1 Peter 4:1
Χριστοῦ οὖν παθόντος σαρκὶ, καὶ ὑμεῖς τὴν αὐτὴν ἔννοιαν ὁπλίσασθε, ὅτι ὁ παθὼν σαρκὶ πέπαυται ἁμαρτίας,
Christ therefore because He suffered in the flesh, you with the same understanding be armed because the one suffering in the flesh has ceased from sins.
Paraphrase:
Comments:
Note the genitive absolute χριστου ουν παθοντος σαρκι. When the participle is in the present tense, it will be either causal or temporal. παθοντος is clearly causal. Because Christ suffered in the flesh…
What is εννοιαν here? αυτος is here used as an identical adjective which implies that whatever this understanding was, it was also in the mind of Christ.
Option #1: The εννοιαν is the idea stated in the last clause οτι ο παθων σαρκι πεπαυται αμαρτιαις. The meaning being that those who suffer are in a better position to stop sinning. This option understands the οτι as a content οτι. The obvious objection is how this could be true of Jesus who never struggled with sin? Perhaps we are not to understand an exact similarity between Jesus and the believer here. Jesus put an end to sin by suffering and dying and thus making atonement for it. In a similar way, believers are to stop sinning by being willing to suffer in the profession and practice of our faith. So there is not an exact similarity in the way Jesus and believers put an end to sin, but there is a similarity nonetheless.
Paraphrase: Now we know that Jesus suffered terrible physical pain when He died on the cross. He was willing to endure such suffering because He knew that He had to suffer and die in order to make atonement for our sins. Now if you want to be ready for the spiritual warfare which you are going to encounter in this dark world, you should take that same attitude and make it your own. I am not saying that you should try to atone for your sins by suffering. Of course not, but I am saying that you can better gain the victory over your personal sin by patiently enduring the suffering and fiery trials through which you are passing. This is actually a principle you should never forget: suffering helps us to stop sinning.
Option #2: This is the idea that the εννοιαν is a willingness to die. Jesus was willing to die and so must the believer. In adopting this mindset, the believer is now armed for battle. The last clause is simply introducing a supporting thought that those who suffer are assured of a final victory.
Paraphrase: Now we know that Jesus died on the cross and when a person is dead, he cannot sin any longer. He suffered terrible physical pain when He died on the cross. He was willing to endure such suffering because He knew that He had to suffer and die in order to make atonement for our sins. Now if you want to be ready for the spiritual warfare which you are going to encounter in this dark world, you should take that same attitude and make it your own. I am not saying that you should try to atone for your sins by suffering. Of course not, but I am saying that you can better gain the victory over your personal sin by patiently enduring the suffering and fiery trials through which you are passing. This is actually a principle you should never forget: suffering helps us to stop sinning.
The εννοιαν is the idea that by suffering, an end was made to sin as in atonement was made for it and not to a believer’s personal struggle to stop sinning. Again, the οτι is understood to be a content οτι. This certainly was in the mind of Jesus as Peter wrote earlier in 1Pet 3:18. The same idea is even more clearly stated in Heb. 9:26, but how can this εννοιαν be in the mind of a believer? Believers have nothing at all to do with putting an end to sin in the sense of making atonement for it as Jesus did.
1 Peter 4:2
εἰς τὸ μηκέτι ἀνθρώπων ἐπιθυμίαις ἀλλὰ θελήματι Θεοῦ, τὸν ἐπίλοιπον ἐν σαρκὶ βιῶσαι χρόνον.
1 Peter 4:3
ἀρκετὸς γὰρ ὁ παρεληλυθὼς χρόνος τὸ βούλημα τῶν ἐθνῶν κατειργάσθαι, πεπορευμένους ἐν ἀσελγείαις, ἐπιθυμίαις, οἰνοφλυγίαις, κώμοις, πότοις, καὶ ἀθεμίτοις εἰδωλολατρίαις.
1 Peter 4:4
Ἐν ᾧ ξενίζονται, μὴ συντρεχόντων ὑμῶν εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν τῆς ἀσωτίας ἀνάχυσιν, βλασφημοῦντες,
1 Peter 4:5
οἳ ἀποδώσουσιν λόγον τῷ ἑτοίμως ἔχοντι κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς.
1 Peter 4:6
εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ, καὶ νεκροῖς εὐηγγελίσθη, ἵνα κριθῶσι μὲν κατὰ ἀνθρώπους σαρκί· ζῶσι δὲ κατὰ Θεὸν πνεύματι.
