1 Peter 4:13

Peter wrote, probably in the mid-60s AD, to believers scattered through the Roman provinces of Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey (1 Peter 1:1). They were a small minority in a pagan society. Because they would take no part in Roman religion or the worship of the emperor, they met ridicule, slander, exclusion, loss of income, accusations and at times violence. Peter has already taught them how to live rightly when they suffer for doing good (1 Peter 3:8–17) and how to live for the will of God as the end draws near (1 Peter 4:1–11). In verse 12 he begins to prepare them for something harder, a “fiery trial”.

He opens with “Beloved”, agapētós, which means one who is loved, dear. Hard words follow, and Peter wants his readers to hear them from someone who cares for them, and to remember that they are dear to God and to his people.

“Think it not strange” translates xenízō, a verb that can also mean to receive a guest, and here means to be surprised at something as foreign and out of place. Peter’s readers were tempted to treat persecution as an intruder in the Christian life. He tells them it belongs there, as part of following Christ in a world hostile to God. Jesus told his disciples to expect tribulation in the world (John 16:33), and Paul told Timothy that those who live godly lives will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). The phrases “think it not strange” and “some strange thing” share the English word, and the repetition presses the point home.

The fiery trial is pýrōsis, literally a burning. The picture is the refiner’s furnace, where heat separates precious metal from its dross, and Malachi pictures the LORD himself as a refiner who purifies his people (Malachi 3:1–3). “Which is to try you” gives the trial its purpose. God permits it to test, strengthen and purify faith and to prove it genuine, so the fire is a sign of his purpose for his people and gives them no reason to think he has abandoned them. James says the same when he tells believers that trials produce perseverance (James 1:2–4), and Paul glories in tribulations for the endurance, character and hope they bring about (Romans 5:3–5).

“But rejoice” begins with allá, a strong “but” that sets joy against the dismay that suffering naturally brings. The verb chaírō means to rejoice, to be glad, and here Peter gives it as a command. “Inasmuch as” is kathó, meaning just as or insofar as, so their joy answers to the measure in which they share Christ’s sufferings.

“Partakers” is koinōnéō, to share with others, a verb related to koinōnos, a partner or sharer. Believers who suffer for Christ suffer with him, in fellowship with him, on the road he walked to the cross. Paul longed to know “the fellowship of his sufferings” (Philippians 3:10), he rejoiced to share Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, the church (Colossians 1:24), and he wrote that we are “joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:17).

The second half of the verse looks ahead. “That” is hína, which here marks purpose: present suffering leads somewhere. The glory is dóxa, glory that is plainly seen, with all its honour and majesty. It is Christ’s own splendour, veiled during his earthly humiliation and to be unveiled at his coming (Matthew 24:30). The word behind “revealed” is apokálypsis, an unveiling. On that day believers will “be glad also with exceeding joy”, where the verb agalliáō means to exult, to jump for joy. So Peter calls them to rejoice now and promises that they will exult then.

Verse 14 names one kind of suffering in particular. “Reproached” is oneidízō, to defame, revile, taunt or upbraid. It means insult, slander and public dishonour. In a society that valued honour and shame, being publicly shamed for one’s beliefs cut deep, and the shame was taken as a sign that the gods were displeased. “For the name of Christ” means because of who they belong to, since a name stands for the whole person, his character and his authority.

Peter calls such people “happy”, makários, which means blessed, happy. It is the word Jesus repeats through the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–12), which end with this very case: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.” The blessing is God’s favour on them, whatever men say.

The reason is that “the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you”. This is the Holy Spirit, who is glorious and who is God’s own Spirit. The word for glory is the same word, dóxa, as in verse 13, so the glory to be revealed at Christ’s coming already rests on his reproached people now, in the presence of his Spirit. That presence strengthens and comforts them, and it confirms that they belong to God. The same Spirit rested on Christ in his own sufferings.

The verse ends with two sides. “On their part he is evil spoken of”: “he” is Christ, and the verb is blasphēméō, to blaspheme. When unbelievers revile believers for his name, they are speaking against Christ himself. “But on your part he is glorified”, where doxázō means to render or esteem glorious. As believers stand firm, Christ is honoured through them. Paul says that suffering for Christ is something given to believers, just as believing on him is (Philippians 1:29). Christ himself bore reproach. The psalmist’s words about reproach are applied to him (Psalm 69:9, Romans 15:3), and after he humbled himself to the death of the cross God highly exalted him (Philippians 2:8–11). Peter promises the same order to his readers, glory after suffering (1 Peter 5:10).

“For the time is come” uses kairós, an occasion, a set or proper time. The trials Peter’s readers face mark the time when “judgment must begin at the house of God”. “Judgment” is kríma, a decision, verdict or sentence. “Begin” is árchomai, to begin. The house is oîkos, a dwelling and also a household or family, and “the house of God” (theós) is the church, God’s own family, the people of his covenant.

