杰森·迈尔

引言：温故而知新

A. 主题

我想提醒大家，结合彼得前书5:12和彼得前书1:1，就可以得出彼得前书的主题。

我藉着我认为忠心的弟兄西拉，简略地写了这封信劝勉你们，又向你们证实这是 神真正的恩典；要在这恩典上站立得住。 —彼得前书5:12

1. 他写了什么呢？他劝勉他们，并向他们宣告什么是神真正的恩典。这封信的五章都是出自神口中的恩典。

2. 现在，他们用这种恩典做什么？要在这恩典上站立得住。

这恩典是坚固的根基—所以他的劝告是要站在坚固的根基上!因此，根据彼得前书5:12，这封信的主题可以用七个字来说明：在神真恩中站稳。我认为一个有用的进一步分析是，可以把这节经文和第一节经文结合起来。在第一节中彼得告诉读者他们是谁。

写信给那分散在本都、加拉太、加帕多家、亚西亚、庇推尼寄居的人—彼得前书1:1

所以如果我们加上“寄居者”这句话，这封信的主旋律可以用10个字来说明：寄居者，在神真恩中站稳。当这封信一次次回到这个音符上时，我们也就不断地回到这个主旋律上来。

B. 语境

彼得写这封信给生活在混乱、试炼和动荡中的教会。那是在尼禄皇帝统治时期，可能是在尼禄发起的对基督徒的疯狂迫害前几年。彼得和保罗会在那个时候殉道。所以在这封信中，迫害还没爆发，而是威胁迫近。火山还没有喷发，但它在冒烟，地动山摇，似乎随时要喷发。

这封信是写给居住在小亚细亚（今土耳其）罗马各省的基督徒的。大多数人认为，他是按照信件传递时的路线顺序来写下这些省份名称的。

彼得用一些有分量的词来命名信徒的身份：“蒙拣选的分散寄居者”。彼得在这里的意思似乎是说，我们都是属灵的寄居者—­­我们都是天国的公民，因此在地上的寄居者总是渴望着自己真正的家，因此在这里从来没有完全的家的感觉。总是怀着一种深深的属灵乡愁。你感觉到了吗？你永远不会觉得自己完全适合这里。如果在这个世界上感到自在，那就是属世界的。天国的公民是地上的寄居者，总是在寻找那一座城，它的建造者是神—那是属天的国度（参 希伯来书11:16）。

C. 结构

第一部分—致敬三一神

他们是被父神拣选的寄居者，是被圣灵所分别为圣，是要顺服耶稣，靠着耶稣的宝血归属于祂。

第二部分—活出得神救赎之民的样式

然后，他在开场告白的基础上，呼召大家活出他们的身分。第一章3-12节和第二章4-10节陈述神所做的。彼得前书1:13-2:3是信徒应该做的五重要求。

彼得前书1:3-12 因为你们是神所救赎的子民，有永活的盼望（1:3-5），有无法形容的喜乐（1:6-9），有深刻的殊荣感（1:10-12）……

彼得前书1:13-2:3 因此，要像得神救赎的儿女一样生活：1.专心盼望（第13节），2.成为圣洁（第14-16节），3.敬畏上帝（第17-21节），4.彼此相爱（第22-25节），以及5.渴慕道的灵奶，长大进入救恩（2:1-3）。

彼得前书2:4-10 因为你们是神所救赎的子民，是祭司的灵宫，要宣扬那救你们的主的美德。

这些命令从我们与神的纵向关系（盼望、圣洁、敬畏我们的父）转移到与同为神的儿女的横向关系（彼此相爱）。现在，祂建立了一个高潮，在这个高潮中，我们被呼召成长为我们所得的救恩，这将是深饮神的话语的结果。

第三部分—如何在试炼中像神所救赎的子民一样生活

现在信的第三部分变得具体了。在这个世界上，你怎么能做天国的公民呢？这会是什么样子？你用你的嘴唇和生命来宣扬祂的美德。你用美好的行为充满你生活的地方，与这个世界上向你的灵魂发动战争的情欲作斗争。当你在政治领域、社会领域和家庭领域与挑战性的环境互动时，看上去应该是什么样子（2:13-3:6）。

他们不应该玩人间的躲避球游戏，当他们被人辱骂时，不应该把球扔回给不信的人（3:9-12）。相反，他们应该心中火热，准备好用温柔和爱心回答自己为什么心中有盼望的问题（3:13-17）。他们需要在耶稣的苦难和胜利中仰望耶稣，从而武装自己，预备好受苦（3:18-4:1）。目前这暂时的审判将被即将到来的最终审判所推翻（4:2-6）。末世的生活就应该像谨慎警醒的祷告，彼此相爱，热情好客，并善用你的属灵恩赐作神恩典的好管家（4:7-11）。

我们现在来到这封信的第四部分（4:12-19）。这也许是他关于苦难最直接的论述。他注重经受苦难，帮助他们解读苦难，让他们不为苦难所惊，甚至为苦难而欢喜。

经文

¹² 亲爱的，有火炼的试验临到你们，不要以为奇怪，好像是遭遇非常的事。13 倒要欢喜，因为你们既然在基督的受苦上有分，就在他荣耀显现的时候，可以欢喜快乐。*14 *你们要是为基督的名受辱骂，就有福了！ 因为 神荣耀的灵，住在你们身上。

