Bible Facts

Living for the Will of God

1 Peter 4.1-11

"Therefore" refers us back to chapter 3.18, where we read "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit".

In His human body He not only endured pain but was actually put to a very cruel death, not because of His sins, for He had none, but for our sins. When He died on the cross He brought an end to His propitiation for our sins. Three times in this letter (2.24; 3.18; 4:1) we read that it was in His flesh and in His body that Christ paid the penalty for man's sin: He did not die in sin, nor under sin, but for sin in our place, in obedience to the Father.

We are now told Arm yourselves also with the same mind, or the same thought (not attitude, but the thought which leads to an attitude), as Paul taught Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2.5). Because He suffered in the flesh for us, we have ceased (or have got release) from our sins. It is not suggested that the believer is unable to sin, but he is no longer dominated by sin, nor does it please him to sin.

Arming ourselves with the same thought of Christ Jesus, we no longer will be instigated by the world's ambitions as we live the rest of our time in this world, but will live for the will of God, in obedience to Him (Romans 12.1,2). It is essential for us to study His Word in order to know His will so that, allowing the Spirit of God to fill us, we might live for righteousness (chapter 2.24).

Enough time was spent before our conversion in an ungodly or pagan way of living - a list is given of pursuits chosen by the non-Jews in those days which are still very much in vogue in the world of today. It is an empty way of life (chapter 1.18).

Either we are going to please God or we will please men. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, we can now live for God: not in our own strength but in His strength. We are not to live a monastic life or become isolationists, just as our Lord wasn't one. We are in the world but we are not of the world. The world is not going to appreciate us very much when we continue with them but are no longer interested in their pursuits.

Our former companions will be surprised and they will fail to understand the change in our tastes; it is natural to be suspicious of something or someone who is "different". We may even be bitterly resented, and regarded as killjoys and unsociable. Their antagonism is more likely to be because we make them feel uncomfortable and exposed as evildoers, even though they may think they are just "normal" people. The Lord Jesus said, If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you (John 15.18).

But every one is accountable to God. The whole world, the living and the dead, are going to be judged by the Lord Jesus someday. These people who reject the believer's conduct and testimony today will have no excuse when that day comes, whether they are alive or dead.

Because of this coming judgment, the Gospel is being preached to all men. Initially, all are dead in trespasses and sins and they will remain so and be judged as men in the flesh unless they accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour: in this case they will receive eternal life and are made able to live according to God in the Spirit. The Lord Jesus said "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life" (John 5.24).

Whenever the gospel is preached, if someone accepts it, he will live for the will of God, and will live throughout eternity: he will never die again. Those who reject the gospel are dead in sins and are dead to God throughout eternity; that is, they have no relation to Him whatsoever. Regrettably, the gospel is not often preached nowadays and the dead remain dead even going to church, without realising it.

The interpretation of verse 6 has been subject to controversy. In harmony with other Scriptures, it must refer to those Christians who were physically dead at the time of writing: the gospel had been preached to them and they accepted it, so their spirit lived even though they had been judged according to men in the flesh, probably indicating that they suffered death because of their faith.

Since the day the Lord Jesus went back to heaven the end of all things has been expected to be imminent (e.g.. Titus 2.13, James 5.8). God is going to bring this world to a halt for final judgment after a series of events, starting with the rapture of the church followed by the day of wrath or tribulation, lasting seven years, and the millennial kingdom of Christ. After the final judgment the present heaven and earth will be replaced.

He will take His own out of the world to start with, and they will go before the judgment seat of Christ, not regarding salvation but regarding rewards concerning the life which they have lived for the will of God. This is another incentive to live now for the will of God: we don't know how much longer the opportunity will last before we come up for judgment.

To be ready, as it is drawing nearer all the time (Romans 13.11), we are urged to do as follows:

to be of a sound mind, serious or better still, intelligent. An intelligent believer is one who knows the Bible as best he can. He is also intelligent in this evil world. Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10.16).
to be watchful in our prayers. In other words prayer should have in it that anticipation, that expectation of the coming of Christ. He is the living Christ. We ought to talk to Him now for we are going to talk to Him hereafter. And at the judgment He is going to talk to us.
above all things to have fervent love for fellow believers (1 Corinthians 13). The Lord said This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you (John 15.12). Love covers all sins (Proverbs 10.12) which means it covers up all offences made or imagined against one another (not sins against God).
to be hospitable to one another without grumbling. It should be done with real warmth, cheerfully, not as a sacrificial obligation to be complied with.
to be useful to one another by exercising any particular spiritual gift which we have, and there are many gifts. There is one body (the church) and many members and many gifts which are given for the benefit of all (not just the member who has it). Some people, well aware of their abilities, believe that they have the right to use their abilities as they please. Others feel that they have no special gifts at all. Both groups are addressed in verses 10 and 11. Everyone has some gifts; let us use them.

All our abilities should be used in serving others; none are for our own exclusive enjoyment (Romans 12.6-8; 1 Corinthians 12.8-11; Ephesians 4.11). Two important gifts are mentioned here:

ministering the Word or preaching (Acts 6.4): this should be done as if it were the utterances of God. If a man is not speaking the Word of God, he has no business standing in the pulpit, nor have we any business saying we are teaching the Bible when we are not really teaching it. We must be faithful to what it actually says, and the necessary reverence should be given to that Word, both by the speaker and the hearer, in acknowledgement of its holy origin.
serving others (deacons - Acts 6.2-3): we should do it with the strength and ability which God has given us.

How is God praised when we use our abilities? When we use them as He directs, to help others, they will see Jesus Christ in us and praise Him for the help they have received: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matthew 5.16).

The glory and the dominion forever and ever belong to Jesus Christ (the immediate antecedent here), but also to God through Christ (Romans 16.27; Jude 1.25).

R David Jones

1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles - when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.

4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.

5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.

8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."

9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.