The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 175

EXPOSITION. CHAPTER IV. ho no longer should live," eto.: though bolh connections give a good sense. The Greek Ver. 1.-Forasmuoh then as Christ hath word for'' live" (/31oi<ra1) occurs onlv here in Fuffered for us in the flesh. St. Peter returns, the New Testament. Bengel snys, ·., Apt mu nfter the digression of eh. iii. 19-22, to the verbum, non dicitur de brutis." " In the great subject of Christ's example. The fle_sh" here ~eans simply "in the body,'' in words "for us" are omitted in some ancient this mortal hfe. "'l'hc rest of your time" rnnnuscripts; they express a grent truth suggest~ the solemn thought of the shortness already d1Yclt upon in eh. ii. nnd iii. Here of our earthly pilgrimage: live for eternity. the apostle is insisting- upon the example of To the lusts of men, but to the will of God, Christ, not ou the atoning efficacy of his The datives are normal; they express tba death. Arm yourselves likewise with the pattern or rule nccording to which our life nme mind. The word rendered " mind " ought to be fashioned. God's will is our {fvvo,a) is more exactly "thought" (comp. sauctifice.tion (1 Thess. iv. 3). That will is Heb. iv. 12, the only other place where it ever the same, a fixed, unchanging rule; the occurs in the New Testament); but it lusts of men are shifting, uncertain, restless. certain], has sometimes the force of "inten- Ver. 3.-For the time paet of our life may tion, res..lrn." The Christian must he like suffice us to have wrought the will of the Lis l\Ia.stPr; he must arm himself with the Gontiles; rather, ns in the Ilevised Version, great t'.,oug:,t, the holy resoke, which was the time past may suffice. The words, "of in the mind of Christ-the thought that our life" and "us," are not found in the suffering borne in faith frees us fro1n the best manuscr.ipts. St. Peter could not in- power of Erin, the resol'l"e to suffer patiently clude himself among those who wrought the according to the will of God. That thought, will of the Gentiles. The Greek word for which can be made our own only by faith, is "will" here is, according to the beet manu- tiJe Christian's shield; we are to arm our- scripts, /306>,.11µa; in ver. 2 "the will of God" selns with it against the assaults of the is 6,>,.11µa. The general distinction is that edl one (co:up. Rom. xiii. 12; 2 Cor. x. 4; 6,>,.., implies choice and purpose, /306>,.oµa, Eph. l"i. 11). For he that hB.th su1fered in merely inclination (compare, in the Greek, the flesh hath ceased from sin.. The thought Philcm. 13, 14). The chnnge of w.ird is t!,at of Rom. vi. 6-11. Some translate seems to point to such a distinction here. tl1e conjunction g.,.,, "that," and understand God's will is a fixed, holy purpose; the wil\, it as giving the content of the t1111oui: "Arm or ruther wish, of the Gentiles was uncertain yourselves with tbe thougLt that," etc.; but inclination, turned this way or that way by this does not give so good a sense, and changeful lUBts. The perfect infinitive, '' to would seem to require -ravr1111 rather than have wrought,'' implies that that part of life ·d,v ab-r-fw-" this thought," rather than" the ought to be regarded as a thing wholly past same thought." Some, again. understand and gone. 'l'he whole sentence hoe a tone this clause of Christ; but this seems a mis- of solemn irony. "Fastidium peccati apud take, Tlic apostle spoke first of the Master; resipiecentes" (Bengel); comp. Ilom. vi. 21. now he turna to the disciple. Take, he St. Peter is here addressing Gentile Chris- says, for your armour the thoughts which tians. Fronmilller's objection is peculiar: filled the eo.cred heart of Christ-the thought " Suppose that the readers of Pctcr'e Epistle t!iat su!i"ering in the flesh is not, as the world ],ad formerly been heathens, his reproo.ching cuuuts it, an unmixed el"il, but often a deep them with having formerly <loue the will l,Jessing-; f,,r, or bec,rnse, be that suffered in of the Gentiles would BUl'ely be singular." tLe flesh hull! ce:1sed from sin. If, when we They had done the will of the Gentiles; ure cal!t,d tu suffor, we offer up our suffer- they were now, as Christians, to do the will ings to Cllrist wLo suffered for us, and unite of Goel. When we walked in lasciviousness, ,,i,r sufferings with his by faith in him, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, tl ,eu thuse sufferings, thus sanctified, destroy and abominable idolatries; better, as in the t.h" power of sin, and make us cease from ltevised Version, and to lia11e walked. There ,nn (comp. Rom. vi. 10). is no pronoun. Lusts are the hidden sins Ver. 2.-That he no longer should live the of unclean thought, which lead to outbreaks rezt of hie time in the :fl.eeh. On tl,e wholt>, of lasciviousness. The Greek word for" re- it seems Letter to cunuect !Lis clause with vellings" (Kwµo,) is one often used of drunken the imperative: "Arm your:;elvea with the youths parading the strnets, or of festal p·o- suu,e mind, tLat ye no longc·1· should Ii ve the cessions in honour of Bacchus. The word reot of your time;" rather than with the clause translated " banquctings " means i'athc1· iwmediat1ely preceding: "He that bath suf- "drinking-bouts." The word for "aLowi.J.:.. f. red in the fleel.i Lc1.tb ceased from sin; that able" is M,µ.l-ro,s, unlawful, nefarious, oon- VII. xv. 1-l!J.] 'l'IIE l<'IRS'l' EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETJ.;R. 171