要点：

苦难应该导致快乐，而不是惊讶，因为苦难不会导致损失，倒是获益。

纲要

1. 不要以为奇怪（第12节）

2. 倒要欢喜（第13-14节）

1. 不要以为奇怪（第12节）

¹²亲爱的，有火炼的试验临到你们，不要以为奇怪，好像是遭遇非常的事。

A. 对苦难感到奇怪惊讶

彼得是个好牧师。他不只是了解他们的经验，他还解读给他们听。他再次告诉他们，苦难应该是他们所期待和预备的。苦难不能运行在他们的预期之外。

现在彼得已经把这一点说得很清楚了。4:1-6说，他们应该用基督受苦时的思维方式来武装自己。他们必须立志受苦。既然基督受苦，他们也必受苦。既然他们要经历祂所经历的，那么他们就应该想祂是怎么想的。

如果把苦难看成是奇怪的，那么它就会出其不意地落在我们身上。而苦难已是沉重的负担。失望是我们所期望的和我们所经历的之间的距离。如果你希望别人支持你，而他们却反对你，那么惊讶和失望就会更大。所以，当我们没有预期、没有预备，苦难的考验就成了更大的考验，并因此而大大地失望。

痛苦本身已经有了意外的因素或冲击值。准备好了极地跳水的人，会和那些偶然掉进冰冷水中的人有不同的体验。

但我们自由地承认，我们可以理解为什么彼得要说出这个命令。我们不必为不必要的事情下达命令。当你给孩子们一个冰淇淋筒时，你很少需要命令他们吃。更常见的是需要命令他们吃蔬菜。

苦难本身是异常的。它以苦涩的味道冲击着我们的精神味蕾。毕竟，我们不会为我们的孩子计划苦难和困难，那么父神为什么要为祂的孩子计划苦难呢？你是否有时会发现自己在问天父：“我为什么要这么辛苦？”

你有没有被人看成“怪人”？有时候，人们看着你在做的事情，他们会有一种“你到底在搞什么？我真的搞不懂！”的表情。 在这些环境下，你必须给出一个解释。你解释完之后，人们通常会点头说：“哦，我明白了。好吧。”

如果你看到有人在停车场里绕来绕去绕了好几圈，并尝试不同的停车位，你可能会盯着看，不知道怎么回事。你缺失了一条信息。如果那辆车的侧面写着“教练车”的字样，那你就能明白了。哦，我知道了。教练车。他们在练习开车停车。这就好理解了。

我们如何才能不再用一种“上帝啊，你到底在搞什么 ”的眼神盯着苦难？

B. 线索：如火试炼的要点

这就是彼得在这段经文中所做的。我们想给苦难一个解释。如果我们要不再以苦难为奇怪，就意味着我们要了解苦难的作用。我们在这节经文中已经开始了解释。请注意，彼得并没有称之为苦难。他称之为“如火的试炼”。有些人读到这里，就认为彼得一定是在尼禄时代写的，当时他诬陷基督徒引发了罗马的大火，随后在他的花园里把他们当做人肉火把来开派对。

我觉得文中根本就没有这个背景。首先，我认为彼得前书的其余部分表明，彼得所指的苦难主要是口头上的威胁和敌意，而不是身体上的逼迫。而其次，因为“如火”的试炼是与“试验”相搭配的。

有火炼的试验临到你们

在彼得前书中还有一个地方，火、试验、试炼的概念同时出现。大家有印象吗？就是彼得前书1:6-7。

⁶ 因此，你们要喜乐。然而，你们现今在各种试炼中或许暂时会难过，⁷ 是要叫你们的信心经过试验，就比那被火炼过，仍会朽坏的金子更宝贵，可以在耶稣基督显现的时候，得着称赞、荣耀和尊贵。

彼得是说，试炼有炼净的作用。信心有必要被来自试炼的火热炼去杂质。神为什么要用苦难？那是炼金师手中的火。它烧得火热灼人，但在祂的手中，它对我们的信仰有净化的作用。火候越热，我们的信心就越纯净。

“你所受的苦楚，是主的美意，像金银被锻炼，使你成利器。”

2. 倒要欢喜（第13-14节）

¹³倒要欢喜，因为你们既然在基督的受苦上有分，就在他荣耀显现的时候，可以欢喜快乐。¹⁴你们要是为基督的名受辱骂，就有福了！ 因为 神荣耀的灵，住在你们身上。

既然吩咐信徒不要把苦难当作奇怪的事，从而做出惊讶的反应，那么他们应该如何看待苦难，如何应对呢？祂呼召我们不要对苦难感到惊讶，而是要正确地解释苦难，使我们能够充分地欢喜。

注意，欢欣是喜乐的反应。我们又一次进入了基督教快乐主义的领域。基督徒的生活真的就是喜乐。为什么我们对某件事情的反应是喜悦？当我们得到一些我们认为是收获的东西时，我们就会有喜悦的反应。世人可能会把信徒和他们处理苦难的方式看成是奇怪的，因为在他们看来，苦难真的就像损失了什么一样!但信徒却以喜乐来回应，因为对他们来说，这就是获益。他们是在为获益而欢喜，而不是在为损失而惋惜。

那么，我们在苦难中得到了什么，才会让我们以欢喜来回应呢？

A. 与基督一同受苦（第13节）

倒要欢喜，因为你们既然在基督的受苦上有分（第13a节）

基督徒为与基督结合而欢喜。我们属于祂。马丁-路德爱用婚礼来比喻。当你嫁给一个人的时候，你的债务变成了他的债务，而他的财富变成了你的财富。这就是事实。虽然祂很富有，但祂受苦难，并为我们而死了，使我们因祂的贫穷而变富有。祂在十字架上为我们还债。我们接受祂公义的财富。我们接受祂救赎生命和复活的礼物。

而我们也分担了祂所受的责难。祂在这个世界上如何被看待的方式，就是我们将被看待的方式。同样，我们也不应该期望得到比耶稣更好的待遇，尤其是我们从来没有比耶稣更好的顺服。

