Pulpit Commentary - 1 Peter 4:1

Pulpit Commentary - 1 Peter 4:1 - 4:19

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Pulpit Commentary - 1 Peter 4:1 - 4:19

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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

4:1 - 4:19

Expositions

1Pe_4:1

Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh. St. Peter returns, after the digression of 1Pe_3:19-22, to the great subject of Christ's example. The words "for us" are omitted in some ancient manuscripts; they express a great truth already dwelt upon in 1Pe_2:1-25. and 3. Here the apostle is insisting upon the example of Christ, not on the atoning efficacy of his death. Arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. The word rendered "mind" ( ἔννοια ) is more exactly "thought" (comp. Heb_4:12, the only other place where it occurs in the New Testament); but it certainly has sometimes the force of "intention, resolve." The Christian must be like his Mustier; he must arm himself with the great thought, the holy resolve, which was in the mind of Christ—the thought that suffering borne in faith frees us from the power of sin, the resolve to suffer patiently according to the will of God. That thought, which can be made our own only by faith, is the Christian's shield; we are to arm ourselves with it against the assaults of the evil one (comp. Rom_13:12; 2Co_10:4; Eph_6:11). For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. The thought is that of Rom_6:6-11. Some translate the conjunction ὅτι , "that," and understand it as giving the content of the ἔννοια : "Arm yourselves with the thought that," etc.; but this does not give so good a sense, and would seem to require ταύτην rather than τὴν αὐτήν —" this thought," rather than "the same thought." Some, again, understand this clause of Christ; but this seems a mistake. The apostle spoke first of the Master; now he turns to the disciple. Take, he says, for your amour the thoughts which filled the sacred heart of Christ—the thought that suffering in the flesh is not, as the world counts it, an unmixed evil, but often a deep blessing; for, or because, he that suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. If, when we are called to suffer, we offer up our sufferings to Christ who suffered for us, and unite our sufferings with his by faith in him, then those sufferings, thus sanctified, destroy the power of sin, and make us cease from sin (comp. Rom_6:10).

1Pe_4:2

That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh. On the whole, it seems better to connect this clause with the imperative: "Arm yourselves with the same mind, that ye no longer should live the rest of your time;" rather than with the clause immediately preceding: "He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live," etc.; though both connections give a good sense. The Greek word for "live" ( βιῶσαι ) occurs only here in the New Testament. Bengel says, "Aptum verbum, non die fur de brutis.' "In the flesh "here means simply "in the body," in this mortal life. "The rest of your time" suggests the solemn thought of the shortness of our earthly pilgrimage: bye for eternity. To the lusts of men, but to the will of God. The datives are normal; they express the pattern or rule according to which our life ought to be fashioned. God's will is our sanctification (1Th_4:3). That will is ever the same, a fixed, unchanging rule; the lusts of men are shifting, uncertain, restless.

1Pe_4:3

For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles; rather, as in the Revised Version, the time past may suffice. The words, "of our life" and "us," are not found in the best manuscripts. St. Peter could not include himself among those who wrought the will of the Gentiles. The Greek word for "will" here is, according to the best manuscripts, βούλημα ; in 1Pe_4:2 "the will of God" is θέλημα . The general distinction is that θέλω implies choice and purpose, βούλομαι merely inclination (compare, in the Greek, Php_1:13, Php_1:14). The change of word seems to point to such a distinction here. God's will is a fixed, holy purpose; the will, or rather wish, of the Gentiles was uncertain inclination, turned this way or that way by changeful lusts. The perfect infinitive, "to have wrought," implies that that part of life ought to be regarded as a thing wholly past and gone. The whole sentence has a tone of solemn irony. "Fastidium peccati apud resipiscentes" (Bengel); comp. Rom_6:21. St. Peter is here addressing Gentile Christians. Fronmüller's objection is peculiar: "Suppose that the readers of Peter's Epistle had formerly been heathens, his reproaching them with having formerly done the will of the Gentiles would surely be singular." They had done the will of the Gentiles; they were now, as Christians, to do the will of God. When we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries; better, as in the Revised Version, and to have walked. There is no pronoun. Lusts are the hidden sins of unclean thought, which lead to outbreaks of lasciviousness. The Greek word for "revellings" ( κῶμοι ) is one often used of drunken youths parading the streets, or of festal processions in honor of Bacchus. The word translated "banquetings" means rather "drinking-bouts." The word for "abominable" is ἀθεμίτοις , unlawful, nefarious, contrary to the eternal principles of the Divine Law; "quibus sanctissimum Dei jus violatur" (Bengel). St. Peter is probably referring, not only to the sin of idolatry in itself, but also to the many licentious practices connected with it. After the persecution of Nero, in which St. Peter perished, Christianity was regarded by the state as a religio illicita. Christianity was condemned by the law of Rome; idolatry is opposed to the eternal Law of God. This verse could not have been addressed to Hebrew Christians.

1Pe_4:4

Wherein they think it strange. Wherein, in which course of life, in the fact that the Christians once lived like the Gentiles, but now are so wholly changed. The word ξενίζεσθαι means commonly to be a guest, to live as a stranger in another's house (Act_10:6, Act_10:18; Act_21:16); here it means to be astonished, as at some strange sight, as such guests would no doubt sometimes be. That ye run not with them to the same excess of riot. The Greek words are very strong, "while ye run not with them," as if the Gentiles were running greedily in troops to riot and ruin. The word for "excess" ( ἀνάχυσις ) is found here only in the New Testament; it means" an overflowing;" the rendering sentina ("a sewer" or "cesspool") is doubtful. The word rendered "riot" ( ἀδωτία ) occurs also in Eph_5:18 and Tit_1:6, and is used in the adverbial form in describing the recklessness of the prodigal son (Luk_15:13). It means that lost state in which a man is given up to self-indulgence, and saves neither reputation, earthly position, nor his immortal soul. Speaking evil of you; better, perhaps, translated literally, blaspheming. The words "of you" are not in the original; they who revile Christians for well-doing are blasphemers, they speak really against God.

