1 Peter 4
New Testament for Everyone
Transformed living
4 So, then, just as the Messiah suffered in the flesh, you too must equip yourselves with the same mental armor. Someone who suffers in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live the rest of their mortal life no longer according to human desires but according to God’s will. 3 Pagan ways of life have had quite enough of your time already, and you should put all that behind you for good—all that uncleanness, passion, drunkenness, excessive feasting, drinking-parties and lawless idolatry. 4 People are shocked that you don’t now join in with the same wild and reckless behavior, and so they call down curses on you. 5 But they will have to account for it before the one who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 That is why, you see, the gospel was preached even to the dead, so that, being judged in human fashion, in the flesh, they might live in God’s fashion, in the spirit.
7 The end of all things is upon us. You must keep sober, then, and self-disciplined for your prayers. 8 Above all, keep absolutely firm in your love for one another, because “love covers a multitude of sins.” 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each of you has received a gift, so you should use it for ministry one to another, as good stewards of God’s many-sided grace. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as speaking God’s oracles. If anyone ministers, they should do it as in the strength which God grants, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus the Messiah, to whom be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
Sharing the Messiah’s sufferings
12 Beloved, don’t be surprised at the fiery ordeal which is coming upon you to test you, as though this were some strange thing that was happening to you. 13 Rather, celebrate! You are sharing the sufferings of the Messiah. Then, when his glory is revealed, you will celebrate with real, exuberant joy. 14 If you are abused because of the name of the Messiah, you are blessed by God, because the spirit of glory and of God is resting upon you. 15 None of you, of course, should suffer as a murderer or thief or evildoer, or even as a busybody. 16 But if you suffer as a Christian, don’t be ashamed; rather, give God the glory for that name! 17 The time has come, you see, for judgment to begin at God’s own household. And if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel? 18 And if the righteous person is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 So also those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their whole lives to the faithful creator by doing what is good.
1 Peter 4
International Children’s Bible
Changed Lives
4 Christ suffered while he was in his body. So you should strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking Christ had. The person who has suffered in his body is finished with sin. 2 Strengthen yourselves so that you will live your lives here on earth doing what God wants, not doing the evil things that people want. 3 In the past you wasted too much time doing what the non-believers like to do. You lived for the body and evil desires. You were getting drunk, you had wild and drunken parties, and you did wrong by worshiping idols. 4 Non-believers think it is strange that you do not do the many wild and wasteful things that they do. And so they insult you. 5 But they will have to explain about what they have done. They must explain to God who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 The Good News was preached to those who are now dead. By their dying, they were judged like all men. But the Good News was preached to them so that they could live in the spirit as God lives.
Use God’s Gifts Wisely
7 The time is near when all things will end. So keep your minds clear, and control yourselves. Then you will be able to pray. 8 Most importantly, love each other deeply. Love has a way of not looking at others’ sins. 9 Open your homes to each other, without complaining. 10 Each of you received a spiritual gift. God has shown you his grace in giving you different gifts. And you are like servants who are responsible for using God’s gifts. So be good servants and use your gifts to serve each other. 11 Anyone who speaks should speak words from God. The person who serves should serve with the strength that God gives. You should do these things so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.
Suffering As a Christian
12 My friends, do not be surprised at the painful things you are now suffering. These things are testing your faith. So do not think that something strange is happening to you. 13 But you should be happy that you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings. You will be happy and full of joy when Christ comes again in glory. 14 When people insult you because you follow Christ, then you are blessed. You are blessed because the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is with you. 15 Do not suffer for murder, theft, or any other crime, nor because you trouble other people. 16 But if you suffer because you are a Christian, then do not be ashamed. You should praise God because you wear that name. 17 It is time for judgment to begin, and it will begin with God’s family. If that judging begins with us, what will happen to those people who do not obey the Good News of God?
18 “It is very hard for a good person to be saved.
Then the wicked person and
the sinner will surely be lost!”[a]
19 So then those who suffer as God wants them to should trust their souls to him. God is the One who made them, and they can trust him. So they should continue to do what is right.
Footnotes
- 4:18 “It . . . lost!” Quotation from Proverbs 11:31 in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