2. 在将要显现的荣耀里有分（第13节）。

¹³倒要欢喜，因为你们既然在基督的受苦上有分，就在他荣耀显现的时候，可以欢喜快乐。

我们现在就可以喜乐，因为我们现在就属于基督。世人不因基督而喜乐，所以世人也一定不会因为我们跟随基督而欢呼。但是，当信心变成眼见，罪、死亡、苦难、逼迫都不复存在的时候，我们会更加欢喜。我们将在荣耀中与祂同在。我们将经历的不是被这个世界拒绝的痛苦，而是我们在基督里被接纳的喜乐在各方面都得到加强—我们所有的眼泪都被擦去，祂荣耀的产业的丰富都将是我们的。

我们需要花一点时间在这里接受主的责备和祂的话语。我们很多人都执着于此时此地。这做起来很容易。此时此地就在你面前。这是急功近利的暴政，也是此时此刻的亟需。但只有戴着眼罩看现在，才能称为现在主义（好像现在就是全部）。

让我打个形像的比方。我还是回到约翰-派博牧师分享的约翰-牛顿（赞美诗《奇异恩典》的作者）的一个例子。他讲了一个故事：

假设一个人要去纽约占有一个大庄园，而他的[马车]在他到达城市前一英里处就坏了，这使他不得不走完剩下的路；如果我们看到他在剩下的一英里处扼腕哀叹说：“我的[马车]坏了！我的[马车]坏了！”我们会认为他是一个多么愚蠢的人。

引自Richard Cecil, Memoirs of the Rev.John Newton, in The Works of the Rev.John Newton (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1985), 1:107.

我们可以把这个例子现代化，不是说马车，而是说你的汽车。我们从小到大，有一辆车是花了150元买来的。我只想说，一分钱一分货。我们没有办法测量它从0迈到60迈的速度。你踩下踏板，它就开始颠簸。在提速到60迈之前，没有一次不是因为摇晃得太厉害而无法行驶。我们只能开着它在小镇里转转。有时它还会随机地自行决定偏航。现在假设我的这辆福特嘉年华在继承10亿美元遗产的路上抛锚了。

这意味着我可以用我的福特嘉年华换一辆法拉利。法拉利售价为140万美元，重量不到2800磅，从0到60的时间不到3秒，或从0到124的时间不到7秒。再等一等，就能到217迈了。如果你抱怨你的福特嘉年华爆胎（它没有0到60迈的时间，因为它不能完全达到60迈而不摇晃或转向），你将是一个傻瓜。而如果你有十亿美金，你不只是可以买一千辆法拉利，而是可以买一亿辆（十亿里有多少个百万）。这些数字对我来说太夸张了。但同样的，所要显现的荣耀也远远超过我们所能理解的。

C. 有分于住在你身上的祝福

¹⁴你们要是为基督的名受辱骂，就有福了！ 因为 神荣耀的灵，住在你们身上。

彼得在这里做了一件很了不起的事。他参照耶稣的话语，总结了他们的苦难和他们受到的待遇。

• 耶稣的话

“辱”与“福”同时出现的，几乎可以肯定指的是马太福音5:11

“人若因我的缘故辱骂你们，迫害你们，并且捏造各样坏话毁谤你们，你们就有福了。”

“辱骂”这个词很重要，因为它重申了现在的迫害主要是口头上的。不要看到“如火的试炼”就想象基督徒被烧死在火刑柱上。信徒是敌视的目标，但主要是在言语攻击层面。而言语攻击往往是在身体迫害之前。

遭受迫害是他们有福的明证。为什么？遭受侮辱是一种祝福，因为这是一个标志：你真的属于基督。你看到乌云密布，听到雷声滚滚，这是下雨的征兆。你遭受侮辱，这就标志着：你真的属于基督。学像基督往往意味着遭受基督的待遇。

• 关于耶稣的话

但彼得要做的事情比我们第一眼看到的还要壮观。他不仅在13节的第一部分重复了耶稣的话，而且在最后一部分重复了以赛亚书11章所说的关于耶稣的话。

从耶西的树干必生出一根嫩芽，

从他的根而出的枝条必结果子。

²耶和华的灵必停留在他身上，

就是智慧的灵和聪明的灵，

谋略的灵和能力的灵，

知识的灵和敬畏耶和华的灵。

以赛亚说“耶和华的灵必停留在他身上。”你可以看到，以赛亚书用的是未来式动词（必将停留在他身上），而彼得用的是现在式动词（神的灵住在你们身上）。以赛亚说的是指耶稣（停留在祂身上），而彼得则把它应用到基督徒身上（住在你们身上）。这预言已经应验了，不仅是在耶稣来的时候，而且现在基督的灵已经住在基督徒身上。

换句话说，基督徒承受着与基督同样的侮辱和责备的重担，但他们也有同样荣耀的盼望和同样的圣灵在他们身上停留!

让我们在这里挖得更深一些。我保证这需要付出努力，但这是值得的。英文标准版似乎说，圣灵有两个称呼：（1）荣耀的灵，（2）神的灵。但这节经文的语法和词序却表明了一种截然不同的读法。这并不影响圣灵的同在，而是增加了末世荣耀的丰富。

译文应改为：你们是有福的，因为“神的荣耀和神的灵都停留在你们身上”。

为什么？“灵”在原文中只与第二个片语（神的灵）一起出现。它并没有出现在第一个片语中和“荣耀”一起。如果“灵”字要用于这两个片语，一般情况下，“灵”字会重复出现或先出现。

但是，为什么彼得会只说“荣耀”而不提“灵”字呢？因为他是指回刚才第13节所提到的荣耀。

他荣耀显现（第13节）

换句话说，“荣耀”把这两节经文连在一起。

“我刚才在第13节提到的末世荣耀显现和神的灵现在正停留在你们身上。”

