2 So that you may give the rest of your lives in the flesh, not to the desires of men, but to the purpose of God.
For in the past we were foolish, hard in heart, turned from the true way, servants of evil desires and pleasures, living in bad feeling and envy, hated and hating one another. But when the mercy of God our Saviour, and his love to man was seen, Not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but in the measure of his mercy, he gave us salvation, through the washing of the new birth and the giving of new life in the Holy Spirit, Which he gave us freely through Jesus Christ our Saviour; So that, having been given righteousness through grace, we might have a part in the heritage, the hope of eternal life. This is a true saying; and it is my desire that you may give certain witness about these things, so that those who have had faith in God may give attention to good works. These things are good and of profit to men;
That you are to put away, in relation to your earlier way of life, the old man, which has become evil by love of deceit; And be made new in the spirit of your mind, And put on the new man, to which God has given life, in righteousness and a true and holy way of living.
And that he underwent death for all, so that the living might no longer be living to themselves, but to him who underwent death for them and came back from the dead.
For every man's life and every man's death has a relation to others as well as to himself.
Whoever does God's pleasure, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Among whom you were living in the past, when you did such things. But now it is right for you to put away all these things; wrath, passion, bad feeling, curses, unclean talk;
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his love, ever taking thought for you in his prayers, that you may be complete and fully certain of all the purpose of God.
In everything give praise: for this is the purpose of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Of his purpose he gave us being, by his true word, so that we might be, in a sense, the first-fruits of all the things which he had made.
Like children ruled by God, do not go back to the old desires of the time when you were without knowledge:
And those of the rulers who are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of those who do well. Because it is God's pleasure that foolish and narrow-minded men may be put to shame by your good behaviour:
And the world and its desires is coming to an end: but he who does God's pleasure is living for ever.
Not only under your master's eye, as pleasers of men; but as servants of Christ, doing the pleasure of God from the heart;
For this reason, then, do not be foolish, but be conscious of the Lord's pleasure.
This I say, then, and give witness in the Lord, that you are to go no longer in the way of the Gentiles whose minds are turned to that which has no profit,
For I, through the law, have become dead to the law, so that I might be living to God. I have been put to death on the cross with Christ; still I am living; no longer I, but Christ is living in me; and that life which I now am living in the flesh I am living by faith, the faith of the Son of God, who in love for me, gave himself up for me.
In the same way, my brothers, you were made dead to the law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, even to him who came again from the dead, so that we might give fruit to God.
In no way. How may we, who are dead to sin, be living in it any longer?
Whose birth was from God and not from blood, or from an impulse of the flesh and man's desire.
Because from inside, from the heart of men, come evil thoughts and unclean pleasures,
For whoever does the pleasure of my Father in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will go into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the pleasure of my Father in heaven.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Peter 4
Commentary on 1 Peter 4 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 4
The work of a Christian is twofold-doing the will of God and suffering his pleasure. This chapter directs us in both. The duties we are here exhorted to employ ourselves in are the mortification of sin, living to God, sobriety, prayer, charity, hospitality, and the best improvement of our talents, which the apostle presses upon Christians from the consideration of the time they have lost in their sins, and the approaching end of all things (v. 1-11). The directions for sufferings are that we should not be surprised at them, but rejoice in them, only take care not to suffer as evil-doers. He intimates that their trials were near at hand, that their souls were in danger as well as their bodies, and that the best way to preserve their souls is to commit them to God in well-doing (v. 12-19).
1Pe 4:1-3
The apostle here draws a new inference from the consideration of Christ's sufferings. As he had before made use of it to persuade to patience in suffering, so here to mortification of sin. Observe,
1Pe 4:4-6
1Pe 4:7-11
We have here an awful position or doctrine, and an inference drawn from it. The position is that the end of all things is at hand. The miserable destruction of the Jewish church and nation foretold by our Saviour is now very near; consequently, the time of their persecution and your sufferings is but very short. Your own life and that of your enemies will soon come to their utmost period. Nay, the world itself will not continue very long. The conflagration will put an end to it; and all things must be swallowed up in an endless eternity. The inference from this comprises a series of exhortations.
1Pe 4:12-19
The frequent repetition of counsel and comfort to Christians, considered as sufferers, in every chapter of this epistle, shows that the greatest danger these new converts were in arose from the persecutions to which their embracing Christianity exposed them. The good behaviour of Christians under sufferings is the most difficult part of their duty, but yet necessary both for the honour of Christ and their own comfort; and therefore the apostle, having extorted them in the former part of this chapter to the great duty of mortification, comes here to direct them in the necessary duty of patience under sufferings. An unmortified spirit is very unfit to bear trials. Observe,