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1 Peter 4:1–2
“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”
Christ Jesus walked the path of suffering that resulted finally in His exaltation. He serves as our example, for all those who are willing to suffer for Him will likewise enjoy exaltation at the last day (1 Peter 3:8–22). This truth, we read in today’s passage, has ramifications for our own growth in holiness.
Peter writes, “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh . . .” (4:1). This is a key statement for understanding the person and natures of Christ. Classical orthodox theology affirms that Jesus is one divine person—the Word or Son of God—in whom are perfectly united the divine nature and a human nature. These natures are united without confusion, change, division, or separation, and each nature retains its own properties. Because these natures belong to the person of the Son, the Son possesses all the properties of each nature, but the divine nature does not acquire properties that belong to the human nature and the human nature does not acquire properties that belong to the divine nature. Thus, the person of the Son is always the One who acts, but what is uniquely human in His actions manifests His human nature and what is uniquely divine in His actions manifests the divine nature. Athanasius of Alexandria, the early church champion of the deity of Christ, comments: “The Apostle did not say that Christ died in his divinity but in his flesh, so as to emphasize that it was not his divine nature which suffered but his human one. The sufferings are those of the one to whom the body belongs. Since the flesh belonged to the Word, the sufferings of the flesh must be attributed to the Word as well.” The incarnate Son truly suffered in His human nature, not in His divine nature.
We must arm ourselves with the same way of thinking—that it is better to suffer for doing right than to escape suffering by doing evil—because those who suffer in the flesh cease from sin (1 Peter 4:1). Jesus chose doing God’s will over sinning even though it led to suffering, so if we are more willing to suffer than to violate God’s will, we show that sin no longer controls us. Peter does not mean that we will attain sinless perfection before death if we are willing to suffer rather than sin. Instead, Peter observes that those who live according to the rule of the Holy Spirit, not the rule of sin, are those who in the main seek to do what is right even when it brings them pain. Those who will sin to escape suffering will live for human passions and not for the will of God (v. 2).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
John Calvin comments on today’s passage, “We are really and effectually supplied with invincible weapons to subdue the flesh, if we partake as we ought of the efficacy of Christ’s death.” If we are convinced that doing God’s will is better than sinning even when it means suffering, and if we are confident that suffering is only temporary but our exaltation will be eternal, then we will be well equipped to live according to God’s will and not sin.
For further study
- Job 2:1–10
- Daniel 3
- Philippians 3:8–11
- Hebrews 11:24–26
The bible in a year
- 1 Chronicles 18–20
- John 11:1–27