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. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.—1 Peter 4:1–6

Outline

Introduction: A Life of Weakness With Christ

1. The Mind and Manner of Jesus (1 Peter 4:1–3)
2. The Mind and Maligning of the World (1 Peter 4:4)
3. The Might and Mercy of God (1 Peter 4:5–6)

Application: A Life of Abundance in Christ

Introduction: A Life of Weakness With Christ

We have talked about a life in this world as exiles who have our hope in Jesus and long for our true home. This has been trying to create a Christian identity. Have you noticed that the apostle Peter doesn’t place any hope in “winning the culture wars” and doesn’t call Christians to distance themselves from the culture? He’s not about “winning” or about withdrawing. Instead, Peter has repeatedly reminded them of their living hope in Jesus Christ and their place in his kingdom as citizens of heaven. They are children of God in the kingdom of God meant to display the beauty of their King. How? By fighting their own sinful desires and by filling the places where they live with beautiful deeds that reflect their King, especially in pain and persecution. This was a big shift in Peter’s thinking. 

Peter was the one who told Jesus that he would never let him be crucified. It’s no coincidence that right after that, Jesus teaches his disciples that anyone who would follow him would have to take up their cross (cf. Matthew 16). Peter himself was crucified upside down later in life. To follow Jesus would not be a life of political power in this world, but a life following in his footsteps of suffering. Jesus was never going to win the popular vote. He was never going to overthrow Rome and give the Jews the political power for which they hoped. Instead, Jesus was going to submit to the will of his Father, preach the gospel of the Kingdom, and march his way to a cross to pay for the sins of those who shouted to crucify him. 

This is life in the kingdom of God with a crucified King. A life of weakness. The first-century believers receiving this letter would have felt this coming and would’ve heard rumors of horrible persecution in other places.

I fear we are a people hungry for power or control or comfort in this life. We want to get our way more than proclaim the way that leads to life. If you’re really “all in” with Jesus, you are all in with a crucified King. If you are “all in” with Jesus, you must be ready to fellowship in his sufferings. If you are “all in” with Jesus, you must be ready to be viewed as weak and foolish for the sake of Christ. If we will share in the victory of Christ, we must share in the weakness of Christ.

It’s not a comfortable place to be—but it is the path of life in Christ. And Peter is trying to help us get ready for it. 

1) The Mind and Manner of Jesus (1 Peter 4:1–3) 

Last week we saw that Christ suffered once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God. He took our place. He submitted to his Father’s will and paid for us to be in the family of God by his blood. He was tempted in every way we are, yet without sin. He obeyed his Father and endured suffering all the way to the point of a criminal’s death on the cross. 

Peter tells us that we are to have the same mind and manner as Christ. Look at verse 1:

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.

Christ suffered in the flesh—and Peter calls us to equip ourselves with that kind of thinking. That means to follow Christ in his mindset in suffering. So what was Christ’s mindset when he endured suffering?

And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”—Mark 14:35–36

We prepare ourselves with a mind ready to suffer in the footsteps of Jesus by remembering that we have a Father who loves us and always calls us to what is best for us. The commands of our Father are meant to lead us into the joy of fellowship with him and the joy of true life with him. This is why regular time in the word of God and prayer is so important. How will we know the will of God or fellowship with God if we don’t spend any time with God?

How can we have this mindset if we spend more time digesting a million other things before we pursue knowing the heart of our Father?

And notice that this kind of mindset—preparing for suffering as we submit to the Father’s will—will cause us to break patterns of sin. Now, Peter is not saying that we are going to be perfect. He’s saying that there will be a new mindset that forsakes sin to do the Father’s will, even if it means suffering, because we long to obey and fellowship with our Father. Peter explains his point further in verse 2: 

So as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

The mind that prepares itself in the word and prayer to be ready to suffer with Christ leads to a manner of life that forsakes former passions of the flesh and instead lives for the will of God. This kind of mindset is one that flows from a new people with new taste buds. You remember that all the way back in chapter 2, right?

How did we become a new people with new tastes and therefore new power to walk in new life? We were born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus! We are a people who hope in our future inheritance of full joy, not in our little kingdoms of passing pleasures here on this earth. We are a people who can rejoice with joy inexpressible and filled with glory even in trials because we have a sure, living hope in Jesus Christ and a loving, always-with-us Father who promises to bring us home. 

This new identity knows that its true home is now with Jesus—so we want to spend all our time with him. Look at verse 3:

For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.

If this past week has made anything clear, it’s that life is short. It’s a breath. We are made in the image of God to live in fellowship with God and spend our lives making much of him. Jesus has purchased us and brought us back into fellowship with God and we have been set apart by the Holy Spirit as a holy nation. Why would we give another second to the slavery Jesus paid to set us free from?