1Pe_4:5

Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. The judgment is at hand; the Judge standeth before the door; all men, quick and dead alike, must give account to him. It is better to suffer now for well-doing than then for evil-doing. Men call you to give account now (1Pe_3:15); they themselves must give account to God.

1Pe_4:6

For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead. The conjunction "for" seems to link this verse closely to 1Pe_4:5, while the καί ("also" or "even") gives an emphasis to" them that are dead" ( καὶ νεκροῖς ). We naturally refer these last words to the καὶ νεκρούς of the preceding verse. The apostle seems to be meeting an objection. The Thessalonian Christians feared lest believers who fell asleep before the second advent should lose something of the blessedness of those who should be alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord. On the other hand, some of St. Peter's readers may, perhaps, have thought that those who had passed away before the gospel times could not be justly judged in the same way as those who then were living. The two classes, the living and the dead, were separated by a great difference: the living had heard the gospel, the dead had not; the living had opportunities and privileges which had not been granted to the dead. But, St. Peter says, the gospel was preached also to the dead; they too heard the glad tidings of salvation ( καὶ νεκροῖς εὐηγγελίσθη ). Some have thought that the word "dead" is used metaphorically for the dead in trespasses and sins. But it seems scarcely possible to give the word a literal sense in 1Pe_4:5 and a metaphorical sense in 1Pe_4:6. Some understand the apostle as meaning that the gospel had been preached to those who then were dead, before their death; but it seems unnatural to assign different times to the verb and the substantive. The aorist εὐηγγελίσθη directs our thoughts to some definite occasion. The absence of the article ( καὶ νεκροῖς ) should also be noticed; the words assert that the gospel was preached to dead persons—to some that were (lead. These considerations lead us to connect the passage with 1Pe_3:19, 1Pe_3:20. There St. Peter tells us that Christ himself went and preached in the spirit "to the spirits in prison;" then the gospel was preached, the good news of salvation was announced, to some that were dead. The article is absent both here and in 1Pe_3:5 ( ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς ). All men, quick and dead alike, must appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; so St. Peter may not have intended to limit the area of the Lord's preaching in Hades here, as he had done in 1Pe_3:1-22. There he mentioned one section only of the departed; partly because the Deluge furnished a conspicuous example of men who suffered for evil-doing, partly because he regarded it as a striking type of Christian baptism. Here, perhaps, he asserts the general fact—the gospel was preached to the dead; perhaps to all the vast population of the underworld, who had passed away before the gospel times. Like the men of Tyre and Sidon, of Sodom and Gomorrah, they had not seen the works or heard the words of Christ during their life on the earth; now they heard from the Lord himself what he had done for the salvation of mankind. Therefore God was ready to judge the quick and the dead, for to both was the gospel preached. That they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. The gospel was preached to the dead for this end ( εἰς τοῦτο ), that they might be judged indeed ( ἵνκριθῶσι μέν ), but nevertheless live ( ζῶσι δέ ). The last clause expresses the end and purpose of the preaching; the former clause, though grammatically dependent upon the conjunction ἵνα , states a necessity antecedent to the preaching (comp. Rom_6:17, "God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart;" and Rom_8:10, "If Christ be in you, the body indeed is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness." The meaning seems to be—the gospel was preached to the dead, that, though they were judged, yet they might live. They had suffered the judgment of death, the punishment of human sin. Christ had been put to death in the flesh (1Pe_3:18) for the sins of others; the dead had suffered death in the flesh for their own sins. They had died before the manifestation of the Son of God, before the great work of atonement wrought by his death; but that atonement was retrospective—he "taketh away the sin of the world;" its saving influences extended even to the realm of the dead. The gospel was preached to the dead, that, though they were judged according to men (that is, after the fashion of men, as all men are judged), yet they might live in the spirit. The verb κριθῶσι , "might he judged," is aorist, as describing a single fact; the verb ζῶσι , "might live," is present, as describing a continual state. According to God. God is Spirit; and as they that worship him must worship in spirit, so they who believe in him shall live in spirit. The future life is a spiritual life; the resurrection-bodies of the saints will be spiritual bodies, for" flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." But κατὰ Θεόν may also mean "according to the will of God" (as in Rom_8:27), according to his gracious purpose, and in that life which he giveth to his chosen, that eternal life which lieth in the knowledge of God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent.

