Our Faithful Creator

November 15, 2009

Lesson: 1 Peter 4:12–19

Key Verse: 1 Peter 4:19

Introduction

Justin Martyr was born in Flavia Neapolis, a city of Samaria, A.D. 114. In the reign of Marcus Aurelius, Justin was killed for his faith in Christ Jesus in the year 165 A.D. His early apologetic for the Christian faith began, “To the Emperor Titus Aelius Adrianus Antoninus Pius Augustus Caesar, and to his son Verissimus the Philosopher, and to Lucius the Philosopher, the natural son of Caesar, and the adopted son of Pius, a lover of learning, and to the sacred Senate, with the whole People of the Romans, I, Justin, the son of Priscus and grandson of Bacchius, natives of Flavia Neapolis in Palestine, present this address and petition in behalf of those of all nations who are unjustly hated and wantonly abused, myself being one of them.”

The Christians were being punished by Rome for bearing the name of their Master, Christ Jesus. Justin writes, “For we are accused of being Christians, and to hate what is excellent is unjust. Again, if any of the accused deny the name, and say that he is not a Christian, you acquit him, as having no evidence against him as a wrong-doer; but if any one acknowledge that he is a Christian, you punish him on account of this acknowledgment.” To paraphrase the thought of Justin’s apologetic; the Christians were being accused of being atheists. This is what we are being accused of today, of being atheists, of not worshiping the gods of this world. Justin, who came to know Christ as Savior in Ephesus, started a school in Rome. His witness is this, “But both (the Father), and the Son (who came forth from Him and taught us these things, and the host of the other good angels who follow and are made like to Him), and the prophetic Spirit, we worship and adore, knowing them in reason and truth, and declaring without grudging to every one who wishes to learn, as we have been taught.”

As with Justin, we understand the gods of this world, and stand firm that there is only one true God. Paul testifies by the Spirit: “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:20). It is in this world and its gods that we bear fruit as disciples of Jesus Christ. It is Christ who teaches us: “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit: so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8). We also understand that God is the Creator who faithfully and providentially cares for his creation.

Trial and Reproach—1 Peter 4:12–17

We think it not strange that there are Christians who may have to face “the fiery trial.” It is not a strange thing, in this world, to face these trials. When we bear the cross of Christ, carry His banner unashamedly in this world, we expect some kind of persecution or ridicule. We are to rejoice in these times of persecution and trials. The rejoicing comes when we realize that in these times of torment we are partaking of “Christ’s suffering.” We rejoice also because our eyes are set, not on this world, but on that which is to come, “when His glory is revealed,” that we may “be glad with exceeding joy.” Calvin wrote, “It is, indeed, a cause of joy, when God tries our faith by persecution; but the other joy far surpasses it, that is, when the Son of God allots to us the same course of life with himself, that he might lead us with himself to a blessed participation of heavenly glory.”

The teaching of the blessedness of the child of God is a precious truth of God’s Word. Peter tells us that, if we are rebuked “for the name of Christ,” then we reveal a blessedness which no other person on this earth can attain.  This word ‘blessed’ is the same word used of our Lord when He spoke to the multitude on the mountainside, saying, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” (Matt. 5:11). The word ‘blessed’ speaks of the character of the Christian. It tells us ‘how inwardly happy is the child of God.’ The Greek word, ‘Makarios,’ tells us that the child of the true God possesses the characteristics of deity. We are truly created and redeemed to be the image of our Creator. Because of Christ, we are indwelt by the Spirit of God. It is the kingdom of God within us. “Neither shall they say, lo here! Or, lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Therefore, “Blessed (how inwardly happy) are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3).

Thus we are compared with the wicked who suffer as murderers, thieves, evildoers, or busybodies. We are not to suffer as they do, but as followers of Christ and his gospel; for the glory of the Holy Spirit is upon us. For our sake Christ was blasphemed. For our sake Christ is glorified, both in heaven and on earth. Calvin sums these verses, writing that Peter shows “that it is no hindrance to the happiness of the godly, that they sustain reproach for the name of Christ, because they nevertheless retain a complete glory in the sight of God, while the Spirit, who has glory ever connected with him, dwells in them.”

If we do suffer as Christians, we are not to act ashamed of our testimony, as if we are the cause of the conflict. We are to glorify God in our thoughts and actions; “And truly it is no common kindness from God, that he calls us, freed and exempted from the common punishment of our sins, to so honorable a warfare as to undergo for the testimony of his Gospel either exiles, or prisons, or reproaches, or even death itself” (Calvin). We pray for the saints of Christ in all the nations who are being reproached because of their faithful testimony to Christ and his gospel. We pray for revival within our own nation as well as others. However, we must know that revival, the cleansing of our nation, begins with us, the Body or Church of Christ Jesus.  Peter reminds us that “the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” If we become as those who disobey the gospel or word of God, then we receive a just punishment. Therefore, let us glorify God as those who desire that judgment which will cleanse us and make us strong before the wicked of this world. We begin with our communion with God, in prayer and study of His Word. We are like those who put on the whole armor of God, ready in combat and witness for His glory.

Discussion: Why is there joy in suffering for Christ?

Commit our Souls—1 Peter 4:18–19

Again Peter compares the Christian with the wicked. “And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” The righteous, being those who are “scarcely be saved;” then what will be the state of the sinner or the ungodly ones? Solomon’s proverb reads, “Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner?” (11:31). In other words, the Christian, the redeemed child of God, finds the way through this life on earth filled with thorns and thistles. The path is not an easy one to follow. We continually testify that the Lord is our Shepherd leading us through the valleys of death. For the Christian who seeks the easy way out, he finds a slippery slope. Therefore we always need to rest firmly upon him who is our strength and hope. We rest always upon the mercy of God. We don’t take that salvation wrought in Christ, and His dying for our sins, for granted. We are ever on the alert with the word of God in our hearts and on our lips.

Why do we suffer as Christians? Peter tells us that we who suffer for Christ “suffer according to the will of God.” Therefore, because our suffering is in the hands of God to do his will to his glory, then we must commit the keeping our souls “to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” We “suffer nothing except according to the permission of God, which tends much to comfort us; when he says, Let them commit themselves to God, it is the same as though he had said, ‘Let them deliver themselves and their life to the safe keeping of God’ ” (Calvin).

We commit our souls—our very lives—to our faithful Creator, our faithful Father in heaven; for “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:9).  Christ was faithful in taking upon Himself our sins that we may know the Father’s forgiveness, and the promise of an eternal inheritance kept in heaven for us. Christ our Lord is also faithful in keeping us each and every day, “who will establish you and guard you from the evil one” (2 Thess. 3:3).

Discussion: How are we may strong in Christ Jesus?