Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 40

 Suffering for Jesus Part 10

1 Peter 4:1-2 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; NKJV-New King James Version

The Apostle Peter now urges those early Jewish converts to Christ who had and were being persecuted vehemently for their leaving Judaism and becoming followers of the Risen Christ to not only endure the outward sufferings from others, but to suffer internally by fighting against the sins of their former lives before they were born again of incorruptible seed by the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23). Peter's words here are likewise for us today and for all truly born again sons and daughters of Christ in every generation and era since the Cross, declaring to them and to us these words, "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." (1 Peter 4:1-2) (KJV). In the very first phrase of this verse, Peter says 'Forasmuch then' an English phrase translated by the little Greek word oun is a primary word/adverb meaning certainly or accordingly or likewise then. Certainly what? or Accordingly what? Well Peter makes it perfectly clear what and that is that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered in the physical human body He placed Himself into in order to reconcile us to God, that is, to restore our broken relationship to God because of what Adam did (sin) in the Garden of Eden and passed that sin down to all of us. Christ bore the Wrath of God the Father in/on His Body for us and in our place so the we would not have to and in so doing He has reconciled us with our Father in Heaven, as it is written, "But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him], that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people's sins against them [but canceling them]. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation [that is, Note: "Annotations from the Amplified Study Bible, "Ministry of reconciliation. Reconciliation is the change of relation from enmity to peace. We who have been reconciled to God through Christ have the privilege of telling others that they can be reconciled to Him as well. Reconciling the world to Himself. God could change His relationship toward us because our sins have been imputed (charged) to Christ instead of to us. If we believe in Jesus, God counts Jesus' righteousness as our righteousness." Therefore, the Apostle Peter (by the Holy Spirit) commands us to 'arm ourselves likewise with the same mind'. The first English word in this phrase 'arm' is translated by the Greek word hoplizō (which is the only time this word is used here in the entire New Testament) and it means to equip (with weapons [middle voice and figuratively]): - arm self. The last word in this English phrase is 'mind' and it is translated by the Greek word ennoia meaning thoughtfulness, that is, moral understanding: - intent, mind. Well we can recall that the Apostle Paul declares to us what the weapons of our warfare are against the world, our flesh, and the devil and our moral understanding and intention should be regularly as it is written, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your/our obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) (NKJV). For Peter says that when we arm ourselves with this same mind as our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ, then we will win the battle over our old man 👨or old woman 👩and in so doing we will (as Peter writes it 'ceased' from sin). The little English word 'ceased' used by Peter is translated by the little Greek word pauō (it is a primary verb) meaning to stop 🛑that is, restrain, quit, desist, come to an end: - cease, leave, refrain. We will have to yield our wills to the will of God and come boldly daily to the Throne of Grace to receive grace from Christ Jesus our Lord, as it is written, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

(Hebrews 4:15-16) (NKJV).

Here is what Alexander MacLaren had to say of 1 Peter 4:1-2, "Christ hath suffered in the flesh. That is the great fact which should shape the course of all His followers. But what does suffering in the flesh mean here? It does not refer only to the death of Jesus, but to His whole life. The phrase ‘in the flesh’ is reiterated in the context, and evidently is equivalent to ‘during the earthly life.’ Our Lord’s life was, in one aspect, one continuous suffering, because He lived the higher life of the spirit. That higher life had to Him, and has to us, rich compensations; but it sets those who are true to it at necessary variance with the lower types of life common among men, and it brings many pains, all of which Jesus knew. The last draught from the cup was the bitterest, but the bitterness was diffused through all the life of the Man of Sorrows.

That life is here contemplated as the pattern for all Christ’s servants. Peter says much in this letter of our Lord’s sufferings as the atonement for sin, but here he looks at them rather as the realised ideal of all worthy life. We are to be ‘partakers of Christ’s sufferings’ (5. 13), and we shall become so in proportion as His own Spirit becomes the spirit which lives in us. If Jesus were only our pattern, Christianity would be a poor affair, and a Gospel of despair; for how should we reach to the pure heights where He stood? But, since He can breathe into us a spirit which will hallow and energise our spirits, we can rise to walk beside Him on the high places of heroic endurance and of holy living. Very beautifully does Peter hint at our sore conflict, our personal defencelessness, and our all-sufficient armour, in the picturesque metaphor ‘arm yourselves.’ The ‘mind of Christ’ is given to us if we will. We can gird it on, and if we do, it will be as an impenetrable coat-of-mail, which will turn the sharpest arrows and resist the fiercest sword-cuts.

