Analysis:—Further exhortation to readiness of suffering and becoming conduct in suffering. They are to consider suffering as inseparable from following Christ, as necessary to their trial, and instrumental toward their future glory, as rendering them partakers of the power of the Spirit, and as delivering them from the last judgment. But they should never lose sight of maintaining their difference from unbelievers
12 Beloved,think it not strange concerningthe fiery trial which is to try you,as 13though some strange thinghappened unto you: But rejoice,inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings;that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad alsowith exceeding joy.14If ye be reproached forthe name of Christ, happyare ye;for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you:on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.15But let none of you suffer as a murderer, 16or as a thief, or as an evil doer, or as abusybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.17For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God:and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18And if the righteousscarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and 19the sinner appear? Wherefore,let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing,as unto a faithful Creator.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The exhortations to readiness of suffering are repeated, but urged on different grounds.
1Pe_4:12. Beloved.—This address, as in 1Pe_2:11, denotes the Apostle’s heart-felt sympathy with them in the sufferings concerning which he is consoling them.
Be not astonished at.—”If the heathen think the behaviour of Christians strange, Christians need not be surprised if unbelievers persecute them on that account,” 1Pe_1:7, Steiger.—
ôῇ ἐí ὑìῖí ðõñþóåé
.
ðýñùóéò
=burning, ignition, kindling, fire while burning, from
ðõñïῦìáé
, 2Pe_3:12; Rev_18:9; Pro_27:21; LXX. Zec_13:9. It is a simile of great tribulations, which burn like fire, but conduce to proof.—[Cf. also Psa_66:10 in LXX. Oecumenius says,
ðýñùóéí ôὰò èëßøåéò åἰðþí
,
ἐíÝöῃíåí ὡò äéὰ äïêéìáóßáí áὐôïῖò áὖôáé
.—M.] ’
åí ὑìῖí
, may mean “which you feel within yourselves,” better, “which is among you.”—”As the potter or the goldsmith adjusts the furnace to the earthen vessel or to the gold, so that it be neither too hot nor too cold, so God adjusts temptation (trial) to the strength of man and to the grace which He grants him, and suffers him not to be tempted beyond his ability to bear.” Ephrem.—
ðñὸò ðåéñáóìüí
, cf. 1Pe_1:7; Jam_1:2. Not unto perdition, but unto salvation. Even this moderates the pain of the heat.—
ὡò îÝíïõ
.—Perhaps you consider the suffering accidental, interfering with God’s purpose concerning you, and putting you back in your Christianity, but know that it has been decreed from all eternity, it has been repeatedly foretold in the Scriptures, it has been the common experience of all believers from the beginning, and it is absolutely necessary for the mortification of the old man. That cannot be displeasing which is dealt by the hand of a friend.” Gerhard.
1Pe_4:13. In as far as ye are partakers with the sufferings of Christ.—
êáèὸ êïéíῶíåéôå
.—It is a great consolation that the believer is permitted to consider his sufferings as a partaking with the sufferings of Christ; but it is a greater consolation that he is permitted to infer his communion with the glory of Christ from his communion with His sufferings.
êáèὸ
denotes, at once the reason and the measure of the sufferings.
The sufferings of Christ, as in 1Pe_1:11; cf. 1Pe_2:21; 1Pe_3:18, not such as affect Him in His members, but such as He Himself endured in the days of His incarnation. Christians partake with them, if, for the sake of truth and righteousness, their experience of the world’s sin is similar to that of Christ. They are in Christ, and the hatred shown to them is really shown to Him, cf. Rom_8:17; Rom_8:29; 2Ti_2:11.
