Dead to the World, Alive to God
“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, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 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. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 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.”
1 Peter 4:1-6
In the HBO miniseries, Band of Brothers, set in the Atlantic theater of World War II, there was an illustrative dialogue between Lt. Ronald Speirs and private Albert Blithe, as they recounted their actions of D-Day on the beaches of Normandy.
You know why you hid in that ditch, Blithe? You’re scared. We’re all scared. You hid in that ditch because you think there’s still hope, but [Blithe] the only hope you have is to accept the fact that you’re already dead. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function. All war depends on it.
The expression that so-and-so is “dead to the world” usually means that the person is oblivious to the reality that is going on around him. But that is not how the Bible uses this kind of language. It uses it neither as an expression of cluelessness, nor even as wishful thinking. It is a recognition of a fact—a death of death in the death of Christ, to put it in John Owen’s language. To be dead to one’s old self is to be free from that which would keep us from moving out on the spiritual battlefield. In this respect, the Christian is in the war of all wars.
Doctrine. The Christian is called to be dead to the world, alive to God.
I say “called to be” here because Peter’s subject is not how one comes to life. His audience is Christian. They have already come to life.
(i.) The way of killing sin for Christ and the Christian.
(ii.) The standard of killing sin is the will of God.
(iii.) The time of killing sin is now and near to the end.
(iv.) The enemies of killing sin are everywhere.
The way of killing sin for Christ and the Christian.
First, notice that this is a universal way or path: Peter says in the imperative to: ‘arm yourselves with the same way of thinking’ (v. 1b). Then, in the next words, it is made into a universal rule: ‘for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin’ (v. 1c). SAME WAY … WHOEVER HAS. So in these two ways—as a way or path, and as a rule or principle—it is universal. What goes for Christ goes for the Christian. And the thing that is the same is this link between suffering in the flesh and ceasing from sin.
Second, a problem. ‘Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh’ (v. 1a). The way Jesus suffered in the flesh was unique.
Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps (2:21).
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (2:24)
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous (3:18).
Clearly, this death to gain life is unique. (2 Cor. 5:17) (Rom. 8:3) CONSIDER YOURSELF dead starts with considering Christ’s death—Romans 6.
The standard of killing sin is the will of God.
One of several contrasts in this passage is ‘human passions’ versus ‘the will of God’ (v. 2b). They live for this. You live for this. FOR the will of God here means that it is your goal. It isn’t just that it is God’s will (which is true), but that His prescriptive will—what He loves—becomes your new love.
And God’s will works in you (Phi. 2:12), so that it is not an abstract standard. It is not a remote standard. God’s will is a standard that is objectively independent of you, and yet, because of the Spirit who indwells, it is a standard subjectively alive to us. It is the law written on our hearts, as Jeremiah 31 promises to the new covenant believer.
But here again, death to the old self is the key. Paul says, “I have been tcrucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Your problem is always that you still hope in your old passions. But the only hope you have is that you’re dead to those. You can’t be alive to God’s will—you can’t hear God’s will calling you to advance if you’re still impressed by those passions.
The time of killing sin is now and near to the end.
Peter points forward, then backward, when it comes to the time. He says that this way of sin-killing by dying to the flesh is:
so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do (vv. 2-3a).
There is a sense of urgency here. None of us knows exactly how long we have to live, but in light of eternity, all of us will know that it was not even a speck on the sea shore. The Psalmist prays, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). I said about the previous contrast: They live for this. You live for this. Now it is also: You did live for that. You now live for this.
The stress on time is intensified by the focus on the coming judgment: ‘but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead’ (v. 5). Think of the sands of an hourglass. They only run one way and very fast. So Peter is giving us consolation, but also a warning. It is a warning similar to that given by Paul,
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord (Eph. 5:6-8).
This is an admonition to believers. These are the words fit for soldiers in the heat of battle where there can be no room for the slightest distraction.
The enemies of killing sin are everywhere.
That this is conceived as a war has been clear already in Peter’s letter: “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (2:11). It is the passions themselves that are your nearest combatants. But now in this passage, Peter shows us what amount to servants of the devil in the form of common acquaintances, whether at work, school, perhaps older friends from one’s pre-Christian days, or simply other places. But even here, there is a hint at the internal enemy.
First, to that enemy within, Peter was talking about you and me when he said,
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 (v. 3).
This was that time. Perhaps this or that Christian may say, “Well, for me, there never was a time when my life looked quite like that.” But that is besides the point. Peter’s point was to section off a prior time when that at least made sense because you were dead. In this context, it only makes sense to bring this up if it is a clear and present danger. The “time” was past, but the temptation followed you.
But then there are those external enemies.
With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you (v. 4).
This surprise and this maligning take a pretty obvious form. Peer pressure. But if all else fails, they go right back to lies about you—in this case, that you’ve set yourself up as their judge, as those in Sodom said toward Lot.
Peter comes full circle, to this particular kind of dying to live. If you don’t see that context, you may get caught up in another version of that mystery back in 3:19, since Peter says here ‘For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead’ (v. 6a). This is those currently, spiritual dead, as you can see from the contrast in the next words: ‘that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does’ (v. 6b). Clearly Peter has in view the use of preaching aimed at conversion. We were darkness, but God’s word brought the light of life. We were children of wrath (Eph. 2:3), awaiting judgment, but this message brought us God’s favor, and, more to Peter’s point, the life of God within us.
Practical Use of the Doctrine
Use 1. Consolation. We Christians rightly set a guard against self-righteousness. But obsessively not focusing on how God has kept us from sin can also tend toward ingratitude. It is a gospel blessing that God has put an aversion to sin in us.
“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death” (Rom. 6:20-21)
Be constantly thankful for God for making much sin dead to you.
Use 2. Exhortation. Make war against remaining sin: “ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (Heb. 12:4). Yes, there is sanctified hyperbole involved. But if that’s an extreme way to put it, sin is an extreme enemy. As God had counseled Cain: “sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, and you must rule over it” (Gen. 4:7). Sin really will waste your life, or prove out your death.
You’re never too old to hear such warnings: Watch who you hang out with. Keep a close watch on what you consume.
The temptation that was there for Asaph in Psalm 73—“For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (v. 3) This is a reminder of the temptation that resides in each one of us to think that there’s something of life still in those passions and those things that are passing away.
No. “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you will function as a new creation was meant to function in the battlefield of this old world.
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