A video of the sermon from 1 Peter 4:1-6 may be viewed by clicking on the following link: “Living for God’s Will Only”
1 Peter 4:1-6
First Christian Church, Owensville, IN
July 26, 2020
Bart W. Newton, Preaching Minister
(Abbreviations for Bible translations that may be quoted: ESV = English Standard Version; NLT = New Living Translation; CSB = Christian Standard Bible; GW = God’s Word; Amplified Bible = AMP; KJV = King James Version; New King James Version = NKJV; The Message = MSG; KNT = Kingdom New Testament)
• For what are you yearning? What is your passion? For what do you long most?
• I recently started meeting one time per month with a certified spiritual director. During our first session, Immediately following his opening prayer, he asked me this question: For what are you yearning?
• This morning, the Scripture before us asks us a similar if not the same questions: What is your passion in life? For what are you yearning? As a church, what are we yearning and where does our passion lie?
• In our study of Peter’s first letter, we’ve come to 1 Peter 4:6.
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, 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. 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. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 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. (ESV)
• By examining verses 1-3, it seems that the apostle Peter is telling us:
Christians, for the rest of your earthly lives make doing God’s will your passion (vv. 1-3).
• Jesus lived for doing His Father’s will. To His disciples in John 4:34: Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. (ESV)
• That is to be our prayer, too!
• Matthew 6:10: Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. (ESV)
• Because Jesus lived faithfully according to the Father’s will even though it brought Him suffering,…
…We must fortify ourselves with the same mindset as that of Jesus: …arm yourselves with the same way of thinking…
• This is how all believers throughout the centuries have maintained faithfulness to Jesus in the midst of suffering.
• After listing several examples of faithful saints, some of whom lived to tell about their battles, others lost their lives because of their allegiance to God, the writer of Hebrews exhorts us with these words:
• Hebrews 12:2-3: 2 We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Now he holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne. 3 Think about Jesus, who endured opposition from sinners, so that you don’t become tired and give up. (GW)
• In our society, the ability to focus deeply on anything that really matters is becoming rare. And yet we’re called to focus on Jesus who suffered carrying out the Father’s will, leaving us an example to follow.
• The suffering we do experience as a result of obeying God’s will, has a refining influence, making it easier to give up sinful passions: for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 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.
• Consider the Message Bible wording of these two verses:
• Vv. 1-2, MSG: 1-2 Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.
• Besides, Peter reminds us that we’ve wasted enough time living like the heathens of whom we use to belong:
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.
• These attitudes and practices are to be left behind with our old life. Peter says there is no time for or benefit in backsliding:
• 1 Peter 1:14-15: 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. (NLT)
• And yet, how often do those who profess to follow Jesus spend time looking at pornography on their laptops and smart phones?
• And what about cohabitation among Christians? You know, what we use to call shackin’ up. People who have professed faith in Jesus and been baptized live with another person who they are not married to and practice physical intimacy which is sexual immorality?
• Before we start throwing stones, every one of us must remember that Jesus said that if a man just looks at a woman lustfully he’s committed adultery in his heart and is therefore guilty of adultery!
• So what must we do? Think rightly. Remember carefully. And live purposefully holy:
• Colossians 3:2-5: 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. (NLT)
• Romans 6: 12-17a: 12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires…. 13b … Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! (NLT)
• Don’t expect non-believers to understand your devotion to Jesus and your new lifestyle. (v. 4)
4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery,…
• “So, what do you Christians do for fun and pleasure?” they ask us, some out of sincerity, others mockingly.
• Expect some non-Christians to give you a hard time because of your passion to do God’s will:
… and they malign you;
• That is, they slander you, ridicule you, make fun of you, laugh at you, and so on.
• How many devoted, Christian middle school, high school, and college-age students are made fun of for not drinking and participating in drinking parties, for not having premarital sex, for not watching/reading pornography?
• How many adult Christians are poked fun at for not drinking heavily with their old drinking buddies or telling/laughing at filthy jokes?
• You know there are times when we must be willing to be unpopular with family friends and cease watching a show or movie that we know is not pleasing to Jesus.