That ye may also at the revelation of His glory rejoice, exulting.—
ἵíá êáß
, otherwise the day of the revelation of Christ would be to you a day of terror.—
êáß
, as you now rejoice already in hope.—
ôῆò äüîçò
, in contrast with the darkness of suffering, 1Pe_1:5; 1Pe_1:7; 1Pe_1:11.—
÷áñῆôå ἀãáëëéþìåíïé
, cf. 1Pe_1:8. “The joy of the saints will be inward and outward, bodily and spiritual.” Huss. The connection is, as given by Weiss: Only he who suffers with Christ and for His cause, is a true disciple of Christ. Such an one may cherish the expectation of the heavenly reward of partaking with His glory, even as Christ has promised again and again, Mat_10:38-39; Mat_16:24-25; Luk_9:23-24; Luk_14:27; Joh_12:26; Joh_14:3; Joh_17:24; Mat_5:12; Luk_6:22-23. The real life-communion with Christ, as we find it described in the writings of Paul, is not affirmed here.
1Pe_4:14. If ye are reproached in (German, for) the name of Christ.—
ἐí ὀíüìáôé
.
ὄíïìá
, often like
ùֵí
=revealed being (revelation of the being, i. e., nature and existence). Joh_17:6; Joh_17:26; Joh_1:12; Act_3:16; Act_4:12; Heb_2:12, also=order, command. Here in its proper sense =the name and whatever it involves. Mar_9:41 contains the best key to the exposition. The passage reads: “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” As the benefactions of others may be the result of their belonging to Christ, so it may be with their hatred. They reproach you because you confess, call upon and bear the name of Christ, which they hate. cf. 1Pe_4:16.
ὡò ÷ñéóôéáíüò
, and Mat_5:11; Luk_6:22. Christ is to the world a hateful name; if one preaches it, he must suffer. The reproaches cast at their persons and conversation probably proceeded from unbelieving Jews, who blasphemed the name of Christ, Jam_2:7.
Blessed are ye—resteth upon you.—
ìáêÜñéïé
, cf. 1Pe_3:14. Their state of bliss is inferred from the glory already existing, although invisible to ordinary eyes.
ôὸ ôῆò äüîçò
—Spirit of glory denotes the Holy Spirit, because, as Calov explains it, He brings glory and seals it in suffering. This Spirit being given to you with the communion of Christ, you are even now, by faith and hope, partakers of future glory, you anticipate it in the Spirit, and therefore you are blessed, cf. 1Pe_1:8. Hence Paul, in the further development of this thought, called the Spirit the earnest of the inheritance, Eph_1:14.—
êáὶ ôὸ ôïῦ Èåïῦ
, this second predicate is added by way of explanation. It is not the spirit of Elijah, or of an angel, but the Spirit of God. “This is to the Apostle so great and so blessed a thing, that though the world is against them, God is for them, as their shield and exceeding great reward.” Wiesinger.
ἐö
’
ὑìᾶò ἀíáðáýåôáé
.—The reference appears to be to Isa_11:2; cf. 2Ki_2:15. Luk_10:6.
ἐðß
, with the Accus., denotes the descent of the Spirit on them.—
ἀíáðáýåóèáé
, according to Olshausen, contains the idea of an abiding that cannot be overthrown, even by doubts and temptations. It is cognizable to those whose spiritual vision has been rendered acute, and is evinced chiefly in a meek spirit of suffering.
[Wordsworth:—”The glory and happiness of suffering for God in the fire of persecution might also well occur to his mind at Babylon, where he is writing, and where he would be cheered by a remembrance of the three faithful children walking unhurt in the fiery furnace with the Son of God. (Dan_3:1-25.)”—M.]
On their part—glorified.—[See note 14 in Appar. Critic.—M.] With and among them, the children of the world, as is their nature and wont, He is evil spoken of; they traduce the spirit of suffering as a degrading and slavish spirit, and humility as cowardice. These invectives fall back on the Spirit Himself.—Others connect
âãáóöçìåῖôáé
with
ὄíïìá ÷ñéóôïῦ
, which is rather a forced construction. Among you it is glorified by the consolations, the quietness and peace which it brings to you; thus it evinces its Divine power, and excites your praise and gratitude. The passage gives a good sense, and it would be a pity if it were spurious [as the authorities declare it to be.—M.]