1Pe_4:7

But the end of all things is at hand. The mention of the judgment turns St. Peter's thoughts into another channel. The end is at hand, not only the judgment of persecutors and slanderers, but the end of persecutions and sufferings, the end of our great conflict with sin, the end of our earthly probation: therefore prepare to meet your God. The end is at hand: it hath drawn near. St. Peter probably, like the other apostles, looked for the speedy coming of the Lord. It was not for him, as it is not for us, "to know the times or the seasons" (Act_1:7). It is enough to know that our own time is short. When St. Peter wrote these words, the end of the holy city, the center of the ancient dispensation, was very near at hand; and behind that awful catastrophe lay the incomparably more tremendous judgment, of which the fall of Jerusalem was a figure. That judgment, we know now, was to be separated by a wide interval from the dale of St. Peter's Epistle. But that interval is measured, in the prophetic outlook, not by months and years. We are now living in "the last times" (1Ti_4:1; 1Jn_2:18). The coming of our Lord was the hennaing of the last period in the development of God's dealings with mankind; there is no further dispensation to be looked for. "Not only is there nothing mere between the Christian's present state of salvation and the end, but the former is itself already the end, i.e. the beginning of the end" (Schott, quoted by Huther). Be ye therefore sober; rather, self-restrained, calm, thoughtful. The thought of the nearness of the end should not lead to excitement and neglect of common duties, as it did in the case of the Thessalonian Christians, and again at the approach of the thousandth year of our era. And watch unto prayer; rather, be sober unto prayers. The word translated "watch" in the Authorized Version is not that which we read in our Lord's exhortation to "watch and pray." The word used here ( νήψατε ) rather points to temperance, abstinence from strong drinks, though it suggests also that wariness and cool thoughtfulness which are destroyed by excess. The Christian must be self-restrained and sober, and that with a view to perseverance in prayer. The aorist imperatives, perhaps, imply that St. Peter's readers needed to be stirred up (2Pe_1:13; 2Pe_3:1), to be aroused from that indifference into which men are so apt to fall. The exhortation to persevere in watchfulness would be expressed by the present.

1Pe_4:8

And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves; more literally, before all things, having your love towards one another intense. The existence of charity is taken for granted. Christians must love one another; love is the very badge of their profession. The apostle urges his readers to keep that love intense, and that before all things; for charity is the first of Christian graces. (On the word "intense" ( ἐκτενής ), see note on 1Pe_1:22.) For charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Read and translate, with the Revised Version, for love covereth a multitude of sins. If St. Peter is directly quoting Pro_10:12, he is not using the Septuagint, as he commonly does, but translating from the Hebrew. The Septuagint rendering is quite different, Πάντας δὲ τοὺς μὴ φιλονεικοῦντας καλύπτει φιλία . But it may be that the words had become proverbial. We find them also in Jas_5:20, "He which converteth the sinner… shall hide a multitude of sins." St. James means that he will obtain God's forgiveness for the converted sinner; but in Pro_10:12 the meaning (as is plain from the context) is that love covers the sins of others; does not stir up strifes, as hatred does, but promotes concord by concealing and forgiving sins. This is probably St. Peter's meaning here: "Take care that your charity is intense, for only thus can you forgive as you are bidden to forgive, as you hope to be forgiven." Perhaps he was thinking of the "seventy times seven," to which the Lord had told him that forgiveness was to extend. But his words may well be understood as implying more than this. Love shown in forgiving others will win forgiveness for yourselves: "Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." Love manifested in converting others will cover their sins, and obtain God's forgiveness for them. In the deepest sense, it is only the love of Christ energizing in his atoning work which can cover sin; but true charity, Christian love, flows from that holiest love. "Love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." Therefore in some sense Christian love, flowing from the love of Christ, and bringing the Christian very near to Christ, covers sins; for it keeps the Christian close to the cross, within the immediate sphere of the blessed influences of the atonement, so that he becomes a center of grace, a light kindled from the true Light, a well of living waters fed by the one fountain which is opened for sin and for uncleanness. The mutual love of Christians, their kindly words and deeds, check the work of sin; their prayers, their intercessions, ,call down the forgiveness of God. Therefore, in the view of the approaching end, charity is before all things precious for our own souls and for the souls of others.

1Pe_4:9

Use hospitality one to another; literally, being hospitable (comp. Rom_12:13; 1Ti_3:2; Heb_13:2; 3Jn_1:5). Hospitality must have been a necessary, and often a costly, duty in the early ages of the Church. There was no public provision for the poor. Christians traveling from place to place would find no suitable shelter except in the houses of Christians. They would be obliged to avoid the public houses of entertainment, where they would be exposed often to danger, always to temptation; only the private houses of Christians would be safe for them. Hence the use of the "letters of commendation," mentioned by St. Paul (2Co_3:1). Those who brought such letters were to be received in Christian homes. The well-known 'Teaching of the Twelve Apostles' speaks of this right of hospitality, and gives cautions against its abuse. Tim apostle is not speaking of ordinary social gatherings; they have their place and their utility in the Christian life, but they do not, as a rule, afford scope for the higher self-denials of Christian charity (comp. Luk_14:12, Luk_14:13). Without grudging. Such hospitality would be always costly, often inconvenient, sometimes attended with danger, as in the case of the first British martyr; but it was to be without murmuring. Murmuring would take from the hospitality all its beauty; it should be offered as a gift of love, and Christian love can never murmur.

1Pe_4:10

As every man hath received the gift; rather, according as each received a gift. The aorist ἔλαβεν , "received," seems to point to a definite time, as baptism, or the laying on of hands (comp. Act_8:17; Act_19:6; 1Ti_4:14). For the gift ( χάρισμα ), comp. Rom_12:6; 1Co_12:4, "There are diversities of gifts." Even so minister the same one to another; literally, ministering it towards one another. The gifts of grace, whatever they may be, are talents entrusted to individual Christians for the good of the whole Church; those who have them must use them to minister to the wants of others. As good stewards of the manifold grace of God. We seem to see here a reference to the parable of the talents (comp. also 1Co_4:1; Tit_1:7). Christians must be "good stewards ( καλοὶ οἰκονόμοι )." There should be not only exactness, but also grace and beauty in their stewardship—the beauty which belongs to holy love, and flows from the imitation of him who is "the good Shepherd ( ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός ).";;The gifts ( χαρίσματα ) are the manifestations of the grace ( χάρις ) of God; that grace from which all gifts issue is called manifold ( ποικίλη ), because of the diversities of its gifts, the variety of its manifestations.

