1 Peter · Chapter 4

V. 1. Arm yourselves with the same mind-Which will be armour of proof against all your enemies.

For he that hath suffered in the flesh-That hath so suffered as to be thereby made inwardly and truly conformable to the sufferings of Christ. Hath ceased from sin-Is delivered from it.

Verse 1. As Christ hath suffered] He is your proper pattern; have the same disposition he had; the same forgiving spirit, with meekness, gentleness, and complete self-possession.

He that hath suffered in the flesh, hath ceased from sin] This is a general maxim, if understood literally: The man who suffers generally reflects on his ways, is humbled, fears approaching death, loathes himself because of his past iniquities, and ceases from them; for, in a state of suffering, the mind loses its relish for the sins of the flesh, because they are embittered to him through the apprehension which he has of death and judgment; and, on his application to God’s mercy, he is delivered from his sin.

Some suppose the words are to be understood thus: “Those who have firmly resolved, if called to it, to suffer death rather than apostatize from Christianity, have consequently ceased from, or are delivered from, the sin of saving their lives at the expense of their faith.” Others think that it is a parallel passage to Romans 6:7, and interpret it thus: “He that hath mortified the flesh, hath ceased from sin.” Dr. Bentley applies the whole to our redemption by Christ: He that hath suffered in the flesh hath died for our sins. But this seems a very constrained sense.

Verses 1, 2. Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered — Even the ignominious and painful death of the cross, with all those previous and concomitant evils, which rendered his death peculiarly bitter; for us — And that from a pure and disinterested principle of love; arm yourselves likewise with the same mind — With a resolution such as animated him to suffer all the evils to which you may be exposed in the body; and particularly to suffer death, if called by God to do so for your religion. For this will be armour of proof against all your enemies. For he that hath — In conformity to our Lord Jesus; suffered in the flesh — Or, who hath so suffered as to be thereby made inwardly and truly conformable to Christ in his sufferings, hath, of course, ceased from sin — From knowingly committing it. “He hath been made to rest,” says Macknight, “from temptation to sin, consequently from sin itself. For if a man hath overcome the fear of torture and death, no weaker temptation will prevail with him to make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience.” That he no longer should live in the flesh — Even in his mortal body; to the lusts — The desires, of men — Either his own or those of others; should no longer be governed by those irregular and inordinate affections which rule in unregenerate men; but to the will of God — In a holy conformity and obedience to the divine precepts, how contrary soever they may be to his carnal and sensual inclinations, or apparently to his worldly interests.

1. Christ hath suffered—1 Peter 3:18. Arm yourselves—As a soldier called to a warfare. The same mind—The same thought and purpose of suffering innocently and in God’s cause, that Christ manifested. For— Some understand this clause, of the believer’s identification with Christ in his suffering and death, as in Romans 6:7-11, and Galatians 2:20. But this is too Pauline for St. Peter’s style of expression; and, besides, the words hardly admit of it. Referred to Christ himself, it states, as a fact, the rest from sin that followed his suffering, and presents a valid reason for the arming, namely, that they, having the same purpose, should likewise have no more to do with sin.

V. 2. That ye may no longer live in the flesh-Even in this mortal body. To the desires of men-Either your own or those of others. These are various; but the will of God is one.

Verse 2. That he no longer should live-in the flesh] Governed by the base principle of giving up his faith to save his life; to the lusts of men-according to the will of his idolatrous persecutors; but to the will of God; which will of God is, that he should retain the truth, and live according to its dictates, though he should suffer for it.

Verses 1, 2. Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered — Even the ignominious and painful death of the cross, with all those previous and concomitant evils, which rendered his death peculiarly bitter; for us — And that from a pure and disinterested principle of love; arm yourselves likewise with the same mind — With a resolution such as animated him to suffer all the evils to which you may be exposed in the body; and particularly to suffer death, if called by God to do so for your religion. For this will be armour of proof against all your enemies. For he that hath — In conformity to our Lord Jesus; suffered in the flesh — Or, who hath so suffered as to be thereby made inwardly and truly conformable to Christ in his sufferings, hath, of course, ceased from sin — From knowingly committing it. “He hath been made to rest,” says Macknight, “from temptation to sin, consequently from sin itself. For if a man hath overcome the fear of torture and death, no weaker temptation will prevail with him to make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience.” That he no longer should live in the flesh — Even in his mortal body; to the lusts — The desires, of men — Either his own or those of others; should no longer be governed by those irregular and inordinate affections which rule in unregenerate men; but to the will of God — In a holy conformity and obedience to the divine precepts, how contrary soever they may be to his carnal and sensual inclinations, or apparently to his worldly interests.

2. That… live—Rather, so as no more to live; this the end in arming. Lusts of men—Making, not the base desires of ungodly men their law, but the will of God, and his will alone, for the rest of their earthly life.

V. 3. Revellings, banquetings-Have these words any meaning now? They had, seventeen hundred years ago. Then the former meant, meetings to eat; meetings, the direct end of which was, to please the taste: the latter, meetings to drink: both of which Christians then ranked with abominable idolatries.

Verse 3. The time past of our life] This is a complete epitome of the Gentile or heathen state, and a proof that those had been Gentiles to whom the apostle wrote.

1. They walked in lasciviousness, en aselgeiaiv. every species of lechery, lewdness, and impurity.

2. In lusts, epiqumiaiv. strong irregular appetites, and desires of all kinds.

3. In excess of wine, oinoflugiaiv. wine, and fluw, to be hot, or to boil; to be inflamed with wine; they were in continual debauches.

4. In revellings, kwmoiv. lascivious feastings, with drunken songs, &c. See Clarke’s note on “Romans 13:13”.

5. In banquetings, potoiv. wine feasts, drinking matches, &c.

6. In abominable idolatries, aqemitoiv eidwlolatreiaiv. that is, the abominations practised at their idol feasts, where they not only worshipped the idol, but did it with the most impure, obscene, and abominable rites. This was the general state of the Gentile world; and with this monstrous wickedness Christianity had everywhere to struggle.

Verses 3-5. For the time past of our life may suffice us — Arketov hmin, is sufficient for us; to have wrought the will of the Gentiles — The expression is soft, but conveys a very strong meaning, namely, that in no period of our lives ought we to have wrought the will of the Gentiles; and that whatever time we spent in so doing was too much. When we walked in lasciviousness — In various kinds and degrees of it; lusts — Inordinate desires; excess of wine — Oinoflugiaiv, being inflamed with wine; revellings — Kwmoiv, luxurious feastings; see on Romans 13:13; banquetings — Potoiv, drunken entertainments; and abominable idolatries — With all the shameful vices connected therewith. Wherein they think it strange, &c. — The word xenizontai, thus rendered, was used by the Greeks to express that admiration and wonder with which a stranger is struck, who beholds anything uncommon or new. The meaning here is, On account of your former manner of life, they wonder that you now shun their company, and run not with them to the same excess of riot you formerly ran into; speaking evil of you — As proud, singular, silly, wicked, and the like; who shall give account — Of this as well as all their other ways; to him that is ready — So faith represents him now; to judge the quick and the dead — Those who are now alive, and those who shall be found alive at his coming to judgment.

Verse 3, 4. The will of the gentiles. Augustine in his city of God, should be read to see the excess and abominable idolatries of the gentiles. See the notes on Ephesians 5:12. Romans 1.

3. The will of the Gentiles—Boulhma, in contrast with qelhma, will of God. The latter has more of authority, the former is here more expressive of strong desire, which the Gentiles would persuade Christians to follow again as before conversion. But the apostle tells them, sufficient is the time past to have wrought that which they would have you still do, and may try to compel you to do. When we walked—The habitual Gentile conduct. The passage shows those addressed, even if Jews, had been liable to Gentile vices. Lasciviousness—Unbridled conduct; a general term, with its particulars following. Lusts—Sensual impurity. Excess of wine—Swillings of wine; beastly drunkenness. Revellings—Night carousals; going, after supper, into the streets with torches, frolic, and drunken songs. Banquetings—Drinking bouts. Abominable—Lawless. All idolatry is against God’s law; but in this connexion, doubtless, are included the obscene and filthy practices at many of the idol feasts.

