1 Peter 4

    4:1-4.  Being united to Christ certainly does not exempt us from the suffering and death that all flesh is heir to.  But since we have already died with him to sin (1) let us no longer live our lives for the lusts of men, but for the will of God (2).  Separating ourselves from the excesses of dissipation we once indulged in as Gentiles will bring the enmity of our former allies in sin (3-4).

     By Gentiles (3), Peter means the same thing Paul means in Eph. 2:11-16.  That is, they were once worldly men “separated from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise,” but are now no longer so.  Peter understood “the mystery of Christ” as well as Paul, “That the Gentiles are fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph. 3:4, 6; cf. 1 Pet. 2:9-12).

     4:5-6.  If we were to assume the interpretation of 3:18-19 mentioned but rejected above (because it is fraught with strange implications that are nowhere else clearly taught by Scripture), that Jesus preached to the spirits of men who died during Noah’s flood while his body lay in the grave between his death and his resurrection, then we would likely misinterpret v.6 in the same way.  I believe Peter is here speaking to the same issues Paul had to deal with in 1 Cor. 15:12 ff.  and 1 Thess. 4:13 ff.  There were false speculations surrounding when Christ would return, the resurrection of the body, and the final judgment (cf. 2 Thess. 2:2; 2 Tim. 2:18).  Peter is simply saying, don’t worry that those who have rejected Christ and maligned his people can escape facing their judge.  And those who have believed the gospel and have died, and the Lord tarries, are they lost?  By no means.  The gospel is not preached in vain.  Death is no escape for the scoffers, and it is no defeat for those who have died in faith.  The gospel was preached (during their lifetime) to those who are dead, and it was not preached in vain.  Some believed and were saved.  Others were disobedient and shall not escape their just due.  Christ is ready to judge the living and the dead.  The question is, are we ready to give an account to him?  (See John 11:25-26; Ro. 10:6-12).

     4:7.  The end of all things is at hand; such statements as this are too frequently understood as some kind of mistake the apostles made about the Lord’s imminent return, which with the passage of time they had to modify.  I do not believe it was they who were prone to mistakes about the last days.  They taught clearly just what Jesus told them, which was that these are the last days.  The Judge bringing the final judgment is coming at the Father’s own timing.  He will come suddenly and unannounced to judge both the living and the dead.  We are to watch and be ready to answer to the Lord at the last Great Day.  I do not believe the apostles were surprised when the Lord tarried.  Jesus’ advice holds for all in any age.  Watch and be ready, for he comes, he surely comes, and all flesh (the living and the dead) shall see it together.  Eternity is only a breath away.  But in the meantime, as long as breath is in us, today is the day of salvation (cf. 2 Cor. 6:2; Heb. 3:13).  “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20). 

     This is why, in matters of eschatology, I am an Amillennialist.  The Premillennialist says that the signs of the last days are upon us [they always are], and that the Lord very soon will return to establish his thousand-year reign, after which comes the judgment.  The Postmillennialist says that the Lord will not return until the world has seen a thousand years of substantial peace and blessing under the triumph of the gospel over the enemies of Christ.  Only the Amillennialist sees the millennium (the thousand years of Rev. 20) as a symbol for these last days, the unknown time between the Lord’s first and second coming.  It is a definite for an indefinite, and as long as it is today we must live by faith, and be ready to give a good account when the Lord comes, for he is ready to judge (cf. 4:5; 2 Pet. 3:8-13).

     In view of the reality of the coming judgment, v.7 also teaches us how the Christian is to pray; with the mind fully and clearly engaged in the truth, and aware of the seriousness and brevity of life.  

     4:8-11.  Still, v.8 reminds us to pray not just with the mind, but with the fervency of love for one another.  Yet love is not just an emotion, but an active duty, a debt we owe to one another in the Lord.  Love covers (atones for) a multitude of sins; it has redemptive power.  By it we minister the grace of God and the fruits of the Spirit to one another, and all to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, to whom all glory and dominion belongs forever.

     4:12-16.  How is it that the beloved of God are allowed to suffer in this life (12)?  How can those who follow Jesus even ask such a question?  If we suffer with Christ, and for his name’s sake (rather than as a just punishment for doing evil), we should rejoice that we are so clearly identified with him in his suffering, knowing that it is clear evidence of our coming share also in his glory, when we shall rejoice with exaltation (13-16).

     4:17-19.  Judgment has begun, and it begins with God’s own household.  It fell upon God’s own Son when he identified himself with us.  Should we expect to be exempt from suffering in the flesh when we identify with him?  What will be the outcome of judgment for those who do not obey the gospel of God, and who trample on his grace?

     When we suffer for doing what is right, we are to entrust our souls to a faithful Creator (19), as Peter himself had to do (John 21:18-19; cf. Mt. 5:10-12).