TOM · The Owner's Manual · New Testament

1 Peter 4

Chapter 4 in 30 seconds

You partied enough in the old days. Your old friends think you are weird now, and that is fine. Love covers a multitude of sins, so love big. Use your gifts. Do not be shocked by the fiery trial. If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed. Wear the name.

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In this chapterThe Big QuestionWhat Pliny Wrote · after verse 19 The Big QuestionWhat Pliny Wrote · after verse 19 The Big QuestionWhat It Tells Us · after verse 19

Living for God’s Glory// 1 Corinthians 10:23–33

¹Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin. ²Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God. ³For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.

1PE 4:3[DEMONIC]You spent enough time in detestable idolatry

⁴Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵But they will have to give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶That is why the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged as men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

1PE 4:6[NOTE]PREACHED TO THE DEAD. Most read it as people who heard the gospel while alive and have since died. Others tie it to 3:19. See the Big Question pages.

⁷The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray. ⁸Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹Show hospitality to one another without complaining.

1PE 4:7[PROPHECY]The end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers → STILL TO COMEMEDIUM
1PE 4:8[QUOTES]Quotes ← PROV 10:12
1PE 4:8[NOTE]CHARITY. The KJV says charity shall cover the multitude of sins. In 1611 charity meant love. Today it means giving money, so this Bible says love. From Proverbs 10:12, also James 5:20.
1PE 4:9[NOTABLE]Every believer has a gift. Use it to serve, not to show off.

¹⁰As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another. ¹¹If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Suffering as Christians

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.

1PE 4:12[NOTABLE]Suffering for Jesus is not strange. It means you share in His sufferings and His glory.
1PE 4:12[NOTE]FIERY TRIAL. Some think this points to Nero's attack in AD 64, when Christians were burned alive. Others say Peter means trials in general, like gold in a furnace, 1:7. See What Tacitus Wrote.

¹⁴If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵Indeed, none of you should suffer as a murderer or thief or wrongdoer, or even as a meddler. ¹⁶But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name. ¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God? ¹⁸And,

1PE 4:14[ALLUDES TO]Refers to ← IS 11:2
1PE 4:14[NOTE]TEXT. The KJV adds: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified. These words are missing from the oldest copies.
1PE 4:16[NOTABLE]One of only three times the word Christian is in the Bible, with Acts 11:26 and 26:28.
1PE 4:16[NOTE]CHRISTIAN. At first a nickname outsiders used, Acts 11:26. Roman judges later asked just one question: are you a Christian? See What Pliny Wrote.
1PE 4:17[ALLUDES TO]Refers to ← EZK 9:6

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

1PE 4:18[QUOTES]Direct ← PROV 11:31

¹⁹So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their souls to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

The Big Question

What Pliny Wrote

Trials for the Name, About AD 112

Pliny, Letters 10.96 · 1 Peter 1:1 · 4:14 to 16

WHO PLINY WAS: Pliny the Younger was a Roman lawyer and senator. About AD 110 the emperor Trajan sent him to govern Pontus and Bithynia, in what is now northern Turkey. Those are two of the places 1 Peter was sent to, 1:1.
WHAT HE WROTE: Here is his whole letter to Trajan, Letters book 10, number 96, in William Melmoth's English translation as revised by F. C. T. Bosanquet. Sir means the emperor.
LETTERS 10.96: It is my invariable rule, Sir, to refer to you in all matters where I feel doubtful; for who is more capable of removing my scruples, or informing my ignorance? Having never been present at any trials concerning those who profess Christianity, I am unacquainted not only with the nature of their crimes, or the measure of their punishment, but how far it is proper to enter into an examination concerning them. Whether, therefore, any difference is usually made with respect to ages, or no distinction is to be observed between the young and the adult; whether repentance entitles them to a pardon; or if a man has been once a Christian, it avails nothing to desist from his error; whether the very profession of Christianity, unattended with any criminal act, or only the crimes themselves inherent in the profession are punishable; on all these points I am in great doubt. In the meanwhile, the method I have observed towards those who have been brought before me as Christians is this: I asked them whether they were Christians; if they admitted it, I repeated the question twice, and threatened them with punishment; if they persisted, I ordered them to be at once punished: for I was persuaded, whatever the nature of their opinions might be, a contumacious and inflexible obstinacy certainly deserved correction. There were others also brought before me possessed with the same infatuation, but being Roman citizens, I directed them to be sent to Rome. But this crime spreading (as is usually the case) while it was actually under prosecution, several instances of the same nature occurred. An anonymous information was laid before me containing a charge against several persons, who upon examination denied they were Christians, or had ever been so. They repeated after me an invocation to the gods, and offered religious rites with wine and incense before your statue (which for that purpose I had ordered to be brought, together with those of the gods), and even reviled the name of Christ: whereas there is no forcing, it is said, those who are really Christians into any of these compliances: I thought it proper, therefore, to discharge them.