在我看来，施莱纳的评论是正确的。

彼得的意思是，他们是有福的，因为他们现在就拥有末世的荣耀，而且圣灵的末世恩赐现在就在他们身上。¹

应用：

彼得想让他们换一个角度来看他们的苦难。如何从视苦难为诅咒、为损失，到视苦难为祝福、为收获？我们要看到神今天要推翻的偶像崇拜，是一种世俗对祝福和喜乐的定义和理解。大多数人对祝福的理解是一种状态，在这种状态下，你在避免痛苦和悲伤（把负面的东西降到最低），享受积极的东西（好工作、好车、好家庭、好......好）。

基督徒对美好生活采取了不同的定义。没有永生的美好生活，根本就不是生活。归属耶稣，跟随耶稣走上永生的道路，才是真正的生命。

这意味着要拥抱苦难。很多人看了会觉得真的很奇怪。第四节说，他们会惊讶于你不求抓住尽可能多的世俗快乐。看来你是在接受损失。而你也愿意接受羞耻和嘲笑。他们看不出这是真正的收获。

这就是为什么彼得说他们觉得奇怪（4:4），但你们不应该以为奇怪（4:12）。但这就产生了一个经验和预期的问题。要是你没有在苦难中经历神的同在，而是觉得神的缺席是苦难的一部分呢？

我们需要区分感觉和观点。痛苦从来都不是令人愉快的。但是，我们要做的一件伟大的事情，就是换一个角度来解读痛苦。不管怎么说都是会痛的。但无意义的痛苦比有意义的痛苦更痛苦得多。

我给大家举个例子。产痛是强烈的痛苦，但也有强烈的意义。我从来没有见过比分娩的疼痛更痛的苦楚。那痛苦的表情我永远不会忘记。但当我们初生的女儿被交在我妻子卡拉手中时，我永远不会忘记她脸上喜悦的表情。

没有妈妈在那一刻会说：“好了，太不值了。”知道这是分娩的痛苦，而不是临终的痛苦，这对你的方法、观点和预期都有很大的影响。它不能消除痛苦，但它把痛苦放在一个正确的角度，所以你可以采取一个不一样的观点。虽然这改变并不是立即发生的，也不是唯一的，但神确实会显明自己，祂也确实会靠近，神通过苦难教导我们很多东西。通常人们会说这样的话：我不会用我所学到的关于神的知识来换取世界上的任何东西。这并不意味着苦难会有复兴的感觉，而是神使用这个过程，祂赐给我们一个新的视角。

结语

神的同在和神的视角在苦难中起了很大的作用：绳索场的例子。

安迪-克劳奇讲述了一个绳索场地的故事，这个场地的空中飞人杆高悬于森林地面，平衡木离地50英尺。关于绳索场地的内部笑话是，它们离真正的风险越远越好。人们被绑在“经过专家测试、律师认可、三重检查、性能过剩的安全带和绳索系统中，以确保每一个动作的安全”（Crouch，第164页）。他在三十英尺高的杆顶上，看着一个十二英寸见方的平台，感觉很害怕，他应该站在上面—虽然他可能比一生中任何时候都要安全。

一脚踏上那个平台，感觉就像一场完美的风暴，介于对坠落的原始恐惧和对失败的尴尬的生动期待之间。但如果失败了还要从杆子上溜下来，那也是很尴尬的。所以他说也许他现在就会跳下去。

但他的朋友卡尔就在他下面。这个场地是卡尔设计的。卡尔也是他的好朋友。所以卡尔开始指导他。你都快站起来了，为什么不试着一脚踩上去呢？他很惊讶自己能做到这一点。你就快再上一脚了。试试吧。然后，就蹲下来吧。干得漂亮！现在就试着站起来吧。一寸又一寸地，比我这辈子站得还慢，我终于站了起来。

他说：“我们必须跟着卡尔，他建造了这个场地，检查了场地，在这场地上训练。他不让我们尝试任何他没有尝试过的东西，也不要相信任何他没有让人信任的东西。我们需要他来自地面的声音，指导我们走得更远。我们需要一个人，他亲自去过，然后要求我们也去”（Crouch, p.166）。

不信的人不认识建造场地的人。他们不知道，场地的造物主亲自来到场地里面，检验了它的一切，在它里面进行了没有保护网的训练，并完美地通过了它。他们不知道那个人已经去过了祂要我们去的地方。

不信者在绳索道上，下面没有保护网，也不拴住任何人。当他们坠落时，他们将坠入永远的死亡。

基督徒的生活何其不同!哦，我们在福音中所拥有的一切。只有基督徒是与基督—那个设计场地的人和走过场地的人—拴在一起的。而祂做的事情远不止这些。祂必须在没有保护网的情况下进行。但因为祂为我们的罪付出了代价，打败了死亡，所以我们有了安全带，有了绳索，而且是拴在祂身上的!祂对我们说：“再走一步，你就可以把另一只脚抬上去！”基督从死里复活了，我们永远与祂拴在一起!我们所失去的只是祂所吞灭的渣滓，我们所得到的却是祂所提炼的黄金—祂所炼净的信心。

讲道讨论问题

讲道标题：在苦难中欢喜

讲道经文：彼得前书4:12-14

要点：

苦难应该导致快乐，而不是惊讶，因为苦难不会导致损失，倒是获益。

纲要

1. 不要以为奇怪（第12节）

2. 倒要欢喜（第13-14节）

一般性问题

1. 你对讲道的初步反应是什么？在讲道时或讲道后，圣灵在你心中做了什么？是否有了新的感悟？想到什么问题了吗？你觉得哪些地方让你信服，哪些地方对你有帮助，哪些地方让你大开眼界，哪些地方让你烦恼？请解释。

