Suffering For The Sake Of Christ - Part 1
1 Peter 2:21-25 · Bob Eckel · May 17, 2020
1 & 2 Peter (2020-21), No. 17
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/49261918482345

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Wow, can you find scripture that's any more dramatic than 21 through 25? I remember, I think Women's Bible Study Fellowship, initially for women and then for men, I think this is one of her favorite verses, verse 24. And Roy's going to cover that to jump ahead. So let's begin now with verse 21. And again, please feel free to unmute yourself and bolt in if, in fact, issues come up along the way.

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, or for ye, it's really plural, leaving you an example for you, or ye, to follow in his steps. Now some versions translate this as us, in fact I think most translate it as you, so I substituted for the new King James, you. I like the interlinear Greek here, for even here unto have you been called, and this is passive indicative. Factually, we've been called, and it's not us who in fact have been called, but it's God who in fact has called us. Eris typically, one point in time, doesn't always mean past tense, typically does, but can be also present and future tense.

What purpose? What do you think here, everybody? I want you to unmute and give me some responses. Is this for all sufferings? or just for wrongful sufferings, as we covered in the verses before this? Well, Bob, I think sometimes the Lord has obviously... I think it's for all sufferings. All right. Well, whatever.

Either way, but I think wrongful sufferings is probably which is a more relevant, I think, an important interpretation here, but we don't have to be overly precise on this issue. But let's look at a few other verses. This is not unique to Peter. In Philippians, Paul wrote, for to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer notice for his sake. So in a sense, that does apply to both, but perhaps more to wrongful sufferings.

2 Timothy 3.12, yes, and all you who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Again, living godly in Christ Jesus, I would think that ultimately these wrongful sufferings is really what we're being called to.

And 1 Peter 1.20, which is the verse that precedes this one, for what credit is it if when you are beaten for your faults you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.

Boy, isn't that really an act of the Lord in us and not us ourselves? I think we can all be reprimanded for things that we do wrong, and we learn from that, and we grow in grace. But boy, when you're made to suffer because of something you didn't do, that's a really difficult response that we have in the flesh. So it's only, I think, this life we have in Christ Jesus that permits God to get the glory under those circumstances.

Okay, second phrase in this verse, since Christ also suffered for you, here is active indicative. So now we're looking at something he did and was willingly put to the cross for our benefit. And this is kind of leaving, it's the idea of leaving behind, some commentators indicate that this leaving behind was at the time of his ascension and going to his heavenly abode up there, and ultimately so the idea that he's no longer here personally, but he gave us an example for us to follow in his steps.

In other words, heirs acted subjunctive, so probably, you know, could be past tense, could be present or future, but it's active, so it's for us to follow, and subjunctive is, you know, you may not do it, but you may do it, and so This is an example that he's left behind us, and we're going to drill down that a second, because I think if you read this in its literal interpretation, you may, in fact, be a little bit misled. So let's go ahead. Robertson, the Greek word translated example, or hypogromos, refers to a writing or drawing that someone placed under another sheet of paper so that he or she could trace it on the upper sheet.

I mean, you know, I don't know if many of you are too young, but many of us remember, you know, making a carbon copy, which wasn't going to the Xerox machine. But in fact, having this this blue piece of paper that we wrote on. would be an exact copy of what we wrote on the front page. Margaret and I were watching a Hallmark mystery last night, and ultimately, you know, someone wrote and made an imprint on the page beneath it, and they ripped off the top page. If you kind of shade that in gently with a pencil, you can sometimes lift up what was written, because it made an impression on the page that was underneath. So I think that's what we're talking about here. This example is an exact copy of what was originally done. Probably what Robertson was trying to describe here when he's talking about hypergrammose, or ultimately the writing or drawing that someone placed underneath another sheet of paper, i.e. carbon copies or carbon.

