Jesus told us that no servant is greater than his master and they persecuted him.
But they will have to give an account to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.
We must keep in mind that each person will answer for their own actions. Those who do not accept Jesus as Savior and Lord will be judged and sentenced to hell. Those that have chose to accept Him as Lord and Savior will answer for what they did or did not do with the new life that He gave them. This will not be a judgment to determine where we spend eternity but a judgment of what other rewards we will receive.
This is why he was proclaimed to those who have died; it was so that, although physically they would receive the judgment common to all humanity, they might live by the Spirit in the way that God has provided.
This verse reminds us of the mercy of God in that Jesus even went to those that had already perished and preached the message of salvation. God does not want any people to go to hell but He is a just God and, after we hear the Word, we are responsible for it.
The accomplishing of the goal of all things is close at hand. Therefore, keep alert and self-controlled, so that you can pray.
We do not know the hour that Jesus will return but we do know that it is closer than ever before. Peter is telling us that, because of that fact, we need to take action. What action do we need to take and why? He says that we need to be focused on God's will (clear minded) and obedient to His word (self-controlled) so that we can pray. This is not talking of a simple pause to say thank you before a meal this is speaking of getting down to business with Jesus. We must continually pray for guidance from God through the Holy Spirit. If we do that, God will be with us and help us through the difficult times that are coming.
More than anything, keep loving each other actively; because love covers many sins.
When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus said that the first was to love God and the second was to love others (see Matthew 22:34-40). Jesus demonstrated this love when He went to the cross for our sins and that is what it is talking about covering over sins. Our love for Jesus, which is due to the fact that He loved us first, enables us to love others and is a sign that we are saved.
Welcome one another into your homes without grumbling. As each one has received some spiritual gift, he should use it to serve others, like good managers of God's many-sided grace -
In verse 8, we were told to love each other and here we see that love is practical and has a purpose. It is practical in that it is given, with a joyful heart, to others to help to meet a need. The purpose is so that we can show God's grace to build up others and let them know about our Lord Jesus Christ. God has prepared these things for us to do (Ephesians 2:10) and so we just have to learn to listen to the prompting of the Spirit and to use our gifts as directed.
if someone speaks, let him speak God's words; if someone serves, let him do so out of strength that God supplies; so that in everything God may be glorified through Yeshua the Messiah - to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
Peter reminds us here that everything must always be about giving God praise because He is worthy. God provides the talents, abilities, and the strength to do the works He has set before each of us (see Ephesians 2:10).
Dear friends, don't regard as strange the fiery ordeal occurring among you to test you, as if something extraordinary were happening to you. Rather, to the extent that you share the fellowship of the Messiah's sufferings, rejoice; so that you will rejoice even more when his Sh'khinah is revealed.
Got persecution? Good, that is what Jesus told his followers to expect. We should not be surprised at the trials we face here and now as Jesus himself had trials here on the earth. He also said that the servant is not better than his master and so we should expect the same things that He went through. We can, in fact, rejoice in the trials because those trials serve to grow us as well as to testify to our souls that we are His! If you have a story of how God has used persecution to help you to grow, you can share it with us. We will edit and post it to build up other believers in their faith.
If you are being insulted because you bear the name of the Messiah, how blessed you are! For the Spirit of the Sh'khinah, that is, the Spirit of God, is resting on you!
If people are putting you down because of your faith, you can take heart because that means that they can see that you are His. Since you are His, then you know that He is with you and is constantly looking out for you.
Let none of you suffer for being a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or a meddler in other people's affairs. But if anyone suffers for being Messianic, let him not be ashamed; but let him bring glory to God by the way he bears this name.
Not all suffering is the same. If you are suffering because of sin that is the price you pay for your actions but, if you suffer for following Christ, it is good. When we suffer for following Jesus, we can praise God because we are His and others see it or else they wouldn't be persecuting us.
For the time has come for the judgment to begin. It begins with the household of God; and if it starts with us, what will the outcome be for those who are disobeying God's Good News?
Many will be surprised at this verse and try to explain it away but the fact is that even Christians will be judged by God. Everyone on earth will be judged for salvation and that standard is whether your name is found in the Lamb's Book of Life or not. (Revelation 20:11-15) Then, the believers will be judged for rewards and this is a review of what each of us has done with the new life that we received through Jesus Christ. As Jesus said in many parables, those that have been faithful with a little will be given even more.
"If the righteous is barely delivered, where will the ungodly and sinful end up?"
Peter seems to be using Proverbs 11:31 here but with a little different wording. Since it took the Son of God dying for the righteous to be saved, what more is available to save the ungodly? This is similar to what it says in Hebrews 6:6 concerning those who turn their back on Jesus Christ. There is nothing left to save them as "they are crucifying the Son of God all over again".
So let those who are suffering according to God's will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator by continuing to do what is good.
When we suffer for following Jesus, we must understand that God is still in control. He is the Creator and therefore has the power to take care of us in any situation. We must commit ourselves to Him and His will for our lives. We can know His will through the Holy Spirit and trust that, if we are in His will, He will take care of us.
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