V. 4. The same-As ye did once.

Speaking evil of you-As proud, singular, silly, wicked and the like.

Verse 4. They think it strange] xenizontai. They wonder and are astonished at you, that ye can renounce these gratifications of the flesh for a spiritual something, the good of which they cannot see. Excess of riot] aswtiav anacusin. Flood of profligacy; bearing down all rule, order, and restraints before it.

Speaking evil of you] blasfhmountev. Literally, blaspheming; i.e. speaking impiously against God, and calumniously of you.

Verses 3-5. For the time past of our life may suffice us — Arketov hmin, is sufficient for us; to have wrought the will of the Gentiles — The expression is soft, but conveys a very strong meaning, namely, that in no period of our lives ought we to have wrought the will of the Gentiles; and that whatever time we spent in so doing was too much. When we walked in lasciviousness — In various kinds and degrees of it; lusts — Inordinate desires; excess of wine — Oinoflugiaiv, being inflamed with wine; revellings — Kwmoiv, luxurious feastings; see on Romans 13:13; banquetings — Potoiv, drunken entertainments; and abominable idolatries — With all the shameful vices connected therewith. Wherein they think it strange, &c. — The word xenizontai, thus rendered, was used by the Greeks to express that admiration and wonder with which a stranger is struck, who beholds anything uncommon or new. The meaning here is, On account of your former manner of life, they wonder that you now shun their company, and run not with them to the same excess of riot you formerly ran into; speaking evil of you — As proud, singular, silly, wicked, and the like; who shall give account — Of this as well as all their other ways; to him that is ready — So faith represents him now; to judge the quick and the dead — Those who are now alive, and those who shall be found alive at his coming to judgment.

Verse 3, 4. The will of the gentiles. Augustine in his city of God, should be read to see the excess and abominable idolatries of the gentiles. See the notes on Ephesians 5:12. Romans 1.

4. Think it strange—Are surprised at the strange sight of men who are not rushing with them into the same sink of debauchery. Speaking evil— Literally, blaspheming: railing at them for their singularity, and slandering them as enemies of society; abusing Christianity for requiring a different life, and reviling the Christ whom they served. It was natural that these heathen should thus vent their vexation; ungodly men sometimes do the same thing now.

V. 5. Who shall give account-Of this, as well as all their other ways. To him who is ready-So faith represents him now.

Verse 5. To judge the quick and the dead.] They shall give account of these irregularities to Him who is prepared to judge both the Jews and the Gentiles. The Gentiles, previously to the preaching of the Gospel among them, were reckoned to be dead in trespasses and sins, Ephesians 2:1-5; under the sentence of death, because they had sinned. The Jews had at least, by their religious profession, a name to live; and by that profession were bound to give to God.

Verses 3-5. For the time past of our life may suffice us — Arketov hmin, is sufficient for us; to have wrought the will of the Gentiles — The expression is soft, but conveys a very strong meaning, namely, that in no period of our lives ought we to have wrought the will of the Gentiles; and that whatever time we spent in so doing was too much. When we walked in lasciviousness — In various kinds and degrees of it; lusts — Inordinate desires; excess of wine — Oinoflugiaiv, being inflamed with wine; revellings — Kwmoiv, luxurious feastings; see on Romans 13:13; banquetings — Potoiv, drunken entertainments; and abominable idolatries — With all the shameful vices connected therewith. Wherein they think it strange, &c. — The word xenizontai, thus rendered, was used by the Greeks to express that admiration and wonder with which a stranger is struck, who beholds anything uncommon or new. The meaning here is, On account of your former manner of life, they wonder that you now shun their company, and run not with them to the same excess of riot you formerly ran into; speaking evil of you — As proud, singular, silly, wicked, and the like; who shall give account — Of this as well as all their other ways; to him that is ready — So faith represents him now; to judge the quick and the dead — Those who are now alive, and those who shall be found alive at his coming to judgment.

5. Give account—Since these profligates and revilers must render an account to Christ, his maligned and suffering people may safely leave their vindication in his hands, following his own example, 1 Peter 2:23. Ready to judge—The blessed side of Christ’s readiness for his second advent, St. Peter sets forth in his speech in Solomon’s porch. Acts 3:19, 20. And he is, on his part, fully prepared to take his seat on the judgment throne, as he has ever been since the apostle wrote. Not the nearness of the event, but its certainty, is intended. The quick and the dead—It obviates no difficulty to take these words figuratively. They must, we think, be taken in their usual sense, as in Acts 10:42, Romans 14:9, and 2 Timothy 4:1, meaning those who are living when Christ comes, and those who are then dead.

V. 6. For to this end was the gospel preached-Ever since it was given to Adam.

To them that are now dead-In their several generations. That they might be judged-That though they were judged. In the flesh according to the manner of men-With rash, unrighteous judgment.

They might live according to the will and word of God, in the Spirit; the soul renewed after his image.

Verse 6. Was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead] This is a most difficult verse; the best translations I have seen of it are the following:—

“For this indeed was the effect of the preaching of the Gospel to the dead, (the unconverted Gentiles,) that some will be punished as carnal men; but others, (those converted to Christianity,) lead a spiritual life unto God.”-WAKEFIELD.

“For this purpose hath the Gospel been preached even to the dead, (i.e. the Gentiles,) that although they might be condemned, indeed, by men in the flesh, (their persecutors,) yet they might live eternally by God in the Spirit.”-MACKNIGHT.

“For this cause was the Gospel preached to them that were dead; that they who live according to men in the flesh, may be condemned; but that they who live according to God in the Spirit, may live.”-KNATCHBULL.

There are as many different translations of this verse, and comments upon it, as there are translators and commentators. That of Sir Norton Knatchbull, could the Greek text bear it, appears the most simple; but that of Dr. Macknight, which is nearly the sense given by Mr. Wesley in his Paraphrase, is more likely to be the true one among those already proposed.

But if the apostle had the same fact in view which he mentions, 1 Peter 3:19, 20, then the antedilevians are the persons intended: For this cause-that Christ is prepared to judge the quick and the dead, and to dispense righteous judgment in consequence of having afforded them every necessary advantage, was the Gospel preached by Noah to them also who are dead-the antediluvian world, then dead in trespasses and sins, and condemned to death by the righteous judgment of God; but in his great compassion he afforded them a respite, that though they were condemned as men in the flesh, (for this was their character; my Spirit will not always strive with man, forasmuch as he is FLESH, Genesis 6:3,) yet, hearing this Gospel by Noah, they may believe, and live according to God in the Spirit-live a blessed life in eternity according to the mercy of God, who sent his Spirit to strive with them. This appears to me to be the most consistent sense; especially as the apostle seems to refer to what he had said of the Spirit of Christ in Noah preaching to the spirits in prison-the rebellions that lived before the flood. See the notes on 1 Peter 3:19, 20.

Verse 6. For for this cause — Or to this end; was the gospel preached — Ever since it was intimated to Adam, in the promise made to him after the fall, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head; to them that are dead — Who have died in their several generations, and especially to our forefathers, the descendants of Abraham, and the other patriarchs, by Moses and the prophets; that they might be judged according to men in the flesh — Or, that though they were judged in the flesh according to the manner of men, with rash, unrighteous judgment, were condemned as evil-doers, and some of them put to death, they might live according to God — Agreeably to his word and will; in the spirit — In their soul, renewed after the divine image, as his devoted servants and witnesses in the midst of their persecutors, and so be prepared to live with him in a future world.