The Big Question

What Pliny Wrote

The Letter, Continued

Pliny, Letters 10.96 · 1 Peter 4:14 to 16

LETTERS 10.96, CONTINUED: Some among those who were accused by a witness in person at first confessed themselves Christians, but immediately after denied it; the rest owned indeed that they had been of that number formerly, but had now (some above three, others more, and a few above twenty years ago) renounced that error. They all worshipped your statue and the images of the gods, uttering imprecations at the same time against the name of Christ. They affirmed the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they met on a stated day before it was light, and addressed a form of prayer to Christ, as to a divinity, binding themselves by a solemn oath, not for the purposes of any wicked design, but never to commit any fraud, theft, or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble, to eat in common a harmless meal. From this custom, however, they desisted after the publication of my edict, by which, according to your commands, I forbade the meeting of any assemblies. After receiving this account, I judged it so much the more necessary to endeavor to extort the real truth, by putting two female slaves to the torture, who were said to officiate in their religious rites: but all I could discover was evidence of an absurd and extravagant superstition. I deemed it expedient, therefore, to adjourn all further proceedings, in order to consult you. For it appears to be a matter highly deserving your consideration, more especially as great numbers must be involved in the danger of these prosecutions, which have already extended, and are still likely to extend, to persons of all ranks and ages, and even of both sexes. In fact, this contagious superstition is not confined to the cities only, but has spread its infection among the neighbouring villages and country. Nevertheless, it still seems possible to restrain its progress. The temples, at least, which were once almost deserted, begin now to be frequented; and the sacred rites, after a long intermission, are again revived; while there is a general demand for the victims, which till lately found very few purchasers. From all this it is easy to conjecture what numbers might be reclaimed if a general pardon were granted to those who shall repent of their error.

The Big Question

What It Tells Us

Are You a Christian?

Pliny, Letters 10.97 · 1 Peter 1:1 · 3:15 · 4:14 to 16

TRAJAN'S ANSWER: The emperor wrote back, Letters 10.97. Here is his whole reply, same translation: You have adopted the right course, my dearest Secundus, in investigating the charges against the Christians who were brought before you. It is not possible to lay down any general rule for all such cases. Do not go out of your way to look for them. If indeed they should be brought before you, and the crime is proved, they must be punished; with the restriction, however, that where the party denies he is a Christian, and shall make it evident that he is not, by invoking our gods, let him (notwithstanding any former suspicion) be pardoned upon his repentance. Anonymous informations ought not to be received in any sort of prosecution. It is introducing a very dangerous precedent, and is quite foreign to the spirit of our age.
PUNISHED FOR THE NAME: Pliny did not ask what crime they did. He asked one question: are you a Christian? Saying yes three times was enough to be executed. That is just what Peter wrote about: if you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, 4:14, and if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, 4:16.
WHAT CHRISTIANS DID: They met on a set day before dawn, sang a hymn to Christ as to a god, and promised not to steal, cheat or commit adultery. Later they ate a simple meal together. Pliny's Latin says they sang a hymn; this translation says a form of prayer. Even their enemy found no crime.
TWO WOMEN: The two slave women were called ministrae in Latin, which means servants. Many think they were deaconesses. See Phoebe, Pliny and Sophia in 1 Timothy.
THE TEMPLES WERE EMPTY: Pliny says the temples had been almost deserted and few people bought animals for sacrifice. The faith had spread to towns and villages and to people of every age and rank.
WHAT IT DOES NOT PROVE: Pliny wrote about 50 years after Peter, so he shows what believers in Bithynia faced later, not in Peter's own day. But some told him they had left the faith 20 years earlier, so there were Christians there by about AD 90.

1 Peter 4

Living for God’s Glory// 1 Corinthians 10:23–33

Suffering as Christians

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