1Pe_4:15. For let none of you—pryer into other men’s matters.—Here the Apostle takes up the preceding blessedness (
ìáêÜñéïé
, 1Pe_4:14), and in the form of exhortation emphatically declares that the value of such patient suffering depends on the condition that those who endure it must be innocent sufferers, 1Pe_2:20; 1Pe_3:17. This is expressed first negatively, then positively. Here is an evident allusion to Mat_5:11, “if they say all manner of evil against you falsely (lying).”—
ὡò öïíåýò
.—The reference is not to real accusations which had been brought against them, but to the possibility that such offences might occur among them, as Paul warns the Ephesians against stealing, Eph_4:28.—
êáêïðïéüò
, cf. 1Pe_2:12; 1Pe_2:14; 1Pe_3:16-17, in a general, moral sense, not as denoting political offences, as if this had been the official description of Christians, according to Suetonius, Vita Neronis, c. 16, which cannot be proved. See Weiss, p. 367.—
ἀëëïôñéïåðßóêïðïò
, a term unknown to the Greeks. It denotes one arrogating to himself the oversight of matters with which he has no concern. Such indiscreet zeal is not uncommon, as Hottinger remarks, among new religious communities. This may have been a frequent temptation to the primitive Christians, owing to their consciousness of more enlightened views. It is more than
ðåñéåñãÜæåóèáé
, 2Th_3:11. Cyprian: alienas euros agens, cf. 1Ti_5:13; 1Th_4:11; Luk_12:14. [
ὁ åðéóêåðôüìåíïò ôὰ ἀëëüôñéá
. Hanc explicationem probat 1, ipsa vocis compositio 2, veterum expositio, Tert. Cypr. Aug. 3, temporis et loci circumstantia. Procul dubio quidam Christiani, ex incogitantia, temeritate et levitate, in actiones infidelium utpote vicinorum suorum curiosius inquirebant, eas propria arbitrio redarguebant ac judices eorum esse volebant, quod non pertinebat ad eorum vocationem. Gerhard.—M.]
1Pe_4:16. But if (he suffer) as a Christian.—The name Christian appears at that time to have been adopted by believers, Act_11:26; Act_26:28. In the opinion of their enemies, the name was infamous, and so we must understand it here, cf. 1Pe_4:14. With the Jews it was tantamount to sectary, renegade and rebel; with the heathen it was equal to atheist.
Let him not be ashamed.—Cf. Rom_1:16 : 2Ti_1:8; 2Ti_1:12. Such sufferings conduce not to shame, but to honour; “they are precious jewels in the sight of God.” Calov. Act_5:41.
But let him glorify God in this part.—“On account of the antithesis, Peter might have said: Let him rather glory; but he teaches that the glory must be ascribed to God.” Bengel. Let him glorify God by patience, by good courage, confessing the faith, and by joyful praises and thanksgiving.—
ἐí ῷ ìÝñåé ôïýôῳ
.—(Lachmann and Tischendorf read
ὀíüìáôé
at because of the name of Christ. Others render, less aptly; matter, case). [See Appar. Crit., 1Pe_4:16, note 17. M.]—Steiger:—”In this lot which falls to him.” It is difficult to prove this use of
ìÝñïò
. It is rather to be taken as 1Pe_3:16.
ἐí ᾦ êáôáëáëῶóéí
, they were to glorify God in the very thing for which they were slandered, viz.: their faith in Christ.
1Pe_4:17 introduces a new ground why Christians should gladly suffer for Christ’s sake. Possessed of such a mind (the mind of suffering gladly for Christ’s sake), they will be delivered from the near and inevitable judgment of God which is about to burst on unbelievers, but begins at the Church of God in the persecutions that are coming on her. The former will feel the whole weight of the judgment, the latter its first beginnings only, whereby they are saved.