Ver. 6. For this cause was the gospel preached to them that are dead, that in the day of judgment every mouth may be stopped, as to privilege and dispensation; for the gospel was preached to the old world in the shadows of sacrifice, and in promises. And St. Paul says, that the Israelites who fell in the wilderness had the gospel preached to them. — In Biblia Magna, Menobius and Tyrinus suggest that the patriarchs, the prophets, and other righteous men were in limbo or purgatory till the time that Christ went down into the abyss, and brought them forth to eternal blessedness and joy, but they can bring no vouchers for this notion from any of the primitive fathers.

6. For—That the dead are to be judged, is the particular statement, the reason for which is now to be assigned. For this cause—In view of the judgment. We agree with Alford that dead, here, is, as in verse 5, the physically dead, and not, as Wordsworth, the “dead in sins;” but he is in error in holding its equal comprehension in both verses. For in verse 5 it is universal; in this verse we are told, (literally,) it was evangelized to deads—that is, that part of all the dead (note on Luke 20:35) to whom the gospel was preached, saying nothing of that part to whom it was not preached. We reject the view of Alford and others that the reference is to a preaching of the gospel to men after death, which is nowhere taught in Scripture, and contradicts its whole tenor. The plain meaning is, that the gospel was preached to men when living, who are now dead, just as it would be perfectly correct to say that it was preached to saints in glory, or to souls that are in perdition; meaning, that it was preached to them when here on the earth. The aorist shows its cessation. We think, moreover, that judged, in both verses, must refer to the same judge and the same judgment-day. This sweeps away a whole class of expositions. Judged according to men—The gospel is preached to men with reference to, and for the sake of, their living holily, and being prepared for the judgment. They who are dead when Christ comes, will be judged according to men who are still in the flesh, that is, as surely, and upon the same righteous principles, as they will be who are living at his advent. Live according to God—A true, spiritual, and holy life in this world, and a life of glory in heaven, even such a life as he requires and gives to all who obey his gospel.

5. The coming end of all things, enforcing this law of holiness, 7-11.

V. 7. But the end of all things-And so of their wrongs, and your sufferings.

Is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer-Temperance helps watchfulness, and both of them help prayer. Watch, that ye may pray; and pray, that ye may watch.

Verse 7. But the end of all things is at hand] I think that here also St. Peter keeps the history of the deluge before his eyes, finding a parallel to the state of the Jews in his own time in that of the antediluvians in the days of Noah. In Genesis 6:13, God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me. This was spoken at a time when God had decreed the destruction of the world by a flood. Peter says, The end of all things is at hand; and this he spoke when God had determined to destroy the Jewish people and their polity by one of the most signal judgments that ever fell upon any nation or people.

In a very few years after St. Peter wrote this epistle, even taking it at the lowest computation, viz., A. D. 60 or 61, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. To this destruction, which was literally then at hand, the apostle alludes when he says, The end of all things is at hand; the end of the temple, the end of the Levitical priesthood, the end of the whole Jewish economy, was then at hand.

If these words could be taken in any general sense, then we might say to every present generation, The end of all things is at hand; the end of all the good which the wicked enjoy, and the end of all the evil which the righteous suffer.

Be-sober, and watch unto prayer.] Be sober-make a prudent and moderate use of all you possess; and watch against all occasions of sin; and pray for the supporting hand of God to be upon you for good, that ye may escape the destruction that is coming upon the Jews, and that ye may be saved from among them when the scourge comes.

Verse 7. The end of all things is at hand — Of our mortal lives, and of all the joys and sorrows, goods and evils connected therewith, and so of all your wrongs and sufferings. Many commentators indeed understand St. Peter as speaking only of the end of the Jewish commonwealth, city, temple, and worship. Thus Whitby understands him: “This phrase, and the advice upon it, so exactly parallel to what our Lord had spoken, will not suffer us to doubt that the apostle is here speaking, not of the end of the world, or of all things in general, which was not then, and seems not yet to be at hand, but only of the end of the Jewish state.” Thus also Macknight: “This epistle being written about a year after the war with the Romans began, which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish state, Peter, who had heard his Master’s prophecy concerning these events, and the signs of their approach, had good reason to say that they had approached.” But, as Dr. Doddridge justly observes, this was an event in which most of those, to whom the apostle wrote, were comparatively but little concerned. It is probable, therefore, that the apostle either referred to death, which may be considered as the end of the whole world to every particular person; or the consummation of all things, which may be said to be at hand in the sense in which our Lord, long after the destruction of Jerusalem: says to the church, (Revelation 22:7, 20,) Behold I come quickly. To the same purpose is Mr. Scott’s interpretation: “All Christians must expect tribulations in the world, but these would soon terminate; for the end of all things was at hand, and death was about to close their course of trials or services; nay, judgment would not be so long delayed, as that the intervening space should, in the estimation of faith, be at all compared with eternity.” Be ye therefore sober — Temperate in all things, and moderate in all earthly cares and pursuits; remembering their end approaches, and the fashion of this world passeth away. Or, be prudent and considerate, as swfronhsate also signifies. Look before you, and provide for eternity. And watch unto prayer — To which temperance, moderation in worldly desires and cares, prudence, and consideration, are great helps, tending to produce a wakeful state of mind, and guarding against all temptations to sin and folly. And this watchfulness is so connected with prayer, that the one cannot exist without the other. See on 1 Thessalonians 5:6-9.

Ver. 7. The end of all things is at hand. The church was apprised by the prophecies of the old testament, that an end would be put to the jewish economy, when all its shadows should flee away, and when the unbelieving portion of that nation should be consumed as stubble fully dry, and Jerusalem itself be burnt up, by a nation from afar whose language the jews understood not. Joel 2:28, 32. Daniel 9:27. Malachi 4:1. Deuteronomy 28:49-64. These prophecies were now about to receive their consummation, as was apparent from the signs of the times. The Sun of righteousness had risen with gospel beams, and the Hebrew nation were preparing to revolt against the Romans. St. Peter therefore repeats the words of Christ, and bids the scattered flock pray that they might escape all those things, and be able to stand before the Son of man. Luke 21:36.

7. The end of all things—Absolutely, in the final consummation. To refer this to the destruction of Jerusalem, with Dr. Clarke and others, assumes an unlikely interest in that event on the part of those to whom St. Peter is writing, and furnishes no proper basis for the exhortations which follow. At hand—Not in time, but in the apostle’s vivid conception of eternal realities. He has himself given us the divine arithmetic by which he reckons, (2 Peter 3:8, where see notes;) and the Holy Spirit, under whose inspiration he wrote, well knew that it was not literally near, and did not inspire him to write an untruth. Practically, to every man that end is very near, and it becomes us to walk daily with it in view. Sober— Self-restrained. Watch—So as to have the habit of prayer. The three belong together. These counsels are for personal life.

V. 8. Love covereth a multitude of sins-Yea, "love covereth all things." He that loves another, covers his faults, how many soever they be. He turns away his own eyes from them; and, as far as is possible, hides them from others. And he continually prays that all the sinner's iniquities may be forgiven and his sins covered. Meantime the God of love measures to him with the same measure into his bosom.

Verse 8. Have fervent charity] agaphn ektenh. Intense love; for love shall cover a multitude of sins. A loving disposition leads us to pass by the faults of others, to forgive offences against ourselves, and to excuse and lessen, as far as is consistent with truth, the transgressions of men. It does not mean that our love to others will induce God to pardon our offences. See Clarke’s note on “James 5:20”.

Verses 8, 9. Above all things — See that you remember the distinguishing badge of your religion and have, maintain, fervent charity, love, among yourselves — One toward another: for love shall cover a multitude of sins — It will cause us to excuse them in others, and will entitle us, through divine mercy to the expectation of forgiveness for our own numberless failings. See on James 5:20. Love covereth all things, 1 Corinthians 13:7. He that loves another covereth his faults, how many soever they be. He turns away his own eyes from them, and, as far as it is possible, hides them from others. And he continually prays that all the sinner’s iniquities may be forgiven, and his sins covered. Meantime the God of love measures to him with the same measure into his bosom. Use hospitality one to another — Ye that are of different towns or countries; without grudging — The expense which may attend the exercise of a virtue, which in present circumstances is important and necessary. Practise it with all cheerfulness.