1Pe_4:11

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. St. Peter proceeds to give examples of the proper use of gifts. One of those gifts is utterance. The apostle means all Christian utterance, whether public in the Church, or private in Christian conversation or ministrations to the sick. The second clause may be also rendered, as in the Revised Version, "speaking as it were oracles of God." It is more natural to supply the participle" speaking" than "let him speak," after the analogy of διακονοῦντες ("ministering") in 1Pe_4:10. For the word λόγια , oracles, see Act_7:38; Rom_3:2; also Heb_5:12, in which last place the Scriptures of the New Testament seem to be intended. The apostle's meaning may be either that the Christian teacher was to speak as do the oracles of God, that is, the Scriptures, or (and the absence of the article rather favors this view) that he was so to yield himself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that his teaching should be the teaching of God; he was to seek no praise or reward for himself, but only the glory of God. Those who with single-hearted zeal seek God's glory do speak as it were oracles of God, for he speaketh by them. If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth. Again it is better to supply the participle "ministering." Whatever a man's gifts may be, he must minister them for the good of the whole Church (see Heb_5:9; also Rom_12:1-21. S; 1Co_12:28). And this he must do as of the strength which God supplieth; the strength is not his—God giveth it. The verb χορηγεῖ , rendered "giveth," is used in classical Greek first of supplying the expenses of a chorus, then of liberal giving generally; it occurs in 2Co_9:10. The compound, ἐπιχορηγεῖν , is more common; St. Peter has it in the Second Epistle (1. 5, 11). That God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ. The glory of God should be the one end of all Christian work. The Lord himself had said so in the sermon on the mount, in words doubtless well remembered by the apostle. To whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen; rather, as in the Revised Version, whose is the glory and dominion for the ages of ages. It is thought by some that St. Peter is here quoting from some ancient form of prayer; the use of the "Amen," and the resemblance to Rev_1:6 and Rev_5:13, seem to favor this supposition. It is uncertain whether this doxology is addressed to God the Father or to the Lord Jesus Christ; the order of the words is in favor of the latter view, and the doxology closely resembles that in Rev_1:6.

1Pe_4:12

Beloved, thank it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; literally, be not astonished at the burning among you, which is coming to you for a trial, as though a strange thing were happening to you. St. Peter returns to the sufferings of his readers. The address, "beloved," as in 1Pe_2:11, shows the depth of his sympathy with them. He resumes the thought of 1Pe_1:7; the persecution is a burning, a fiery furnace, which is being kindled among them for a trial, to try the strength of their faith. The present participles imply that the persecution was already beginning; the word πύρωσις , a burning (see Rev_18:9, Rev_18:18), shows the severity. St. Peter tells them its meaning: it was to prove them; it would turn to their good. Persecution was not to be regarded as a strange thing. The Lord had foretold its coming. St. Paul, in his first visit to Asia Minor, had warned them that "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." (On the word ξένιζεσθαι , see note on 1Pe_1:4.) The thing was not strange; they were not to count it as strange; they must learn, so to speak, to acclimatize themselves to it; it would brace their energies and strengthen their faith.

1Pe_4:13

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings. St. Peter speaks in stronger language; he repeats the Lord's words in Mat_5:12. Christians should learn to rejoice in persecution; they must rejoice in so far as, in proportion as ( καθό ), they are partakers of Christ's sufferings (see 2Co_9:10; Php_3:10; Heb_13:13). Suffering meekly borne draws the Christian nearer to Christ, lifts him, as on a cross, nearer to the crucified Lord; but this it does only when he looks to Jesus in his suffering, when the eye of faith is fixed upon the cross of Christ. Then faith unites the sufferings of the disciple with the sufferings of his Lord; he is made a partaker of Christ's sufferings; and so far as suffering has that blessed result, in such measure he must rejoice in his sufferings. That, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy; literally, that in the revelation of Ms glory also ye may rejoice exulting. The word for "exulting," ἀγαλλιώμενοι , corresponds with that used in 1Pe_1:6 and in Mat_5:12 ( χαίρετε καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε ). Joy in suffering now is the earnest of the great joy of the redeemed at the revelation of that glory which they now see through a glass darkly.