But this is the human condition we all fight, right? Who would be set free from slavery for hundreds of years and then ask to go back to their captors the first time things don’t go right? Madness, right? That’s the human heart. It’s easier to be comfortable in our bondage than to live radically for God in our freedom. For freedom Christ has set us free. For freedom Christ has set you free. You. Today. 

Listen, if you are here right now and have trusted in Jesus to save you from your sins, the time is past for running back to the dirty well of your old sin. Here’s what Peter says about it in 2 Peter: 

What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”—2 Peter 2:22

Listen, I know it’s more comfortable living in the broken patterns of your heart. I know you’re used to that late-night comfort food of sin that makes you feel better for a moment. I know it’s scary to simply confess your sin, walk into the light, and start walking in new power. But hear me: This life is short! Today is the day. The time is past for doing those things. The time is past for living like you have no new power. The time is past for pretending like it is better to give into your lust, anger, bitterness, gossip, binge-eating, and prideful posturing rather than suffer through temptation a bit and walk with Jesus. The time is past for living for power, prestige, popularity, approval, money, and control instead of wanting the Father’s will and walking with Jesus. If you’re here and you are walking in patterns of decades-long sin—the time is past. You have been born again to a living hope. Once you had not received mercy, now you have received mercy. One you were not a people, now you are a people. You are part of a holy nation meant to proclaim the excellencies of the one who purchased you and promises you eternity with him. 

Life is short. It’s all about Jesus. He saved you. He caused you to be born again. Why spend another moment toying around with sin that just wants to steal true life and joy from you? Right now. Confess. Repent. And ask for help to live in the mind and manner of Christ. 

2) The Mind and Maligning of the World (1 Peter 4:4) 

With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.

As you follow Jesus with your eyes fixed on an eternal inheritance with him and seek to live for his kingdom, you will constantly bump up against the kingdom of this world. They are not going to understand you. Their mindset is, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”

In other words, the subjects of this world act according to their their mantra of living for whatever brings pleasure in the moment, because the moment is all they have. All they have is this life. No eternal perspective. No thoughts of the righteous God against whom they are sinning. No thoughts of a place with full joy and pleasures forevermore for those who trust in Jesus as their deepest pleasure. And so they have a completely different mindset. It’s not a mindset of suffering and doing the Father’s will. It’s a mindset of instant gratification in doing their own will. 

And as you live in a completely different manner from a completely different mindset—or what is sometimes called today a “worldview”—then they will malign you. This is not new. They mocked Jesus. They mocked followers of Jesus in the 1st century: 

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.—1 Corinthians 1:22–23 (cf. 1 Corinthians 15)

A way of life—abstaining from instant gratification—for the sake of following a crucified King makes no sense to a world living for itself with no eternal perspective. And a mindset that calls that pursuit of instant gratification “sin against a holy God” and calls for repentance is not only different, it is offensive. The mindset of the world will lead to a maligning of Christians. 

So we must be prepared for maligning. We must be prepared not to assimilate, avoid, or become aggressive, but instead to engage with the courageous humility of our Savior and fill this place with beautiful deeds that point to him—all while entrusting ourselves to our faithful Father. The mindset of the world will ultimately lead to the maligning of Christians. Don’t get angry or fearful when that happens. Be ready. And then engage with a humble, courageous, and compassionate truth and a love that remembers that the difference between you and them is that you have been born again to a living, eternal hope. 

3) The Might and Mercy of God (1 Peter 4:5–6)

We are not to be an angry people shaking our fists and demanding our rights. We don’t follow the world in demanding a sort of man-made justice. Rather, we know that we are sinners saved by grace and that our God will bring forth ultimate justice by pouring out his wrath for sin, either on the day he returns and punishes unbelievers or on the cross of Christ where he took the wrath reserved for us. That’s what verse 5 says:

But they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

How do you fight against a heart that wants to defend yourself, fight back, and get angry? You remember that those maligning you will stand before the might of God. Perhaps they say, “What good is your Christian faith? You abstain from things in this life and then die.” We would answer, “God is ready to judge the living and the dead. You will face him some day. Don’t thumb your nose at him now, because he will be there to judge you on the day you die. And my only hope for that day is that he has poured out his wrath for my sin on Jesus.”

And it is that confidence in the might of God to bring about justice that leads us to understand how amazing the mercy of God is that we see in verse 6. I want to read you the way I think it should be translated.

For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh according to people, they might live in the Spirit according to God.

I join most commentators in thinking that this verse is talking about how the gospel was preached to some people who have since died. They heard the gospel, believed, and then died.

