Beloved, take not [as] strange the fire [of persecution] which has taken place amongst you for [your] trial, as if a strange thing was happening to you;
Peter writes to believers already in the fire, and his first word to them is one of affection, not rebuke. His instruction is simple: do not treat the burning as out of place. But that raises hard questions. What is this fire? Why does God allow it? What is it meant to prove?
The fire Peter names is not general misfortune. It is hostility aimed at believers because of Christ. One writer points out that it does not always look like a furnace:
Persecution today may take a different form; it may be refined, without physical violence, and may come from sources you would least expect, but it will be no less real. Today there is a danger that opposition and persecution for the truth's sake will take us by surprise.
Peter tells them not to be surprised. That assumes they already knew what to expect.
There lay before these early Christians a "fiery trial," and it was indeed already upon them. It very soon became, as we know, an actual trial by fire. They were not to treat it as "some strange thing." This remark teaches us that suffering from the world is the normal thing for the Christian... We may easily come to regard a life of ease and pleasure in the world as the normal thing for us, and persecution as very abnormal. Then, when persecution comes, we feel wronged and shocked.
The same writer traces what this costs the church:
This wrong view of things, and the "softness" that shrinks from "hardness," largely accounts for the great weakness of today. Only a small minority of Christians will stand up for anything, or stand out against anything in the world. A weak spirit of compliance and compromise is in the air. We avoid suffering, but we lose power and joy.
The verse says the fire comes to test them. So what does a real test require?
Christians were not to think the trial they would pass through strange. It might be a fiery trial, one they would feel — and it could only do its work by being felt. A trial is meant to try... We are not to be taken out of the path He walked, and so not out of the circumstances that made that path what it was.
The puzzle is a moral one. The person who avoids sin and seeks God's will is the one who ends up in the fire.
The believer refrains from lust, seeks the will of God, walks in self-control and watchfulness, and seeks in all things that God should be glorified. That such a person should be allowed to pass through a fiery trial might appear a strange thing. It would, however, only appear strange to those believers who viewed the trial in connection with themselves. But look at the trial in connection with Christ — the One they believed in, who had become precious to them, and whom they loved. Then it would no longer appear some strange thing that could not be explained. For the Christ the believer follows is a rejected Christ, who suffered in this world, and whose name men insult.
Peter had been tested himself. That is what fits him to steady others — and his readers had one help he did not have when his own trial came.
Who then was better fitted than this apostle to strengthen the hearts of his brothers when the fire came among them to test them? They should not count it strange, but an honour from God. They had what the apostle did not have when he was tried: the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, as the fruit of Christ's finished work.
So what does the fire say about the person in it?
Therefore we are not to count it strange — foreign to the sphere of faith — when a fiery trial comes; it is God's way of strengthening faith... And when it comes, it is because God in grace has given faith able to bear it. And this is how saints are honoured. Not to be tried, not to have our faith put to the test, is to treat us as babies. The burden is for the shoulders of the strong.
- Beloved — the verse opens with a word of affection. The warning not to shrink under fire comes from Peter's heart to theirs.
- Fire — the trial is persecution for confessing Christ, crude or refined. It has to be felt, since a trial nobody feels cannot test.
- Normal — suffering from the world is the standard Christian experience, not a break in it. Treat it as abnormal and compromise follows, costing power and joy.
- Perspective — measured against yourself, the fire makes no sense. Measured against a rejected Christ whose path you walk, it makes complete sense.
- Honour — to be tested is to be trusted with a burden fit for the strong. Believers face it with the Holy Spirit within, which Peter did not have when he was tried.
but as ye have share in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice, that in the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exultation.
Peter writes to Christians under fire, and he does not promise them escape. He tells them their pain is a share in Christ's own sufferings, and that joy comes twice: now, and when His glory appears.
The trial only looks like an accident if we forget whose road we are on. One writer contrasts their fiery trial with what they had expected from their own Scriptures:
How perplexed they must have been! They read their own Scriptures and remembered the promises made to Israel about earthly blessings. And here they were, suffering want and hardship, persecuted and slandered by those around them. He writes to them not to think it strange when they pass through fiery trials. It is not some strange thing happening to them. It is the path the Shepherd went, and the sheep must follow Him. He suffered; it is the believer's privilege to suffer with Him.
Sharing Christ's sufferings has a limit. What He bore for sin, He bore alone. We receive the healing from it; we do not stand in it with Him:
Christ suffered for sin so that we would never have to. His wounds heal us; we do not share in them. What Christ suffered when God forsook Him in wrath, He suffered alone. He did it so that we would never taste one drop of that dreadful cup, which we could not bear. But we are to have a part in the sufferings Christ bore for righteousness, and in those His work of love brought on Him — poor and feeble as our faith is.
