GOING DEEPER — 1 PETER 4:12–19
WHY SHOULDN’T CHRISTIANS BE SURPRISED BY SUFFERING?
Peter writes:
“Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you.”
— 1 Peter 4:12
That tells us something important about Peter’s readers.
They were suffering, and apparently some of them were surprised by it.
Perhaps they wondered: If we belong to God, why is this happening to us?
Peter’s answer is not that suffering is pleasant. Nor does he say that every kind of suffering comes directly from God.
He tells them not to think that suffering for Christ means something has gone wrong.
They follow a suffering Messiah.
They should not be shocked when faithfulness to Him brings suffering to them.
WHAT IS THE “FIERY ORDEAL”?
Peter does not necessarily mean literal fire.
Fire was commonly used as a picture of testing and purification.
Earlier Peter had compared tested faith with gold refined by fire:
“the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire...”
— 1 Peter 1:7
A trial reveals something.
It shows whether faith remains when following Christ becomes costly.
Peter’s readers were discovering what their faith was made of.
“SHARE IN THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST”
Peter continues:
“Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ...”
— 1 Peter 4:13
Peter is not saying that Christians add anything to Christ’s sacrifice for sin.
Jesus’ suffering for sin was unique.
Peter has already said:
“Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous...”
— 1 Peter 3:18
Christians share His sufferings in a different sense.
Jesus suffered because He faithfully obeyed God in a hostile world.
When His followers suffer because they belong to Him and remain faithful to Him, they are walking the same road.
The suffering is not the reason for rejoicing.
Belonging to Christ is.
INSULTED FOR THE NAME OF CHRIST
Peter says:
“If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed...”
— 1 Peter 4:14
The world may call such a person foolish, troublesome, or even dangerous.
Peter says God sees things differently.
Human rejection does not equal divine rejection.
That is why Peter adds:
“because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”
The opinion that finally matters is God’s.
NOT ALL SUFFERING IS CHRISTIAN SUFFERING
Peter now makes an important distinction:
“Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler.”
— 1 Peter 4:15
Simply suffering does not make someone righteous.
Sometimes people suffer because they have done wrong.
A thief who is punished for stealing is not suffering for Christ.
Neither is a Christian who behaves badly and then claims persecution when people object.
Peter even includes the “meddler”—someone interfering in matters that do not belong to him.
Christians should never confuse the consequences of bad behavior with suffering for Jesus.
“IF ANYONE SUFFERS AS A CHRISTIAN”
Then Peter says:
“But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.”
— 1 Peter 4:16
The word “Christian” appears only three times in the New Testament:
Acts 11:26
Acts 26:28
1 Peter 4:16
Here Peter accepts the name without embarrassment.
If people insult them because they belong to Christ, they should not be ashamed of that identification.
Instead, they should glorify God.
There is a tremendous difference between being ashamed because we have done wrong and being shamed because we belong to Christ.
Peter tells his readers which kind of suffering they should be willing to bear.
“JUDGMENT BEGINS WITH GOD’S HOUSEHOLD”
Then comes a difficult statement:
“For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household...”
— 1 Peter 4:17
Peter is not saying faithful Christians are condemned.
The context is testing.
God’s own people are not exempt from examination, discipline, and purification.
Peter then asks:
“and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?”
If even God’s people pass through severe testing, those who reject God should not imagine that they will escape His final judgment.
Peter strengthens the point by quoting Proverbs 11:31:
“And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
“Saved with difficulty” does not mean God barely manages to save His people.
It describes the difficult road through which believers may travel on their way to final salvation.
The road may be hard.
God’s promise is not uncertain.
WHAT SHOULD A SUFFERING CHRISTIAN DO?
Peter concludes:
“So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.”
— 1 Peter 4:19
Notice the two parts.
Entrust yourself to God.
And:
Keep doing good.
Suffering does not give Christians permission to become bitter, hateful, dishonest, or vengeful.
They continue doing what is right because the One to whom they have entrusted themselves is a “faithful Creator.”
That description matters.
God made them.
God knows them.
God has not forgotten them.
And God can be trusted with what happens next.
THE BIGGER POINT
Peter does not promise Christians a life without trouble.
He prepares them for the opposite.
Following Christ may sometimes cost us something.
But Peter carefully distinguishes between suffering because we have done wrong and suffering because we have done right.
If we suffer because of our own wrongdoing, we should correct our behavior.
If we suffer because we faithfully belong to Christ, we should not be ashamed.
And in either case, Peter brings us back to the question that runs throughout this letter:
Will we continue trusting God and doing what is right?
QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT
Why might Christians be surprised when following Christ brings suffering?
What is the difference between suffering for Christ and suffering because of our own bad choices?
Why does Peter specifically warn Christians about being “meddlers”?
What does Peter mean when he says judgment begins with the household of God?
Does “saved with difficulty” mean that God is uncertain whether He can save us—or is Peter describing the difficult road believers may travel?
And when doing right becomes costly:
Do I still trust my faithful Creator enough to keep doing what is good?
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