2. 讲道中的哪一点让你感到最大的喜悦或为罪沉痛？你看到了什么，品味了什么，让你觉得需要和别人分享？

讨论问题

第12节

1.为什么彼得要吩咐我们不要对苦难感到奇怪，把苦难当作非常之事呢？

2. 为什么彼得说苦难是“如火的试炼”？彼得前书中还有哪些文字帮助我们理解这个形像词语的意思？这个形像词语如何帮助我们解读神在苦难中的作为？

第13-14节

3. 彼得认为苦难会有某种复兴的感觉，还是觉得纯粹的快乐？根据这两节经文，我们在苦难中得到了什么，值得让我们以欢喜快乐来回应呢？

4. 为什么在基督的受苦上有分会给我们带来喜乐？

5. 为什么在将要显露的荣耀上有分会给我们带来喜乐？

6. 为什么有那荣耀和神的灵在我们身上停留，会给我们带来喜乐？

7. 在第14节中，彼得提到了哪两段经文？为什么这两处引用很重要？

应用问题

1.世人如何谈论什么事情值得欢喜？世人如何谈“有福”，如何过“好日子”？这和一个基督徒定义我们欢喜什么，以及何谓有福有什么不同？你的经历是否与世界的思维方式和生活方式相似？你能说说彼得所说的在苦难中欢喜在你生命中的见证吗？

2. 要是你不是在苦难中经历神的同在，而是感觉到神的缺席是苦难的一部分呢？你真的能欢喜吗？为什么？

3. 在这个信息中，有哪些真理触动到你，你需要请别人为你祷告？

4. 在这个信息中，有哪些真理触动到你，让你觉得需要在生活中与他人分享？如何分享这些真理？

祷告焦点：求主赐下恩典，让我们不因苦难而惊讶，而是正确地解读苦难，让我们能充分地欢喜。

1Schreiner, T. R. (2003). 1, 2 Peter, Jude (Vol. 37, p. 221).Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Rejoicing in Suffering

Jason Meyer

1 Peter 4:12-14

Introduction: Recap of 1 Peter

A. Theme

I want to remind you that the theme of 1 Peter can be stated by combining 1 Peter 5:12 and 1 Peter 1:1.

By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.—1 Peter 5:12

1. What has he written? He has exhorted them and declared to them what the true grace of God is. All five chapters of this letter are the grace of God coming from the mouth of God.

2. Now what do they do with this grace? Stand firm in it.

This grace is a firm foundation—so his exhortation is to stand firm on the firm foundation! Therefore, the theme of the letter according to 1 Peter 5:12 is stated in seven words: **Stand in the true grace of God. **I think a helpful further analysis would be one that can combine this verse with the first verse in which Peter tells the readers who they are.

To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.—1 Peter 1:1

So once we add the phrase “elect exiles,” the melody line of the letter can be stated in 10 words: Stand in the true grace of God as elect exiles. We will keep referring back to this melody line as the letter returns to this note again and again.

B. Context

Peter wrote this letter to a church living in the midst of chaos and trial and uncertainty. It was during the reign of the emperor Nero and was probably a few years before the climactic persecution of Christians that Nero would lead. Peter and Paul would be martyred during that time. So in this letter, there is not an outbreak of persecution but the threat of it. The volcano has not yet erupted, but it is smoking and the ground is shaking and it seems ready to erupt.

The letter is written to Christians living throughout the provinces of Rome in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Most people think that he names these provinces in the order of the route that the letter would follow as it is delivered.

Peter names believers with some weighty words of identification: “elect exiles of the dispersion.” Peter’s point here seems to be that we are all spiritual exiles—­­we are all citizens of heaven and thus exiles on earth always longing for our true home and thus never fully feeling at home here. There will always be a sense of deep spiritual homesickness. Have you felt this? You never feel like you fit fully here. To feel at home in this world would be worldliness. Citizens of heaven are exiles on earth always looking for that city whose builder and maker is God—the heavenly country (cf. Hebrews 11:16).

C. Structure

Section 1 – A Trinitarian Salutation

They are elect exiles, chosen by God, set apart by the Spirit, to obey Jesus and belong to him by the sprinkling of his blood.

Section 2 - Live like the Saved People of God You Are

Then he builds on that opening declaration with a call to become what they are. Verses 3–12 of chapter 1 and verses 4–10 of chapter 2 are the indicative of what God has done. First Peter 1:13–2:3 is the five-fold imperative of what believers are supposed to do.

1 Peter 1:3-12Because you are the saved people of God who have an imperishable hope (1:3–5), an inexpressible joy (1:6–9), and a profound sense of privilege (1:10–12) …

1 Peter 1:13–2:3Therefore, live like the saved children of God: 1. Hope fully (v. 13), 2. Be holy (vv. 14–16), 3. Fear God (vv. 17–21), 4. Love one another (vv. 22–25), and 5. Long for the milk of the Word to grow up into salvation (2:1–3).

1 Peter 2:4–10Because you are the saved people of God, a spiritual house of priests proclaiming the excellencies of the one who saved you …

The commands move from our vertical relationship with God (hope, be holy, fear our Father) to the horizontal relationship with fellow children of God (love one another). Now he builds to a climax in which we are called to grow up into the salvation we have received, which will come as a result of drinking deeply of the word of God.

Section 3 – How to Live Like the Saved People of God in the Midst of Trials

The third section of the letter now gets specific. How can you be heaven’s citizens on this earth? What does it look like? You proclaim his excellencies with your lips and your lives. You fill the places you live with beautiful behavior and fight the lusts of this world that wage war against your soul. How should it look as you interact with challenging circumstances in the political sphere, social sphere, and family sphere (2:13-3:6).