1 Peter 4:7
Πάντων δὲ τὸ τέλος ἤγγικεν. σωφρονήσατε οὖν, καὶ νήψατε εἰς προσευχάς,
1 Peter 4:8
πρὸ πάντων, τὴν εἰς ἑαυτοὺς ἀγάπην ἐκτενῆ ἔχοντες, ὅτι ἀγάπη καλύπτει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν,
1 Peter 4:9
φιλόξενοι εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἄνευ γογγυσμοῦ,
1 Peter 4:10
ἕκαστος καθὼς ἔλαβεν χάρισμα, εἰς ἑαυτοὺς αὐτὸ διακονοῦντες, ὡς καλοὶ οἰκονόμοι ποικίλης χάριτος Θεοῦ·
1 Peter 4:11
εἴ τις λαλεῖ, ὡς λόγια Θεοῦ· εἴ τις διακονεῖ, ὡς ἐξ ἰσχύος ἧς χορηγεῖ ὁ Θεός, ἵνα ἐν πᾶσιν δοξάζηται ὁ Θεὸς διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἐστιν ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν.
1 Peter 4:12
Ἀγαπητοί, μὴ ξενίζεσθε τῇ ἐν ὑμῖν πυρώσει πρὸς πειρασμὸν ὑμῖν γινομένῃ, ὡς ξένου ὑμῖν συμβαίνοντος.
Beloved, do not be shocked at the smelting within you for a test to you being, as a foreigner walking with you.
Paraphrase: Beloved brothers and sisters, the trial you are experiencing is painful. Perhaps you feel as though you are being melted down like metal, but don’t be discouraged. These fiery trials will not destroy you. On the contrary, they will purify you and make you better. It’s true that when we enter times of suffering, we are often shocked and surprised. It’s as if a complete stranger suddenly came and started walking with us arm in arm. Dismiss this attitude, beloved, don’t look at suffering this way.
Comments:
1 Peter 4:13
ἀλλὰ καθὸ κοινωνεῖτε τοῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παθήμασιν, χαίρετε, ἵνα καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀποκαλύψει τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ, χαρῆτε ἀγαλλιώμενοι.
but even as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice, in order that at the revelation of His glory, you might rejoice being full of joy.
Paraphrase: Rather, look at your pain as a mark that you are in a close union with Christ. Yes, you really are entering into the very sufferings of Christ and sharing in His humiliation. This was the mission of Jesus; and now, you have been made a part of it. The purpose of it all is that when Jesus returns in triumph, you will shout for joy because you will now share in His glory just as you once shared in His humiliation.
Comments:
1 Peter 4:14
Εἰ ὀνειδίζεσθε ἐν ὀνόματι Χριστοῦ, μακάριοι, ὅτι τὸ τῆς δόξης καὶ τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ Πνεῦμα ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς ἀναπαύεται.
If you are mocked for the Name of Christ, blessed, because the Spirit of glory, even the Spirit of God, is resting on you.
Paraphrase: When you are ridiculed and mocked for being Christ’s disciples, don’t let that bother you. In fact, the opposite is true. The real truth is that you are blessed. Why? Because when you suffer for righteousness sake, you show that you are in a union with Christ; and when you are in a union with Christ, then you have every assurance that the glorious Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed Trinity, is leading you. When this Spirit rests on you as it did on Christ, then you know that you are beloved of God and His
Comments:
1 Peter 4:15
μὴ γάρ τις ὑμῶν πασχέτω ὡς φονεὺς, ἢ κλέπτης, ἢ κακοποιὸς, ἢ ὡς ἀλλοτριεπίσκοπος·
1 Peter 4:16
εἰ δὲ ὡς Χριστιανός, μὴ αἰσχυνέσθω· δοξαζέτω δὲ τὸν Θεὸν ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ.
1 Peter 4:17
ὅτι ὁ καιρὸς τοῦ ἄρξασθαι τὸ κρίμα ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ Θεοῦ· εἰ δὲ πρῶτον ἀφ’ ἡμῶν, τί τὸ τέλος τῶν ἀπειθούντων τῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐαγγελίῳ;
1 Peter 4:18
καὶ, Εἰ ὁ δίκαιος μόλις σώζεται, ὁ ἀσεβὴς καὶ ἁμαρτωλὸς ποῦ φανεῖται;
1 Peter 4:19
Ὥστε καὶ, οἱ πάσχοντες κατὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ, πιστῷ Κτίστῃ παρατιθέσθωσαν τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ἐν ἀγαθοποιΐᾳ.