Why is it so important that it's a copy? It's a copy. Why is it so important? What I think the next question does really indicate, what does it mean to follow in his steps? Is this trying to be more like Jesus or walk in his shoes? I mean, in a sense, that's the literal interpretation of an example for us to follow in his steps.

Some thoughts on that one. I wonder, Bob, if it's not situation where we see that we aren't surprised. In fact, there's other verses that talk about don't be surprised when trials and temptation comes into your life. Christ suffered this so we shouldn't be caught unaware that we may fall in that same path. Not to try to copy him, which we've seen, you know, we've read about Christians who try to do that, but it's to not be aware of what may happen.

All right, Roger, what I think I'm directing our attention to a little bit more is, you know, I was taught early on after coming to the Lord that if Jesus walked on the sand to the sea by the seashore and his imprints on the sand were left there, we would in fact put our feet in those steps that he walked and be able to walk like him.

I mean, I think it was an appeal to the fact that the old nature can be reformed to really walking in his shoes like he did. And I think I want to divert our attention away from that. No, I think when you realize that the term also is included in this verse, so let's go back up a second, for you have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you, also meaning We're going to identify with that, and that's kind of where you were going, Roger. I think this is nothing short of identification. Let's look at a few verses that support this claim. John 16, 33.

These things have I spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. Not get your flesh together and pray a little bit, you're going to have some peace. No, in me, you might have peace. And in the world, you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world, and by the way, in parenthesis, as you will too. So that's identification. How about this?

For me to live as Christ and die as Cain, a verse that I particularly love, Philippians 2.5, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, another identification truth.

And 1 Peter 4.1, which we're going to come to probably in a month or two, therefore since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. So I think these all kind of point to the fact that this is another life. And again, I've studied prepositions of for Christ in scripture and in Christ or in me or in him. And it's outweighed about 70 to 1 for in him or in me or in the Lord Jesus Christ rather than by me or for him.

Anyway, I think this is an incredibly important example of that new life in Christ Jesus that allows us, if you will, to follow his steps or walk in his shoes. It's really a much more lofty and heavenly based view of what it means to follow his steps.

And a final verse, forgot to mention this one. And he who says he abides in him, ought himself also to walk just as he walk. And that's, you know, the concept of abiding is really what we're really talking about here. So any thoughts at all about following his steps, not trying to be like Jesus or doing what he did, but actually having a mind of Christ, spirit led, that ultimately that life we live is that new life we all share.

Everybody okay with that? Mike, Mike, Bob, one of those days in the in his steps. There's a novel, actually. by that title taken from this verse that really distorts it because it's like we're trying to imitate Christ so I just pass that along it's sort of a dangerous thing or it's a story of a pastor who says I want to walk in his steps and what would Jesus do in this situation and of course then it's all human reason rather than the identity truths that you just brought out Well thanks Roy, that's critically important and I think if we thought that the old nature could be reformed and actually modified to walk like Jesus did, we're going to be failing often aren't we? It's just doomed to fail.

But yet this new life we have in Christ Jesus, we grow in grace by studying and fellowshipping in his word and that's really where this new life comes about. Thanks Jesus. Any other comments here before we move on to verse 22? Alright, let's go ahead then. Who committed or did no sin, nor was deceit and guile found in his voice. I'm going to turn now to Isaiah 53, and this is a direct quote from Isaiah 53. We're going to pause and read Isaiah 53, and this will take maybe a minute. Who has believed a report into whom has the arm of the Lord been written?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He is no form or comeliness, and when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire. He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid where our faces from him, He was despised, and we did not esteem him.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, and yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his strikes we were healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth, and he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as sheep before its shearers to silent, so he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living, for the transgressions of my people he was stricken. And they made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death, because he had done no violence, which is really sin.

