RESPONSES TO
SUFFERING
1 PETER 4:12-19
We avoid trials at all costs. Years ago, at a Keswick Convention, Bob Hobson shared about an experience that startled my self-centered thinking about suffering. He told how his wife, out of the blue, had either cancer, or a brain tumor. The church he pastored immediately called for all out prayer. Brother Hobson told them to not ask for healing, but for both of them to learn what God would teach them through the trial.
Hobson’s response to that situation was quite impressive and convicting. It embodies what Peter wants his readers to do as well. They faced suffering daily as persecuted Christians. For many they probably dreaded facing the morning light each day, knowing that pain and possible loss might come upon them. For some they wondered why it happened to them. Did not the gospel promise abundant life? How could a person face persecution every day?
All Peter has stated about trials previously is now summarized and brought to a focal point in this paragraph. In the midst of all the suffering the apostle gives four imperatives which form the thrust of our devotion.
I. THE COMMAND TO RECEIVE FROM THE TRIAL v. 12
Two words are interrelated in this verse. The word “surprised” and the word “strange.” “Strange” in the Greek is the root word for “surprised.” One of course is a noun and the other a verb. Both carry the meaning of “entertaining, to be a host to a stranger, and alien or stranger.” Apparently, some believers were shocked by the mistreatment and persistent trials. They looked at those events as strangers or aliens, and Peter exhorts to welcome them as a good host. The language at the end of the verse adds to this strangeness, in that Peter uses the word “happening.” This word means “to walk together, or concur.” Do not treat the trials as if they just walked along with you as a stranger, but accept them. Thus we have the command to receive trials rather than reject them.
How can anyone welcome a trial? We don’t even like to have the temperature in the house a little too high in the heat of summer. Peter tells the believer that the “fiery trial” is “for your testing.” The idea of a “fiery trial” is literally “an ignition, or a smelting.” The “testing” is literally “putting to the proof by experience and adversity.” The point is that even if people mistreat us as believers, we welcome those trials, because God uses them for good in our lives. The good God has in mind is proving us, refining us, and molding us into the image of His Son.
We receive trials with thanksgiving. We thank the Lord for what He brought into our lives in order to prove us by adversity. This is being a good host to those “strange trials,” seeing them as “friends” accomplishing God’s eternal plan.
II. THE COMMAND TO REJOICE IN THE TRIAL v. 13-14
The command to rejoice is in the present tense, thus signifying a continual attitude of joy. Peter is not alone in commanding joy in trials. Philippians emphasizes joy as the theme of the entire book. Two times, in 3:1 and 4:4, we find the command, “Rejoice in the Lord….” 1 Thessalonians 5:16 also commands, “Rejoice always.” Rejoicing or joy is not totally an emotional response. Because it is a command, this takes into account the will. Further, Jesus always had joy, yet He experienced deep emotional distress. Thus we can conclude that joy or rejoicing is an attitude to be chosen, rather than purely an emotion. According to Galatians 5:22-23, joy is one of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit. Choosing joy is not based on the pain of the trial, the length of it, or the severity of it. Instead, we choose joy because of two reasons: The Lord’s preeminence and His purpose. He is Lord and when He commands we must obey. However, Peter includes along with this command, three reasons for rejoicing in the trial. These three reasons relate to God’s purpose for the trial.
A. Rejoice in the Privilege of Suffering v. 13 “…but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing…,”
It is a privilege to share the sufferings of Christ. We might be tempted to say, “I can do without this privilege.” However, if we desire to know our Savior more intimately, then suffering is a means to that end. In Acts 5:40-42, after being beaten for preaching Christ, the apostles left, “rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” These men counted it a privilege to suffer like the Savior.
The privilege comes in recognizing that we share the sufferings of Christ. This means considering how our Lord suffered and entering into the fellowship of His suffering. As Jesus moved toward the cross suffering occurred in the life of Christ in a number of ways. Here are some of the ways Jesus suffered and how we may suffer also: loneliness, no support (John 18:1), emotional distress (Matt.26:37-38), rejection (John 18-19), mockery (Mark 15:16-20), false accusations (Mark 14:53-61), physical pain (John 18-19), being exposed (John 19:23-25), lost reputation (Luke 23:35), appear a failure, and serving others while suffering (Luke 23:34, 39-43; John 19:26-27).
B. Rejoice in the Priority of Suffering v. 13 “…so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”
Everything which takes place on the earth ultimately leads to the glory of God. God’s priority is not our happiness, but His glory. This purpose could be taken as a future revelation of God’s glory when He returns or a revelation of His glory in and through us. Either way, God desires to glorify Himself. Like Job of old, the Lord chooses to put His own through suffering, in order to express the glory of a person who remains faithful in spite of his circumstances.
C. Rejoice in the Power for Suffering v. 14
God promises a blessing for those suffering for His name. The blessing lies in the fact that the Spirit of God and glory “rests” upon the sufferer. Knowing that God’s Spirit rests upon you in suffering creates a joy in the midst of the adversity. The word “rests” means “to refresh or to give ease.” We can rejoice in the suffering, knowing that the power of the Lord sustains and refreshes in spite of our circumstances. God uses suffering to drive us to dependence on Him in order to experience His power.
III. THE COMMAND TO REJECT FOR THE TRIAL v. 15-18
The command is actually a negative – “Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler.” Put another way the Lord wants us to reject behavior which would lead to wrong suffering. A “trouble-some meddler” is a busy-body, someone trying to control or meddle in others’ affairs.
In verse 16 is the term “Christian” which always was used in the first century as a derogatory name. Yet Peter says not to be ashamed of that title, but to glorify God.
In verses 17-18 Peter explains that God judges His own household. Verse 18 is a rendering of Proverbs 11:31. The point of this verse is to show that on earth the righteous go through difficulty, but not anything like what awaits the ungodly and sinner. There is an outcome for those who reject the gospel which is far worse than what we experience as believers. Thus, we are to reject the behavior of sinners, which brings about its own suffering, and suffer as a Christian.
IV. THE COMMAND TO RELY IN THE TRIAL v. 19
“Therefore” introduces the summation command to this section on suffering. This kind of suffering is according to the will of God. One suffering as part of God’s will needs to entrust his soul to the Lord. The word “entrust” means “to deposit as a trust.” It is the same expression used by Jesus hanging on the cross in Luke 23:46, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” The soul needs to be committed unto the Lord, for the keeping of one’s mind, emotion, and will in the midst of suffering.
Notice that this commitment is unto the “Faithful Creator.” Our reliance is not in some mythological god, but in the Creator. God, who spoke the world in existence out of nothing, can keep our souls in the midst of trouble. This Creator God is faithful, meaning He will not let us down, nor will He forsake His own. Truly we can trust Him with doing what is right and keeping us in the midst of suffering.