For believers this judgment is God’s verdict worked out as discipline and purifying. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1), because Christ is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2) and bore the judgment in our place. God chastens his children for their good, so that they share his holiness (Hebrews 12:5–11). He does it to conform them to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29), and through it Christ, their great high priest, sympathises with them and gives them grace to help (Hebrews 4:14–16). This is the refining fire of verse 12 seen from God’s side. It also shows that those who have received most from God are held to account first, as Jesus taught when he said that to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:47–48).

“And if it first begin at us”: prōton, first in time or order. The judgment starts with the church and then reaches everyone else. Peter’s question follows: “what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” The “end” is télos, the end or result. “Obey not” is apeithéō, to disbelieve, to be disobedient or unpersuaded, a refusal to submit to the truth. The gospel, euangélion, is God’s good news that he sent his Son to die for sins and rise again, so that whoever believes in him should have everlasting life (John 3:16). It is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), and the lively hope Peter set out at the start of his letter (1 Peter 1:3–9). Peter leaves the question unanswered, and its weight lies in that silence. If God’s refining of his own children is this searching, those who refuse his saving message face something far worse.

Verse 18 drives home the question of verse 17. “Scarcely” is mólis, with difficulty, hardly, barely. The “righteous” (díkaios) are those justified by faith in Christ and living for God, and even for them the way to final salvation passes through fiery trials, temptation and the daily fight against sin. Jesus spoke of the strait gate and the narrow way that leads to life (Matthew 7:13–14).

The “ungodly” (asebḗs) are the irreverent and impious, people with no reverence for God who live without regard for his authority. The “sinner” (hamartōlós) is one who misses the mark and lives in disobedience to God’s law. The first word looks at the heart’s attitude toward God and the second at the deeds that come from it, and together they describe a life estranged from God inwardly and outwardly. “Appear” is phaínō, to be shown or made manifest, and the picture is standing exposed before God’s judgment. The question expects a terrible answer: they will find nowhere to stand. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:30–31), who will render to every man according to his deeds (Romans 2:5–6).

The verse also shows how great a salvation the righteous have. Christ, the righteous one, bore its full cost. The servant of the LORD was wounded for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:3–6), Jesus prayed in agony in Gethsemane (Luke 22:42–44), and on the cross he cried out to God as one forsaken (Matthew 27:46). God made him to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). So the ungodly and the sinner have one hope: all have sinned, and all who believe are justified freely by his grace (Romans 3:23–24). In Christ they can appear before God in grace, with their sins forgiven.

“Wherefore” draws the whole passage to its conclusion. “Them that suffer according to the will of God” are believers whose suffering comes from God’s permitting or purposing hand, in contrast with the suffering their own sin would bring. God works all things together for good to those who love him, conforming them to the image of his Son (Romans 8:28–29). “Suffer” is páschō, the same verb as in verse 15.

“Commit the keeping” is paratíthēmi, literally to place beside, and so to deposit or entrust something valuable to another for safekeeping. It was a familiar word for leaving goods or money with someone reliable. Here the deposit is their “souls” (psychḗ), their very life and inmost self. Paul uses the same picture when he says he is persuaded that God is able to keep what he has committed to him (2 Timothy 1:12). David prayed, “Into thine hand I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31:5), and Jesus prayed from the cross, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Jesus suffered by the will of God as the one who came to do his Father’s will (John 6:38), and he committed himself to the Father while doing good to the end (1 Peter 2:21–24).

This trust goes together with “well doing”, agathopoiḯa, continuing to do good. Believers keep living rightly, loving others and obeying God while they suffer, and their good conduct is the fruit of their trust in him.

They do this “as unto a faithful Creator”. Pistós, faithful, means trustworthy and true to his promises (1 Corinthians 1:9). Ktístēs, Creator, means the founder and author of all things. The one who made all things has the power to keep what is entrusted to him, and the one who is faithful will do it. All things were made by Christ and for him (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16), and he lives to make intercession for those who come to God by him (Hebrews 7:25). So the believer who commits his soul to God entrusts it to the faithful Creator who is also the faithful Redeemer.

Peter writes to people under fire, and he begins by calling them beloved. God sends no fiery trial at random. He uses it to prove and purify a faith more precious than gold, and he has already gone through the fire himself in his Son. When his people are reviled for Christ’s name, his Spirit of glory rests on them, and the glory that will one day be revealed is already present with them.

The passage also shows a God who judges justly. He begins with his own household, refining and disciplining the people he loves, and he will bring every life to its end before him. His mercy is the only place for the ungodly and the sinner to stand, and in Christ that place is open.

And he is a faithful Creator. The one who made the soul can keep it, and he keeps what is committed to him. Peter gives us that truth to hold when suffering comes, together with a joy that looks forward to the day when Christ’s glory is revealed and his people are glad with exceeding joy.