Ver. 8. Charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Not by atoning for them; for St. Peter ascribes that wholly to the lamb of God: St. Peter 1:19. But our neighbour, whom we may have often offended, is moved by our charity or love to forgive all that is past: so the fathers expound this text. Yea, and he who considers the poor and the needy hath the promise that God will deliver him in the time of trouble. Psalm 41:1. James 5:23.

8. As to social relations, first of all stands intense love one for another. See notes on 1 Peter 1:22, 23. Shall cover—Rather, covers, as with a mantle. Sins—Not our own, but those of our brethren; their faults and offences, which love overlooks and forgives, reversing the too human rule of leniency for self and strictness for others. The Romanists vainly hold the apostle as meaning that deeds of benevolence to the poor procure pardon of sin, for, as Luther rightly says, “Faith only can cover sin for thee before God.”

V. 9. One to another-Ye that are of different towns or countries. Without murmuring-With all cheerfulness. Proverbs 10:12.

Verse 9. Use hospitality] Be ever ready to divide your bread with the hungry, and to succour the stranger. See Clarke on “Hebrews 13:2”. Without grudging.] aneu gaggusmwn. Without grumblings. Do nothing merely because it is commanded, but do it from love to God and man; then it will be without grumbling.

Verses 8, 9. Above all things — See that you remember the distinguishing badge of your religion and have, maintain, fervent charity, love, among yourselves — One toward another: for love shall cover a multitude of sins — It will cause us to excuse them in others, and will entitle us, through divine mercy to the expectation of forgiveness for our own numberless failings. See on James 5:20. Love covereth all things, 1 Corinthians 13:7. He that loves another covereth his faults, how many soever they be. He turns away his own eyes from them, and, as far as it is possible, hides them from others. And he continually prays that all the sinner’s iniquities may be forgiven, and his sins covered. Meantime the God of love measures to him with the same measure into his bosom. Use hospitality one to another — Ye that are of different towns or countries; without grudging — The expense which may attend the exercise of a virtue, which in present circumstances is important and necessary. Practise it with all cheerfulness.

9. Hospitality—As would often be necessary toward those who might be driven from home, or otherwise suffering. Without grudging—Not murmuring at the cost or trouble.

V. 10. As every one hath received a gift-Spiritual or temporal, ordinary or extraordinary, although the latter seems primarily intended. So minister it one to another-Employ it for the common good. As good stewards of the manifold grace of God-The talents wherewith his free love has intrusted you.

Verse 10. Hath received the gift] carisma. A gift; any blessing of providence or grace. I cannot think that the word means here the Holy Ghost, or any of his supernatural gifts or influences; it may include those, but it signifies any thing given by the mere mercy and bounty of God: but perhaps in this place it may signify some or any office in the Church; and this sense, indeed, the connection seems to require.

Stewards of the manifold grace] Whatever gifts or endowments any man may possess, they are properly speaking, not his own; they are the Lord’s property, and to be employed in his work, and to promote his glory.

Verses 10, 11. As every man hath received the gift — Or, a gift, spiritual or temporal, ordinary or extraordinary, (although the latter seems primarily intended,) so minister the same one to another — Employ that gift for the common good; as good stewards of the manifold grace of God — Of the talents wherewith his free love has intrusted you. If any man speak — In public assemblies, or in the social meetings of his Christian brethren; let him speak as the oracles of God — Let all his words be according to that pattern, both as to matter and manner, and more especially when he speaks in public. By this mark we may always know who are, so far, the true or false prophets. The oracles of God teach that men should repent, believe, and obey; he that treats of faith, and leaves out repentance, and fruits worthy of repentance; or treats of repentance and its fruits, but omits inculcating faith; or who does not enjoin practical holiness to believers, does not speak as the oracles of God; he does not preach Christ, let him think as highly of himself as he will. If any man minister — Serve his brother in love, whether in temporal or spiritual things; let him do it as of the ability which God giveth — That is, humbly and diligently, ascribing all his power to God, and using it with his might; that God in all things — Whether of nature or of grace; may be glorified through Jesus Christ — The wise dispenser of these gifts; to whom — As our great Redeemer and Saviour; be praise and dominion — Greek, h doxa kai to kratov, the glory of them, and the power of dispensing them; or the glory of his wisdom, which teaches us to speak, and the might which enables us to act.

10. So also in the exercise of supernatural gifts, referring to the charisms bestowed upon the primitive Christians, though doubtless including God’s gifts of a temporal character. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28. As good stewards—Put in trust, for the Lord’s gracious purposes, with the precious gift, to be used for him in doing good to others, and not for one’s own personal and selfish ends. The rule is, according as every man hath received, and applies to the use of our talents, money, influence, and whatever God has given.

V. 11. If any man speak, let him-In his whole conversation, public and private.

Speak as the oracles of God-Let all his words be according to this pattern, both as to matter and manner, more especially in public. By this mark we may always know who are, so far, the true or false prophets. The oracles of God teach that men should repent, believe, obey. He that treats of faith and leaves out repentance, or does not enjoin practical holiness to believers, does not speak as the oracles of God: he does not preach Christ, let him think as highly of himself as he will. If any man minister-Serve his brother in love, whether in spirituals or temporals.

Let him minister as of the ability which God giveth-That is, humbly and diligently, ascribing all his power to God, and using it with his might. Whose is the glory-of his wisdom, which teaches us to speak. And the might-Which enables us to act.

Verse 11. If any man speak] In order to explain or enforce God’s word, and edify his neighbour, let him do it as those did to whom the living oracles were committed: they spoke as they were inspired by the Holy Ghost. Those, therefore, at Pontus, &c., who undertook to teach others, should speak by the same influence; or, if not under this immediate influence, should speak as or according to the oracles already delivered, grounding all their exhortations and doctrines on some portion of that revelation already given. This command is sent to every man upon earth in holy orders, in pretended holy orders, or pretending to holy orders. Their teaching should be what the oracles of God, the Holy Scriptures, teach and authenticate.

Of the ability which God giveth] Perhaps the ministering here may refer to the care of the poor, and the ability is the quantum of means which God may have placed in their hands; and they are to minister this as coming immediately from God, and lead the minds of the poor to consider him as their benefactor, that he in all things may be glorified through Christ Jesus. This is implied in the essence of any charitable act: the actor is not the author, God is the author; and the poor man should be taught to consider him as his immediate benefactor. Those who give any thing as from themselves, rob God; for to him the praise for all good, and the dominion over all men and things, belong for ever and ever.

Verses 10, 11. As every man hath received the gift — Or, a gift, spiritual or temporal, ordinary or extraordinary, (although the latter seems primarily intended,) so minister the same one to another — Employ that gift for the common good; as good stewards of the manifold grace of God — Of the talents wherewith his free love has intrusted you. If any man speak — In public assemblies, or in the social meetings of his Christian brethren; let him speak as the oracles of God — Let all his words be according to that pattern, both as to matter and manner, and more especially when he speaks in public. By this mark we may always know who are, so far, the true or false prophets. The oracles of God teach that men should repent, believe, and obey; he that treats of faith, and leaves out repentance, and fruits worthy of repentance; or treats of repentance and its fruits, but omits inculcating faith; or who does not enjoin practical holiness to believers, does not speak as the oracles of God; he does not preach Christ, let him think as highly of himself as he will. If any man minister — Serve his brother in love, whether in temporal or spiritual things; let him do it as of the ability which God giveth — That is, humbly and diligently, ascribing all his power to God, and using it with his might; that God in all things — Whether of nature or of grace; may be glorified through Jesus Christ — The wise dispenser of these gifts; to whom — As our great Redeemer and Saviour; be praise and dominion — Greek, h doxa kai to kratov, the glory of them, and the power of dispensing them; or the glory of his wisdom, which teaches us to speak, and the might which enables us to act.

