“Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.”--Peter 4:1

After a month’s break for Summer Retreat, let us now resume our study of the Scripture of the month from the Epistle of Peter. So far this year, we’ve learned how to live in self-control ( 1:13 ), in faith and hope ( 1:21 ), in holiness (2:9), in harmony with one another (3:8), and in anticipation to defend our Faith ( 3:15 ). You may recall that “Sufferings” is one of the major themes of this book. Peter once again brought up this topic in the beginning of chapter 4. Since the first recipients were under the persecution of the Roman Emperor Nero, sufferings seemed to be inevitable.

Peter started with a conjunction “therefore” in this paragraph. It is to connect the thought he mentioned in the previous chapter (verse 17 to be exact) which explains that Christians don’t suffer for doing evil. When we suffer, we need to be sure that it is for good cause, rather than bearing the consequences of wrong deeds. “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude . . .” Much should be learned from suffering. First of all, we need to know that suffering doesn’t come from God. In other words, God doesn’t induce sufferings. Contrary to some Christians’ thinking, it doesn’t bring any pleasure to God when He sees us suffer. If it does, He is an evil god.

While Christ was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane , He asked the Father if it was at all possible to remove the cup of suffering. The answer was an emphatic “No!” It isn’t because God is unable to remove sufferings. Instead, it is that in order to remove the penalty of Sin, once and for all, Christ had to endure the pain. We are thankful that He did. Peter mentioned that Jesus suffered in the body unto death, and we are asked to have the same attitude. It means keeping the Faith in the midst of suffering. Obedience and endurance are what were on Peter’s mind, for he was going through persecution and as well during the time he wrote this letter to the church.

The final statement in this verse is somewhat difficult to understand. This can be taken as suffering is a means to a sanctifying life—purging sin and its effects. Another way to understand this is from Pauline’s teaching in Romans 6, where he pointed out that by union with Christ, we are dead to sin. Either way, we are assured that suffering refers to the emotional and/or physical element, because our spirit is being renewed every day.