Grace - 8
A Study of 1 Peter
Part of Grace—A Study of 1 Peter
February 19, 2023

1 Peter 3.13-4.6

13 Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them[a] or be intimidated,[b] 15 but in your hearts regard[c] Christ[d] the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. 16 Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused,[e] those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh[f] but made alive by the Spirit,[g] 19 in which[h] he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison 20 who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people[i]—were saved through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge[j] of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

1 Therefore, since Christ suffered[a] in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding[b]—because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin[c]— 2 in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will. 3 For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the Gentiles choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you don’t join them in the same flood of wild living—and they slander[d] you. 5 They will give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the gospel was also preached to those who are now dead,[e] so that, although they might be judged in the flesh according to human standards, they might live in the spirit according to God’s standards.

How to act when you suffer for righteousness.

  1. yourself that you are blessed. (3:13-14a)

  2. your trust in Christ. (3:14b-15a)

  3. focused on being a witness for Christ. (3:15b-22)

  4. to be willing to suffer for righteousness. (4:1-6)

    a.

    a hatred toward sin. (4:1-2)
    b. to be done with sin. (4:3)
    c. fear others’ judgment. (4:4-5)
    d. the Good News with hope. (4:6)