Here in the New Testament, Peter uses the terms. Nor was any deceit in his mouth. Margaret just brought me some water, so let me get a drink. Thank you, honey. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief, and when you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, and he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand, and he shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied. By his knowledge my righteous servant shall justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with a grape, and he shall divide the spoil with a straw, because he poured out his soul unto death. And he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. So anyway, I'm glad you could bear with me there on that. It's incredible, isn't it, to me, what Isaiah had shared prophetically. I mean, it is so to the T, isn't it, in terms of what 1 Peter has been stated here by Peter himself.

How can the serious Jew ignore this passage? I mean, if you think that Jewish religion or faith or lineage, you think of people that take the holidays only, and then there are people who go to the synagogue periodically for whatever reason, Jewish holidays, etc., and beyond. and people go through the Passover ceremonies, etc. And then there's the Orthodox Jew who goes to the wall in the old city in Jerusalem and ultimately puts their prayer request at the wall. But this type of Jew, the Orthodox Jew, if you will, how can they look at a passage like this and just say, gee, this is something about Kingdom Age-related truth and has nothing to do with the Lord Jesus Christ? I'm amazed. how this passage can just be ignored in terms of its reality.

Anyway, did no sin, none, no what, no not one sin, not one sin, no sin. And the life of the Lord Jesus Christ was one that Peter personally witnessed over three years. So this just wasn't ultimately something that came to light to him after in fact The Holy Spirit enlightened Peter and he did all the early preaching in the book of Acts But this is something he witnessed in the human Lord Jesus Christ Day in and day out over the three-year period that they coexisted His suffering was totally undeserved as ours is here many times here on this earth And I just wanted to state just briefly that I've previously been under the teaching of a very godly man Who believed that Christ could have sinned?

And I'm asking the question to the class today, should this issue be an essential fact of our faith? We believe in the virgin birth, we believe we're all created by God on and on, kind of the basic tenets of Christianity. Christ was resurrected after being crucified dead and buried, rose from the dead, the third dead center. I mean, those are kind of basic facts, but couldn't this be one too, and I'm going to I think so, yes.

2 Corinthians 5.21, for he made him who knew no sin be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Isn't that a wonderful verse? Christine, for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was at all points tested or tempted as we are yet without sin.

1 Peter 1.19, we've looked at this already, but with precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

And finally 1 John 3.5, and you know that He was manifested to take away our sins and in Him there is no sin. So how could in fact you believe that Christ could have sinned? And basically it was just His will that kept them from falling short of the glory of God.

I can't go there and I'll let you make your own opinion. I also had a person that believed that Christ could sin and actually it kind of resulted in breaking fellowship with that person. I don't think I ever have come back to the same place where I'm at. He sort of believed it wasn't honest. He had some weird idea that, you know, Anyway, he convoluted that it wasn't a real temptation. Yeah, it wasn't a real temptation because Christ didn't sin. Couldn't sin. Couldn't sin, so I don't know. Anyway, that resulted in kind of a breaking of fellowship with that person, which is too bad. But I felt that it was critical, just like you said.

Christ did not sin, and we see that over and over and over again in the Scripture. If you don't see that, you really miss so much about our Savior. Really too, and if you think about this Roger X evangelicalism or covenant theology that uses the Old Testament often for principles of living a Christian life, then ultimately maybe you could extend that thought process to thinking he could have said, because if we're improving the old man to follow the law, you know, where are we at Holly Hills in terms of our belief system? Anyway, I think these scriptures I pointed out really solidify the concept that we have a truly God-man who in fact was truly God and truly man, but without an ability to fall short of God's glory. Anyway, we'll leave it at that. self, Gus, as craftiness, trickery, lacking honesty, and I'm going to give you just one verse here, and I think it's a really good one.

Mark 14.1, After two days it was the Passover, and the feast of unleavened bread, and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by trickery and put him to death. Isn't that a great verse? I mean, to think of this kind of dolus of guile or trickery or craftiness or lacking honesty, isn't that a tremendous example of it? The priest and the scribes. Unbelievable. So that's what we really give as evidence of what this word really means. Again, this is Old Testament brought forward to the New Testament. I think, ultimately, Roy, next week is going to be sharing some more sections out of Isaiah 53.

