Section 4:1–6
Christians should live to please God
In this section, Peter continued with the theme of suffering as followers of Christ. He urges his readers to follow Christ’s example and be willing to suffer for doing right and so avoid sinning. They must not follow the bad behavior of their pagan neighbors, who will be judged by God, but they should live according to God’s will.
Some other headings for this section are:
Change your lives (New Century Version)
-or-
Being Faithful to God (Contemporary English Version)
Paragraph 4:1–6
4:1a
Therefore: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Therefore introduces something that Peter’s readers should do as a result of what he had earlier said. It is also possible to translate this as:
So then
since Christ suffered in His body: By using this phrase Peter was reminding his readers of what he had said in 3:18. The fact that Christ suffered in His body was the basis for what he was about to command his readers.
Christ suffered in His body: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Christ suffered in His body means that Christ suffered physically. It is probably referring specifically to Christ’s death on the cross. Refer back to your translation of 3:18d, where the same word (“flesh”) is used for body. Other translation models include:
Christ endured bodily suffering (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Christ suffered physically (Good News Translation)
4:1b
arm yourselves with the same resolve: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as arm yourselves also with the same attitude means to prepare yourself for suffering by thinking in the right way, just as Christ did.
In some languages it may be natural to make explicit what the same attitude was. For example
Now you must be ready to suffer as he did (Contemporary English Version)
In some languages it may be necessary to say something like:
Think in the same way that Christ thought, and so strengthen/prepare yourselves ⌊for suffering⌋
arm yourselves: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as arm yourselves is a military term meaning to equip or provide oneself with weapons. Peter wanted his readers to strengthen and prepare themselves for what they might have to suffer. Some other ways to translate arm yourselves are:
strengthen yourselves (New Century Version)
-or-
be ready (Good News Translation)
the same resolve: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as resolve refers to the way in which Christ thought. He was willing to suffer and die on the cross. It can also be translated as:
thought (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
way of thinking (Good News Translation)
In some languages it may be necessary to translate it as a verb phrase. For example:
Think in the same way that Christ thought
4:1c
because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin: There are two ways of interpreting the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because :
(1) It means for or because and introduces the reason for Christ’s attitude. For example:
for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin (Revised Standard Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New International Version, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, Revised Standard Version)
(2) It means that and introduces the content of Christ’s attitude. For example:
[the same conviction] that anyone who has undergone bodily suffering has broken with sin (New Jerusalem Bible)
(God’s Word, New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with the majority of English versions and commentary support.
anyone who has suffered in his body: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as anyone who has suffered in his body is literally “the one who has suffered in flesh.” In this context it refers to someone who has suffered physically because of persecution. This could include being beaten or nor receiving food. Here is another way to translate this phrase:
whoever suffers physically (New Living Translation (2004))
is done with sin: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is done with sin in this context means “has renounced/ rejected sin.” A person who is willing to suffer persecution because of Christ has shown that he has renounced sin. He wants to obey Christ whatever happens. He has decided it is better to suffer than to sin. An English idiom that expresses this is:
has made a clean break with sin
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
is finished with sin (New Century Version)
In some languages it may be necessary to translate sin as a verb. For example:
is determined to stop sinning
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