1Pet 4:1-11

1) vv1-3 speak of equipping yourself with armor: For what battle and against what kind of enemy?

• How is sin described here? => What does it have to do with passions (desires)?
  • Are passions the enemy? Why not? cf 1Tim 4:3-4
  • How does ‘living for human passions’ look like, and what is sinful about that? v7 [Lack of self-control; cf Gen 4:7]
  • Is there an alternative, v3? => Why is this alternative only available for those who have faith in Jesus? cf Ro 8:8-9; Tit 2:11-12
• How can passions be controlled so that they do not control you?
  • v1: What did Peter suggest here as spiritual armor in this spiritual battle? [lit. ‘equip yourself with the same mind‘]:
    • How can you so armor yourself in being like-minded with Jesus? cf Col 3:1-3; Ro 12:2
    • Why did Peter focus on Christ’s mindset about sufferings? What sufferings did he mean? cf context (1Pet 3:17-18)
    • How did this mindset enable Jesus to resist temptations even in hostile circumstances? cf Heb 12:2
  • Why does this require the mind of Christ?
    • Hint: Was your resolve to abstain from evil and do good the same when you did not yet believe in Jesus? Why not?

2) vv4-6: Should Christians expect applause for their efforts to now ‘live for the will of God’? Why or why not?

• v4: What are Christians most commonly accused of when the world maligns them in disbelief? cf 1Pet 2:1 [residual vice that invites the charge of hypocrisy]
• vv5-6: Why did Peter at this point remind the readers that everyone is accountable to God?
  • If there were no God, who else could judge the hypocrisy of those who only condemn others as hypocrites? [Left to himself, man is unable to even recognize his own hypocrisy, let alone to condemn it]
  • v6 is an explanation: ‘For this why…’. How does the following statement explain what preceded it?
    • Did Peter speak of the dead buried in the ground who heard the gospel preached when they were still alive (1Pet 3:19-20)?
    • Or did he speak of those who are spiritually dead to whom the gospel was preached so that they might be made spiritually alive? [cf Jn 5:25; Ro 8:11 spiritual life in mortal(!) bodies; Mt 23:27 whitewashed tombs, and yet Jesus preached to them]
    • How is man ‘judged in the flesh’? Gen 2:17; Ro 5:12; Heb 9:27

3) vv7-8: As expected if there is a living God, man is wired to seek him in prayer. How did Peter instruct Christians to do so?

• v7: Why remind them of the ‘time on the world clock’? (cf 1Jn 2:18; Ja 5:8)
  • Given that Christianity has been around for 2000 years, has he been mistaken?
  • Should Christians live (and pray) as if Jesus could return any day, even after waiting for 2000 years already? How so? cf Lk 12:45-46; Mt 24:42-44; 25:4
  • How will this perspective foster self-control, ‘soberness’ and prayer?

• In what shapes and colors can a lack of self-control or sober-mindedness manifest to become an obstacle to (effectual) prayer?
  • Read 1Cor 14:15 => Why must Spirit-filled prayer engage also the mind?
  • Among all the prayers recounted in the Bible (incl. numerous psalms), can you think of any that are mindless moanings or stammerings? Why not?
  • Read Ro 8:26-27. What then could be the ‘inexpressible sighing’ (lit.) that comes to the help of our own weakness in prayer?
• v8: What else is needed for prayers to be unhindered, and why with first priority above all?
  • How do unresolved conflicts and lack of forgiveness hinder prayers, cf 1Pet 3:7
  • How can love cover a ‘multitude of sins’? cf Mt 6:12; 18:22

4) What areas are singled out by vv9-11 how to now do the will of God?

• Why hospitality, of all things, and why ‘without grumbling’?
• vv10-11: How did Peter define ‘good stewardship’ of the varied gifts that the Spirit distributes according to how he sees fit?

5) Personal & application

•  vv1-2 imply that the experience of suffering is instrumental for Christians to break with sin: Does that match with your experience? Why or why not?
• v3: With TV and internet, it has become possible to ‘virtually’ partake in debauchery without going anywhere. How does like-mindedness with Jesus help you to break with ‘living in sensuality’ secretely in your home?
• To not be ruled by natural passions, our will must be governed by a more powerful master and other stronger desires: What do you learn from this passage what it takes to get there?
• How can love of others and the desire to serve them take hold of your heart? How can you help one another for this process to become reality?