Earlier in the letter Peter had commended suffering for doing good. Here he lifts the ground higher. The suffering is now a share in what Christ Himself went through:
Here he goes beyond suffering for righteousness and for doing good. In keeping with the fiery persecution they faced, he reminds them of this: as far as they share, or have fellowship in, the sufferings of Christ, it was theirs to rejoice. Then, when His glory is revealed, they may rejoice with exultation too.
The two halves of the verse belong together. What we share now settles what we will share later:
The sufferings and reproach of Christ have their answer in glory. In the same way, those who suffer for His name's sake will share His glory on the day He is revealed. If the saint takes in the blessedness of that coming glory, it will lead him, in the middle of trial, to "be glad also with exceeding joy." Every bit of suffering that God may allow His people to pass through for Christ's sake is a pledge of coming glory.
Notice that Peter says His glory, not ours. The joy he promises is joy over what happens to Christ:
The Lord endured the cross because of the joy set before Him, and He thought nothing of the shame. In the sufferings of this present time, the saints are always to keep before them the joy they will have when their Lord is revealed in His glory. It is not here the glory that we shall have, but our joy in the glory that He shall have. Still, we know that He will share the glory with His co-heirs.
Peter calls for joy twice: joy now, and joy when the suffering is over. (The phrase "with exceeding joy" below comes from an older translation of this verse.)
We are to rejoice now, while the suffering goes on. Then we shall clearly be conquerors in front of our enemies. But the day of Christ's glory is hurrying on, and then we shall be glad "with exceeding joy." … His supreme glory will crown His supreme sufferings. It will be our honour and joy to share in both. Which shall we see to be the greater honour in that day?
This joy is not the pursuit of hardship for its own sake. The reason for rejoicing lies outside the suffering, in what it connects us to:
What truly sustained the soul of the Christian was the thought of suffering for Christ and with Him, not philosophical theories… Scripture plainly says that the cross is our outward link with Christ, as eternal life is the inward one. For this reason alone, believers are told even to rejoice in trouble. There is no hint of any grim delight in increasing one's burden of sorrow.
- Shared — the fire is not a strange thing but the Shepherd's own road; the sheep follow where He walked.
- Shared, but bounded — He bore the suffering for sin alone, and it heals us; His suffering for righteousness and love is ours to share.
- Shared with a Person — Peter goes past suffering for doing right, to fellowship in the sufferings of Christ Himself.
- Shared as a pledge — every bit of suffering for His name promises a matching share in His glory.
- Shared in joy — rejoice now, in the middle of it. Rejoice with exultation later, when His supreme glory crowns His supreme sufferings.
If ye are reproached in [the] name of Christ, blessed [are ye]; for the [Spirit] of glory and the Spirit of God rests upon you [on their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified.]
Peter writes to people already in the fire. He tells them that insult borne for Christ's name is not a misfortune to pity but a state to call blessed — because of who rests on them while it happens. (Older translations say "reproached" where the ESV says "insulted." The writers quoted below use the older word.)
Everything turns on the word "name." One writer explains what the world sees when it insults a Christian:
We are declared to be happy or blessed if the reproach is "for" the name, or "in" the name of Christ; which means that the world sees in us His representatives. The Lord Jesus was once in this world as the Great Representative of Jehovah. So He had to say, "The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me" (Ps. 69:9). That was certainly no disgrace to Him, and to be reproached in the name of Christ is an honour to us.
One writer traces the title back to where the Spirit came from, and to whom He is given:
Christ was not here, but in the glory of God. From there came the Spirit, sent by the Father in Christ's name, and sent by Christ Himself from the Father to remain with them and be in them (John 14, 15). How fitting and full of comfort the reminder! He was the seal of their accomplished redemption, and the pledge of the glory coming to them. He is the Spirit of God, which is more and better than glory. Such was the Spirit that rested on them, both for energy to endure and for joy now and forever. No doubt this is generally true of all the sons of God, for He is the Spirit of sonship, whom believers receive since redemption (Gal. 4:4; Eph. 1:13-14). But it is said here with emphasis, to sustain those who suffer for Christ's name.
Peter's verb matters. It says more than that the Spirit is present:
The word "rests" carries the thought of "refreshment." So rays of divine glory light up the dark hours of persecution. They comfort and refresh the soul with a foretaste of its eternal joy and portion.
Another writer describes the same moment as contact with the glory itself, and with a power that changes us now:
When I feel that I have been reproached for the name of the Lord, it is as if the edges of the glory had touched me! The Spirit of the glory where Christ is has, so to speak, touched the one who has been slighted for His name. Take it wherever you will, God brings the power of His glory to bear to sanctify our hearts and ways now.
Suffering now carries a guarantee about the future:
Every bit of suffering that God may allow His people to pass through for Christ's sake is a pledge of coming glory. The Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God who had come from glory, rested upon these suffering saints, and was the pledge of the coming glory.