1Pe_4:14

If ye be reproached for the Name of Christ, happy are ye; rather, if ye are reviled in the -Name of Christ, blessed are ye. There is, again, a manifest quotation of our Lord's words in Mat_5:11. The conjunction "if" does not imply any doubt: the words mean "when ye are reviled." For "in the Name of Christ," camp. Mar_9:41, "Whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my Name, because ye belong to Christ." So here the meaning is, "When ye are reviled because ye belong to Christ, because ye bear his Name, because ye are Christians" (camp, Act_5:41). For the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. The form of the sentence in the Greek is unusual. Some regard the first clause, τὸ τῆς δόξης , as a periphrasis for δόξα , and translate, "For glory and the Spirit of God resteth upon you." But there is no other instance of such a periphrasis in the New Testament; it is better to supply πνεῦμα . Men revile them, but God glorifieth them. The Spirit of glory, the Spirit which hath the glorious attributes of God, the Spirit which proceedeth from the Father who dwelleth in the glory, in the Shechinah,—that Spirit resteth upon them, and sheds on them the glory of holy suffering, the glory which hung around the cross of Christ. Two of the most ancient manuscripts, with some others, insert the words καὶ δυνάμεως , "the Spirit of glory, and of power, and of God." The Spirit is power from on high (Luk_24:49). (For "resteth," comp. Isa_11:2.) Ἐπί with the accusative suggests the thought of the Spirit descending upon them and resting there (comp. Joh_1:32, Joh_1:33). The Spirit abides upon those who patiently suffer for Christ. On their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. These words are not found in the most ancient manuscripts, and are probably a gloss, lint a true one. Those who reviled the suffering Christians really blasphemed the Holy Spirit of God, by whom they were strengthened; the Holy Spirit was glorified by their patient endurance.

1Pe_4:15

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil-doer; literally, for let none of you, etc. They are blessed who suffer in the Name of Christ, because they belong to Christ: for it is not the suffering which brings the blessedness, but the cause, the faith and patience with which the suffering is borne. The word for "evil-doer," κακοποιός , is used by St. Peter in two other places (1Pe_2:12 and 1Pe_2:14). Christians were spoken against as evil-doers; they must be very careful to preserve their purity, and to suffer, if need be, not for evil-doing, but for well-doing (1Pe_3:17). Or as a busybody in other men's matters. This clause represents one Greek word, ἀλλοτριοεπίσκοπος ; it means an ἐπίσκοπος , ill-specter, overseer ("bishop" is the modern form of the word), of other men's matters—of things that do not concern him. St. Peter uses the word ἐπίσκοπος only once (1Pe_2:25), where he describes Christ as the Bishop of our souls. It cannot be taken here in its ecclesiastical sense, "let no man suffer as a bishop in matters which do not concern him; but if as a Christian (bishop), let him not be ashamed." The Jews were often accused of constituting themselves judges and meddling in other men's matters; it may be that the consciousness of spiritual knowledge and high spiritual dignity exposed Christians to the same temptation. Hilgenfeld sees here an allusion to Trajan's laws against informers, and uses it as an argument for his theory of the late date of this Epistle.

1Pe_4:16

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian. The word "Christian" occurs only three times in the New Testament—twice in the Acts of the Apostles (Act_11:26; Act_26:28), and here. "The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." They were originally described amongst themselves as "the disciples," "the brethren," "the believers," "the elect," or" the saints;" by the Jews they were called "the Nazarenes" (Act_24:5), as still in Mohammedan countries. The name was probably invented by the heathen, and used at first as a term of derision; there is something of scorn in Agrippa's use of it. It did not at once become common among the disciples of the Lord. St. Peter (who preached at Antioch (Gal_2:11), and is said to have been Bishop of Antioch) is the only sacred writer who adopts it instead of the older names, and that only ones, and in connection with threatened persecution. St. James may possibly allude to it in Jas_2:7. But it was not commonly used among' believers till after New Testament times. Then they began to discern its admirable suitableness. It reminded them that the center of their religion was not a system of doctrines, but a Person, and that Person the Messiah, the Anointed of God. The Hebrew origin of the word, the Greek dress, the Latin termination, seemed to point, like the threefold inscription on the cross, to the universality of Christ's religion to its empire, first over all the civilized nations, and through them, by continually increasing triumphs, over the whole world. It reminded them that they too were anointed, that they had an unction from the Holy One. Its very corruption through heathen ignorance, Christian from χρηστός , good (the Sinaitic Manuscript has χρηστιανός in this place) had its lesson—it spoke of sweetness and of goodness. See the oft-quoted passage from Tertullian: "Sed quum et perperam Chres-tiani nuncupamur a vobis (nam nec nominis certa est notitia penes yes) de suavitate et benignitate compositum est." Let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. The best-supported reading is ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ . This may be understood as an idiom, in the same sense as the reading of the Authorized Version; but it is better to translate it literally, in this name, i.e. either the name of Christ, or (more probably, perhaps) that of Christian. The heathen blasphemed that worthy Name; suffering Christians must not be ashamed of it, but, as the holy martyrs did, utter their "Christianus sum" with inward peace and thanksgiving, glorifying God that he had given them grace to bear that honored Name and to suffer for Christ. Bengel says here, "Poterat Petrus dicere, honori sibi ducat: sed honorem Dee resignandum esse docet."

1Pe_4:17

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. The house of God is the Church (see 1Ti_3:15; 1Co_3:16; and 1Pe_2:5). The judgment must begin at the sanctuary (Eze_9:6; see also Jer_25:15-29). The beginning of judgment is the persecution of the Christians, as our Lord had taught (Mat_24:8, Mat_24:9, and following verses); but that judgment is not unto condemnation: "When we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world" (1Co_11:32); it is the fiery trial, "which is much more precious than of gold that perisheth," the refining fire of affliction. And if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? Compare the passage in Jeremiah already referred to: "Behold, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my Name, and should ye be utterly unpunished?" Compare also our Lord's question, "If they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Gerhard (quoted by Huther) rightly remarks," Exaggeratio est in interrogatione." The question suggests answers too awful for words.