The last clause of verse 1 is a parenthesis, and, if it is for the moment omitted, the sentence runs smoothly on, especially if the Revised Version’s reading is adopted. The purpose of arming us with the same mind is that, whilst we live on earth, we should live according to the will of God, and should renounce ‘the lusts of men,’ which are in us as in all men, and which men who are not clad in the armour which Christ gives to us yield to. But what of the parenthetical statement? Clearly, the words which follow it forbid its being taken to mean that dead men do not sin. Rather the Apostle’s thought seems to be that such suffering in daily life after Christ’s pattern, and by His help, is at once a sign that the sufferer has shaken off the dominion of sin, and is a means of further emancipating him from it. But the two great thoughts in this paragraph are, that the Christian life is one in which God’s will, and not man’s desires, is the regulating force, and that the pattern of that life and the power to copy the pattern are found in Christ, the sufferer for righteousness’ sake."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 39

 Suffering for Jesus Part 9

1 Peter 3:21-22 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the Right Hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him. KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; NKJV-New King James Version

In this very next verse of Scripture here written by the Apostle Peter, he calls what happened for Noah and his family (being saved from the water 💦or flood by virtue of his obedience to God) 'the like figure' of every true born again son or daughter of Christ Jesus our Lord, he says it with these words, "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into Heaven, and is on the Right Hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him." (1 Peter 3:21-22) (KJV). The phrase 'the like figure' is translated by the Greek word antitupon which means a corresponding ('antitype'), that is, a representative, counterpart. This English word 'antitype' means a person or thing represented or foreshadowed by a type or symbol; especially a figure in the Old Testament having a counterpart in the New Testament. Instead of Noah and his family 👪being destroyed by the water 💦,that is the flood, they were saved by or from the water 💦because of Noah's obedience in building the Ark, likewise we true sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven are saved from God's wrath (as His wrath against those disobedient souls then is represented by the flood) by repenting/turning from sin to God through His Ark of safety His Son Jesus Christ the Righteous. Water Baptism should be done by us when we have been born again, born from above, born again of incorruptible seed by the Word of God i.e. it is symbolic of the transformation God the Holy Spirit has made, molded, and modified in our inner man 👨and inner woman 👩. It is our declaration of our now new union with Jesus Christ and is symbolic of His death burial and resurrection from the dead, for just as Christ died (physically) we died (spiritually) with Him to our old man 👨or old woman 👩and just as He was buried, we have now buried our old selves and just as He (Christ) was raised (physically) from death, we too now have been raised from spiritual death, that is, being disconnected from God. God is no longer out there or up there, God is now our Father and we have union with Him and relationship with Him as sons and daughters and fellowship with Him always and anytime through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as it is written by the Apostle Paul with these words to the Ephesians, "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:20-22) (NKJV). Because of our union with God through Christ our conscience is now cl🌎and all principalities and powers and angels and demons and the devil 👿are subject to Him. Amen!