Some translations add a closing clause: they blaspheme Him, but you glorify Him. Commentators differ over it. Kelly calls the words "quite true, and said in substance elsewhere." He brackets them, because the best and oldest manuscripts leave them out. Other writers treat the clause as central. They read it as the answer to the Lord's own prayer:
These believers were passing through the fire of persecution because they confessed the Name of Christ. Above all, they showed in their lives the excellencies of Christ. As the Apostle says, "On your part He is glorified." In these believers there was an answer to the Lord's prayer when He said to the Father, "I am glorified in them" (John 17:10).
So avoiding reproach costs us something real. One writer draws the uncomfortable conclusion:
Instead of trying to escape sufferings with Christ, a little reproach, a little contempt for Christ's sake, we should welcome all of it most gladly. There is a blessing in it, even when people call us narrow or any other name of contempt, because we exalt Christ and are true to Him. And if we were only more faithful, more separated, more loyal and devoted, we would also have more reproach. As a result, we would know more of the blessed experience that we are the resting and dwelling place of the Spirit of glory.
- Name — The insult is not about you. The world sees Christ's representatives in you, so the reproach is His — and carrying it is an honour.
- Glory — He is called the Spirit "of glory" because He came from where Christ now is. He seals a redemption already done and pledges a glory still to come.
- Rests — The word carries refreshment: divine light in dark hours, as if the edge of the glory had brushed you.
- Glorified — Men blaspheme His name; you display it. A persecuted life answers His own prayer, "I am glorified in them."
- More — The Spirit rests where the reproach falls. More faithfulness brings more reproach — and more of this, not less.
Let none of you suffer indeed as murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or as overseer of other people's matters;
Peter has just spoken about suffering for the name of Christ. Now he draws a sharp line. Not every pain a believer feels is persecution. His list runs from crimes any court would punish down to something far more ordinary.
Three of the four items shock nobody. The fourth — the "meddler," called a "busybody in other people's matters" in older translations — is where a believer is most likely to slip.
Everyone's moral sense condemns the first three offenders. Yet what might a follower of Christ not slip into if he turned aside? He has learned how empty the world's judgment of evil is. So he is all the more exposed if he stops walking by faith and stops being held by the love of Christ. He has also learned the new and precious relationship, with its duties, of the holy brotherhood of believers into which our Lord has brought us. If love as well as faith did not guide his daily life, who would be in greater danger of prying into other people's affairs? For if he is in a bad state himself, he is sure to think others no better than he is. What a wretched excuse for his own faults!
Suffering by itself proves nothing about the sufferer.
"Let none of you suffer … as an evildoer" (1 Peter 4:15). I do not agree with Cyprian that the thief on the cross suffered as a martyr. No, he suffered as an evildoer. Christ did take pity on him and saved him. He died a saint, but not a martyr. When men suffer at the hand of a judge, that is not persecution but execution. They die as criminals, not as martyrs. They suffer evil for being evil.
God does not quietly overlook wrongdoing in His own people. Belonging to Him makes the reckoning closer, not looser.
Peter then warns that a believer may suffer as an evildoer. We are Christians, but if we do evil we will still suffer under the government of God — and all the more so because we are Christians. We may escape the grosser evils and yet suffer "as a busybody in other people's matters." This will only bring shame upon ourselves.
Each of the four takes hold of what belongs to someone else — a life, property, another person's business.
As soon as I touch things that do not belong to me, I am sure to suffer. Do not be ashamed to suffer as a Christian; but be ashamed to suffer as a busybody.
Peter's warning is not an excuse for indifference. There is a watching over others that God asks for, and a watching He forbids — and the difference lies in what you are looking for.
Do any of us realise that God has set us to watch for souls? Not to watch for the slips of other believers. Not to watch, as Peter says, as busybodies in other people's matters. But are we watching carefully in case anyone is lacking in the grace of God?
Daniel's enemies searched his public life for a scandal and found none; the only charge they could bring was his prayer to God. That standard exposes us.
Daniel's bitter enemies looked for a fault, but in the everyday affairs of life and public office there was nothing in his conduct that they could point to. Only in the matter of his religion did they hope to find their chance to ruin him. And Daniel lived in a time of shadows, before God had fully revealed Himself, in a foreign land, far from the regular channels of blessing and ministry. If he so lived that no one could bring a charge against him, how inexcusable are Christians today who lay themselves open to blame by their inconsistencies and wrongdoing! They have far greater advantages than he had. … Slander, false reports, reproach, persecution for Christ's sake — every true follower of His must expect these. But suffering for your own wrongdoing is a just cause for shame, and it leads the world that sees such evil works to blaspheme God instead of glorifying Him.
