One of the fundamental truths of Christianity is that we are saved by grace from the inside out. Our faith is not revealed by a mere symbol, but by the fruit that grows from who we are. We are known by what we follow. For Christians, following Christ will lead us into some difficult spaces—perhaps even suffering—which is why we must prepare to face them with joy.

Focal Passage for this week: 1 Peter 4:1–19

So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. 2 You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. 3 You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.

4 Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. 5 But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead. 6 That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead—so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit.

7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God[e] rests upon you. 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! 17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 18 And also,

“If the righteous are barely saved,

what will happen to godless sinners?”

19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.

If asked, what do you think people would point to in your life as evidence of your faith?

How do you demonstrate to others that you are a follower of Christ?

Verse 1 begins with “therefore.” So let’s start by asking the question we’ve discussed before. What’s the “therefore” there for? How does Peter’s teaching here connect with what he has said previously?

1 Peter 3:18–22

18 Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

19 So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— 20 those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. 21 And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from[d] a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

22 Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.

Peter focused his readers’ attention on the example of Jesus who, rather than being spared from suffering, died for our sins and rose from the dead.

He has gone ahead of us to show us the way.

Because Christ suffered, we should expect similar experiences as we follow him.

That’s why Peter begins here by calling us to prepare for how we will respond when those situations arise.

So how can we tell if someone is a follower of Jesus?

Matthew 7:20

20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

John 13:34

34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

What do these two passages teach us about the primary qualities of Christians? (That we are to be known by the fruit we bear and our love for one another)

We are known by the way we live and the way we love and that’s just as true in times of suffering as it is in times of comfort.

Cultivating humility is one the primary ways we can prepare to live faithfully in times of difficulty.

How would you define humility? Who would you point to as an example of humility?

Read more about Christ’s example of humility in the following verses:

Philippians 2:4–11

4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

6 Though he was God,

he did not think of equality with God

as something to cling to.

7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;

he took the humble position of a slave

and was born as a human being.

When he appeared in human form,

8 he humbled himself in obedience to God

and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor

and gave him the name above all other names,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

How does Jesus display humility in these verses?

How does the Father respond to the humility of his Son?

Since we are called to approach life with the mind of Christ (v. 5), what needs to change in order for you to live with a greater sense of humility? In other words, where can you invite God to shape you to look more like his Son?

Humility is essential, but it does not spare us from times of strained relationships. As Peter makes clear in verses 3–4, even a humble pursuit of holiness can feel like an indictment on those who have committed themselves to worldly ways of living. They will be “surprised” that we no longer join in sinful activities like we may have done before.

What are some of the most distinctive ways your life has changed since coming to know Christ?

How has your faith changed the way you approach the relationships you had prior to knowing Christ? What are some ways others have been “surprised” by your choice to not join them in their lifestyle?

This is why our hope must be in Christ rather than our circumstances. Even when we strive to live holy and obedient lives, we’re prone to experiencing abuse from those around us. And if our hope is in those relationships or any other temporary thing it will fail us. But there’s another reason for hoping in Christ and that is that our time here is short, as Peter makes clear in verses 5–11.

When Peter writes, “the end is near” we shouldn’t read that phrase in the sense of doomsday. Rather, the end is our great hope because it means we will be with our Savior as he makes all things new. What would change about your daily life if you were able to keep “the end” at the forefront of your mind? What would you become more urgent about?

Peter offers a couple of practical ways the temporariness of life should shape us, the first being prayer (v. 7). He says to be alert and sober-minded in order to pray effectively. Would you say these terms characterize your prayer life? What are some of the consistent obstacles you have to overcome for a disciplined prayer life?

The most important command Peter gives is to “love each other deeply” (v. 8). And he applies that in two ways—hospitality and service. What role does hospitality play in the way you express your faith? How do you practice it?

Greek term for hospitality is a compound word that combines the terms for “love” and “strange” into one. Literally, it means, “love strangers.” Of course, there’s nothing wrong with being hospitable to those we know well, but biblical hospitality extends beyond that to those who are not a part of our group, regardless of their faith or lack thereof.

Who is a “stranger” in your life that you could show hospitality to this week?

In addition to hospitality, Peter tells his readers to serve one another with whatever gift they have received from God.

What would you consider some of the gifts God has given to you?

These don’t necessarily have to be overly spiritual gifts, like prophecy or tongues. Rather, gifts like teaching or service itself. Other options could be financial means or general giftings like cooking, singing, writing, etc.

How are you serving others with your gifts?

1 Peter 4:12-19

12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! 17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 18 And also,

“If the righteous are barely saved,

what will happen to godless sinners?”

19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.

Up to this point, Peter has been describing ways for us to live that prepare us for times of suffering. Humility, love, hospitality, and service should not vanish from our lives when things get difficult. Rather, they help us stay engaged with people—especially other believers—so that we can remain faithful. In verses 12–19, Peter reminds us once again not to be surprised when testing comes. Instead, we are to be joyful because our suffering partners us with the suffering of our Savior.

1 Peter 4:14-16

14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!

When should we rejoice in suffering? (When we suffer for the sake of Christ—not when we suffer for deserving reasons, like murder, theft, or any other kind of criminal activity)

This is an important point for us to remember. Peter’s statement does not apply to every kind of suffering. Some forms of persecution are deserved as punishment for breaking lawful rules. We rejoice when our suffering comes as a result of our obedience to Christ. It is not something we should seek, but it is something we should be willing to embrace when it comes trusting that God will use it to refine our faith, reveal his blessing, and confirm the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

How has God used suffering in your life as a way of deepening your faith in him?

What did you learn about him in the midst of your suffering?

Based on what you’ve heard in this session, what can you begin doing to prepare yourself for suffering? How can you begin cultivating habits that will help you to remain faithful when things get difficult?

Last Word

When suffering comes, we are told to do two things— praise God and continue to do good. That’s not something that we’ll magically decide to do unless we’re cultivating those habits when things are going well. Like an athlete training for an important match, we as Christians ought to prepare ourselves to suffer well.

Regular study of God’s Word and participation in the local church - make those your priorities in the days ahead. Look for ways to use your gifts in service to others and rejoice in the fact that God has made you his own through Christ.

Live It Out

Pray:

Wherever you sense doubt, ask the Lord to strengthen you and help you to persevere when difficulties arise that challenge your faith in him.

Encourage:

If there’s a fellow believer in your life struggling today, reach out to them and offer your encouragement by reminding them of God’s faithfulness.

Serve:

Look for a practical way to serve your local church with the gifts God has given you this week. If you do not yet have a clear idea of your gifts, reach out to another believer this week and talk about that with him or her.

Peek At The Greek

The term Peter uses in verse 10 for “gift” is karisma, which generally refers to earthly goods given by God. In this context, it likely has a more spiritualized meaning, referring to those intangible gifts, like those he mentions in the following verse. That said, the principle here is simply that whatever gift we have received—whether tangible or intangible—it is meant for the purpose of serving others and encouraging fellow believers in Christ. God does not gift us for the sake of our self-esteem, but to give ourselves away in service to others. When we do so, we display the love of Christ and faithfully steward God’s grace in sight of a watching world.