1Pe_4:18

And if the righteous scarcely be saved. St. Peter is quoting the Septuagint Version of Pro_11:31. That version departs considerably from the Hebrew, which is accurately represented by the Authorized Version, "Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more the wicked and the sinner." Probably the word rendered" recompensed," which is neutral in its meaning, is best understood here, not of the good deeds of the righteous, but of the sin which still cleaves to all human righteousness. The righteous shall be requited in the earth, that is, chastised for his transgressions. So it would be now, St. Peter says; judgment must begin at the house of God. He adopts the inexact Septuagint translation for its substantial truth, as we now sometimes use versions which are sufficient for practical purposes, though we know them to be critically inaccurate. We observe again the absence of marks of quotation, as often in St. Peter. Bengel well remarks that the awful "scarcely" ( μόλις σώζεται ) is softened by 2Pe_1:11. Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? The" ungodly "are the impious, scoffers, and blasphemers; the" sinners" are men of profligate and dissolute lives. But the words are (probably) included under one article in the Greek; the men were the same; one form of evil led to the other (comp. Psa_1:5; see also Mat_19:25).

1Pe_4:19

Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God; rather, let them also that suffer. St. Peter sums up his exhortation; he returns to the thought of 1Pe_3:17, "It is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing, than for evil-doing." In the hour of suffering, as well as in times of prosperity, we are in the hands of a merciful and loving Father; we are to learn submission, not because the suffering is inevitable, but because it is according to his will, and his will is our sanctification and salvation. Commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator; rather, as in the Revised Version, commit their souls in well-doing unto a faithful Creator. The conjunction "as" must be omitted, not being found in any of the best manuscripts. The word rendered "Creator" ( κτίστης ) Occurs nowhere else in the Greek Testament. God is our Creator, the Father of spirits, He gave the spirit; to him it returneth. We must imitate our dying Lord, and, like him, commit our souls to the keeping of our heavenly Father as a deposit which may be left with perfect confidence in the hands of a faithful Creator (see 2Ti_1:12). There is an evident reference here to our Lord's words upon the cross (Luk_23:46; Psa_31:5). St. Peter adds, "in well-doing." The Christian's faith must bring forth the fruits of holy living; even in the midst of suffering he must "be careful to maintain good works."

HOMILETICS

1Pe_4:1-6 - Exhortation to entire separation from sin.

I. BY UNION WITH CHRIST.

1. Through suffering. Suffering is the appointed discipline of the Christian soul. Gold is tried by fire, the Christian's faith by suffering. Christ himself suffered in the flesh, and while we are in the flesh we must also suffer. "In that he died, he died unto sin once;" his death separated him from sin, from the sight and hearing of sin, from that mysterious contact with human sin which he endured when "he was made sin for us, though he was without sin." Our suffering ought to have the like power—it ought to remove us out of the dominion of those sins which have hitherto ruled over us. This is the end, the blessedness, of suffering. God sends it in love; he chastens us for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. But suffering doth not always save. "The sorrow of the world worketh death;" it produces discontent and murmuring, and hardens the heart. To gain the blessed fruit of suffering, the eye of the suffering Christian must be fixed upon the suffering Lord. We must "arm ourselves with the same mind." "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." It must be our effort to think the same holy thoughts, to be animated by the same high resolve, which filled the sacred heart of Christ. Those thoughts, that resolve, are our spiritual amour. If we let our thoughts dwell on our troubles, if we fret ourselves, we are defenseless, we are exposed to the temptations which swarm around us. But we must look away from our own sufferings and keep the earnest gaze of faith fixed upon the cross. Thus by an act of faith we may unite our sufferings with the Savior's sufferings, and then suffering sanctified by faith in Christ will have its blessed work in destroying the power of sin.

2. Through the change of heart wrought by suffering. "He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin." Suffering meekly borne is a great help in the daily conflict against sin; it shows us our own weakness and the emptiness of earthly comforts; it humbles us, and makes us less unwilling to submit ourselves to the holy will of God; it points our thoughts to the transitoriness of human life; it is miserable folly to waste that little life in following the wretched lusts of the flesh, when we ought to be doing the will of God. As the blessed angels do God's holy will in heaven, so we must strive to do it in earth; we shall never dwell with the angels unless we are really trying to learn that deep and holy lesson.

II. BY FORSAKING OLD SINS AND OLD COMPANIONS IN SIN.

1. What we must forsake. The will of the Gentiles. The Gentile world was very evil when the Lord Jesus came; sin reigned everywhere, open, rampant, unblushing. It was a shame for the heathen thus to live, for they had the light of conscience; it is a shame of far deeper guilt for us Christians, who have the full light of the gospel, to live as did the Gentiles. Converted men must cast off those old sins; the sins of the flesh, uncleanness, drunkenness, and such like, ruin body and soul. Men set up idols in their hearts—money, station, honor; they fall down and worship these things. Christians must forsake these unlawful idolatries. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God; him only shalt thou serve." Him only; Satan stands behind these idols—it is he whom men really worship when they give their hearts to this or that earthly idol. We have given too much time, far too much, to these idolatries. Let the time past suffice which we have miserably wasted; the residue may be very short. There is much to be done, let us take heed that we waste our time no more.

