Studies in First Peter Part 25
“12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 14If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God” (I Peter 4:12-16).
Suffering for the sake of the gospel has been an underlying theme in Peter’s letter. And it is something that we should not be surprised by. Here, Peter is echoing the words of Jesus from the upper room. “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:18-20).
When we are hated and persecuted in this way, we “share the sufferings of Christ.” My parents were missionaries. I was born on the mission field. I have been around world missions my entire life. When we lift our gaze to scan the world over, there are many many places where our sisters and brothers in Christ are undergoing tremendous suffering. They are truly sharing in the sufferings of Jesus.
It is interesting to me that even with this specific topic in view, there is a reference to the Spirit and glory of God in us. The fact of Christ in you and you in Christ, God in you and you in God, the Spirit in you and you in the Spirit is never far from the apostles’ minds.
Even when “you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed.” How can one be blessed in the midst of the pain of suffering? The persecutors can take away your job, they can take away your land, they can take away your health, and even take your life. But they cannot take away God’s presence. They cannot remove the fact that “the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rests on you.” You carry the glory of God and you carry the Spirit of God in you no matter what storm you are going through. And this glory and this presence can never be taken from you.
Peter closes this section with an admonition that there is no glory in suffering for doing evil. Punishment in this case is appropriate and to be expected. But there is glory in suffering for Jesus, with no shame, no judgment, no punishment from God; only glory in being identified with Christ in His suffering.