Suffering Well Amidst Injustice

Suffering is assured. Jesus promised His disciples that in the world they would have trouble (Jn 16:33). There is a suffering that results from one’s own sinful behavior (1 Pet 2:20a). There is also a suffering that naturally comes to the Christian because of his or her relationship to Christ (1 Pet 2:20b).

Jesus Christ was the only truly righteous man who ever lived (2 Pet 1:1; 1 Jn 2:1). He was the God-man whose divine nature was holiness (Mk 1:24; Lk 4:34; Jn 6:69). He always did what was pleasing to God the Father (Jn 8:29), who declared His good pleasure regarding Jesus (Mt 3:17; 17:5). For this relationship, in union with the Father, Jesus suffered much.

The whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 Jn 5:19). Satan, our adversary (1 Pet 5:8), is the ruler of this world (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2). As the father of lies (Jn 8:44), the devil spurs his children on to evil deeds (1 Jn 3:10), usually done in darkness (literal and figurative). Men love darkness because their deeds are evil (Gen 6:5; Is 64:6; Jn 3:19).

The natural man (1 Cor 2:14), void of the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:17), is a hater of God (Rom 1:30), and of Christ Jesus (Jn 7:7), and of Christ’s church (Jn 15:18–25). This man labors to suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Rom 1:18). Jesus is the truth (Jn 14:6). When the Messiah came to His own people, they did not receive Him (Jn 1:11). He was despised and rejected by men (Is 53:3). They despised the Son of God because of the beauty of His holiness. It made others look bad. The religious leaders were especially envious of Jesus’ popularity with those multitudes of the lower caste.

People of a lesser socio-economic status usually work for others. In 1 Peter 2:18–25, we receive instructions regarding the Christian’s role in these relationships (see also Eph 6:5, 9; Col 3:22; 4:1; 1 Tim 6:1–2).

The Apostle Peter exhorted his readers to understand what pleases God, especially when the child of God endures injustice. The world is sorely deficient regarding justice; and Christians are not exempt. In fact, Christians are vulnerable to various forms of mistreatment because of the collective enmity sinners have in relationship to God (Mt 5:10–12).

Christians have been reconciled to God through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ (Rom 5:10–11; 2 Cor 5:19; Col 1:14). He bore our sins (all of them) in His body on the cross (1 Pet 2:24). In this act of substitutionary atonement, Jesus mediated peace with God through His own blood of the eternal covenant (Mt 26:28; Col 1:20; Heb 13:20; 1 Pet 1:2). Our Lord offered Himself up to God (Heb 7:27; 9:14), on the cross, as the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29), suffering the wrath of God in the place of His chosen people (Heb 2:17), whom the Father had given Him before the foundation of the world (2 Tim 1:9; Heb 2:13b).

God gave a gift to His own that He did not give to those who did not belong to Christ (Jn 10:26; 14:17; 1 Cor 3:23). The gift of the Holy Spirit (Lk 11:13; Acts 2:38; 10:45), granted by the Father and the Son (Jn 14:26; 15:26), permanently indwells those who have been born again of God (Jn 3:1–8; 14:17; Rom 8:9, 11; Heb 13:5; 1 Pet 1:3). It is the Spirit who convicts the world of sin, which agitates sinners (Jn 16:8).

Having died to sin and desiring to live righteously (1 Pet 2:24), the Christian resists the devil and flees immorality (1 Cor 6:18; Jas 4:7). Knowing that bad company corrupts good morals (1 Cor 15:33), the saint’s focus is Christ Jesus (Col 3:2; Heb 12:2). The goal is Christ-likeness (Rom 8:29), being conformed to the image of the Holy One of Israel. Meanwhile, the world continues to kill Jesus in proverbial effigy.

We follow in the steps of Jesus (1 Pet 2:21). We join in the sufferings of Christ’s body, His church (Col 1:24). Jesus taught of the blessed position in which a Christian suffers persecution for His namesake (Mt 5:10–12). People say things. People do things. How the Christian responds to opponents matters to God (1 Pet 2:22–23).

With a spirit of humility, Christians must be submissive to those in authority over us (Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 2:13, 18). When oppressions occur, the children of God must patiently endure (2 Cor 1:6; 1 Pet 2:20). We must always do right and never seek vengeance against those who persecute us (Rom 12:19; Heb 10:30).

The most challenging area is the response of the heart, as heard from the mouth (Mt 12:34; 15:18). Words have power to kill or to give life. The Word of God gives life to His chosen ones (Jn 6:63; Rom 10:17); and Christians must speak life to others, never reviling or threatening with words (1 Pet 2:23).

The Christian mind is the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). He that is spiritual sets his mind on the things above where Christ is seated as the One who judges righteously (Eph 2:6; Col 3:2). To Him, who is authoring our story of faith (Heb 12:2), we entrust ourselves because He has promised to cause all things to work together for good for those who love Him (Rom 8:28).

God loved us when we were His enemies (Rom 5:10–11); therefore, we need to love our enemies in the same way (Mt 5:44; Lk 6:27). In doing this, it is the love of Christ working through the believer — in word and deed — that causes some unbelievers to ask about the hope within us (1 Pet 3:15). They see Christians loving well despite circumstances and situations unfavorable to us (Jn 13:35). This is the powerful witness of the Spirit-filled disciple of Jesus Christ (Rom 5:5; Acts 1:8).

The Shepherd and Guardian of our souls will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5; 1 Pet 2:25). We simply need to draw near to God, knowing His promise to draw near to us (Heb 7:25; Jas 4:8). When we cast all our cares upon our Savior and Lord (1 Pet 5:7), He demonstrates His care for us. For this reason, we are to give thanks to God for everything, while praying without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17–18).

Our merciful and very sympathetic High Priest understands our sufferings because He suffered more than any man (Heb 2:17), when He emptied Himself of the glories of heaven (Phil 2:5–11). Jesus’ life and death were both suffering sacrifices, for the benefit of those called for the purpose of joining in union with Him (Jn 17). Therefore, do not grow weary in doing good (2 Thess 3:13), in the wisdom and power of His Spirit. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints (Heb 6:10).

David Norczyk

Spokane Valley, Washington

April 25, 2024

1 Peter 2:18–25