It is time.—As it is the inflexible purpose of God that we must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God, and as it is a well-known law of the Divine kingdom that judgment must begin at the city and house of God, Jer_25:29; Jer_10:13; Jer_14:18-19; Jer_49:12; Amo_3:14; Eze_9:6; Eze_21:4; Heb_12:6, as manifested in the troubles of Israel in Egypt and in the wilderness, so now is the season of the judgment, for the end of all things is at hand, 1Pe_4:7.
The judgment.—To believers it is a paternal chastisement, contemplating their deliverance from unknown and unrepented sins, in order that they may not be condemned with the world 1Co_11:28; 1Co_11:31; it is to them a judgment of mercy, but to unbelievers a judgment of wrath, revealing the punitive justice of God. The one leads to salvation, the other to perdition, cf. Luk_23:30; Mat_25:41; Rev_6:15-17; Rev_9:11-15; Rom_2:5; 2Th_1:6.
At the house of God.—Cf. 1Pe_2:5; 1Ti_3:15. The Church of the Lord. Steiger has several quotations from the Rabbis stating that the judgment will begin with the righteous.
What will be the end of them?—What will be their final state? “If the sons are chastised, what have the most malicious slaves to expect? How will it fare with the unrighteous before Thee, if Thou dost not even spare Thy believing children, in order to exercise and instruct them?” Augustine.—Cf. Luk_23:31; Jer_49:12; Psa_1:6.—
ôῶí ἀðåéèïýíôùí
.—Cf. 1Pe_2:8; 1Pe_3:20; Joh_16:8-9. [Bengel:—“Judicium, initio tolerabilius, sensim ingravescit. Pii sua parte perfuncti cum immunitate spectant miserias impiorum: impii dum pios affligunt, suam mensuram implent et discunt quæua ipsorum portio futura sit: sed id melius sciunt pii, quare patientes sunt.”—M.].
1Pe_4:18. If the righteous hardly is saved.—The thought of 1Pe_4:17 is verified and strengthened by the verbatim quotation of Pro_11:31 in the LXX. The Apostle may also have remembered the accounts which Christ Himself gave of the great perils of the last temptations, Mat_24:12-13; Mat_24:22; Mat_24:24.—
ìüëéò
, with difficulty, with hard pains and not without suffering.—
ðïῦ öáíåῖôáé
, Psa_1:4-5, describes the ungodly as chaff which the wind scattereth away.—
Äßêáéïò
=
ðéóôåýùí
, one who as a believer leads a life well-pleasing and acceptable to God, is justified and follows after righteousness. The opposite,
ἀðåéèῶí
and
ἁóåâÞò
=
óþæåôáé
sc., unto life eternal. The opposite, to be lost, to fall hopelessly into perdition.
1Pe_4:19. Wherefore—well-doings.—General conclusion from the entire exhortation. If suffering according to the purpose of God is so necessary, if it contemplates such glorious ends, we ought patiently to submit to this Divine necessity (German:—göttlichem Muss), 1Pe_1:6; 1Pe_5:9, commit our soul to Him, on whom we have a firm and sacred hold, and never lose sight of the equal necessity that we continue in well-doing.—
êáὶ ïἱ ðÜó÷ïíôåò
—Some take it as in 1Pe_3:14; others join it with
ὤóôå
, although it is never used to strengthen
ὤóôå
. Better follow Wiesinger: “The end and aim of every thing should be the glory of God, 1Pe_4:11, hence also suffering.” Those also who do not suffer are to commit their souls to the faithful Creator.