Here is what Robinson's Word Pictures had to say of 1 Peter 3:21, "Baptism, Peter explains, does not wash away the filth of the flesh either in a literal sense, as a bath for the body, or in a metaphorical sense of the filth of the soul. No ceremonies really affect the conscience (Hebrews 9:13.). Peter here expressly denies baptismal remission of sin." Here is what Vincent's Word Studies had to say of 1 Peter 3:21, "Only here in New Testament. In classical Greek the word means a question and nothing else. The meaning here is much disputed, and can hardly be settled satisfactorily. The rendering answer has no warrant. The meaning seems to be (as Alford), 'the seeking after God of a good and pure conscience, which is the aim and end of the Christian baptismal life.' So Lange: 'The thing asked may be conceived as follows: 'How shall I rid myself of an evil conscience? Wilt thou, most holy God, again accept me, a sinner? Wilt thou, Lord Jesus, grant me the communion of thy death and life? Wilt thou, O Holy Spirilabours and His sufferings upon earth, ascended triumphantly into Heaven, of which see Acts 1:9-11; Mark 16:19. He went to Heaven to receive His own acquired crown and glory (John 17:5), to finish that part of His mediatorial work which could not be done on earth, and make intercession for His people, to demonstrate the fulness of His satisfaction, to take possession of Heaven for His people, to prepare mansions for them, and to send down the Comforter, which was to be the first-fruits of His intercession, (John16:7). 2. Upon His ascension into Heaven, Christ is enthroned at the Hight Hand of the Father. His being said to sit there imports absolute rest and cessation from all further troubles and sufferings, and an advancement to the highest personal dignity and sovereign power. 3. Angels, authorities, and powers, are all made subject to Christ Jesus: all power in Heaven and earth, to command, to give law, issue orders, and pronounce a final sentence, is committed to Jesus, God - man, which His enemies will find to

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 38

 Suffering for Jesus Part 8

1 Peter 19-20 By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. KJV Note: AMP=Amplified Bible; NKJV-New King James Version

When we even we who are redeemed, regenerated, and resurrected sons or daughters of our Lord Jesus Christ come to a passage of Scripture as we have written here for us by the Apostle Peter, we must not be so arrogant as to claim that we alone have the true meaning of what Peter is communicating to those early Jewish believers 'in Christ' and make ourselves out to be the singular soul that has been correctly illuminated by God the Holy Spirit. I have read and studied and prayed over these words of Peter as it is written by him, "By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." (1 Peter 3:19-20) KJV and I can earnestly say that I am in no wise completely sure as to what Peter truly meant here, but as it is my duty being made a teacher or given the gift and desire of teaching the Word of God 'in truth' by my Lord Jesu📖these words. First, let us realize that the people who were alive on the earth 🌎were not different human beings or human sinners than those before them or after them, however, God was so grieved at the actions of humanity during this time ⌚that it moved Him to act in a manner different than when Cain murdered his brother Abel, for He was surely grieved when Cain did this thing, but perhaps from that first act of bloody murder those who came from Cain multiplied his atrocities to a level that moved God to declare these words as it is written, "The LORD saw that the wickedness (depravity) of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination or intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually (all the day). The LORD regretted (was sorry) that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was [deeply] grieved in His heart. (Genesis 6:5=6) (AMP). So, the Lord God decided to destroy man from the face of the earth 🌎, except for one man (Noah) found favor or grace in the eyes of the Lord God. Why? I do not know, but it was the Sovereign choice of God to save him and his whole family apart from all others on the earth 🌎. Certainly God knew that the wickedness of man would only increase and not decrease, for He is Omniscient. Questioning God's ways, wants, or will is futility upon futility. So, what must we do? Nothing but accept and trust for all His ways are just and perfect. Therefore, this brings us back to 1 Peter 3:19-20. Did our Lord Jesus Christ between His death and resurrection go down into Hades (the realm of the dead) and preach the Gospel to the souls who died in the flood? Well, we know from this same Apostle in 2 Peter 2:5 that he said this of Noah and those destroyed by the flood, "And did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;" (2 Peter 2:5) (NKJV). Noah was 'a preacher of righteousness' according to Peter in his second letter. I must acknowledge that the English word 'went' in 1 Peter 3:19 is translated by the Greek word poreuomai which means to traverse, that is, travel (literally or figuratively; especially to remove [figuratively die], live, etc.): - depart, go (away, forth, one's way, up), (make a, take a) journey, walk. Our Lord Jesus said on the Cross before He died, it is written, "And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.' Having said this, He breathed His last.

(Luke 23:46) (NKJV). The Question still remains, where was His Soul those three (3) days and three (3)nights? My answer is I don't know. What do I believe? I believe that God can do anything and by that I mean, if Peter speaks of literal travel by God/Jesus after His body died, then He could have done what it seems Peter is saying He did, however, because Peter in his second letter declares Noah to be 'a preacher of righteousness', it is also more likely that Christ was in Noah (seeing that the Word of God declares this of Noah, "Noah was a righteous man [one who was just and had right standing with God], blameless in his [evil] generation; Noah walked (lived) [in habitual fellowship] with God." (Genesis 6:9) (AMP) ), therefore, for the time it took for Noah and his sons to build the Ark, he preached the Gospel to those who were on the earth at that time ⌚and most likely all the people were moved or compelled to come and see this thing that Noah was doing i.e. building a boat on dry land when it had never rained on the earth 🌎at this time in human history. So, when they came, they heard and they could have repented and entered the Ark.

