Studies in First Peter Part 22
“1Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries” (I Peter 4:1-3).
We know how “Christ has suffered in the flesh.” He died. He was killed. His flesh, His body, was put through a painful death. But how have we, as in “he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin;” how have we “suffered in the flesh?”
The short answer is that we died with Christ. “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin” (Romans 6:5-7).
Having died with Christ, we have now “ceased from sin” (I Peter 4:1), have been “freed from sin” (Romans 6:7), and “consider ourselves to be dead to sin” (Romans 6:11).
Does “ceased from sin” mean that believers never sin? No, we still commit sins. But it means that we have been set free from sin’s overwhelming power. We have been set free from sin as our natural response. We have been set free from sin as our default mode.
Following that understanding of our death to sin, we are encouraged in verse two to live for the “will of God,” not the “lusts of men.” Peter is instructing us to follow the maturing path forward that God has for us rather than going back to the fleshly way we were living before Christ.
“The time already past is sufficient” (vs 3). What is Peter saying? “You lived under the power of sin long enough. The time for sin as your normal way of life is over. Sin is no longer the road you should travel. You USED to ‘pursue a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.’ But that is NOT who you are today. This sinful lifestyle is now firmly in your rear-view mirror. The time is already past.”
Because you have died with Christ. Because you have been resurrected with Christ. Because Christ is living His life through you. You have what it takes – His divine nature in you – to leave this lifestyle of sin in your past.
The way forward? Walking according to the Spirit. Displaying the fruit of the Spirit. Learning to love as Jesus loves. This beautiful lifestyle of righteousness is what your future looks like. And it starts the moment you believe the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Forgetting what lies behind, we press on in the love, acceptance, forgiveness, and power of Jesus.