The Problem of Suffering III
Pastor Marty Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 10:21AM Having reminded us of the sufferings of Jesus, in 1 Peter 4:1-6 he encourages believers to follow Christ’s example. We should recognize that Christ suffered for us while he was in the flesh and so we ought to prepare ourselves for the same. This disciple-master relationship is not directly referred to but it is implicit in the background. If the master suffered how can his disciples not? Are we greater than he?
Prepare For Possible Suffering
Peter tells us to “arm” ourselves with the same mentality that Jesus had when he suffered. Our mental outlook and rationale regarding suffering can prepare us like a weapon prepares a soldier for battle. Can you imagine going into war without preparing the gear and weapons you will need to survive and win? It would be suicide. Thus Peter reminds us of the battle that is going on to rob us of our faith and keep countless billions in darkness. Before suffering comes we should mentally prepare ourselves to look at it like Jesus did. So how did Jesus approach suffering?
Jesus was not a masochist who sought out suffering for suffering’s sake. Nor did he annoy people on purpose in order to make them persecute him. For Jesus suffering was something that our flesh does not want, but is sometimes necessary for the sake of others. You see Jesus did not suffer on his own behalf. He was suffering for us. To him suffering had a purpose. Anyone who runs into war, just for the “fun” of war, is not like Jesus. But for those who endure the suffering and horrendous nature of war for the prize on the other side, they are willing to lay down their weapons when the battle is over. Their purpose was peace on the other side.
We need to have the same mind towards suffering. It is not something we seek out. But the choices of others may bring it to us from time to time. Now none of us suffer for the sins of others like Jesus did. But our enduring of suffering is a witness to the lost. Our God is worthy of laying down the “good things” of life. It is also an encouragement to believers in their faith. So in that sense our suffering can help others to continue in faithfulness to God and it can turn sinners out of the path of judgment. We may not know how God is going to do it and who is going to be helped, but we trust that anything the Father allows is for the good in the end.
We should also have the same mind of Christ towards life. He did not make his choices according to what was pleasing to his flesh. He lived to do the will of God. Do you see your life as an opportunity to do God’s will? Or, do you see it as an opportunity to get the maximum of pleasure possible? Jesus did all that he did for the will of God. How much of my life have I given to accomplishing God’s will? Do I approach my marriage, family, kids, and job as a calling from God? Or, have I approached them as a means to make me happy? Don’t get me wrong. God desires us to have joy and pleasures in this life. But he does not want us to prostitute our life for the sake of them. The pleasures of life are to help us along the way, not “be” our way. Peter lists in verse 3 the things that the people of the world chase after. Immorality, the strong desires of the flesh, drunkenness, drinking parties, idolatries are all like a person pouring out all the potential of their life onto the ground. We waste our life and bring ourselves under judgment when we live for these things. Peter tells them that they had spent enough time living that way. Now change your mind and prepare for what may come for the right reasons, the glory of God, even when the world thinks you are strange for doing so.
The Day of Judgment
Those who “judge” you worthy of suffering are themselves going to be judged by Christ, Vs. 5. Though we may doubt it when we are suffering, there is a day of judgment. Paul speaks of it in 1 Timothy 4:1 and 2a, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom. Preach the Word.” Peter points out that Christ is ready to judge, but Paul says this judgment will begin when he appears at the 2nd Coming. Thus there is a specific time for this judgment and the Lord is “ready” to carry it out. “Ready” implies both his desires and his preparations. His heart is inclined to bring this judgment. Yet he has also done all that is needed to do it. He has taken on the additional nature of a man and experienced the same temptations that we do. He has laid his life down and done for us what we could not do for ourselves.
We have to continually remind ourselves that the judgments of people have nothing to do with God’s judgment of us through Christ. Jesus will judge us based upon Truth. In fact in verse 6 Peter goes on to mention that the gospel was preached to those who are dead. What is this all about? First of all, the main point is this. Though people have died in the flesh, they can live by the spirit due to the gospel having been preached to them. He wants us to see that the flesh that we can see is not the ultimate reality.
The difficulty in knowing what Peter is saying in verse 6 focuses more on the specific details rather than the overall message. Some say that Peter doesn’t mean the gospel was preached to dead people. He is actually saying that the gospel was preached to people in the past who are now dead. The implication is this question. Did the gospel fail? The answer is an emphatic, NO! They are alive by the Spirit of God and, in fact, await the resurrection which will make that life evident to all.
Others tie this passage in to the previous chapter. Just as Jesus proclaimed his victory to the fallen angels who rebelled before the flood, he has also shared the gospel with those who were being held in Paradise. Before he leads them in triumph back up to the Father, he explains the details of their salvation for which they had always hoped, trusted, and believed God.
Regardless of which way you interpret the first part of this verse, Peter’s main point stands the same. Though believers die in the flesh, they continue to live by the Spirit of God. Thus even suffering to death is not a failure. It is ultimately victory. Don’t look at what you see in the flesh or in the natural and let that diminish your faith in what God has promised you through His Spirit. Be faithful to the end and persevere.
Final Thoughts
What I go through in the flesh is not as important as where I am headed by the Spirit of God. In the end God will always prove Himself faithful to those who put their trust in Him. God has not turned his back on you. Wait upon Him and you will see the promise fulfilled!