"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,” 1st Peter 4:6.
“They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead,” 1st Peter 4:4-5. Peter wrote what happened in these verses when an individual becomes a Christian in a pagan world whose thoughts are continuously seeking to fulfill evil human desires. The world has not changed. Christians are a threat to their way of life. You are encouraged to go to the Scripture and read the section of First Peter 3:13 to 4:6 to understand the situation and see the whole picture.
“As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 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,” 1st Peter 4:2-3. Seeking to have the same attitude and mind of Christ is the goal of every Christian. The problem arises when we let things of the world get in the way. In this verse, Peter is telling us how to have the same attitude Christ has. It is the result of striving to follow in the steps of Jesus. It is changing our focus from the things of the world to following Jesus or as Peter wrote, you do “not live the rest of your earthly life for evil human desires”. When you become a Christian your desires change; in everything you do, you want them to be pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ. But Satan will continue to tempt you with human desires, presenting evil desires as more important than obeying Jesus’ commands. The next verse describes some of those evil desires which we will examine a little later.
“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,” 1st Peter 4:1. Peter is bringing a conclusion to his discourse on Christ’s suffering with this verse. When you see the word “therefore” it is telling you to pay close attention to what you are about to read because it is the application to what was previous written.
“Christ suffered in his body” some translate have “died”. Jesus suffered physically a great deal from the time He was arrested until His death on the cross. The greatest suffering was as Jesus was dying on the cross when the sins of the whole world came upon Him. The full penalty for our sins has been paid for by Jesus. To receive this blessing is to obey Jesus’ command in becoming a Christian as the Scripture teaches. Jesus suffering only took place while He was in the flesh here on earth. |
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