According to the will of God.—1Pe_3:17; 1Pe_4:17. This contains a consolation and a reason for the following exhortation.—
ὡò ðéóôῷ êôéóôῇ
.—He has not only created our souls originally, but also created them anew in Christ. Inasmuch as He is faithful, it is His blessed will to finish the good work He has begun, and to make good all His promises. As our Creator, He has the first claim upon us, Act_4:24. [Oecumenius:—
ἀóöáëὴò êáὶ ἀøåõäὴò êáôὰ ôὰò ἐðáããåëßáò áὐôïῦ
.—M.]—
ðáñáôéèÝóèùóáí
.—As Christ’s dying words were: “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit,” Luk_23:46; cf. 1Pe_1:9.—He is the most trusty Guardian of our souls, Psa_31:6; Ecc_12:7, and our bodies also are in the hands of God. Without His will, not a hair of His children can be hurt. “As the most faithful, He will preserve them, as the most mighty He can do it.” Gerhard.—
ἐí ἀãáèïðïéÀáéò
.—In well-doings. The apposition goes back to 1Pe_4:15 and 1Pe_4:16. Trust in God and well-doing must be in-dissolubly united. “Only inasmuch as faith restores the primal spiritual relation of Creator and creature, man is warranted to rejoice over this faithfulness of the Creator.” Steiger. Cf. Mat_10:28; 1Co_10:13; 2Pe_2:9; Psa_138:8; Psa_103:14.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. There is no reward attached to suffering as such; it is only the patience and constancy with which, for Christ’s sake, suffering is borne, to which reward is mercifully promised.
2. The Holy Ghost who rests upon saints, protects them, shines forth from them, is called the Spirit of Glory because, says Roos, He is holy, and causes His holiness to radiate, and because He is worthy of being glorified by men and all other creatures.
3. “The fire of trial belongs to Christianity, it is the rule, not the exception.” Richter.
4. Why does judgment begin at the house of God? 1. There is one law for the Church as a whole, and for the individual members of it. Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, Heb_12:6. A father, if he is earnestly opposed to evil, chastises first his children, afterward his household. He is first severe to the former, afterward also to the latter. Since cleansing from sin is the end contemplated, enlightened believers recognize a merciful provision in being judged now that they may be saved hereafter. Hence it is one of the prerogatives of the house of God that it is destined to pass through the judgment of grace in time, in order that it may be saved from the future judgment of wrath. 2. Because thereby the accuser of our souls and censurer of God’s ways, and his followers, are silenced and deprived of all objections against the justice of God.
5. 1Pe_4:17 is not in conflict with Joh_3:18. “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already;” all that is necessary is to distinguish the judgment of grace from the judgment of wrath, and temporal punishment from eternal.
6. The words, “It is time that judgment should begin”—supply a hint concerning the date of this Epistle. The destruction of Jerusalem could not have taken place when the author wrote this passage.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
The cross, the fire-proof of faith.—Why ought we not to be astonished at the heat of tribulation? a. It comes from God. b. It is designed to put us to the test. c. It is meet that the flesh should suffer and that sinners should have trouble, d. The way of Christ goes through sufferings to glory, e. Suffering with Christ is a token of the state of grace and an earnest of future glory. f. Sufferings are no disgrace but an honour, g. They are attended by a sense of blessedness in the foretaste of expected glory, h. The patience which we exhibit saves us from the judgment of wrath, which overtakes the ungodly, i. Not even the smallest injury can befall believers without the will of God, and all things must conduce to their salvation.—What is suffering with Christ? a. Not to do any wrong that renders us liable to just punishment, b. To suffer innocently for righteousness’ sake. c. To suffer for Christ’s sake, and in communion with Him.
Zeller: “Like as our secular princes distinguish faithful and constant servants and victorious generals with the badge of some order, so the Lord of lords distinguishes His faithful servants and victors with crosses of suffering in order to prepare them a joy, as with a cross of honour and a token and assured expectation of the great honour that, as those, who with Christ continue patient in suffering, they shall be blessed hereafter with joy and gladness when at His second and even at His third coming, He shall reveal the glory of His power, and raise them to participation in the glory of His kingdom.”
Besser: As our Lord at His first coming began with the purifying of the Temple, so it is the token of the commencement of His second coming that He refines His house as with a refiner’s fire. Mal_3:2.