2. Whom we must forsake. Our old companions, it may be, think it strange that we no longer live as once, perhaps, we did; we were as bad as themselves once, they say. It may be so, but we are changed, and they, alas! are not; we have, we humbly trust, put on the new man; we are

He must exercise self-restraint. The etymology of the Greek word points to the safeguard of the mind; the mind, with all its thoughts, must be kept safe, restrained within due limits. Tim fancies, aspirations, desires, must not be allowed to wander unrestrained. For "the end of all things is at hand," and the Christian must school himself into thoughtful preparation for that solemn hour. His mind should be filled, not with castles in the air, not with visions of earthly prosperity (a mischievous and enervating habit), but with thoughts of death, judgment, eternity. To keep the end steadily in view requires much self-restraint; it implies a well-ordered mind, a life guided by the eternal law of God, not frittered away in trifles and idle pleasures, not spent in pursuits and ambitions which do not rise above the atmosphere of earth. This self-restraint is the sobriety, the soundness of mind which the apostle here inculcates upon us; it extends over all the relations and circumstances of life; in all his desires and actions the Christian must be thoughtful, calm, composed; for he lives in the anticipation of the coming end, and his aim is the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

(2) He must be sober unto prayer. Excess in meat or drink or other pleasures of life unnerves the mind; excess weakens the body, brings misery into families, is the cause of poverty and squalor and wretchedness, fills our workhouses, our asylums, our prisons. And it ruins the soul; the drunkard, the glutton, the man of pleasure, cannot pray; his vices burden his soul and weigh it down to the earth, he cannot lift up his heart in prayer to God. For, indeed, prayer demands the exercise of all our highest powers; it requires concentration of thought, energy of desire, devout yearnings after God; it needs the gracious help of God the Holy Ghost, who maketh intercession in and for those who earnestly seek that sacred gift. He who lives in expectation of the end of all things, must live in prayer; for only by constant and faithful prayer can he prepare himself for that awful day; and he cannot pray aright unless he lives a godly, righteous, and sober life.

II. THE NECESSITY OF CHARITY IN ITS VARIOUS MANIFESTATIONS.

1. In forgiveness. In view of the coming judgment charity is necessary above all things; for it is they who love the brethren in Christ and for Christ who shall hear the joyful welcome, "Come, ye blessed of my Father." They see Christ in his people, and for the love of Christ love and care for those whom Christ loved. But "he that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love;" he cannot enter into heaven, which is the home of love: there is no room there for the selfish, unloving heart. Love is necessary above all other graces; it is the exceeding great love of our Master and only Savior Jesus Christ which draws the hearts of men unto the cross; and those who come to the cross, which is the school of love, must learn of him who loved them even unto death to love all the brethren; for love is the very badge of our profession: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Love was the character of the Master; it must be the mark of the disciple. They must not only love one another; but that love, St. Peter says, must be earnest, intense; for it needs the strength of great love to forgive perfectly, and they who do not forgive cannot hope for forgiveness. True charity covers sins; it "believeth all things, hopeth all things;" it puts the fairest construction on the actions of others; it considers all possible extenuations of their errors—antecedents, circumstances, temptations; it does not willingly speak of faults and shortcomings; it hides them as far as may be. And if it is necessary for the good of the sinner, or of society, to uncover sins, charity does it with gentle, loving tact, seeking to win the sinner, to save his soul, forgiving him and seeking God's forgiveness for him. He who thus covers the sins of others, who forgives in the faith of Christ and in the love of the brethren, shall be himself forgiven; his sin shall be covered through the atonement once made upon the cross.

2. In Christian hospitality. It is not costly display and sumptuous entertainments that St. Peter recommends; these things are often sinful waste; men spend their money in selfish ostentation instead of holy and religious works. The Lord had said to his disciples, "He that receiveth you, receiveth me;" and again, "Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." St. Peter re-echoes his Master's words. Christians must show hospitality to one another, and that freely, liberally; murmuring destroys the beauty of the gift. Christ hath received us into the kingdom of God; he feeds us with heavenly food, the Bread that came down from heaven; we must receive our brethren, and that gladly, for his sake.

3. In the use of spiritual gifts. They are given to individual Christians for the benefit of the whole Church. Whatever gifts we may possess, they are but what we once received; they were entrusted to us to be used in our Master's service; that service is the edification of his people. Christians are stewards of these spiritual gifts; they should be good stewards, not like the unjust steward, who wasted his master's goods, and showed foresight and worldly prudence only in providing for himself. They should discharge their stewardship with unblemished honor, with a diligence and zeal which are beautiful in the sight of the truly good. The grace of God varies in its manifestations, in the diversities of gifts which issue from it, according to the needs of the Church, according to the capacity of the individual servant; it is like a piece of beautiful embroidery, various in color and design, but combined in one harmonious whole. Every Christian, even the humblest, has some gift; each should contribute his part, however small, to the general welfare; charity will guide him in the use of his particular gift. The apostle proceeds to give instances.

(1) The gift of utterance. St. Paul asks for the prayers of his converts, "that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel" (Eph_6:19). It is a great gift, often a powerful means of winning souls to Christ. The utterances of spiritual experience must flow out of a sanctified life. Words without heart have little power; they soon betray their unreality. The words of a real Christian must be as oracles of God; if they issue out of a heart cleansed by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, then they are his utterances. "It is not ye that speak," said our Lord to his apostles, "but the Spirit of my Father which speaketh in you." This should be our aim and constant desire—to live so near to God that we may be filled with the Holy Ghost, and so speak the words which the Spirit teacheth; only he can give the spiritual tact, the ready sympathy, the loving persuasiveness, which are so remarkable in some of his saints. But if our words are to be as oracles of God, we must be deeply versed in the oracles of God; our memories must be stored with precious words of Holy Scripture. The lessons which the blessed Spirit teaches now are in all things accordant with the sacred truths which holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