Ver. 11. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. The words of the living oracle are not to be altered. The canon of the sacred text has been scrutinized. The version of the law, in Greek, by the LXX, was collated with the severity of precision, and only thirteen variations were found, some of which, one would think, were too slight to be noticed. The first age of christian ministers, however poor and obscure, became men of letters, and learned in the sacred text. Augustine, writing against Faustus, admits that the writings of that age were innumerable. By consequence all men in the sanctuary should have learning to illustrate and defend the truth. — But to speak as the oracles of God, implies not only that our doctrine and teaching should correspond with them as the only standard of truth, but also that we should speak with the wisdom, the love, the sweetness and power of God, that our speech may distil as the rain and the dew, and as the small rain upon the tender herb.

11. Now follows a pair of specimens of the gifts just mentioned. If… speak—As a teacher, preacher, or exhorter. Oracles of God—As communications of God’s doctrines, and not the speaker’s own. In Romans 3:2 the phrase means God’s revelations in the Holy Scriptures; and, for us, it has here the same practical import. Minister—The reference is not to the deacon distributing church alms, but to any service which one brother might render to another out of his own means. The ability which God giveth—This, no more and no less, is the rule for the Church of all ages, and the measure of every man’s duty in the kingdom of Christ. Romans 12:6-8. The apostle, perhaps, had in mind our Lord’s parable of the talents. Matthew 25:14-30. God… glorified—As he will be by such an entire consecration and employment by every man of his gift in doing all possible good to the souls and bodies of men. To whom—Christ; for to him as Mediator belongs the glory of all good gifts bestowed and of their right use, and the power that empowers for doing good.

6. Special consideration of the persecution then imminent, with warnings as to the conduct appropriate, 12-19.

Returning to the general subject introduced at 1 Peter 3:13, the apostle reminds his readers that (1) they should expect to share Christ’s glory as well as his sufferings, 12, 13; (2) they should see to it that their sufferings are really for his sake, and not for crime, 14-16; and (3) that they will know but the beginning of God’s judgments, the terrible weight of which will fall on the ungodly, 17, 18.

V. 12. Wonder not at the burning which is among you-This is the literal meaning of the expression. It seems to include both martyrdom itself, which so frequently was by fire, and all the other sufferings joined with, or previous to, it; which is permitted by the wisdom of God for your trial. Be not surprised at this.

Verse 12. Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial] purwsei. The burning. The metaphor is old, but noble; it represents the Christians at Pontus as having fire cast upon them for the trying of their faith, as gold is tried by fire, 1 Peter 1:7, to which the apostle alludes.-Macknight. St. Peter returns here to what he had often touched upon in this epistle, namely, to exhort the Christians to behave with patience and integrity under their present severe persecution; to which purpose he uses the following arguments:—

First, He intimates that it was not a strange or unusual thing for the people of God to be persecuted.

Secondly, That if they suffered here as Christ did, they should hereafter be glorified with him.

Thirdly, Besides the prospect of that future glory; they had at present the Spirit of God for their support and comfort.

Fourthly, That it was an honour for any of them to suffer, not as a malefactor, but as a Christian.

Fifthly, Though the afflictions began with the Christians, yet the weight of the storm would fall upon the unbelievers. From these considerations he exhorted them to persevere in their duty, and trust all events with God. See Dodd.

Verses 12, 13. Think it not strange, &c. — Wonder not at the fiery trial — The dreadful series of furious and bitter persecutions. The original expression, en umin purwsei, is literally, the burning which is among you; denoting the grievous persecution which the Christians in Pontus, &c., were suffering for their faith; including both martyrdom itself, which frequently was by fire, and all the other sufferings joined with or previous to it. The metaphor is bold, but noble: it expresses in a lively manner the painful and dangerous nature of their trials. Which is to try you — Is permitted by the wisdom of God for the trial of your faith in Christ, and in the truths and promises of his gospel; of your hope of eternal life, your love to God, his people, and his ways, of your resignation to his will, your patience and meekness; as though some strange thing happened unto you — Different from, or beyond, all which you were taught to expect. But rejoice in these trials, inasmuch as ye are therein partakers of Christ’s sufferings — Sufferings endured for his sake, in defence of his truth, and in proof of your faith in him; that when his glory shall be revealed — At the great and glorious day of his second appearance; ye — In the participation of it; may be glad with exceeding joy — Carhte agalliwmenoi, may rejoice transported with gladness.

12. Think it not strange—Be not surprised. The heathen were surprised (verse 4) at the life of Christians, but Christians need not be at persecution by the heathen. Fiery trial—The word means a burning, a being on fire, and the trying of metals by fire. It may mean here an actual suffering by fire, though perhaps only some severe trial which would be as if by fire. Bloomfield thinks there is an allusion to the questio, a torment by fire. Try you—See notes on chap. 1:7. The Greek shows that those addressed were then passing through trials, but the whole passage points to an increase in their severity. The Neronian persecution began A.D. 64.

V. 13. But as ye partake of the sufferings of Christ-1 Peter 4:1, while ye suffer for his sake, rejoice in hope of more abundant glory. For the measure of glory answers the measure of suffering; and much more abundantly.

Verses 12, 13. Think it not strange, &c. — Wonder not at the fiery trial — The dreadful series of furious and bitter persecutions. The original expression, en umin purwsei, is literally, the burning which is among you; denoting the grievous persecution which the Christians in Pontus, &c., were suffering for their faith; including both martyrdom itself, which frequently was by fire, and all the other sufferings joined with or previous to it. The metaphor is bold, but noble: it expresses in a lively manner the painful and dangerous nature of their trials. Which is to try you — Is permitted by the wisdom of God for the trial of your faith in Christ, and in the truths and promises of his gospel; of your hope of eternal life, your love to God, his people, and his ways, of your resignation to his will, your patience and meekness; as though some strange thing happened unto you — Different from, or beyond, all which you were taught to expect. But rejoice in these trials, inasmuch as ye are therein partakers of Christ’s sufferings — Sufferings endured for his sake, in defence of his truth, and in proof of your faith in him; that when his glory shall be revealed — At the great and glorious day of his second appearance; ye — In the participation of it; may be glad with exceeding joy — Carhte agalliwmenoi, may rejoice transported with gladness.

13. Rejoice—Habitually. Partakers of—In actual bodily sufferings for Christ’s sake, thus identifying them with him. Then, at the time of the revelation of his glory, (1 Peter 1:7, 13,) in the day of judgment, they will “also reign with him.” 2 Timothy 2:12. Be glad—Better, rejoice. The first rejoice is in sorrow and pain: this is with triumphant exultation.

V. 14. If ye are reproached for Christ-Reproaches and cruel mockings were always one part of their sufferings.

The Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you-The same Spirit which was upon Christ, Luke 4:18. He is here termed, the Spirit of glory, conquering all reproach and shame, and the Spirit of God, whose Son, Jesus Christ is.

On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified-That is, while they are blaspheming Christ, you glorify him in the midst of your sufferings, 1 Peter 4:16.

Verse 14. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ] To be reproached for the name of Christ is to be reproached for being a Christian, that is, for being like Christ. This is the highest honour to which any man can arrive in this world, and therefore the apostle says to such? Happy are ye. The Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you] As this Divine Spirit rested upon Jesus, so does it rest upon his persecuted followers. There is a various reading here, kai dunamewv, and of power, which is found in some of the chief MSS., (the Codex Alexandrinus, and above twenty others,) the later Syriac, all the Arabic, Coptic, Æthiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, some copies of the Itala, Athanasius, Theophylact, Cyprian, and Cassiodorus; and in them the whole verse reads thus: If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory, AND OF POWER, and of God, resteth upon you. This is agreeable to our Lord’s words, Matthew 5:11, 12. So that what constituted them unhappy in the sight of the world was their chief happiness in the sight of God; they carried Christ the fountain of blessedness in their heart, and therefore could not be unhappy.

On their part he is evil spoken of] kata men autouv blasfhmeitai, kata de umav doxazetai. By them he is blasphemed, by you he is honoured.

