Peter ASSUMED that the church would live BEFORE the world in such a way that the world would RECOGNIZE something different about them, and that would be what God would use to bring redemption and renewal through testimony about the resurrection of Jesus.  

Christians witness the resurrection in their hope, making Jesus words and life recognizable and familiar. 

1 Peter 3:13-17 Peter communicates that in the natural order of things, if you are living faithfully you’re not going looking for a fight.  If you are not looking for a FIGHT you will not be harmed.  

INSTEAD of needing to be RIGHT, we are freed to be HOPEFUL.  Assume: 

  • That others will observe our lives – We will be living in the world. 
  • That our suffering will be identifiable – The world will be able to see our pain, not privacy. 
  • That our hope will be questioned – The world will be drawn with curiosity, with questions.  

1 Peter 3:18  - The Bible teaches that suffering is both NATURAL and NECESSARY.  Jesus suffered, even though he was perfect.  

1 Peter 3:19-22 Jesus is the example of victory in suffering.  What the people witnessed in his death, was not defeat but rather a spiritual victory.    

Jesus is doing more than we know in the spiritual realm. We are spiritual beings living our spiritual resurrection while we wait for our physical resurrection.  This is God’s power at work in us.  

We regard ourselves physically and spiritually, because that’s what Christ accomplished for us.  

God used the suffering to of Christ to accomplish much.  Most of which is unseen.  

  1. Jesus died in the flesh –  The Righteous for unrighteousness.  Jesus suffered in the body for sin, so that we could be brought to God, once and for all.  
  2. Jesus rose in the flesh - By the power of the spirit he was raised from the dead and proclaimed victory of evil spirits 
  3. Jesus ascended in the flesh - He is not exalted on high as the resurrected AND ascended Lord and has subjected all powers to himself.  

Example: Noah’s salvation was brought about by the same act of judgment that destroyed the wicked… the way God rescues the righteous is by destroying their enemies.  The water separated Noah and his family from the wicked who perished in the flood, therefore they were spared the corruption of the society in which they lived.  When the water subsided they entered a new world, cleansed from sin and prepared for life.  

Baptism, like the waters of the flood, demonstrate that destruction is at hand, but believers are rescued from these waters in that they are baptized with Christ, who has also emerged from the waters of death through his resurrection.  

Application: Why do you follow Jesus?  Do you have an explanation for the HOPE? 

We both SPEAK and SHOW the REALITY of the RESURRECTION: 

  • To God in worship 
  • To each other in community 
  • To the world on witness