(2) Gifts of ministering. St. Peter combines under one word all other ministrations, such as the gift of government, of teaching the little children; services to be rendered to the poor, the sick, the afflicted. All these are necessary for the well-being of the Church, and all must be performed in the strength which God giveth. All these ministrations require love, zeal, energy, self-denial; and these holy tempers come of God. We are weak, but his strength is made perfect in weakness; we are selfish, but his Spirit can kindle the fire of holy love in the heart that once was cold and dead] He supplies the strength which we need for the work which he has given us to do; he has appointed to every man his work, and will enable every man to do the work appointed him, if he seeks for that strength in faith and prayer; "I can do all things," said St. Paul, "through him that strengtheneth me." Then let us work in the strength of God, and let us ascribe any measure of success which may be granted to us wholly to that strength which God giveth. "Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents; behold, I have gained beside them five talents more." The faithful servant ascribes his gains to his Lord's original gift.

(3) All gifts to be exercised to the glory of God. The Savior said, "I have glorified thee on the earth." His disciples should imitate him, learning of him to seek the glory of God in all things and above all things. The love, the zeal, the energy, which true Christians exhibit in the use of the gifts given them by God show forth the glory of God; for that love and zeal can only come from his grace; weak, selfish creatures such as we are could not live holy, self-denying lives save by the help of God's gracious presence. Every act of Christian self-denial, every labor of love, is an additional proof of the reality of God's power and grace. Then God is glorified in his saints, and that through Jesus Christ; for it is the Lord Jesus who by his atonement hath brought us near to God, and enabled his true disciples to know and love and glorify their Father which is in heaven. The glory and the dominion are his, for all power is given to him in heaven and in earth; and with that gift of power he strengthens his chosen, enduing them with power from on high, enabling them to glorify God by a holy life and by a blessed death.

LESSONS.

1. "The end of all things is at hand." "Prepare to meet thy God."

2. Be self-restrained; be sober. Much prayer is needful for preparation against the hour of death; the self-indulgent cannot pray aright.

3. Above all things, follow after charity.

4. Make proof of your love in the forgiveness of injuries, in hospitality, in the use of spiritual gifts for the welfare of others.

5. Seek first the glory of God, and that through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1Pe_4:12-19 - Suffering.

I. THE PORTION OF CHRISTIANS.

1. Therefore they must not think it strange. The Lord had foretold it; it must come; it was coming when St. Peter was writing. It was a burning furnace, a fiery trial, the beginning of the cruel persecutions through which believers were to pass; the prison and the torture, the sword, the stake, the lion, were threatening the infant Church; the savage shout, "Christianos ad leones!" would soon be heard in the towns of Asia Minor. Hitherto the Roman magistrates had generally been on the side of justice; they had often protected the Christians from the violence of the Jews. But Christianity was about to be regarded as a religio illicita; the giant power of Rome was to be arrayed against it; emperors would attempt to blot out the very name of Christian. This frenzy of persecution was strange, unheard of; there had never been the like before; the rulers of the earth had never before banded together to root out a religion by fire and sword; conquered nations had been allowed to worship their own gods and to retain their ancient rites. But the Son of God had come to be the Savior of the world; the malice of Satan was stirred to the utmost; he would make a mighty effort to crush the Church of Christ. St. Peter shows a deep sympathy with his suffering brethren; he speaks to them in the language of tenderness; he calls them "beloved." He does not depreciate the severity of the coming persecution; he calls it a fiery trial; he teaches us by his example how to deal with the afflicted. But he encourages them. It was to try them, to prove their faith. They must not think it strange. Indeed, this bitterness of persecution was a new thing now; but suffering would be the portion of Christians; they must regard it as belonging to their profession, and accustom themselves to patient endurance.

2. They must even rejoice in it. For it brings them near to Christ. He bore the cross; the cross is the badge of his chosen. The cross of knightly orders is reckoned a high honor now; but there is no cross of gold to be compared for true honor and for preciousness with that spiritual cross which makes the faithful Christian partake in the sufferings of Christ. For Christ is our King, and to be made like unto the King is of all honors the highest—far above all earthly distinctions. Leighton reminds us that Godfrey of Bouillon refused the royal crown when it was offered to him at Jerusalem: "Nolo auream, ubi Christus spineam"—"No crown of gold where Christ Jesus was crowned with thorns." But suffering does not only make the faithful Christian like unto his Lord; it does more, it brings him into communion with the sufferings of Christ. Suffering borne in faith helps the Christian to realize the sufferings of the Lord; it brings the cross into nearer view; it enables him to approach, to grasp, to cling to it, to take it into his heart. And suffering thus endured in the faith of Christ crucified is united by faith with his sufferings and becomes part of them, and by that mystical union is sanctified and blessed to the soul's salvation (Col_1:25).

3. It is the preparation for heaven. Suffering weans the Christian from earthly enjoyments; it helps him to lift up his eyes from earth and to see by faith the glory which shall be revealed. Those who now suffer with Christ shall then rejoice, and that with a joy which the heart of man cannot conceive. Even now they are blessed; the blessedness of the eighth Beatitude is theirs; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon them. Men may revile them; they will do so; when other persecutions cease, these persecutions of the tongue continue; "when all other fires of martyrdom are put out, these burn still" (Leighton). But the spirit of glory resteth on those who for Christ's sake patiently endure. His presence is the foretaste and the pledge of the everlasting glory. He comes from the throne of glory; he brings with him the glory of holiness; he sheds the glory of a saintly life around the followers of Christ. And he resteth upon them; he came down from heaven on the great Day of P