Verses 14-16. If ye be reproached for Christ — Reproaches and cruel mockings were always one part of their sufferings, and to an ingenuous mind, reproach is often worse than the spoiling of goods, or even than bodily pain; happy are you — The apostle alludes to Christ’s words, Matthew 5:11, Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, &c. For the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you — Conquering all reproach, and spreading a lustre around you, while he supports and comforts you in a glorious manner under all your trials. The apostle alludes to Isaiah 11:2. “The Spirit of glory, which rested on the persecuted disciples of Christ in the first age, was a Spirit of fortitude, enabling them to suffer the greatest evils without shrinking, a virtue which the heathen greatly admired. For which reason, when they put the first Christians to death for refusing to worship idols, they were so struck with the constancy, patience, meekness, and benevolence wherewith they suffered, that it led many of them to think well, both of a religion which inspired its votaries with such admirable virtues, and of those votaries themselves. And as this constancy in suffering, from which the Christians derived so much glory, proceeded from the aid of the Spirit of God, the apostle justly termed it, both the Spirit of glory, and the Spirit of God.” — Macknight. But let none of you — Who have the honour to bear the Christian name; suffer — By your own fault; suppose as a murderer, or as a thief &c. — At the time St. Peter wrote this epistle, the unbelieving Jews in Judea were extremely addicted to murder and robbery, and every kind of wickedness, as we learn from Josephus; for they robbed and killed, not only the heathen, but their own brethren, who would not join them in their opposition to the Romans. Hence the apostle judged it proper to caution the Christians, especially the Jewish Christians, in this manner, lest, being corrupted by such bad examples, they should be led to the commission of any such crimes. As the apostle is here cautioning them against those sins which, if they committed them, would expose them to punishment from the civil magistrate, by allotrioepiskopov, here rendered a busy-body in other men’s matters, he cannot well be supposed to mean merely one who pries into the concerns of private families, as such a one could not properly be ranked with such criminals as are here mentioned. But he might mean one that affected to inspect and direct the behaviour of persons in public offices, from a factious disposition to find fault with their conduct, and thereby to raise commotions in the state; which Lardner hath shown was the practice of the Jews in Alexandria, Cesarea, and other places. Or we may, with L’Enfant. understand the word in the more general sense of meddling with other people’s affairs, from avarice, anger, revenge, malice, or other bad passions. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian — That is, because he is a Christian; and if he suffer in a Christian spirit, let him not be ashamed — Of his sufferings; but let him glorify, or praise, God on this behalf — That is, for having judged him worthy to suffer in so good a cause; and for enabling him to do it with fortitude and patience. It may be proper to observe that this, with Acts 11:26, 26:28, are the only passages of Scripture in which the disciples are called Christians, after their Master.

14. Reproached—Railed at and assailed with opprobrious epithets. The apostle doubtless alludes to our Lord’s words in Matthew 5:11. Happy—Blessed. See notes on 1 Peter 3:14. The Spirit—The Holy Spirit, who rested on Christ, resteth upon you, filling your souls with glory and the presence of God. A blessed compensation truly for the patient endurance of unmerited reproaches. Evil spoken of—On the part of the persecutors Christ is blasphemed; on the part of the reviled Christians he is glorified.

V. 15. Let none of you deservedly suffer, as an evildoer-In any kind.

Verse 15. But let none of you suffer-as a busybody in other men’s matters] allotrioepiskopov. The inspector of another; meddling with other people’s concerns, and forgetting their own; such persons are hated of all men. But some think that meddling with those in public office is here intended, as if he had said: Meddle not with the affairs of state, leave public offices and public officers to their own master, strive to live peaceably with all men, and show yourselves to be humble and unaspiring.

Verses 14-16. If ye be reproached for Christ — Reproaches and cruel mockings were always one part of their sufferings, and to an ingenuous mind, reproach is often worse than the spoiling of goods, or even than bodily pain; happy are you — The apostle alludes to Christ’s words, Matthew 5:11, Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, &c. For the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you — Conquering all reproach, and spreading a lustre around you, while he supports and comforts you in a glorious manner under all your trials. The apostle alludes to Isaiah 11:2. “The Spirit of glory, which rested on the persecuted disciples of Christ in the first age, was a Spirit of fortitude, enabling them to suffer the greatest evils without shrinking, a virtue which the heathen greatly admired. For which reason, when they put the first Christians to death for refusing to worship idols, they were so struck with the constancy, patience, meekness, and benevolence wherewith they suffered, that it led many of them to think well, both of a religion which inspired its votaries with such admirable virtues, and of those votaries themselves. And as this constancy in suffering, from which the Christians derived so much glory, proceeded from the aid of the Spirit of God, the apostle justly termed it, both the Spirit of glory, and the Spirit of God.” — Macknight. But let none of you — Who have the honour to bear the Christian name; suffer — By your own fault; suppose as a murderer, or as a thief &c. — At the time St. Peter wrote this epistle, the unbelieving Jews in Judea were extremely addicted to murder and robbery, and every kind of wickedness, as we learn from Josephus; for they robbed and killed, not only the heathen, but their own brethren, who would not join them in their opposition to the Romans. Hence the apostle judged it proper to caution the Christians, especially the Jewish Christians, in this manner, lest, being corrupted by such bad examples, they should be led to the commission of any such crimes. As the apostle is here cautioning them against those sins which, if they committed them, would expose them to punishment from the civil magistrate, by allotrioepiskopov, here rendered a busy-body in other men’s matters, he cannot well be supposed to mean merely one who pries into the concerns of private families, as such a one could not properly be ranked with such criminals as are here mentioned. But he might mean one that affected to inspect and direct the behaviour of persons in public offices, from a factious disposition to find fault with their conduct, and thereby to raise commotions in the state; which Lardner hath shown was the practice of the Jews in Alexandria, Cesarea, and other places. Or we may, with L’Enfant. understand the word in the more general sense of meddling with other people’s affairs, from avarice, anger, revenge, malice, or other bad passions. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian — That is, because he is a Christian; and if he suffer in a Christian spirit, let him not be ashamed — Of his sufferings; but let him glorify, or praise, God on this behalf — That is, for having judged him worthy to suffer in so good a cause; and for enabling him to do it with fortitude and patience. It may be proper to observe that this, with Acts 11:26, 26:28, are the only passages of Scripture in which the disciples are called Christians, after their Master.

15. Their sufferings must be for the name of Christ. To emphasize this, the solemn charge follows to see to it, for the sake of both themselves and the cause, that none suffer, bodily or by reproach, for any wicked crime. An evil doer—Guilty of misdemeanour. Busybody… matters—The admonition is good, taking the ordinary view of it. Robinson defines, an overseer of other men’s matters; perhaps an indiscreet zealot against heathen manners and customs. But as the apostle is specifying offences against civil law, it seems better, with Lardner and others, to understand it of political busybodies, or factious, seditious persons. How faithfully this injunction was heeded by the early Christians may be estimated from the testimony of Pliny’s letter to the Emperor Trajan, some forty-five years later. After saying that they were charged with no other crime than the being Christian, he adds: “They affirmed that the whole of their fault or error lay in this—that they were wont to meet together on a stated day before it was light, and sing among themselves alternately a hymn to Christ, as to God, and bind themselves by an oath, not to the commission of any wickedness, but not to be guilty of theft, or robbery, or adultery; never to falsify their word, nor to deny a pledge committed to them when called upon to return it. When these things were performed it was their custom to separate, and then to come together to a meal which they ate in common.”

V. 16. Let him glorify God-Who giveth him the honour so to suffer, and so great a reward for suffering.

Verse 16. Yet if-as a Christian] If he be persecuted because he has embraced the Christian faith, let him not be ashamed, but let him rather glorify God on this very account. Christ suffered by the Jews because he was holy; Christians suffer because they resemble him.

The word cristianov, Christian, is used only here and in Acts 11:26; 26:28. See the note on the former passage.