They should not play earth’s game of dodgeball when they are reviled by throwing the ball back at unbelievers (3:9-12). Rather, they should have their hearts hot and ready to give a reason for the hope that is in them with gentleness and love (3:13-17). They need to be armed and ready to suffer by looking to Jesus in his suffering and his victory (3:18-4:1). This present temporary judgment will be reversed by the final judgment to come (4:2-6). End times living looks like devoting yourself to prayer, loving one another, showing hospitality and using your spiritual gifts as good stewards of God’s grace (4:7-11).

We have come now to the fourth section of the letter (4:12-19). This is perhaps his most direct address on suffering. He focuses on enduring trials by helping them interpret the trials so they can not be surprised by them, but even rejoice in them.

Text

¹² Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. *14 *If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Main Point

Suffering should lead to joy, not surprise, because suffering does not lead to loss, but gain.

Outline

1. Don’t Be Surprised (v. 12)

2. Rather Rejoice (v. 13-14)

1. Don’t Be Surprised (1-2)

^{***12 *}Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

A. Surprised by the Strangeness of Suffering

Peter is a good pastor. He does not just acknowledge their experience; he interprets it for them. He tells them once again that suffering should be part and parcel of anticipation and preparation. It cannot operate on the outskirts of their expectations.

Now Peter has already made this point plain. 4:1-6 said that they should arm themselves with the same way of thinking that Christ had in suffering. They must resolve to suffer. If Christ suffered, they will too. If they are going to experience what he experienced, then they should think how he thought.

If suffering is seen as strange, then it will land on us with surprise. And suffering is already a heavy burden. Disappointment is the distance between what we expect and what we experience. If you expect people to support you and they oppose you, then the surprise and disappointment will be greater. Therefore, the trial of suffering becomes an even bigger trial when we do not expect it, we are unprepared for it, and we are greatly disappointed because of it.

Suffering already has a surprise factor or a shock value. People who are ready for the polar plunge will have a different experience than those that just fall into icy cold water.

But let us freely acknowledge that we can understand why Peter would have to utter this command. We do not have to give commands for things that are unnecessary. When you give kids an ice cream cone, you rarely have to command them to eat it. It is a little more common to have to command them to eat their vegetables.

Suffering is strange. It strikes our spiritual taste buds with a bitter taste. After all, we would not plan suffering and hardship for our kids and so why would God the Father plan suffering for His children? Do you sometimes find yourself asking Father: “why does it have to be so hard?”

Have you ever had someone look at you as “strange?” Sometimes people look at something you are doing and they have a certain look that says, “what in the world are you doing? I can’t quite figure it out!” In those settings, you have to give an explanation. After you do, people usually nod their heads and say, “oh, I get it. Ok.”

If you see someone going around the parking lot multiple times, and trying different parking spots, you may stare and wonder what is going on. You are missing a piece of information. If that car had, “student driver” on the side of it, then you would be better able to interpret it. Oh, I get it now. Student driver. They are practicing their driving and parking. That makes sense.

How are we to stop staring at suffering with a look that says, “what in the world are you doing, God?”

B. Clues: The Point of the Fiery Trial

That is what Peter is doing in this text. We wants to give them the interpretation. If we are to stop regarding suffering as strange, it means we are going to have to understand what suffering does. We already have the beginning of an explanation in this verse. Notice that Peter does not call it suffering. He calls it a “fiery trial.” Some people read this and assume that Peter must be writing during the time of Nero when he blamed Christians for starting the great fire in Rome and subsequently used them as human torches in his gardens for parties.

I don’t think the text has that backdrop in mind at all. First, I think the rest of 1 Peter shows that the suffering is primarily verbal threats and hostility, not physical persecution. But second, because “fiery” trial is paired with the word “test.”

fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you

There is one other place in 1 Peter where the concepts of fire, test, and trial come together. Does it ring a bell for anyone? It is 1 Peter 1:6-7.

^***6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials****, 7 *so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is **tested by fire****—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ

Peter is saying that trials serve a refining purpose. It is necessary that faith would be refined from its impurities by the fiery heat that comes from trials. Why does God use suffering? It is the fire in the hands of the Refiner. It burns hot and it hurts, but in his hands it has a purifying purpose for our faith. The hotter the fire, the purer our faith.

“The Flame Shall Not Hurt Thee, I only design, Thy dross to consume and Thy gold to refine.”

2. Rather Rejoice (v. 13-14)

^*13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 *If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

If believers are commanded to not regard suffering as strange and thus respond with surprise, then how should they regard it and how should they respond? He calls us not to be surprised by suffering, but interpret it rightly so we can rejoice fully.

Notice that rejoice is a response of joy. We are in the realm of Christian hedonism once again. The Christian life really is all about joy. Why do we respond to something with joy? We respond with joy when we receive something we regard as gain. The world may look at believers and how they handle suffering as strange because to them it really looks like loss! But believers respond to it with joy because to them it is gain. They are rejoicing in what they have gained, not lamenting in what they have lost.

So what do we gain in suffering that causes us to respond with rejoicing?

A. Share in Christ’s sufferings (v. 13)

But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings (v. 13a)

Christians rejoice to be united to Christ. We belong to him. Martin Luther loved to use the wedding analogy. When you marry someone, your debts become their debts and their riches become yours. That is what happens. Though he was rich, he suffered and died so that through his poverty we might become rich. He paid our debts on the cross. We receive the riches of his righteousness. We receive the gift of his saving life and resurrection.

And we take on his reproach. The way he was regarded in this world is how we will be regarded. Again we should not expect to be treated better than Jesus, especially since we never obeyed better than Jesus.