The warning has a bright side: one name is worth suffering under.
We are to be most careful not to suffer for evildoing of any sort, but only as Christians. Then we have no need to be ashamed, for we can glorify God "in this name." Here the Spirit of God accepts and approves the name Christian for believers. It was first used as a descriptive nickname at Antioch (Acts 11:26). It came into general use later (see Acts 26:28), and now the Spirit of God formally accepts it.
- Cause — Suffering proves nothing on its own; what matters is why. Punishment for wrongdoing is execution, not persecution.
- Descent — The list drops from murder to meddling. The believer who stops walking by faith falls at the last one.
- Reach — All four sins take hold of what is not yours; the moment you touch it, suffering follows.
- Care — God sets us to watch for other people's souls, not for their slips.
- Result — Shame belongs to the busybody. The name "Christian" started as a nickname; now the Spirit of God accepts it, and suffering under it glorifies Him.
but if as a christian, let him not be ashamed, but glorify God in this name.
Peter has just listed the sufferings a believer should never invite: the thief's, the criminal's, the meddler's. Now he turns to the one kind that carries no disgrace. It rests on a single word the world coined as an insult — and on the claim that wearing it under pressure glorifies God.
Peter calls the sufferer a "Christian." One writer traces where that word came from.
We are to be most careful not to suffer for evil doing of any sort but only as Christians. Then we have no need to be ashamed, because we can glorify God "on this behalf," or "in this name." Here the Spirit of God accepts and approves the name Christian for believers. It was first used as a descriptive nickname at Antioch (Acts 11:26). It had come into general use later (see Acts 26:28) and now the Spirit of God formally accepts it.
The people who first used the name did not mean it kindly.
The Spirit of God adds here that Antioch first gave the disciples the name "Christians." That city had long been famous for its witty or insulting nicknames. Among themselves the disciples were called "faithful," "brothers," "saints." "Christians" was a name non-Jews gave as an insult, just as the Jews called them "Nazarenes."
The word "yet" points back to a list of people who suffer and deserve to. Being a believer does not remove you from that list.
We are then warned against the possibility of the believer suffering as an evildoer. Though we are Christians, if we do evil we shall suffer under the government of God. In fact we suffer all the more because we are Christians. We may escape the more obvious evils and still suffer "as a busybody in other people's matters." That only brings shame on ourselves. To "suffer as a Christian" is no shame, but rather an occasion of glory to God.
Punishment for wrongdoing has its own name:
When men suffer at the hands of a judge, they do not suffer persecution, but execution. They die as criminals, not as martyrs. They suffer evil for being evil.
Older translations read "on this behalf" where our verse reads "in that name." One writer explains why the name is the better reading.
Rendered exactly, the verse says: "but if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but glorify God in this name." The same excellent manuscripts that leave out the second half of verse 14 have here not "part" or "behalf" but "name." That fits well with the first half… But if he suffered as a Christian, what an honour! The world gave this name as a taunt to the disciples of a rejected and crucified Christ. Faith knows Him as dead, risen and glorified at God's right hand. Faith looks for everlasting glory with Him. And faith knows that the world itself will know Him that way when He appears.
"Let him not be ashamed" is a command, not a feeling to wait for. One writer asks where the shame really belongs:
Sufferings for the gospel are no matter of shame. Paul is not embarrassed to say that he is in chains for the gospel. The shame belonged to those who put on the chain, not to him who wore it. … The apostles rejoiced that "they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name" (Acts 5:41). Shall the wicked glory in their shame, and you be ashamed of your glory?
Daniel's enemies went looking for a charge against him and found only his faith.
In the everyday affairs of life and public office there was nothing in the conduct of this Daniel on which they could lay a finger or bring a charge. He stood blameless before all… All Christ's true followers must expect slander, misrepresentation, reproach and persecution for His sake. He has promised them this, and no one can hope to escape it. But to suffer for one's own wrongdoing, as too many do — for that there is just cause for shame.
So which suffering should embarrass us — and what is God doing in the other kind?
As soon as I touch the things that do not belong to me, I am sure to suffer. Do not be ashamed to suffer as a Christian; but be ashamed to suffer as a busybody. And if you suffer as a Christian, do not forget this: in all God is letting you pass through there is a blessed purpose.
- The name given. "Christian" began as an outsider's nickname in Antioch, a city known for its insults. The Spirit of God then adopted it.
- The name tested. Not all suffering counts. Thieves and meddlers suffer too, and a believer who does evil suffers under God's government all the more.
- The name owned. Suffering as a Christian is honour, not disgrace. The taunt points to a Christ who is risen and glorified at God's right hand.
- The name defended. Live like Daniel. Let the only charge anyone can bring against you be your faith.
- The name glorified. The verse says "in that name." The label meant to shame you becomes the place where you glorify God.