Verses 14-16. If ye be reproached for Christ — Reproaches and cruel mockings were always one part of their sufferings, and to an ingenuous mind, reproach is often worse than the spoiling of goods, or even than bodily pain; happy are you — The apostle alludes to Christ’s words, Matthew 5:11, Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, &c. For the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you — Conquering all reproach, and spreading a lustre around you, while he supports and comforts you in a glorious manner under all your trials. The apostle alludes to Isaiah 11:2. “The Spirit of glory, which rested on the persecuted disciples of Christ in the first age, was a Spirit of fortitude, enabling them to suffer the greatest evils without shrinking, a virtue which the heathen greatly admired. For which reason, when they put the first Christians to death for refusing to worship idols, they were so struck with the constancy, patience, meekness, and benevolence wherewith they suffered, that it led many of them to think well, both of a religion which inspired its votaries with such admirable virtues, and of those votaries themselves. And as this constancy in suffering, from which the Christians derived so much glory, proceeded from the aid of the Spirit of God, the apostle justly termed it, both the Spirit of glory, and the Spirit of God.” — Macknight. But let none of you — Who have the honour to bear the Christian name; suffer — By your own fault; suppose as a murderer, or as a thief &c. — At the time St. Peter wrote this epistle, the unbelieving Jews in Judea were extremely addicted to murder and robbery, and every kind of wickedness, as we learn from Josephus; for they robbed and killed, not only the heathen, but their own brethren, who would not join them in their opposition to the Romans. Hence the apostle judged it proper to caution the Christians, especially the Jewish Christians, in this manner, lest, being corrupted by such bad examples, they should be led to the commission of any such crimes. As the apostle is here cautioning them against those sins which, if they committed them, would expose them to punishment from the civil magistrate, by allotrioepiskopov, here rendered a busy-body in other men’s matters, he cannot well be supposed to mean merely one who pries into the concerns of private families, as such a one could not properly be ranked with such criminals as are here mentioned. But he might mean one that affected to inspect and direct the behaviour of persons in public offices, from a factious disposition to find fault with their conduct, and thereby to raise commotions in the state; which Lardner hath shown was the practice of the Jews in Alexandria, Cesarea, and other places. Or we may, with L’Enfant. understand the word in the more general sense of meddling with other people’s affairs, from avarice, anger, revenge, malice, or other bad passions. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian — That is, because he is a Christian; and if he suffer in a Christian spirit, let him not be ashamed — Of his sufferings; but let him glorify, or praise, God on this behalf — That is, for having judged him worthy to suffer in so good a cause; and for enabling him to do it with fortitude and patience. It may be proper to observe that this, with Acts 11:26, 26:28, are the only passages of Scripture in which the disciples are called Christians, after their Master.

16. If… Christian—The epithet is found in only two other places, Acts 11:26, 26:28. It seems to have at this time become the common name applied in heathen communities to the followers of Jesus, but always with contempt and scorn. Still, it does not appear to have been adopted among themselves. The apostle exhorts that if any one of them is accused of being a Christian, however much it may bite or sting, he be not ashamed, as sensitive natures might easily be. Doubtless there were those, as there may be now, who could more bravely be tossed to the lions than endure the taunt. On this behalf—Rather, with the best texts, in this name. Accept the name, and glorify God in wearing it as a badge of the highest honour. Perhaps St. Peter was thinking of his own rejoicing that he was counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ. Acts 5:40, 41.

V. 17. The time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God-God first visits his church, and that both in justice and mercy. What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel-How terribly will he visit them! The judgments which are milder at the beginning, grow more and more severe. But good men, having already sustained their part, are only spectators of the miseries of the wicked.

Verse 17. Judgment must begin at the house of God] Our Lord had predicted that, previously to the destruction of Jerusalem, his own followers would have to endure various calamities; see Matthew 24:9, 21, 22; Mark 13:12, 13; John 16:2, &c. Here his true disciples are called the house or family of God. That the converted Jews suffered much from their own brethren, the zealots, or factions into which the Jews were at that time divided, needs little proof; and some interpreters think that this was in conformity to the purpose of God, (Matthew 23:35: That on you may come all the righteous blood shed from the foundation of the world,) “that the Jewish Christians were to be involved in the general punishment; and that it was proper to begin at them as a part of the devoted Jewish nation, notwithstanding they were now become the house of God, because the justice of God would thereby be more illustriously displayed.” See Macknight. But probably the word krima, which we here translate judgment, may mean no more than affliction and distress; for it was a Jewish maxim that, when God was about to pour down some general judgment, he began with afflicting his own people in order to correct and amend them, that they might be prepared for the overflowing scourge. In Bava Kama, fol. 60, 1, we have the same sentiment, and in nearly the same words, as in Peter, viz.: “God never punishes the world but because of the wicked, but he always begins with the righteous first. The destroyer makes no difference between the just and the unjust, only he begins first with the righteous.” See Ezekiel 9:1-7, where God orders the destroyer to slay both old and young in the city: But, said he, begin at my sanctuary. And if it first begin at us] Jews, who have repented, and believed on the Son of God; what shall the end be of them-the Jews who continue impenitent, and obey not the Gospel of God? Here is the plainest reference to the above Jewish maxim; and this, it appears, was founded upon the text which St. Peter immediately quotes.

Verse 17. For the time is come — Foretold by Christ, Matthew 24:9; John 16:2; that judgment must begin at the house of God — In the Christian Church; God’s own family, which he first visits, both in justice and mercy. The judgment here spoken of is thought by many commentators to signify the particular distress which was to happen before Jerusalem should be utterly destroyed. the Christians were to expect to feel some of the first effects of that general calamity: it was to begin with them, as Christ had plainly foretold in the passages just referred to. It was God’s method of old to begin with sending calamities on his own people; and indeed a state of trial seems highly proper before a state of recompense. See 1 Peter 1:6. There seems to be an allusion in this passage to Ezekiel 9:6, and Jeremiah 25:29. By us here, the apostle meant the Christians of that age, whether formerly Jews or Gentiles; for they appear to have been now persecuted generally everywhere. And if it first begin at us — Who have truly turned to God, and are taken into his favour through Christ, his beloved Son; what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God? — Who, through unbelief and obstinacy, reject the counsel of God against themselves? how terribly will he visit them! The words, who obey not the gospel of God, properly describe the unbelieving Jews: they were not chargeable with idolatry; they acknowledged, and in a sense worshipped, the true God; but they rejected the gospel which God had revealed by his Son, and therefore the divine wrath was executed upon them in so dreadful a manner. See on 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16. Whoever compares the accounts in the Scriptures, or ancient fathers, concerning the persecutions which befell the Christians about this time, with the sufferings of the Jews, as related by Josephus, will easily see that the distress only began with the Christians, and was light compared with what afterward fell upon the Jews: for when Jerusalem was destroyed, the Christians escaped with their lives, and enjoyed more peace and tranquillity than they had done before.

Ver. 17. The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. At the church, the family of God, so called from the house of Levi, the house of David, &c. The Lord said to the Chaldeans, Begin at my sanctuary. Ezekiel 9:6. Otherwise, how can God judge the world? The christians were the first sufferers from judaical persecutions, and from the storms and tempests of the gentile world. And if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of those that obey not the gospel? If God so treat his own children, what will he do with his enemies? The interrogation is here properly introduced, as being the strongest possible form of words. Mark 8:36. Hebrews 2:3. Revelation 6:17.