2. Share in the Glory to Be Revealed (v. 13).

^{***13 *}But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

We can rejoice now because we belong to Christ now. The world does not rejoice in Christ and so the world will certainly not cheer us on for following Christ. But we will rejoice even more when the faith becomes sight and sin and death and suffering and persecution are no more. We will be with him in glory. We will experience not the pain of rejection of this world, but the joy of having our acceptance in Christ be reinforced on every side - with all our tears wiped away and the riches of his glorious inheritance will be ours.

We need to take a moment to receive the rebuke of the Lord and his word here. Many of us are fixated on the here and now. It is easy to do. The here and now is in your face. There is the tyranny of the urgent and the urgency of now. But only looking at now with blinders on can be called nowism (as if the now is all there is to see).

Let me make this visiual. I still go back to an illustration that Pastor John Piper shared from John Newton (author of the hymn Amazing Grace). He tells the story

Suppose a man was going to New York to take possession of a large estate, and his [carriage] should break down a mile before he got to the city, which obliged him to walk the rest of the way; what a fool we should think him, if we saw him ringing his hands, and blubbering out all the remaining mile, “My [carriage] is broken! My [carriage] is broken!”

Quoted in Richard Cecil, Memoirs of the Rev. John Newton, in The Works of the Rev. John Newton (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1985), 1:107.

We could modernize the illustration by talking not about a carriage, but your car. One of the cars we had growing up we bought for $150. And let’s just say you get what you pay for. We did not have a way to measure how fast it could go from 0 to 60. You would push down the pedal and it would lurch. It could not get to 60 degrees without shaking too much to drive. We just drove it around town. And sometimes randomly it would just decide to swerve. Now let’s say that my Ford Fiesta broke down on the way to inheriting a billion dollars.

That means I could trade in my Ford Fiesta for a Ferrari. It costs $1.4 million dollars, weighs less than 2,800 pounds, goes from 0 to 60 in less than three seconds or 0 to 124 in seven seconds. Wait a little longer and it will get to 217 mph. You would be a fool for complaining about a flat tire on your Ford Fiesta (it does not have a 0 to 60 time because it can’t quite make it to 60mph without shaking or swerving). And if you had a billion dollars you could buy not just one thousand Ferrari’s, but one thousand million (how many millions are in a billion). These numbers are too much for me. But in the same way, the glory to be revealed is way greater than we can fathom.

C. Share the Blessing of What Rests on You (v. 14)

^{***14 *}If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Peter does something spectacular here. He summarizes their suffering and how they are being treated with reference to the words of Jesus.

• The Words of Jesus

The word combination of “insult” and “blessed” is almost certainly a reference to Matthew 5:11

“Blessed are you when people insult you.”

The word “insulted” is very important because it reiterates that the persecution is mainly verbal right now. Do not think “fiery trial” and imagine that Christians are being burned at the stake. Believers are targeted for hostility but it is primarily at the vocal level. And verbal assaults often precede physical persecution.

Persecution is proof of their blessedness. Why? Receiving insults is a blessing because it is a sign: you really belong to Christ. You see dark clouds and hear thunder rolling in and it is a sign that rain is coming. You receive insults and it is a sign: you really belong to Christ. Being Christlike often means being treated like Christ.

• The Words About Jesus

But Peter is up to something even more spectacular than we see at first glance. Not only does he repeat the words of Jesus in the first part of verse 13, but in the last part he repeats the words about Jesus spoken in Isaiah 11.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

^{***2 ***} And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

Isaiah said the “the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him.” You can see that Isaiah used a future tense verb (will rest on him), while Peter uses a present tense verb (Spirit of God is resting). Isaiah spoke with reference to Jesus (rest on him), while Peter applies it to Christians (resting on you). The prophecy has been fulfilled not just in the coming of Jesus, but now that the Spirit of Christ now rests on Christians.

In other words, Christians bear the same weight of insults and reproach that Christ bore, but they also have the same hope of glory and the same Spirit resting upon them!

Let’s dig even deeper here. I promise it takes effort, but it will be worth it. The ESV seems to say that the Holy Spirit is called two things: the Spirit (1) of glory and (2) of God. But the grammar and word order of the verse suggests a very different reading. It does not take away from the presence of the Spirit, but it adds the fuller sense of end time glory.

The translation should read you are blessed because “the glory and the Spirit of God rest upon you.”

Why? “Spirit” in the original language only occurs with the second phrase (Spirit of God). It does not appear in the first clause with the word “glory.” If the word “Spirit” were the reference for both words, the word “Spirit” would normally repeated or it would occur first.

But why would Peter say “glory” without further reference? Because he is referring back to the glory that he just mentioned in verse 13.

his glory is revealed (v. 13)

In other words, the reference to glory ties the two verses together.

“The end time glory I just mentioned in verse 13 and the Spirit of God are now resting upon you.”

Schreiner comments correctly in my opinion:

Peter’s point was that they were blessed because they possessed even now the glory that would be theirs at the end time and also that the eschatological gift of the Spirit even now rested upon them.¹

Application:

Peter wants to put their suffering in perspective. How do you go from viewing suffering as a curse and a loss to seeing it as blessing and as gain? The idolatry that we want to see God topple today is a worldly definition and understanding of blessing and rejoicing. Most people understand blessing to be a state in which you are avoiding pain and grief (minimizing the negative) and enjoying the positives (good job, good car, good family, good…good)

The Christian adopts a different definition of the good life. The good life without eternal life is no life at all. Belonging to Jesus and following Jesus on the path to eternal life is the life that is really life.

