Living for God
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. 2 As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. 5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For 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.
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Suffering for Being a Christian
12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And,
“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
My Understanding: This chapter in I Peter begins by presenting us with a premise by which the remainder of the chapter is based off of: Because of Christ’s sufferings and his attitude concerning his suffering, setting for us an example, we should follow His model in all we do. In prayerfully examining the passage of scripture, in order to get from it the message I believe the Lord would want me to receive, and to share, I discovered that this chapter could be divided into three main sections: 1. Attitude, 2. Opposition, and 3. Result.
Attitude
The writer presents us with a challenge and an appeal – since Christ suffered in his body, we are to arm ourselves with the same attitude. Ok, this passage does not go into detail concerning Christ’s attitude, so what came to mind was this passage from Philippians 2:
Philippians 2:5-8 says:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Jesus Christ is God, yet he was willing to leave heaven and to take upon himself human flesh, to be tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, to suffer as we suffer, to serve rather than to be served, to give up all that he had in heaven with the Father and the Spirit, to make himself of no reputation, to be ridiculed, mocked, disbelieved, made fun of, challenged, accused falsely, spit upon, scourged, rejected, betrayed, abandoned, denied, and then to be crucified on a cross for our sins, taking upon himself the sins of the whole world, which was the worst pain of all. In order for him to do this, he had to humble himself and become obedient to death on a cross. His human flesh resisted what he knew was coming, yet he willingly yielded to the will of the Father in heaven. The good news is that he did not remain dead. He rose again, and when he arose, he left our sins buried in the grave as he conquered death, hell, Satan and sin – the penalty of sin and the control of sin over our daily lives – by triumphing over them by the cross and via his resurrection.
When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, it is a lot like what it means to come to a stop sign on a road. We stop sinning, i.e. we repent of our sin and make a conscious choice of the will to not live any longer to please the flesh. Then, we yield the right of way to God in our lives by making him our Lord and master. We choose to no longer be slaves to sin but instead to be slaves of Christ Jesus and slaves to righteousness. And, we give him the throne of our hearts and lives. Then, we go forward in the grace, knowledge and strength of the Lord Jesus Christ living within us, via his Holy Spirit, and living out through us in our acts of obedience to our Lord and master, Jesus Christ. It does not mean stop for a minute or two and then keep going the same direction. It is more like a U-turn, where we go in the opposite direction we had been going. And, the good news for us is that when we humble ourselves and we become obedient to the cross by dying to our old lives of sin, allowing God to work his grace in our hearts, then Jesus raises us up with him in heaven and he gives us a new life, a new beginning, a new start, and he gives us, not only the grace to be saved and the faith to believe, but he gives us the power within us to keep living for Jesus Christ. That is how our bodies are done away with sin.
Opposition
When we truly make this decision to make a U-turn in our lives and to leave our lives of living according to the flesh behind us and we decide to follow Jesus Christ and to live for God and to obey him in all things, we will face opposition, just like Jesus did. Our friends, family, companions, and/or co-workers, who had once had the pleasure of our company in sinful behaviors, will think it strange when we no longer plunge with them into wickedness, sin, corruption, dishonesty, immorality, and the like, unlike Jesus experienced, since he was without sin, yet he did face much criticism just the same for not following the religious rituals of the Pharisees. And, many of our former comrades in sin may heap abuse upon us for no longer participating with them, even mocking us and making fun of us, and calling us names. Yet, they will have to give an account to God for how they treat us, as we will, too, for how we treat others.
Our attitude about this kind of persecution and unjust suffering should be the same as that of Christ. Scripture says that it was for the joy that was set before him that he endured the cross. The joy that was set before him was the salvation of our souls. And, it is with that same joy of having received salvation, having had a life transformed by the power of God within us, giving us a new life, and having the hope of eternal life in heaven with God that we can endure unjust suffering, knowing that we are suffering for the sake of our faith and for the sake of the gospel and our witness for Christ Jesus and for the joy of the salvation of the lives whom we touch each and every day with our lives as we share Jesus’ love with them in all that we do and by sharing the truths with them of the gospel message that will set them free from their prisons of sin and will free them to walk in faith to Jesus Christ.
This suffering, nonetheless, does not include suffering for doing wrong, but rather the suffering we will go through because of our commitment to follow Jesus Christ. We should not be ashamed then for any ways in which we will suffer for doing what is right, but we should praise God that we are privileged to share with him in the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death on the cross. We should continue to follow the Lord in obedience even in the face of unjust suffering and persecution and rejection and we should never, ever give up because life is too hard, because it is not our strength that sees us through but his strength is perfected within us in our weakness.
Result
When we endure such unjust treatment, it helps to build within us determination that we never had before to never return to our lives of living to please ourselves, but rather we want to please our Lord and master in all things because of what he did for us. This new way of thinking (attitude) that bears up under unjust criticism and rejection drives us into the arms of Jesus and puts within us a desire to love and obey our Lord above all else. Out of the overflow of what is now in our hearts should then come deep love for others, a hunger for knowing God more, for walking in greater obedience, in humbling ourselves, in committing ourselves to meet the needs of others, clear minds and self-controlled lives, and a passion for sharing the gospel, knowing that the ultimate in love is giving of ourselves to others by telling them what they need to hear most, because the greatest need they have of all is to know Jesus, to be free from the control of sin, to walk in freedom by faith in Christ Jesus, and to have the hope of eternal life in heaven.
One day God is going to judge. He will judge us by what we did with Jesus. Judgment begins with the house of God, which is Christ’s Body, the church, i.e. the people of God. So, we need to examine our hearts before God to see if we are in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, and if so, whether or not we are walking in faith and obedience to him by having our bodies done with sin, and rather living the rest of our lives for the will of God. If that is not where you are today, my heart’s prayer for you is that you would make that conscious choice of your will today to humble yourself before Almighty God, to repent of your sin, then to turn in faith and obedience to your Lord, master and Savior, Jesus Christ, to live for his will for the rest of your days on this earth. We never know when will be our last day. Seize the day!
Faithful Friend / An Original Work / April 13, 2011
My loving Father; precious Lord,
To You I lift my voice in accord –
I hear Your pleas; I heed Your call
To worship You only, who ransomed us all.
O Gracious Father; faithful friend,
I know You’ll be with me to the end.
You sent Your Son to die on a tree
So from sin and death I can truly be free.
Oh, Jesus, Savior, King of kings,
You are the Lord of everything.
You died in my place, so I could be free
To serve You only, so all may believe.
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