LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

OCTOBER 28, 2026

1 Peter 4:1-7

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever

has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer

for human passions but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the

Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless

idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of

debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living

and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged

in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your

prayers.

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v 1 – “Since therefore Christ suffered …”

Our suffering as Christians is continuously related in Scripture to the suffering of Christ

“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they

persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep

yours.”—John 15:20

“arm yourselves” – hoplizó. Taken from hoplítēs, infantry soldier. An interesting way to put it.

“with the same way of thinking” – lit. “with the same mind”

What kind of mind is that?

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the

form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by

taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human

form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a

cross.”—Philippians 2:5-8

“for whoever has suffered in the flesh …”

“in the flesh” – used four times in this paragraph, here meaning, in our bodies in the present life

A person who is suffering having the same mind as Christ is much more likely to have ceased a

sinful lifestyle

more lit. “for the one having suffered in the flesh has done with sin.”

v 2 – “so as to live …”

for the rest of the time [chronos]—Peter’s context, and the context of the NT, is always an

eternal one: this age and the next, understanding, that many things allowed and experienced

in this age will cease in the age to come

To live for “the will of God” or for “human passions” (lit. men’s lusts)—this is a remaining

question before all people

In our age, some human passions are viewed as self-justifying and are affirmed, just because

they exist.

v 3 – “For the time that is past …”

more lit. “Indeed, the time having passed is sufficient to have worked out the purpose of the

Gentiles [ethnos, “peoples”], i.e. You have spent time enough living in godless ways.

Most of Peter’s audience were adult converts

2

“living” – actually, “having walked in,” the implication being that what follows represents

former ways of life of some of the believers (and see v. 4)

The list of examples is similar to those of Paul

“orgies” – kómos, carousing, revelling

“carousing” – potos, drinking bouts, drinking parties

in “lawless idolatry,” lawless does not mean illegal, it means disgraceful, abandoning all rules of

righteous behavior or oversight; it is, in the NT, a most severe condemnation

v 4 – “With respect to this …”

“they are surprised” – lit. “they think it strange”; still the case when people repent and become

believers

and they malign you – lit. “blaspheming you”

v 5 – “but they will give an account …”

more lit. “to him being ready to judge living and dead”—God is the judge to whom all persons

answer at all times

v 6 – “For this is why the gospel was preached …”

more lit. “indeed to this {end} even to the dead the gospel was proclaimed [aorist tense], that

they might be judged [aorist tense] indeed according to men in the flesh, but that they might

live [present tense] according to God in {the} spirit.”

“that they might be judged” is completed action. It is like saying “although they might have been

judged”

Many great figures of the faith have interpreted “those who are dead” in this passage to mean

those who are spiritually dead who are then brought to life through the preaching of the

gospel.

This interpretation certainly avoids some theological ambiguity and some discomfort that might

result from a different reading, but it is really hard (for me) to make a case for it.

For that interpretation, the whole statement just “reads wrong.”

• One would not make a point of saying “even to the dead” the gospel was preached—

because those who are spiritually dead are the main audience for the proclamation of the

gospel. It is not being proclaimed to those who are already spiritually alive so that they

“might live in the spirit the way God does.”

• Furthermore, the gospel is preached to people so that they might repent and receive life

and forgiveness of sins. It is not preached to people—to spiritually dead people—so that

“though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God

does.” This simply does not describe what happens when the gospel is preached and

people then believe.

• In v 5, Peter has just mentioned God, who is ready to judge “the living and the dead.”

Does anyone anywhere read this to mean the “spiritually living and the spiritually dead”?

It means “the living and the dead,” as it does in other places in the NT, and it is this very

thought that is continued in v. 6.

It seems to be a reasonable reading of this verse to believe that it is referring back to the same

thing Peter has mention in 3:18-20.

Nowhere does Peter suggest

• that all people will be saved, or

• that people will receive a second chance after they die to hear the gospel and repent

But the sense of this verse, to me, is that as a past event, the gospel “was preached” even to

those (perhaps those in 3:18-20) who are dead, and who had been judged for their lives in the

flesh, so that they “might live according to God in spirit.”

3

Robertson mentions that “[Charles] Bigg takes it to mean that all men who did not hear the

gospel message in this life will hear it in the next before the final judgment.” That is a

speculation, of course. But it does indicate that this passage has challenged many who seek to

understand exactly what it is referencing.

v 7 – The end of all things is at hand …”

Another closing summary that is bears resemblance to the writings of Paul.

more lit. “The end of all has drawn near, be sound-minded then, and be watchful unto prayers.”

These are not aspirations. Both these verbs are aorist. These are to be accomplished states

and behaviors.