Always Be Ready | Part 4 (1 Peter 1:13-3:2)

Always Be Ready to Share in Christ’s Sufferings

I. INTRODUCTION

As followers of Jesus, we must always be ready to share in Christ’s sufferings. Two things to take home

with us today: 1) The fire will come, but it’s worth it; 2) the fire will be hot, but we can trust Him

II. THE FIRE WILL COME

Verse 12: 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as

though something strange were happening to you. (ESV)

1. We should not be shocked, taken by surprise, or caught off guard when difficulties, trials, and

persecution befall us as followers of Jesus. Suffering for Jesus is part of the package of following a

crucified Messiah. (“If anyone would come after me...Mt. 16, Lk. 9).

• 'So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. We

sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of

Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by

these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined (or “appointed” [CSB]) for them. In

fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned

out that way, as you well know.' (1 Th. 3:1-4, NIV)

• 21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned

to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain

true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they

said. (Ac. 14:21-22, NIV)

2. No fine print. “Baaqiga Eebow”: Chorus: The Eternal God, who created the world, he has given a

promise, and I am not going to miss out on it. Verses: If I stay on the top of the mountains for a

month, with the snow and ice pounding me, I will not deny my Savior. If I stay in the wilderness a

hundred years, and fail to find a garden, livestock, or a wife, I will not deny my Savior. If I am

slaughtered, and hurled into the ocean, and beaten with a club, I will not deny my Savior. If I am in

need, and fail to find money, I will not deny my Savior. When I am injured and sick, he nurses me

back to health and heals me, I will not deny my Savior.

3. The fire will come.

III. BUT IT’S WORTH IT

A. Verses 13-14: 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be

glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because

the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (ESV)

1. V. 14 (TEV): 14 Happy are you if you are insulted because you are Christ’s followers; this means that

the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is resting on you.

2. In the OT, God taught, warned, exhorted, and called people to repentance through the prophets

who spoke by the power of the Spirit, and many of the prophets were killed for their testimony (see,

e.g., Neh. 9). The fullness of the Spirit rested on Jesus (see, e.g., Jn. 1:32-33, 3:34), and he was

crucified. In Matthew 5, Jesus compares the sufferings to be experienced by His disciples, upon

whom He would pour the Spirit, to the sufferings experienced by the prophets (Mt. 5:12). The Spirit

produces God’s ways in us and calls people to God’s ways through us. If people attack and insult

us because of that, they are in fact attacking God himself (see., e.g., Mt. 10:40; Ac. 9:4). To

whatever degree we are attacked or slandered because we are like God Himself, we should rejoice.

3. We rejoice not because sufferings are enjoyable or pleasant, but because of what they produce in

us and because of that for which they prepare us. Suffering and difficult circumstances provide the

context in which our loyalty to Jesus is demonstrated, and they are among the means used by

Jesus to prepare us for the age to come. As Peter has already said in chapter 1, we are being

prepared for a “salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time,” that is, “at the revelation of

Jesus Christ” (1 Pt. 1:15, 7 CSB). As Paul says in 2 Cor. 4:17, “our light and momentary troubles

are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (NIV).

B. Verses 15-16: 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet

if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name (or

“praise God that you bear that name” [NIV]) (ESV)

1. “The nickname ‘Christian’ was originally used only by those hostile to Christianity... Here it is

parallel to legal charges like ‘murderer’ and ‘thief.’ Early Roman descriptions of Nero’s persecution

use this title for Jesus’ followers.”

2. Of course, suffering for doing what is wrong is not something over which to rejoice. When we do

evil, we are conducting ourselves no differently than the world and bring dishonor to His name. This

kind of suffering does not bring glory to God. When we suffer because we are sincerely following

Jesus, however, and are seeking to obey Him and remain faithful to Him by the Spirit’s enablement,

we should not be ashamed. Such suffering is a privilege.

• 40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they

ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 The apostles left the

Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the

Name. (Ac. 5:40-41, NIV)

C. The fire will come, but it’s worth it.

IV. THE FIRE WILL BE HOT

A. VERSES 17-18: 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us,

what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is

scarcely saved (“saved with difficulty” [LEB]; “barely escape” [CEV]; “if it is hard enough for the

righteous to be saved” [REB]), what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (ESV)

1. Here Peter uses light-to-heavy argument: i.e., if such is true is this situation, then how much more

so in this other situation? Here is the idea: “For the time has come for judgment to begin with the

household of God, and if even we ourselves don’t escape suffering, how much more severe will the

judgment be for those who refuse to obey the very gospel of God?” (my translation)

2. As tempting as it may be to ignore or try to find ways to explain such verses away, the wise course

is to recognize the reality that following Jesus is sometimes more difficult than what we could have

imagined, and that sometimes God, the wise and righteous judge, judges that in order for us to truly

learn to trust him, we must put into a situation that strips us of all self-righteousness and all self-

reliance:

• 8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced

in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so

that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this

happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. (2 Co. 1:8-9,

NIV)

Yes, the fire will come, and not only that, but the fire will be hot. But here is His promise: It’s worth it.

