Suffering According to the Will of God

1st Peter 4:19 … "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator."

You know, most of the time I enjoy reading and studying the Word of God. But when I take an in-depth look at a few certain scriptures … like the one above … well, I want to make sure I have my theology right.

The very first thing I notice is the declaration that some people do … "suffer according to the will of God." Peter isn't just suggesting such a thing, he is saying … "let them that suffer" … meaning some do. The word "suffer" means … to experience pain of some kind; but it doesn't always mean physical pain.

So then next, I want to find out, (1.) why God would want them to suffer; (2.) who Peter is speaking of; and (3.) the reason they should suffer. I have selected four other verses in this same chapter which will help us understand these three points.

1st Peter 4:1 … "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind …"

1st Peter 4:12 … "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you …"

1st Peter 4:14 … "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ …"

1st Peter 4:16 … "Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf."

It looks to me as if the answers are …

1.) Why … "Christ suffered for us … have the same mind."
2.) Who … "you, the beloved."
3.) The reason … "reproached for the name of Christ … or for being a Christian."

From the beginning of this chapter to the end, Peter continues to exhort his fellow Christians to walk in love and avoid the lusts of the world.

The main principle was this … they had accepted and followed Christ whom the world rejected; they were walking in His footsteps in righteousness, abandoning the sin in the world. They were to do good, even if it meant suffering for it; for this is what Christ did.

Observe what Peter wrote earlier in this letter, Chapter 2, verses 19-21 …

"For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps …"

Notice the phrase … "hereunto were ye called" … not to suffer for wrong doing; you might well deserve that anyway. But if God saw fit that you suffer for well doing … "take it patiently" … like the example that Jesus gave us to follow.

As an evil doer, the Christian should never have to suffer; but if he suffers for well doing or because he is a Christian, Peter is saying that he was not to be ashamed, but to glorify God for it. God takes no pleasure in allowing His people to suffer, but He permits it. The Book of Job explains this, but not to our full understanding.

In every form of God's dealings, including discipline as He has established it … it is always done in love. He did so with Israel and He does so with the Church today. If the Church attaches herself too closely with the world, God allows the enemy to trouble her … or so it seems. But the truth really is that sin has its own reward.

God judges everything according to His own nature. He desires that all should be in accordance with His nature, especially those nearest to Him … we the body of Christ. God is pure and holy and wants us to be also.

I woke up one morning to find six inches of new, pure, white snow covering everything I could see. It was a beautiful sight. It made me think of the following scriptures …

Isaiah 1:18 … "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow …"

Daniel 7:9 … "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow …"

Snow is at its prettiest right after it falls and even more so when the sun shines on it. It looks pure and clean. That's the way we are after the blood of Jesus cleanses our lives … we become pure and clean like the snow.

The home my wife and I live in is maintained clean enough for our personal desires. It's not sterile, but it's clean. We both like things around us to be clean. The principle is the same with God … His house must be pure and clean. I'm speaking of both houses; the church at large as well as the individual personal temples we live in … our bodies.

1st Peter 4:17 … "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God …"

The word "judgment" in this verse means … a decision. Peter is telling us to make a decision to discipline ourselves and keep God's temple pure and clean.

As a Christian, there is but one thing to do; commit yourself to Him who watches over the revealed decision He has made for you. And that may be to suffer according to His will … as Christ did.

You may ask … why would God want his children to suffer? The Apostle Paul speaks to this question from a little different angle. I have edited these two verses and in parentheses added the proper meanings from the original Greek that it was written in.

2nd Thessalonians 1:4-5 … "all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure (hold up against) … (are) a manifest token of the righteous judgment (tribunal) of God, that ye may be counted worthy (deemed entirely deserving) of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer (experience pain) …"

Honestly … I am unable to fit this scripture with-in my theology except to say … by enduring this "suffering" you are proving to all who watch … your faith in God. And they are watching.

Let me be very clear about one thing. Where this verse says … "that ye may be counted worthy" … you had nothing to do with being counted "worthy."

It was all Jesus.



Comments welcome.