Peter says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). With this in mind we have been learning from Peter about suffering for righteousness’ sake, how that through suffering we honor our Maker and at the end–we will find mercy and grace. The by submitting, showing ourselves to be Christlike, we may win over some who are not followers. All done to the glory of God.
Now in the 4th chapter Peter we begin a two part lesson. First because Jesus suffered there are things we MUST NOT DO. Second, because Jesus suffered there are things we Must do. We begin with the first verse where Peter says, “Therefore, since Christ suffered [a]for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind. . . ” What does this mean? It means we need to suffer, we need to live righteous lives according to the spirit of truth. It means we cannot walk the path of least resistance. . .