Starke: Little pain, great refreshing. Both with Christ, how glorious! What is taken from thee, for which thou dost not receive a million-fold reward? What boots then, thy complaining and weeping? Let us look upon the future and sweeten therewith the present. Marks [German ‘Moles’ Maalzeichen.—M.] of Christ are tokens of honour. Disgrace before the world is exaltation before God and His angels.—Peter had made experience both of being astonished at the heat of tribulation, Mat_16:22, and of rejoicing in suffering with Christ, Act_5:41.—Partners in the fight, partners in the coronation. As surely as thou art suffering for Christ’s sake, so surely thou wilt be eternally clothed with joy and glory.—Art thou faint-hearted and timid in the state of temptation, observe where thou art suffering for Christ’s sake, and rejoice, for this is to thee an infallible token that thou art the Lord’s, Joh_15:19. Thou sayest: I have to suffer much; examine thyself, if it is not thine own fault; if it is, do not complain, but repent and amend. Lam_3:39.—If a Christian, who is neither in the magistracy nor the ministry, is unable to do anything towards the improvement of much that is disorderly, it is enough for him to sigh, to desire and to commit it to God, Eze_9:4.—They call thee, and thou art a Christian; then remember thy Head from whom thou hast thy name, thy anointing which thou hast received from Him, 1Jn_2:27, and thy duty, to follow Him, Mat_10:38.—The wrath of God is no jest. Fear, whosoever thou art, for sin which cannot stand before the judgment seat, cleaves to thee, Job_34:11.—Many sorrows shall be to the wicked, Psa_32:10, while the godly simply hold and taste the cup of God, the ungodly have to drink the very dregs, Psa_75:9.—Unbelief is the greatest sin and the real cause of the temporal and eternal judgments of God, Mar_16:16.—Let none envy the prosperity of the wicked: alas! it will fare ill with them in eternity, unless they repent, Psa_73:12.—A true Christian ought neither to cause his own sufferings, nor wish for them, but commit everything to the will of God, 1Sa_3:18.—Whoso committeth his soul to God must be in a state of grace and holiness, otherwise all his committing is lost and in vain. Job_16:17.—The soul, if we die a happy death, will surely go to God, who will preserve it as an immortal spirit, and the more so because it has been saved by Christ and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, Joh_5:24.
Roos: God decrees punishment on the righteous on account of their probable indolence, on account of their abuse of His grace and means of grace, or also on account of other disorders and failures, which, unless they are checked, might lead us to positive falling away from grace.—The word of God announces loving severity and wholesome strictness; God is very exact with His family.
Lisco: Blessed are innocent sufferers.—The hidden glory of the sharers of Christ reign. The different import of sufferings, a, in the house of God; b, in sinners.
Stier: How Christians ought to submit to suffering.
Kapff: The school of the cross, the school of heaven; 1, There is no way to heaven without the cross; 2, Heaven is opened in the cross; 3, The crown of the cross is in heaven.
[Leighton:
1Pe_4:12. In these fires, as faith is tried, the word on which faith relies is tried, and is found all gold, most precious, no refuse in it. The truth and sweetness of the promises are much confirmed in the Christian’s heart upon his experiment of them in his sufferings; his God is found to be as good as His word, being with him when he goes through the fire, Isa_43:2, preserving him that he loses nothing except dross, which is a gainful loss, leaving only his corruption behind him.
1Pe_4:13. I remember what that pious duke is said to have declared at Jerusalem, when they offered to crown him king there, “Nolo auream, ubi Christus spineam.”
1Pe_4:14. Here what the Apostle had said, concerning suffering in general, he specifies in the particular case of suffering reproaches; but this expression seems not to come up to the height of that which he has used before; he spoke of fiery trial, but this of reproach seems rather fit to be called an airy trial, the blast of vanquishing words. Yet upon trial it will be found to be (as it is here accounted) a very sharp, a fiery trial, cf. Jam_3:6.—M.]
[Macknight:
1Pe_4:12. The metaphor is old but noble: it represents the Christians at Pontus as having fire cast upon them, for trying of their faith, as gold is tried by fire, 1Pe_1:7, to which the Apostle alludes.—M.]