That means embracing suffering. Many people will look at this and it will seem truly strange. Verse four says they will be surprised that you are not seeking to grab hold of as many earthly pleasures as possible. It looks like you are accepting loss. And you are willing to embrace shame and ridicule. They cannot see that it is really gain.

That is why Peter says they are surprised (4:4), but you should not be (4:12). But this raises a question of experience and expectation. What if you are not experiencing God’s presence in suffering, but rather feeling God’s absence is part of the suffering?

We need to make a distinction between feelings and perspective. Pain is never pleasant. But the one great thing we need to do with our pain is put it into perspective and interpret it. It is going to hurt no matter what. But meaningless pain hurts way worse than meaningful pain.

I will give you an example. Birth pains are intensely painful, but also intensely meaningful. I have never seen such pain as the pain of childbirth. The look of pain I will never forget. But when our daughter was handed to Cara, I will never forget the look of joy on her face.

No Mom in that moment will say, “well that was not worth it.” Knowledge that these are birth pains, not dying pains makes all the difference in your approach and outlook and expectations. It does not take away the pain, but it puts the pain in perspective so you can adopt a different outlook. And though it does not happen immediately and exclusively, God does reveal himself and he does draw near, and God teaches us so much through suffering. Usually people say things like I would not trade what I learned about God for anything in the world. That does not mean that suffering will feel like revival, but that God uses the process and he grants us a perspective.

Conclusion

God’s presence and God’s perspective make all the difference in suffering: the example of the ropes course.

Andy Crouch tells the story of a ropes course with trapeze bars high above the forest floor and balance beams 50 feet off the ground. The inside joke about ropes courses is that they are about as far from real risk as possible. People are strapped into the “expert-tested, lawyer-approved, triple-checked, over-engineered systems of harnesses and ropes that secure every maneuver” (Crouch, p. 164). He felt terrified at the top of a thirty-foot pole, looking at a 12 inch square platform that he was supposed to stand on – though he was probably safer than anytime in his life.

Getting one foot on that platform felt like a perfect storm between the primal fear of falling and the vivid anticipation of embarrassment of failing. But it would also be embarrassing to have to slither down the pole in defeat. So he said maybe he would just jump now.

But his friend, Karl was the belay rope he was tethered too far below. Karl designed the course and Karl was a close friend. So Karl began to coach him. You are close to standing up, why not just try to get one foot up there? He was surprised that he could do it. You are close to getting another foot up there. Just try. Then, why not just squat down. Good job. How about just try to stand up. Inch by inch, slower than I have ever stood in my life, I stood up.

He said, “we had to follow Karl, who had built the course, inspected it, trained on it. He asked us to try nothing he hand not tried, and to trust nothing that he had not made trustworthy. We needed his voice from the forest floor, coaching us further than we could have gone. We needed someone who had already gone where he was asking us to go” (Crouch, p. 166).

Unbelievers do not know the One who built the course. They do not know that the Creator of the course came to it, inspected it all, trained on it without any net and passed it perfectly. They do not know the one who has already gone where he is asking us to go.

Unbelievers are on the ropes course and there is no net below and they are not tethered to anyone. When they fall, they will fall to everlasting death.

How different is the Christian life! O what we have in the gospel. Only the Christian is tethered to Christ – the one who designed the course and the one who passed the course. But he did so much more. He had to do the course without a net. But because he paid for our sins and defeated death, we have the harness and we have the rope and it is tethered to him! And he speaks to us and says, “why not take the next step? You can get the next foot up there! Christ is raised from the dead, and we are tethered to him always! All that we are losing is the dross that he is consuming and what we are gaining is the gold he is refining – the faith he is purifying.

Sermon Discussion Questions

Title: Rejoicing in Suffering

Text: 1 Peter 4:12-14

Main Point:

Suffering should lead to joy, not surprise, because suffering does not lead to loss, but gain.

Outline

1. Don’t Be Surprised (v. 12)

2. Rather Rejoice (v. 13-14)

General Questions

1. What were your initial responses to the sermon? What was the Holy Spirit doing in your heart during or after the sermon? Was there a new insight gained? Any questions prompted? What did you find convicting, helpful, eye-opening, or troubling? Explain.

2. What point from the sermon landed on you with the most weight of joy or conviction? What things did you see and savor that you feel like you need to share with others?

Discussion Questions

Verse 12 1.Why does Peter have to command us not to be surprised by suffering and regard it as something strange?

2. Why does Peter talk about suffering as a “fiery trial?” What other text in 1 Peter helps us interpret what this word picture means? How does this word picture help us interpret what God is doing through suffering?

Verse 13-14

3. Does Peter think that suffering will somehow feel like revival or feel like sheer joy? What do we gain in suffering in these two verses that should cause us to respond with rejoicing?

4. Why should sharing in Christ’s suffering bring us joy?

5. Why should sharing in the glory to be revealed bring us joy?

6. Why should having that glory and the Spirit of God resting on us bring us joy?

7. What two biblical passages does Peter refer to in verse 14? Why do those references matter?

Application Questions 1. How does the world talk about what to rejoice in? How does the world talk about being “blessed” or living the “good life”? How is that different than the way a Christian defines what we rejoice in and how we are blessed? Are there ways that your experience resemble the way the world thinks and lives? Can you give testimony to what Peter says about rejoicing in suffering?

2. What if you are not experiencing God’s presence in suffering, but rather feeling God’s absence is part of the suffering? Can you really rejoice? Why?

3. What truths landed upon you in this message that you need to ask others to pray for you about?

4. What truths landed on you that you need to share with others in your life? How can you share these truths?

Prayer Focus: Pray for a grace to not be surprised by suffering, but interpret it rightly so we can rejoice fully.

1 Schreiner, T. R. (2003). 1, 2 Peter, Jude (Vol. 37, p. 221). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.