17. The time—The season, the fit time, for God’s judicial dealings with a wicked and corrupt world. The apostle saw that the times were ripe for the stretching forth of the divine hand in terrible chastenings. Judgment— That severe trial which determines character through afflictions and distresses, purifying, as in a furnace, those who endure the test, and overwhelming the wicked with destruction. The apostle says, It is now the season of the beginning of this work at the house of God. The divine rule is to always begin his work of discipline and punishment with his own people. Isaiah 10:12, 13; Ezekiel 9:6; Jeremiah 25:29; 49:12. House of God—The us in the next verse, the “spiritual house” of 1 Peter 2:5, the “Church of the living God” of 1 Timothy 3:15, and the “whose house are we” of Hebrews 3:6. There appears no special reference to the Jewish temple or to the destruction of Jerusalem. If it first begin at us—The sufferings of the righteous proceed from God’s judgment, for the purpose of chastening, (Hebrews 12:6;) and they should, therefore, glorify God in them; but that judgment does not end with them, for it proceeds onward from them to the wicked. If he deal thus with his faithful people who obey his gospel, how terribly will he deal with them that obey it not, and scorn the Christ in whom it commands them to believe? It may be delayed; it may seem to be escaped; they may prosper and attain high honor and power by their iniquity, and die calmly in their beds; but the awful, overwhelming end will surely come.

V. 18. If the righteous scarcely be saved-Escape with the utmost difficulty.

Where shall the ungodly-The man who knows not God.

And the open sinner appear-In that day of vengeance. The salvation here primarily spoken of is of a temporal nature. But we may apply the words to eternal things, and then they are still more awful. Proverbs 11:31.

Verse 18. And if the righteous scarcely be saved] If it shall be with extreme difficulty that the Christians shall escape from Jerusalem, when the Roman armies shall come against it with the full commission to destroy it, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Where shall the proud Pharisaic boaster in his own outside holiness, and the profligate transgressor of the laws of God, show themselves, as having escaped the Divine vengeance? The Christians, though with difficulty, did escape, every man; but not one of the Jews escaped, whether found in Jerusalem or elsewhere.

It is rather strange, but it is a fact, that this verse is the Septuagint translation of Proverbs 11:31: Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more the wicked and the sinner. For this the Septuagint and St. Peter have, If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Such a latitude of construction can scarcely be accounted for. The original is this: atwjt [vr yk ãa ישלם xrab qydx הנ hen tsaddik baarets yeshullam, aph ki rasha vechote: “Behold, to the righteous it shall be returned on the earth; and also to the wicked and the transgressor.”

The Chaldee paraphrast has given this a different turn: Behold, the righteous shall be strengthened in the earth; but the ungodly and the sinners shall be consumed from the earth.

The Syriac thus: If the righteous scarcely live, the ungodly and the sinner where shall he stand?

The Arabic is nearly the same as the Septuagint and the apostle; the Vulgate follows the Hebrew.

I have on several occasions shown that, when Cestius Gallus came against Jerusalem, many Christians were shut up in it; when he strangely raised the siege the Christians immediately departed to Pella in Cœle-syria, into the dominions of King Agrippa, who was an ally of the Romans, and there they were in safety; and it appears, from the ecclesiastical historians, that they had but barely time to leave the city before the Romans returned under the command of Titus, and never left the place till they had destroyed the temple, razed the city to the ground, slain upwards of a million of those wretched people, and put an end to their civil polity and ecclesiastical state.

Verse 18. And if the righteous scarcely be saved — Escape with the utmost difficulty. So the word moliv, rendered scarcely, signifies. That is, If it be not without much difficulty that the Christians are secured and preserved in those overflowing, devouring judgments which are coming on the Jewish nation; where shall the ungodly and the sinner — The impenitent and unbelieving, the obstinate and wicked part of the Jewish nation; appear? — That is, what will become of them? Dreadful will be their destruction. The meaning of the apostle, however, may be, If the righteous, o dikaiov, the righteous man, be scarcely, or not wholly saved from suffering, that is, from chastisement, (in which light the apostle represents the persecutions to which the Christians were exposed,) if God judges, and, by various temporal afflictions and calamities, punishes him, where shall the ungodly and impenitent sinner appear? How terrible will be the wrath which will fall upon him? If the faults of the loyal subject, yea, of the dutiful son, be not passed over unnoticed, unchastised, by the holy and just Governor and Judge of the world, what has not the enemy and rebel to fear? Perhaps this may be the chief meaning of the apostle, and not the deliverance of the Christians from the Roman invasion, in which very few of them were concerned, to whom the apostle addressed his epistle; namely, those sojourning in Pontus, &c. See chap. 1:1. And the passage may be intended to signify also the difficulty with which pious men get to heaven, through this dangerous and insnaring world. Compare Acts 14:18; 27:7, 8, 16. where the word moliv, here used, signifies with difficulty. “The turn of the latter clause of the verse in the original, pou faneitai, is very lively; it seems as if the apostle were solicitous to lead the sinner to consider where he should hide his head, since wherever he was he would find God immediately appearing against him as an irresistible enemy. This he might say, by way of warning to persecutors, and to encourage Christians to hope that God would vindicate their cause, and preserve them from turning aside to crooked paths. And this the connection with the following verse favours.” — Doddridge.

18. Scarcely be saved—So severe the persecution, so terrible the trial, so powerful the influences to apostasy, and so weak his own nature, that the Christian will with difficulty endure to the end and be saved in heaven; but if he hold to his faith in Christ, his salvation is absolutely certain. The ungodly and the sinner—Not two classes, but one; he who is utterly the opposite of God in character and life, and a regardless transgressor of his law, making no effort to be saved. The question implies a strong denial that he will be saved at all.

V. 19. Let them that suffer according to the will of God-Both for a good cause, and in a right spirit.

Commit to him their souls-(Whatever becomes of the body) as a sacred depositum.

In well doing-Be this your care, to do and suffer well: He will take care of the rest.

As unto a faithful Creator-In whose truth, love, and power, ye may safely trust.

Verse 19. Suffer according to the will of God] A man suffers according to the will of God who suffers for righteousness’ sake; and who, being reviled, reviles not again.

Commit the keeping of their souls] Place their lives confidently in his hand, who, being their Creator, will also be their preserver, and keep that safely which is committed to his trust. God is here represented as faithful, because he will always fulfil his promises, and withhold no good thing from them that walk uprightly.

But they had no reason to hope that he would care for their lives and souls unless they continued in well-doing. He who is employed in God’s work will have God’s protection. The path of duty ever was, and ever will be, the only way of safety.

1. THE apostle recommends fervent charity-unfeigned love both to God and man. It is well said of this grace that it is a universal virtue which ought to precede, accompany, and follow, all others. A charity which has God for its principle, and Jesus Christ for its pattern, never faileth. If our charity be extensive enough to cover all the defects of our neighbour in bearing with them; that of God is sufficient to cover all the sins of a sincere penitent by blotting them out. If we ought to be charitable to all, it is after the example of our heavenly Father, who is loving to every man, and hateth nothing that he has made.

2 The difficulty of escaping the corruption that is in the world is great; and, consequently, the danger of losing our souls. In this great work, watchfulness, prayer; faith, and obedience, are indispensably necessary. He who does not walk with God here cannot see nor enjoy him hereafter. I PETER

Verse 19. Wherefore let them that suffer — This temporary chastisement; according to the will of God — Namely, for a good cause, and in a right spirit; commit the keeping of their souls to him — Intrust themselves to God’s care, either to preserve their lives, if he see good, or to save their souls if they suffer death; or, whatever becomes of their bodies, let them commit their souls to him as a sacred depositum: in well-doing — Persevering to the end in the way of duty and obedience, notwithstanding all the sufferings to which they are exposed. In other words, let it be their care to do well, and suffer patiently, and God will take care of the rest. As unto a faithful Creator — In whose wisdom, power, goodness, truth, and faithfulness to his promises, they may safely trust: for as he called them into existence when they were not, he is able to preserve them without any visible means, and will dispose of them as he sees will conduce most to their eternal welfare.

19. That suffer—In this time of distress. Will of God—As shown in his providential dealings. Commit—With most absolute, unfaltering trust, whatever befalls. Their souls—Their bodies and lives, indeed, but especially their souls, joining all holy obedience to their faith, so that they would be filled with his Spirit and kept from forsaking Christ in the hour of peril; and, if their lives were lost, they would be saved in heaven. A faithful Creator—Who, with all his wisdom, power, and love, is forever faithful to his faithful covenant people.