First Peter Four Twelve-Ninteen
Words Of Truth

Words Of Truth


"That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth..." (Proverbs 22:21).

First Peter 4:12-19
More Common Trials To Come So Commit The Keeping Of Their Souls To God

I. Introduction:

A. It is great when you know better days are on the horizon or that what you are suffering is temporary (Revelation 2:8-11).

  1. Christians know better than to think we will coast through life in this world without any trouble (II Timothy 3:10-12).
  2. There is obviously concern for prolonged persecution for unrooted believers that can stumble (Mark 4:17).
B. In this letter, these saints were told how to see good days (I Peter 3:8-12).

  1. We are about to see that Peter is preparing them for coming days, but not good ones as we have seen others prepare for the same (Acts 14:22).
  2. The beginning of this chapter stands out even more when we look at what we are about to study through (I Peter 4:1-2).

II. Body: I Peter 4:12-19

A. Peter was preparing them for more persecution to come by reminding them it wasn’t just happening to them (I Peter 5:8-9).

  1. From the jump Jesus was clear about what would come upon His disciples and that such suffering should be joyful in light of the reward (Matthew 5:10-12).
  2. They hated Jesus and treated Him poorly for the same reason such happens to the faithful (John 3:19-21 and John 15:18-20).
  3. We have read similar statements in this letter already (I Peter 3:14-17).
B. If you suffer or are reproached for the name of Christ, don’t be ashamed (Luke 6:22-23).

  1. The Spirit of glory and of God resteth [in the sense of refreshing] upon them (Ephesians 3:14-16).
  1. The Greek term translated “resteth” here is translated “rest” as in getting rest or “refreshed” or similar in several other places (Mark 6:31, I Corinthians 16:18, II Corinthians 7:13, Philemon 1:20, and Revelation 6:11).
  2. Remember, the Holy Spirit was actively working through and among saints in the first century (Acts 19:1-7, Galatians 3:1-5, etc.).
  3. Some could falsely think their suffering meant they were not living aright (Luke 13:1-5 and John 9:1-2).
  4. The Spirit served, in times wherein the word of God was not completely revealed or wholly available, as evidence of one’s relationship with God (Ephesians 1:13-14).
  1. Those that persecuted the saints spoke evil of God, but those who suffered did so to His glory (I Peter 2:12).
  2. “Partakers [fellowship] of Christ's sufferings” (Romans 8:17 and II Timothy 2:12).
C. As we saw in chapter three, don’t suffer for doing wrong (I Peter 3:17).

  1. Hey busybody, mind your own business (I Thessalonians 4:11).
  2. Furthermore, you should be too busy to be up in everyone else’s business (II Thessalonians 3:11-13 and I Timothy 5:11-14).
D. Judgment will commence first at the house of God and there is an expectation (Ephesians 5:25-27).

  1. The house of God is the church (I Timothy 3:15).
  2. We know the end of them that do not obey the Gospel (Mark 16:15-16, John 12:48, Romans 2:8, and II Thessalonians 1:7-9).
  3. It should be startling to all to know the righteous are scarcely [with difficulty: - hardly] saved. Even of old, the righteous did not get “extra credit” (Ezekiel 18:24 and Ezekiel 33:12-13).
  4. It is a whole lot easier to be lost than most would like to think (Hebrews 3:12-4:11).
  5. Few will be saved (Matthew 7:13-14 and Luke 13:23-24).
E. If a saint is suffering as a Christian, living according to the will of God, he or she can confidently put his or her soul in God’s hands (II Timothy 1:7-12).

  1. As long as you don’t walk away (John 6:66), Jesus won’t discard you (John 6:37) and our Father will not lose you (John 10:27-29).
  2. Suffering won’t separate us from our Lord (Romans 8:28-39).
  3. God is faithful (I Corinthians 1:9), we can trust Him (Deuteronomy 7:9 and Titus 1:1-2).

III. Conclusion: Our Next Study; I Peter 5:1-4