Living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin...

At the church where I serve we have been looking at a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Peter. As we look at this letter, we are discovering the timeless answer to the questions "How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture? How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community when our faith is minimized and marginalized? How should followers of Jesus live out our identity as followers of Jesus who are part of God’s kingdom community when our faith is ridiculed, criticized, and slandered?"

This week, I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter, we will discover another timeless truth about how we are to live as part of God’s kingdom community in the midst of a rapidly changing culture as followers of Jesus. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in 1 Peter 4:1-2:

Therefore, 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, ² so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

Peter begins this section of his letter with the word therefore. With this word, Peter is basically saying, “In light of what I just wrote about; in light of the reality that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that responds to suffering the right way. In light of the reality that we respond to suffering the right way when suffer for the right reasons; In light of the reality that we experience God's favor when we suffer for living faithfully for Jesus; In light of the reality that we are not to be intimidated by those who seek to intimidate us for living faithfully for Jesus but are to revere Jesus and be ready to defend the reasons why we live faithfully for Jesus; In light of the reality that we respond to suffering the right way when we follow the right examples; In light of the reality that we have the example of Jesus response to suffering; In light of the reality that  Jesus suffered as one who was just for those who were unjust so that He could bring His followers into the presence of God; In light of the reality that Jesus suffered at the hands of others during His life here on earth, I am commanding you to arm yourselves with the same purpose."

What is so interesting here is that the phrase “arm yourselves”, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to equip oneself. This phrase conveys the sense of get ready for something by equipping oneself for something. In addition, the phrase with the same purpose means to have the same way of thinking or insight that results in resolve.

So Peter here is commanding followers of Jesus throughout history to respond to the example that Jesus gave us when it comes to responding to the sadness and suffering that He experienced as a result of doing what was right by equipping themselves with the same resolve that Jesus had when he faced sadness and suffering as a result of doing what was right. Peter then explained that the reason why they were to equip themselves with the same resolve that Jesus had when he faced sadness and suffering as a result of doing what was right was due to the fact that he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. But what does that even mean?

The phrase has ceased to sin conveys the sense of being finished with something. This phrase conveys the sense of being through with something. In addition, when Peter uses the word sin here, this word refers to acts of omission and commission that are committed against God and others that flow from our selfishness and rebellion and that hurt God and others.

Peter’s point here is that the person who suffers for doing what is right in God’s sight is through with sin, as demonstrated by the fact that they will experience suffering for doing the right thing. Their willingness to suffer for doing the right thing reveals the reality that they have resolved to be finished with sin. Their willingness to suffer for doing the right thing reveals the reality that they have resolved to be through with sin.

Peter then further unpacks this reality in verse 2 by stating that the person who has equipped themselves to have the resolve to suffer for doing what was right is not only through with sin. In addition, the person who has equipped themselves to have the resolve to suffer for doing what was right is to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. When Peter uses the phrase the rest of the time in the flesh, he is referring to the rest on one’s life here on earth.

As we discovered earlier in this series, when Peter refers to the lust of men, he is referring to a desire for something that is forbidden that humanity often desires. These are desires for the world around them that go against God’s desires for the world around them. In addition, the phrase “will of God” simply refers to what God wishes or desires to bring about through the activity of others.

Peter’s point here is that the person who has equipped themselves to have the resolve to suffer for doing what was right will live out the rest of their day to day lives here on earth no longer seeking to satisfy the selfish desires that go against God’s desires for their lives that humanity often seeks to satisfy. Instead, the person who has equipped themselves to have the resolve to suffer for doing what was right will live out the rest of their day to day lives here on earth seeking to satisfy God’s desires for their lives.

And it is here, in this section of this letter, that we see Peter reveal a timeless truth when it comes to about how we are to live as a part of God’s kingdom community in that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin. In 1 Peter 4:1-6, we are going to see Peter reveal for us four different things that drive a follower of Jesus who is a part of God’s kingdom community to resolve to be through with sin.

First, we see Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin is driven by the example of Jesus. You see, Jesus shows us what it means to be truly human. Jesus provides for us the example of how we are to live our lives here on earth when it comes to living in the relationship with God and others that we were created to live.

As followers of Jesus, we have the example that Jesus gave us when it comes to responding to the sadness and  suffering that He experienced as a result of doing what was right. And as followers of Jesus, we are to equip ourselves with the same resolve that Jesus had when he faced sadness and suffering as a result of doing what was right so that we would reveal and reflect Jesus in how we respond when suffering for doing what is right as a result of resolving to be through with sin.

Second, in verse 2, we see Peter reveal for us the reality that a lifestyle that resolves to be through with sin is driven by the right desires. A lifestyle that is through with sin is a lifestyle that is no longer driven by the selfish desires that go against God’s desires for the world that once dominated their lives before Jesus. Instead, a lifestyle that is through with sin is a lifestyle that is driven by a desire to a part of what God is doing around them in the world.

And as Peter continues this section of his letter, we see Peter continue to address the issue of the desires and the impact that our resolve can have on those desire. Tomorrow we will discover a third thing the drives the lifestyle of a follower of Jesus who has resolved to be through with sin...