All right, well, we've got maybe five to ten minutes left, because of our shortened class period. The class, you know, I'm not giving you much time to participate, but please feel free to hold in any time. Peter goes on to say, who when he was reviled, did not revile in return. And when he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. Calvin has a little bit of a blurb on revile, and dot, dot, dot, is a harsher railing which not only rebukes a man, but also sharply bites him and stamps him with open constantly, which is actually an interesting word. I had to look it up.

So here's what that means. It means in an insolent or insulting manner. This is a pretty strong term, this reviling. This is just not kind of a subtle turning the other way. And it is to wound a man with an accursed thing. So reviled is not a soft and sweet little response here. So when he was reviled, as he was on the cross and all the events that led to the cross, he did not revile or take on the same earthly personality in return. So let's take a look. I've got a little quiz for you here.

The active and passive voice, very simple. The active, what's the subject, him or herself does. And passive, the focus is on the action. So here's the quiz. Here we have five verses. And my question to the class is, how many are these in the passive versus active voices? So your choices are 5 in the passive, 0 in the active, 4 vs. 1, 3 vs. 2, 2 vs. 3, 1 vs. 4, or 0 vs. 5. And I've got to go back to the previous verse for you to take a look at that.

So take a look at the verbs. Reviled, reviled, suffered, threatened, committed. Judges? All right. Let's hear some answers. ASSA versus ACTIV. Bob, I need my parsing guide. All right. Well, let's let's go and look at the versus and I'm getting no responses here. I'm sorry. ACTIV 5. 5 or ACTIV? Anybody else have another answer? One on the left because you went back. You went back.

Yeah, I'd say four, four active. Four, who said four? Andrew. Andrew said four. OK, anyone else want to vote here? All right. Andrew is correct. But it leads me to really say, why is this so important? I counted the verb, and it's really close. But Carolyn was close. Yeah, Carolyn was close.

Peter's picture of what Jesus did not do seems clearly molded by his memory of the messianic picture in Isaiah 53, 6, 7. I think we're going to take a look at that in more detail. Yet rather than quoting this passage, he gives his own confirmatory witness, thereby underlining the veracity of a prophetic portrayal. So let's go back and look at the verbs.

He was reviled as passive. This was not something he was actively involved in. He was the recipient ultimately of the sins of the entire world that were placed on himself, and this is the eternal covenant played out. But he did not revile. Christ is involved here. He could have reviled, but if you believe he had no ability to sin, in a sense this is just who he is. But he's still playing a role in not reviling. He's active in this spirit. And he suffered. He's going through it.

He did not threaten, so he did not himself be proactively threatening anything related to his crucifixion. And he committed himself to him, and who judges, by the way, is really not a verb here, it just describes the Lord himself, but he committed himself as an active tense verb. So, I think, again, he was reviled, but everything else he himself carried out on his own free will. Alright, why didn't Christ threaten back?

Well, because there was a responsibility given him from time eternal. So, in 1 John 2, and he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Here's the task, and the task meant he could not revile.

He accepted graciously what the Lord had given him to take on to himself. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest ye become weary and discouraged in your own souls. but committed himself to him who judges righteously."

Of interest, threatened, reviled not again, and committed or entrusting are all perfect active indicative. That means he kept on not threatening, he kept on not reviling, and he kept on committing. Again, he's now actively committing himself to the Lord himself in terms of the ultimate judgment that would follow. neat to think about the verb tense and how important these verb tenses are in terms of our accurate interpretation of scripture.

And he finished what he came to do. So ultimately this final act of committing himself unto the Lord who judges all things is really what his task was here. Luke 23, 46, And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, he said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. So there he's turning it over to the Lord God himself. Having said this, he breathed his last.