[1Pe_4:17. In BavaKama, fol. 60, 1. the following passage occurs: “God never punishes the world but because of the wicked, but He always begins with the righteous first. The destroyer makes no difference between the just and the unjust: only he begins first with the righteous.”—M.]
Footnotes:
1Pe_4:12. [
ìὴ îåíßæåóèå
, Pass., see 1Pe_4:4, “be not astonished at.” On the construction of this Verb with the Dative, see Winer, p. 222.—M.]
1Pe_4:12. [
ðýñùóéò
, literally, burning, figuratively, trial by fire; the rendering of E. V. must be regarded as very felicitous,
ðñὸò ðåéñáóìὸí ὑìῖí ãéíïìἐíῃ
=which is taking place among you (or as Alford renders, “in your case”) for a trial to you.—M.]
1Pe_4:12. [
ὡò
=as if.—M.]
1Pe_4:12. [
îÝíïõ óõìâáßíïíôïò ὑìῖí
=“some strange thing were happening to you.—M.]
1Pe_4:13. [
êáèὸ
is supported by A. B. K. L., Rec. and many others;
êáèὼò
, a less authentic reading; translate “in as far as,” (Alford) or “in the degree to which” (German); cf. Rom_8:26; 2Co_8:12.—M.]
1Pe_4:13. [
êïéíùíåῖôå ôïῖò ê
.
ô
.
ë
.=“ye are partakers with the sufferings of Christ.”—M.]
1Pe_4:13. [Translate, “In order that ye may also at (=in) the revelation of his glory rejoice.”—M.]
1Pe_4:14. [“If ye are reproached,”
åἰ
with Indicative.—M.]
1Pe_4:14. [
ἐí ὀíüìáôé
=in the name of Christ, cf. Mat_5:11; 1Pe_3:14.—M.]
1Pe_4:14. [
ìáêÜñéïé
=blessed are ye.—M.]
1Pe_4:14. [
ὅôé
=because, it gives the reason why they are blessed.—M.]
1Pe_4:14. [On the Article with attributives, see Winer, p. 144. Translate: “the Spirit of glory, and that of God”—“the Spirit of Glory, who is none else than God’s Spirit Himself.” For classical illustrations, see Winer.—M.]
[A. (Griesbach, Scholz and Lachmann insert after
äüîçò
,
êáὶ äõíÜìåùò
); so Sinait.; but (Tischendorf rejects the addition).—M.]
1Pe_4:14. [
êáôὰ ìὲí áὐôïὺò âëáóöçìåῖôáé
,
êáôὰ äὲ ὑ ìᾶò äïîÜæåôáé
. This clause stands in Recept., K. L. and others,] but is wanting in A. B., Sinaitic. and many MSS. Lachmann and Tischendorf, also Alford reject it. [It is in all probability a gloss.—M.]
1Pe_4:15. [
ãὰñ
=for.—M.]
1Pe_4:15. [
áëëïôñéïåðßóêïðïò
, a
ἅðáî ëåãüìåíïí
, denoting “overseeing other people’s affairs, prying into them.” Alford: “Pryer into other men’s matters.” De Wette: “an impertinent;” but see note below.—M.]
1Pe_4:16. [
ἐí ôῷ ὀíüìáôé ôïõôῷ
. Rec. reads
ìÝñåé
instead of
ὀíüìáôé
, with K. L.; but the former reading has more weighty authorities, and is sustained by Lachmann, Tischendorf and Alford. Translate: “in this name,” i. e., the name of
÷ñéóôéáíüò
.—M.]
1Pe_4:17. [
ὅôé ὁ êáéñὸò
=because it is the season, Alford; (because) it is time, German.—M.]
1Pe_4:17. [Translate: “of the judgment beginning at the house of God, but if (it begin) first at us, what (will be) the end of them that are disobedient to the Gospel of God?”—M.]
