1 Peter 4:1-6 For as much then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind… I. CHRIST'S "MIND" IS THE WEAPON WITH WHICH MAN IS TO FIGHT HIS WAY ON TO MORAL PERFECTION. His moral perfection is here taught. But to reach this what a battle man has to fight! By the "mind of Christ" we are to understand, of course, not His mere intellect, great as it was, nor His conscience, sublimely pure though it was; but the moral spirit that inspired and directed all His intellectual and moral powers. By His "mind" we mean, in one word, His moral character. Now this is the weapon by which alone man can win victories over evil, and obtain the crown of life, namely, conformity to the "will of God." Doctrines will not do it, however Scriptural; religious rites will not do it, however studiously observed. Who is the man in our world the most successful in putting down wrong? Not the legislator, however just the laws he enacts; not the moralist, however cogent his arguments and powerful his rhetoric; but the man who has the "mind of Christ" as his armour. II. CHRIST'S "SUFFERINGS" ARE THE ARGUMENT FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF THIS WEAPON. First, the sufferings of Christ were "in the flesh." He was in the flesh, but not flesh. Secondly, Christ suffered "in the flesh" in order to establish human holiness. "That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lust of men, but to the will of God." (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; |
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