Here is what Charles W. Draper had to say of this very difficult passage of Scripture (as recorded for us in the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary), "DESCENT INTO HADES Phrase in the Apostles' Creed describing the work of Christ. Acts 2:27 says 'You will not leave My soul in Hades, or allow Your

Holy One to see decay' (HCSB). Acts 2:31 says, 'He was not left in Hades, and His flesh did not experience decay' (HCSB). Ephesians 4:9 says that Christ 'descended to the lower parts of the earth' (HCSB). First Peter 3:19 says Christ 'went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison' (HCSB). Many explanations have been offered for this. The time may be seen as the days of Noah (1 Pet. 3:20) and thus describe the activity of the preexistent Christ or the work of Christ's Spirit through Noah. The time may have been immediately after the death of Christ on the Cross or after the bodily resurrection of Christ. The content of His preaching may have been judgment; it may have been affirmation of His victory over 'angels, authorities, and powers' (1 Pet. 3:22); it may have been release from Sheol or Hades for saints who preceded Him. The spirits may have been the 'sons of God' of Gen. 6:2, the people of Noah's day, OT era sinners, OT people who were true to God, fallen angels (2 Pet. 2:4), or evil spirits (demonic powers) whom Jesus contested in His earthly ministry. The prison may have been Sheol or Hades, special place of captivity for sinners, a place of punishment for fallen angels, a place of security for such angels where they thought they could escape Christ's power, or a place on the way to heaven where the faithful of old waited to hear the message of Christ's final atoning victory. Whatever the detailed explanations, the ultimate effect and purpose is to glorify Christ for His completed work of salvation through His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, demonstrating His Sovereign control of all places and powers.

Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of this difficult passage of Scripture given to us by the Apostle Peter, "The Apostle passes from the example of Christ to that of the old world, and sets before the Jews, to whom he wrote, the different event of those who believed and obeyed Christ preaching by Noah, from those that continued disobedient and unbelieving, intimating to the Jews that they were under a like sentence. God would not wait much longer upon them. They had now an offer of mercy; those that accepted of it should be saved, but those who rejected Christ and the gospel should be as certainly destroyed as ever the disobedient in the times of Noah were.

1. For the explication of this we may notice, (1.) The preacher - Christ Jesus, who has interested himself in the affairs of the church and of the world ever since he was first promised to Adam, Gen_3:15. He went, not by a local motion, but by special operation, as God is frequently said to move, Gen_11:5; Hos_5:15; Mic_1:3. He went and preached, by his Spirit striving with them, and inspiring and enabling Enoch and Noah to plead with them, and preach righteousness to them, as 2Pe_2:5. (2.) The hearers. Because they were dead and disembodied when the apostle speaks of them, therefore he properly calls them spirits now in prison; not that they were in prison when Christ preached to them, as the vulgar Latin translation and the popish expositors pretend. (3.) The sin of these people: They were disobedient, that is, rebellious, unpersuadable, and unbelieving, as the word signifies; this their sin is aggravated from the patience and long-suffering of God (which once waited upon them for 120 years together), whil

2. From the whole we learn that, (1.) God takes exact notice of all the means and advantages that people in all ages have had for the salvation of their souls; it is put to the account of the old world that Christ offered them his help, sent his Spirit, gave them fair warning by Noah, and waited a long time for their amendment. (2.) Though the patience of God wait long upon sinners, yet it will expire at last; it is beneath the majesty of the great God always to wait upon man in vain. (3.) The spirits of disobedient sinners, as soon as they are out of their bodies, are committed to the prison of hell, whence there is no redemption. (4.) The way of the most is neither the best, the wisest, nor the safest way to follow: better to follow the eight in the ark than the eight millions drowned by the flood and damned to hell.

 

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…