Nothing less than eternal life itself awaits us at the end of the race.

• 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction,

and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to

life, and those who find it are few. (Mt. 7:13-14, ESV)

V. WE CAN TRUST HIM

A. Verse 19: 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful

Creator while doing good. (ESV)

1. Here is the wise, divinely revealed and divinely prescribed course of action for when we find

ourselves in the category of “suffering according to God’s will”: We entrust and commit our lives and

all that we are to the one who is trustworthy: The Creator of all things, who is making us into

something new in preparation for the day when He will make all things new (Re. 21:5). We “cast our

cares on him, because he cares for us” (1 Pt. 5:7).

2. The fire will come, but it’s worth it. The fire will be hot, but we can trust Him.

ALWAYS BE READY TO COME TO THE LIVING STONE

I. 1 PETER 2:1-10

1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all bslander,2 like

newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. 4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been

rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being

built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God

through Jesus Christ. 6 For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a

precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 7 This precious value,

then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This

became the very corner stone,” 8 and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble

because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. 9 But you are a

chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may

proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for

you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now

you have received mercy. (1 Pt. 2:1-10, NASB)

II. REVIEW OF 1 PETER 2:1-3

1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like

newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to

salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord (Ps. 34:8).

A. Orienting ourselves contextually. Technically we are covering 1 Peter 2:4-10 today, but this passage,

like vv. 1-3, also flow logically from the preceding context, so we need to start by taking a few moments

to call to mind some of the main ideas studied in the first three lessons.

B. Therefore: In light of what is said in 1:1-12 (resuming the exhortations that begin at 1:13), 1:1-25, or

1:22-25.

1. THE NEW REALITY: “fathered/begotten again” through Jesus’ resurrection (1:3); “as obedient

children, do not conform...” (1:14); “since you call on a Father...” (1:17); “born again” of

“imperishable seed” (1:23; i.e., the “enduring word of God”/”the gospel” [1:23, 25]); and everything

that made this possible (sufferings of the Messiah, precious blood of the lamb, etc.; 1:11, 17-21)

2. THE HOPE: imperishable “inheritance” to come (1:4); “salvation”: to be revealed at Jesus’ return

(1:5; cf. 1:13), the “end result” (NIV) of our faith (1:9), declared by the “prophets” and “those who

have preached the gospel to you,” etc. (1:5, 8-12)

3. THE RESPONSE/CALL: “Be holy, because I am holy” (v. 16, NIV); all the preceding exhortations

(don’t conform, live as strangers, love from the heart, etc.) summarized by this statement. 

This, then, is where we need to begin in order to understand what follows: In light of the fact that you

are conceived anew with God’s own life in you because of what the Messiah has done, and in light of

the hope and call to holiness that is inextricably tied to this...

1. Need to crave the “pure milk of the word,” or “pure spiritual milk” (NIV), so that we can grow

“in respect to salvation”; growth in holiness as result of the saving work of the first coming, as we

are nourished on the saving power available to us know through the Spirit, and in preparation for

the saving work of the second coming.

III. EXPOSITION OF 1 PETER 2:4-8

4 And coming to Him (“as you come to him” [ESV, NIV]; cf. Ps. 34:5 [LXX]2 as to a living (alive, life-giving stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice (“chosen” [ESV]) and precious in the

sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy

priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For this is

contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who

believes in Him will not be disappointed.” (Is. 28:16) 7This precious value, then, is for you who

believe (“to you who believe” [NIV; i.e., in the eyes of); but for (or “to”) those who disbelieve, “The stone

which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” (Ps. 118:22) 8 and, “A stone of

stumbling and a rock of offense” (Is. 8:17); for they stumble because they are disobedient to the

word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

D. In light of the fact that you are conceived anew with God’s own life in you because of what the Messiah

has done, and in light of the hope and call to holiness that is inextricably tied to this...

E. We come to the one who is alive and who is the very source of life; we have a living hope (1 Pt. 1:3)

because of the living stone. As we keep approaching Him boldly and confidently (cf. Heb. 4:16), He

puts His life to work in us, nourishing us and building us up as a house/household that is “characterized

by the Holy Spirit” (the meaning of “spiritual” in this context. Through the Holy Spirit, we bring him our offerings that are pleasing to Him.