• What must we do in such cases? Stay humble, stay strong, pray for our maligners as Jesus said to in the Sermon on the Mount and hope and pray that after watching your faithful lifestyle long enough they might be won to Christ also:
• 1 Peter 2:12: Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
• But on top of all that, remember that King Jesus will deal with those who malign you on Judgment Day and hold them accountable:
5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
• Remember what Jesus declared in John 5:22-23a: 22 “The Father doesn’t judge anyone. He has entrusted judgment entirely to the Son 23 so that everyone will honor the Son as they honor the Father. (GW)
• Luke records Peter’s words in Acts 10:42: And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. (NLT)
• John the apostle wrote of Jesus’ revelation to him of the coming day of judgment in Revelation 20:11-15: 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (ESV)
• Is not a primary reason for sharing the Good News of Jesus with others while we can is because King Jesus, who is at the right hand of the Father, is coming again to judge the world and He doesn’t want them to go to Hell for eternity but to experience eternal life and be with Him in the new heaven and earth? This is what Peter is getting at in verse six:
6 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.
• This is a hard verse to interpret and I’m not sure I’m going to get it right. In fact, there are three or four major interpretations of this. Instead of sharing all of them with you, I’m going to share what I think is the right way. However, even if it’s not exactly correct, it isn’t against the teaching of the New Testament.
• I think Peter means that the Good News was preached to some people while they were alive and they received Jesus as Savior and Lord before they died:
6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead,…
• V. 6, NIV: …are now dead…
• They since have physically died like all people die as a result of sin coming into the world. Remember, we’ve all sinned:
….that though judged in the flesh the way people are,…
• Romans 5:12: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (NLT)
• Here’s another way of interpreting it. Perhaps Peter means that having received Jesus they were judged by non-believers to not be worthy of living and so they martyred them. (This could be especially true in light of the fact that the initial readers were experiencing persecution.)
• Nevertheless,
… they might live in the spirit the way God does.
• Romans 14:7-9: 7 For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead. (NLT)
• This seems to be how the NLT translates verses 5 and 6:
• Vv. 5-6, NLT: 5 But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead. 6 That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead—so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit. (I prefer lower case “s”—spirit; even so we cannot live in the spirit as God does without the Holy Spirit!)
• I think that The Message Bible gets it the best:
• V. 6, MSG: Listen to the Message. It was preached to those believers who are now dead, and yet even though they died (just as all people must), they will still get in on the life that God has given in Jesus.
• Isn’t that beautiful!
• With results like that, why do we who know Jesus not share Him more and live radically devoted lives that have been and are being transformed by the Holy Spirit?
• So, for what are you yearning? What is your passion in life?
• When I was asked this question, my reply was that I want to make my last years count. I want to live purposefully. I don’t want to just fizzle or fade away or become complacent. I want to grow in Christlikeness. I want to be a more faithful disciple of Jesus worth reproducing who make disciples of Jesus who are worth reproducing!
• Let me read the passage again from The Message Bible:
1 Peter 4:1-6:
1-2 Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.
3-5 You’ve already put in your time in that God-ignorant way of life, partying night after night, a drunken and profligate life. Now it’s time to be done with it for good. Of course, your old friends don’t understand why you don’t join in with the old gang anymore. But you don’t have to give an account to them. They’re the ones who will be called on the carpet—and before God himself.
6 Listen to the Message. It was preached to those believers who are now dead, and yet even though they died (just as all people must), they will still get in on the life that God has given in Jesus. (MSG)
Let’s spend some time reflecting on what God’s Word has shown us, using the acronym SPECKS:
• Sin to confess?
• Prayer, promise or praise to hold onto?
• Example to follow?
• Command to obey?
• Knowledge to retain?
• Share the passage with whom?
2 Corinthians 5:14b-15: Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. (NLT)
• As we receive communion or Eucharist or Lord’s Supper, we can ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us if we are living for ourselves or for Jesus. We can ask if we are being faithful to the covenant we entered into with God.
Communion Prayer
The Lord’s Supper
Luke 22: 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying,
“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
Meditation and prayer
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
King Jesus has died. King Jesus has risen. And King Jesus will come again.!