Study Guide to the First Epistle of Peter, Chapter 4 – The End Is Near
Read or listen First Epistle of Peter Chapter 4 online (ESV, YouVersion)
Give up sin! 1 Peter 4:1-6
Verses 1 and 2 can be interpreted: suffering brings victory over sin. However, this is not the case. Here, too, Peter sets Christ as an example: Christ did not have to suffer in order to gain victory over sin. He was sinless (1 Peter 2:22). Christ gained the victory over the sin of mankind by suffering, he did not suffer because of his own sins.
It is good to read Romans 6:1-12 as the background to this passage:
"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions."
(Romans 6:1-12, ESV)
In it, Paul speaks of baptism as a death to sin. Christ's death brought victory over sin, therefore a Christian can die to sin.
The suffering was caused by faith in Christ and no longer living according to the old way of life (verses 3 and 4). In other words, suffering was a consequence of faith, not the other way around.
Life in antiquity was immoral in many ways. A good description of life in ancient Greece can be found in Robert Flacelière's book "Daily Life in Greece at the Time of Pericles" and Jérome Carcopino's book "Daily Life in Ancient Rome". It can be said that the Roman Empire collapsed due to internal decay. the Germanic peoples had been in the north for a long time, but it was only after Rome weakened that they gained victory.
In the modern Western world, our own time does not differ much from the values of antiquity. We are going back towards the ideals of ancient paganism.
"'For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you."
(1 Peter 4:3-5, ESV)
By acting differently from what was common in that environment, Christians brought to others' awareness of another, better opportunity to live (verses 3-4). There has always been a desire to silence those who arouse a bad conscience.
Peter reminds us that the accusers and condemners of Christians have a Judge: Christ. (verse 5). God has given judgment authority to Jesus.
"And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man."
(John 5:27, ESV)"And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead."
(Acts 10:42, ESV)"because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
(Acts 17:31, ESV)
On the other hand, the judge could also be the Father.
"And if in your prayers you call Him Father, who impartially judges each according to his works, then live in the fear of God this time of your alienation."
(1 Peter 1:17)
Peter wants to remind his readers that they have not suffered defeat when they became Christians. It is unlikely that many of Peter’s readers would have looked back with pride on their past lives in paganism (verse 3). And even if Satan could get us to misjudge the advantages and disadvantages of this present way of life, at least considering things from an eternal perspective (verse 5) would reveal who the real winners are.
Suffering is an indication that man has been able to set the right order of values in his life: Christ and eternal life are more valuable than an easy earthly life apart from Christ.
The influence of verse 5 on the end of the second article of faith in the Apostles' Creed is obvious (compare 1 Peter 3:19).
Verse 6 is one of the most controversial biblical passages. There are many interpretations and they are quite different.
The Church Fathers, Augustine and Clement of Alexandria, thought that the passage spoke of the spiritually dead.
Some think that Peter is talking about those Christians who had died - perhaps during persecution. What good did their faith do them if they were killed by unbelievers? In the eyes of men they were dead, but to God they are alive. But why would Peter say this in such a difficult way to understand?
Christ preached the gospel to people who died before Christ's death (cf. 1 Peter 3:19).
Christ preached the gospel to all the dead.
The idea that there is a possibility of hearing the gospel after death has been opposed. It has been argued that it takes away the foundation for the proclamation of the gospel in this time. The decision between eternal life and death takes place in this time:
"And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us."
(Luke 16:26, ESV)"'And just as it is appointed for man to die once,
and after that comes judgment'"
(Hebrews 9:27, ESV)
However, a clear distinction must be made between two groups: those who have heard the gospel but rejected it and those who have never heard it. Those who have rejected the gospel in this day have no reason to expect another opportunityfor repentance after death (Luke 16:26).
How does God relate to those who have never heard the gospel in their lives? We don't know, but we can trust in God's justice (cf. Matthew 25:14-30, money entrusted to servants: the amount of money received affected the judgment).
We Christians have been given the task of proclaiming the gospel to all people (Matthew 28:18-20). We cannot evade Christ’s clear command based on one difficult-to-interpret verse. God decides the eternal destiny of each person, but we humans are entrusted with the task of sharing the gospel.
Serving God with God-Given Gifts – 1 Peter 4:7-11
Pentecost marked the beginning of the end times (verse 7). Jesus told his followers to watch in the end times (Mark 13:37). Proper watchfulness includes prayer.
In Gethsemane, Peter did not watch or pray, even though Jesus urged him to do so (Mark 14:32-38).
Sober-mindedness is not just the opposite of drunkenness (verse 3). It means "clear-headedness" - not being willing to do whatever someone claims is God's will (Matthew 24:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8, 1 Peter 1:13-15).
The old church prayer asked God to protect us from "evil, sudden death". It meant not dying unprepared. Since we don't know how many days we have, we must always be ready.
Notice that the end of this world is a matter of expectation, not fear (verse 7, 1 Peter 4:13, 5:4). The end of all things is the beginning of eternity.
"Love covers a multitude of sins" (verse 8) was interpreted in Judaism and Roman Catholicism as salvation by works: a person is saved if there are more good works than bad ones. Here, however, Peter means that our love can forgive our neighbor's many sins (compare Matt 18:21-22; Jesus' response to Peter: 70 times 7 sins must be forgiven, see also James 5:20). The importance of love is also emphasized elsewhere in the Bible, the most famous passage being 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, see also 1 Peter 1:22 and 3:8 and Proverbs 10:12.
"Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses."
(Proverbs 10:12, ESV)
Hospitality (verse 9) was important for the spread of the Christian faith in antiquity (3 John 6-8).
..."who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth."
(3 John 1:6-8, ESV)
The inns of that time were downright dangerous, and there weren't many of them. The traveling preachers were lodged by local Christians. In the "Teaching of the Twelve Apostles" (Didache), written in the second century, there is advice and warnings about hospitality: a true prophet stays only a day or two and takes only bread with him on the journey. False prophets stay a long time and ask for money. The temptation to abuse hospitality was great.
Every Christian has a gift or gifts of grace (verse 10). Notice that Peter does not speak at all about "special gifts" but only about preaching the Word and serving (verse 11). Paul also did not emphasize speaking in tongues, but rather valued prophesying and other gifts of grace that served the church (1 Cor. 14:1-19). Both had the same idea behind them: the gifts of grace are intended for the building up of the church, not for selfish enjoyment. This is sadly often forgotten even today.
In the early days of the church, Peter was establishing the office of deacon so that the apostles could focus on preaching the word (Acts 6:1-6).
When talking about service, two mistakes are often made:
1. Thinking that it is inferior to the proclamation of the gospel
2. Thinking that service does not require the guidance of the Holy Spirit
Different tasks do not mean inequality. In 1 Peter 3:1, Peter says that sometimes actions can be a better form of testimony than words.
The Bible does not contain a complete list of the gifts of grace. In total, there are about 20 gifts listed (see, for example, Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, 27-30, Ephesians 4:11-16). If you do not find yours in those lists, remember that they are not all-inclusive. Every Christian has his or her own gift of grace.
Some scholars consider verse 11 to be the original conclusion of the letter. After learning of the new persecutions, Peter would have continued his letter (verse 12). But the letter is not intended to end with verse 11. When Peter spoke of the gifts, he reminded us why they exist in the churches: to glorify and praise God. It led him to praise himself, which was natural to end with the word "amen". Amen is not a "period after a sentence" but means "truly", "so it is". Peter has another "amen" in the middle of the letter: 1 Peter 5:11. See also Romans 1:25, 11:36, 15:33, Galatians 1:5, Ephesians 3:21, Philippians 4:20, 1 Timothy 6:16, Revelation 1:6.
Put your life in God's hands – 1 Peter 4:12-19
Verse 12 suggests that the recipients of the letter were former Gentiles. The Jews had a history of being persecuted for their faith (see also 1 Peter 1:6-7 and 2:20-21). Verse 12 also suggests that the letter was written early. After the persecutions of Emperor Domitian in the 90s, no one would have been surprised about the persecution of Christians.
The key to understanding a Christian's suffering is understanding Christ's suffering. Christ was sinless and innocent, yet he suffered. The real reason for suffering is faith (verse 16), not unbelief and sin (verse 15).
Verse 13 is direct suffering mysticism (compare 2 Cor 4:10 ..."always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies" and Philippians 3:10, Colossians 1:24). Experienced spiritual counselors have said that suffering cannot be taught or lectured about - it can only be known by someone who has experienced it.
Suffering for Christ brings joy if one has the endurance to endure to the end. If one gives up halfway, one will not reach the goal. It is worth remembering that the pressure on the first Christians was strong: Satan knew that it would be easiest to destroy the entire Christian church as long as it was small.
Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to His followers (John 14:25-26; cf. Isaiah 11:2).
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
(John 14:26, ESV)
The Holy Spirit is promised as the Advocate:
"When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
(Matt. 10:19-20, ESV)"And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit."
(Mark 13:11, ESV)"And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
(Luke 12:11-12).
In the background of verse 14, one can also see the Beatification of the Sermon on the Mount:
"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
(Matthew 5:11-12, ESV)
The list of sins in verse 15 does not refer to the real lives of the recipients of the letter, but is a list of serious crimes, some of which even received the death penalty. The last crime/sin, "meddler", is difficult to interpret because the word in question is only once in the New Testament.
Note that sin also causes suffering!
In verse 16 there is the word "Christian". In addition to this, it is only found twice in the New Testament:
..."And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. '
(Acts 11:26, ESV)"And Agrippa said to Paul,
“In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?”
(Acts 26:28)
Already in the Old Testament it was prophesied that God's judgment would begin with the temple, the church: Jeremiah 25:29 and Ezekiel 9:6, see also Malachi 3:1-3.
"For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?"
(1 Peter 4:17, ESV)
The answer to the question at the end of verse 17 is in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10: eternal damnation.
Verse 18 is a quote from Proverbs 11:31, in accordance with the Greek Septuagint Translation (see also Luke 23:31). The kingdom of God is entered through many tribulations (Acts 14:22).
When Jesus died, he gave his life into God's hands (verse 19):
"Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said,
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”
And having said this he breathed his last."
(Luke 23:46, ESV)
So did Stefanos:
"And as they were stoning Stephen,
he called out,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
(Acts 7:59, ESV).
Psalm 31:6 is part of the Jewish evening prayer:
"Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord , faithful God."