So he came to do a task and he ultimately accomplished that task by his own free will. And there's an application here for us. And this really is a life. This life cannot be improved by trying harder or being better people or ultimately following any kind of extended covenant theology that we live under the law of the Old Testament just like we live under the grace of the New Testament. Ultimately, this is the life we all espouse to and are taught at Holly Hill's Bible.

So forgive the typo here, I think this is 1 Timothy 1.12 is what I indicated. For this reason, I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed. This is Paul now. For I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded.

That's a hymn, of course, we sing not infrequently. that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day. So in a sense, we can never get on a cross like Christ did and make those commitments as he did, but ultimately that new life allows us to identify with that death and resurrection and that new life that we all inhabit. Acts 17, 30, and 31, truly these times of ignorance, God overlooked. but now commands all men everywhere to repent because he is appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained. And I think he has given assurance of this all by raising him from the dead. So I think the reason I put this verse here is because it represents two aspects. It really reminds us and takes us to this righteousness of man through the Lord Jesus Christ, and the second point is ultimately it's He who will judge the world, and ultimately that is something that had been preordained before the beginning of time, that this crucifixion and ultimate suffering and penalty that was paid on the Lord Jesus Christ is ours to relate to and be part of here today in terms of our own lives. So, and I'm going to conclude, I move pretty quickly, but I think, you know, the time is going to work out OK, despite the delay that we had today.

And if there was no resurrection, I think our faith is dead. We've mentioned this many times in this class and I think in Holly Hills. So, you know, the concept of keeping down, keep looking down our position. heavenly places where our home is allows us to kind of get through some of the trials and tribulations we're going through here. And yours truly is going through something pretty difficult right now.

So anyway, you know, these verses I was preparing the lesson yesterday gave me kind of a soft pillow for a kind of rest on these truths in terms of, you know, eternally this is what's different about these trials that gives us some peace and comfort through the trials that we suffer. So anyway, going to conclude those three verses today is the part one of suffering for Christ's sake and this is a growth path for each and every one of us.

So I'll stop there and open up the un-mutes for any comments or questions. Yeah, Bob, these verses are just tremendous. I mean, I just feel excited about that. And thanks for your preparation. And it's a great class. Well, thank you. Well, thank you.

Let's leave it where it belongs to the Lord here. So anyway, up to you next week, Roy, in terms of taking on a couple of great verses to follow, so this is all a section of scripture that can leave you nothing but resolved in terms of what we're all about on a day-to-day basis. I've got a small comment, Bob. I'm not sure how all of this works yet and how it's going to go next week, but just in general, the teaching method that we are using at Holly Hills with the PowerPoint overhead like you're doing and others are doing as well and Mike is using questions and so I've been wrestling with that as far as a method of teaching and I thought maybe I would try sending out questions for next Sunday's Sunday School if that would be okay with everybody Yeah, that's fine, Roy.

I think that's, you know, I think I benefit through both methods. I mean, I think, you know, questions can work, too. So if you want to approach it that way, that's fine. I mentioned it now just so that you won't be surprised if you get an email earlier in the week. OK. Next Sunday with the questions for you to mull over and maybe answer. and then come to class with the answers and we can discuss them. Right.

Well, you have to have a disciplined audience, right? A disciplined congregation. Sometimes you're not too disciplined. It would help. That's called homework, right? Well, this is pre-homework. Well, no, I know Mike teaches that way a lot. So there are various ways to do that. And if that's really a way that the class would prefer, we can certainly do that here too. I try to ask questions along the way with the teaching.

So anyway, whatever. You're doing great. Whatever. I mean, it's fine. Everything is the Lord living through us, isn't it, Bob? It is, right. All right. Let's close in prayer then. Father, we're thankful that we were able to get through the lesson today. We're thankful for the, despite the shortened interval that we had this morning, we trust that the scripture still speaks to us and will impact our lives day in and day out. So we're thankful for the service to follow. May we lift up Mike as he presents the message and the Lord's table to follow. So in Jesus name we pray. Amen.