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living

sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. (Rm. 12:1, CSB)

15 Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of

lips that confess his name. (Heb. 13:15, CSB)

F. In the OT sacrificial system, it was important for the sacrifices to be inspected carefully, to make sure

they were blameless (see Lev. 1-6). Although the leaders of Israel rejected Jesus, God approved him

as blameless and without any flaws or defects. He showed this by raising Jesus from the dead.

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 

If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being

asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of

Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified (rejected by men) but whom God raised from the dead

(precious to God), that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders

rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation (cf. 1 Pt. 1) is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Ac. 4:8-12,

NIV)

G. Cornerstone/Capstone/Keystone

“The stone which the builders rejected turned out to be the most important of all” (1 Pt. 2:7,

TEV)

“ ‘Cornerstone’ may refer to: (1) the stone in a new building laid first with great

care and ceremony so as to ensure a straight and level foundation; (2) the

interlocking cornerstones that join and strengthen two connecting walls; (3) the

capstone at the top corner of a wall; or (4) the keystone of an arched door or

gateway, the center and topmost stone that joins the two sides and supports the

arch itself (the most important stone in which the name of the city, the ruler, and

builder were often carved).”

H. In the eyes of some, the stone is precious, and therefore they come to him and place their faith in him;

in the eyes of others, the stone is unfit, a source of offense and a cause of stumbling, and therefore

they reject it.

I. Better translation of the second part of verse 8: “They stumble because they are disobedient to the

word, to which also they were appointed” (MEV). The point here is similar to Acts 2:23 and Ac. 4:27-

28: In accordance with his own plan God had already decided that Jesus would be handed over to

you; and you killed him by letting sinful men crucify him. (Ac. 2:23, TEV) Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. (Ac. 4:27-28, NIV)

• There also seems to be a play on words of sort here with verse 6:

They “stumble” over the message, refusing to believe, for which purpose they were also set

in place (same verb as v. 6) according to plan. (1 Pt. 1:8, my translation)

• According to His plan, God put the cornerstone in place, and also “set in place” those who would

crucify Him. Though they rejected the Messiah, God in His wisdom used what they meant for evil

(cf. Gn. 50:19) to make a way for the world’s salvation (cf. 1 Cor. 2:6-9).

IV. EXPOSITION OF 1 PETER 2:9-10

9 But you are a chosen race (Is. 43:20 [LXX]; cf Dt 7:6, 10:15), a royal priesthood (Ex 19:6; 23:22

(LXX). Cf Is 61:6), a holy nation (Ex 19:6; 23:22 [LXX]), a people for God’s own possession (Ml. 3:16

[LXX]), so that you may proclaim the excellencies (“declare the wonderful deeds” [RSV]; “proclaim the

mighty acts” [NRSV]; Is 42:12, 43:21 [LXX]) of Him who has called you out of darkness into His

marvelous light; 10 for you once were not a people (Ho 1:9 [LXX]), but now you are the people of

God (an allusion to Ho 2:2); you had not received mercy (Ho 1:6 [LXX]), but now you have received

mercy (an allusion to Ho 2:23).

A. Here Peter pulls together a string of OT quotations, references, and allusions related to Israel’s calling

and to God’s dealings with his firstborn son (Ex. 4:22-23). Since there is only one true God and Creator

over the entire world (cf. Rm. 3:29), whose nature, character, and ways are perfectly consistent, His

dealings with Israel, his firstborn son, become a paradigm and visual aid for how He deals with all His

other sons, too (from all the nations).

Moses went up the mountain to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain: “This is what

you must say to the house of Jacob and explain to the Israelites: ‘You have seen what I did to the

Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will

carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples,

although the whole earth is mine, 6 and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’

These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.” (Ex. 19:3, CSB)

B. Those who do put their faith in God’s chosen stone:

1. Chosen: Objects of God’s underserved grace and mercy, because of His loyalty to His promises (cf.

Dt. 7:6-7; Col. 3:12)

2. Priests: Approach, represent, and instruct others about God, etc.

3. Holy: Set apart from the world, holy as our Father is holy (see discussion above)

4. God’s Possession: We belong to God and live for His will and glory

5. Darkness to light: “Come to him and be enlightened” (Ps. 34:8 [LXX]; 33:6 in LXX; cf. Eph. 1:18)

6. People of God: Mercifully allowed to be a part of God’s family

7. Received Mercy: We deserve eternal punishment, but God has shown us mercy