In other words, a mindset of instant gratification says, “Who cares about Jesus? We all die. Get pleasure now.” A Christian says, “No, you’re wrong. Those who believe the gospel are judged in this world by men, but they actually live in the Spirit according to God after they die.” This is parallel with last week where we saw that Jesus was “made alive in the spirit.” We said that meant he had a new, glorified, spiritual body. As do Christians who believe the gospel. They don’t ultimately die. They aren’t giving up worldly pleasures for nothing. They are giving up worldly pleasures for ultimate joy in Jesus Christ. They are raised up to new life. 

The Christian says, “You can judge me now according to your worldview and live for this short moment. But I’m telling you, judgment is coming soon and I will rise again to new life forever!” The Christian doesn’t say it boastfully. No, we boast only in Christ. And so we recognize that the difference between us and unbelievers is simply mercy, and just as we are those who heard the gospel preached and believe, we likewise plead with them to believe the gospel. We engage them with courage, humility, compassion, and love for the sake of Christ and the good of their souls!

God is mighty and will judge all who don’t believe. But God is also merciful and has sent his Son to die on the cross to save sinners—like us—who then turn and proclaim that good news to other sinners. So while we expect a mindset clash and a clash of lives with the world, we don’t consider this an us-against-them mission.

Instead, we consider this an us-for-Christ and an us-for-the-world mission. We commend Christ to a lost and dying world. We commend Christ with confidence and humility, sharing in the suffering of Christ gladly because it means we share in the abundant life of Christ. We leave our sin behind, and we pray that people see our good deeds, ask us for a reason for the hope that is in us, and glorify our Father in heaven. And if they don’t, then we bless those who curse us, because nothing is ultimately up for grabs for us as children of the King.

Application: A Life of Abundance in Christ 

In the beginning we talked about a life of weakness with Jesus. And yes, as we prepare our minds to suffer as we submit to the will of our Father, we recognize that our mindset and manner in following after Jesus will clash with this world. It will likely bring maligning and mocking. But let’s be clear that “the good life” doesn’t start only in eternity. Remember, the commands of Christ are meant to lead us into fellowship with Christ and the life of Christ. When we give up the way of the world, leave our sin behind, and instead take up our cross and follow Jesus, living in fellowship with him and the blood-bought family of God brings the only place of true joy and life for us.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.—John 10:10

This path of walking with Jesus in his suffering means that we also get to walk with Jesus in his victory. But we don’t define that victory in cultural capital, in political power, or even in comfortable lives. If we give in to that mindset of victory, we are a people most to be pitied.

Instead, we have sure victory that Jesus is reigning at the right hand of God right now, like we saw last week, and we are told that we are seated in the heavenly places with him right now. We are hidden with Christ in God. Christ has gone to prepare a place for us, but until then he has come and made his home in us. We have fellowship with him now. We drink from the fountain of life right now and have rivers of living water flowing out of us. He leads us to green pastures and still waters now. He restores our souls now. He is with us in the valley of the shadow of death now. He pursues us with goodness and mercy all the days of our life now.

We count all else as loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus now. This life of suffering with Christ is the only true life of abundance. It’s the only life living in accord with reality. It’s the only life living in the light and not the darkness. It’s the only life where we find joys deep enough and beauty big enough to satisfy our restless souls. It’s the only life that gets us back to doing what we were made to do: glorify God by enjoying him forever. We join Jesus in his suffering and we join him in his ultimate victory. He came that we might have life and have it abundantly—and that is always true for the Christian, because Christ has died once-for-all to bring us to God. So, in this moment, confess sin, hope again in the shed blood of Jesus and walk again in the abundant life of fellowship with and obedience to your King.

Sermon Discussion Questions

1. The Mind and Manner of Jesus (1 Peter 4:1–3) 
2. The Mind and Maligning of the World (1 Peter 4:4) 

3. The Might and Mercy of God (1 Peter 4:5-6)  

• Why is it so important to understand the reality that we worship a crucified King? Why must we realize our position as “weak” and “foolish” to the world? 
• Why must we prepare ourselves for suffering? What aspects of suffering can we prepare our minds for? 
• How does the preparation of our minds lead to a different manner of life? Describe aspects to this new manner of life. 
• Where does this new mind and new life come from?
• How will the world react to your union with Christ in mind and manner? Why? 
• Why can you trust God when you face maligning? How can you begin to move toward the world with mercy—not return maligning for maligning? 
• What areas of your mind do you need to align with Christ? 
• What area of your life do you need to bring in alignment with the manner of Christ?
• How does this text help you love God more and love your neighbors as yourself more?