Lesson 20 — Blessed Are Those Who Suffer for Christ

¹⁴If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.¹⁵But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.¹⁶Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.1 Peter 4:14–16

The last lesson told us not to be surprised by the fiery trial and to rejoice in the sharing of Christ's sufferings. This passage presses the same truth further, in three careful moves. First, a blessing pronounced over the insulted Christian, with a staggering reason attached. Second, a pointed exclusion: there is a kind of suffering you must not be experiencing, and Peter names it bluntly. Third, the right response to the right suffering: do not be ashamed; glorify God in the name. The royal priest under slander carries a blessing, refuses the wrong suffering, and turns reproach into worship.

1. The blessing on the insulted, with its reason

The opening condition: "If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed" (4:14). The word "insulted" (oneidizēsthe) means reproached, mocked, derided. Jesus used the same word in the Beatitudes: "Blessed are you when others revile you... on my account" (Matt 5:11). And here, as there, the blessing is not a consolation prize; it is a present reality. You are blessed. Not you will be; you are, even now, in the very moment of the insult.

Then the breathtaking reason: "because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you" (4:14). Read that slowly. The Spirit who rested on Christ at His baptism, the Spirit of glory, rests on the believer when he is insulted for the name. The reproach that the world means for shame is, in the Spirit's economy, the occasion of glory. The same Presence that anointed Jesus rests on the insulted Christian. Adrian Rogers draws the wonder: where the world sees shame, the Spirit sees glory, and He settles there (Rogers, on 1 Pet 4:14).

Notice thisThe Spirit rests, present tense, on the insulted believer. The reproach for Christ is not a sign that God has withdrawn; it is, mysteriously, the setting in which the Spirit of glory comes to rest. The path of suffering is the path of the Spirit's most manifest presence.

2. The suffering you must not be doing

Now a sharp exclusion, and it shows Peter's honesty about the human heart: "But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler" (4:15). Peter knows that a suffering Christian can too easily play the martyr for sins he actually committed. He will not have it. There is no blessedness in being punished for wrongdoing.

Notice the list. Murderer, thief, evildoer, these are obvious. Then the curveball: or as a meddler (allotriotriepiskopos), a wonderfully specific Greek word, literally "an overseer of other people's matters." The Christians in Asia Minor were apparently prone to poking into affairs that were not theirs, and then suffering for it as if they were being persecuted. Peter says that is not suffering for Christ. That is just being a busybody. David Guzik notes the warning still applies: a great deal of "persecution" Christians suffer is actually the natural consequence of being annoying (Guzik on 1 Pet 4:15).

The devotional pointBefore you claim the blessing of 4:14, check the cause of your suffering. Is it really for the name, or is it for your own sin, your own sharp tongue, your own meddling? The priest must be honest here. Only suffering for righteousness carries the blessing; suffering for wrongdoing carries only its own shame.

3. Do not be ashamed; glorify God in the name

Now the right response to the right suffering: "Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name" (4:16). Two commands, paired. First, do not be ashamed. The temptation under insult is to shrink, to mute the name, to pretend you are not one of them. Peter says no. The name "Christian" (christianos) was originally coined by outsiders, somewhat dismissively (Acts 11:26), but Peter wears it here with honour. To suffer as a Christian is no disgrace.

Second, the positive: glorify God in that name. The insult that was meant to shame you becomes the occasion of worship. Turn the reproach upward. When they sneer at the name, praise God for the name. Matthew Henry draws the logic: the believer's suffering is not a thing to be hidden but a thing to be lifted up, because the name that draws the reproach is the name above every name (Henry on 1 Pet 4:16).

The single takeawayTo be insulted for the name of Christ is to be blessed, because the Spirit of glory rests on you there. But beware the wrong suffering, do not earn your pain by sin or meddling. And when you suffer truly as a Christian, do not be ashamed; turn the reproach into worship and glorify God in the very name they mock.

Try thisAsk yourself honestly this week: Have I been suffering for the name, or suffering for my own sharpness, my own meddling, my own faults? If the latter, repent and stop. If the former, take 4:14 as your blessing and 4:16 as your response: do not hide the name, glorify God in it.

Application — head, heart, hands

Head. Believe that insult for Christ's name carries a present blessing, because the Spirit of glory rests on the insulted believer. Believe also that suffering for your own sin or meddling carries no blessing at all. The cause of the suffering matters.

Heart. Cultivate the freedom from shame that lets you wear the name Christian without flinching. Mortify the martyr-complex that dresses up your own faults as persecution, and the cowardice that hides the name when it costs.

Hands. Stop any suffering you have been earning by wrongdoing or meddling. And when the true insult for the name comes, do not mute it; turn the moment into worship, and glorify God in the very name that drew the reproach.

Check your understanding

Why is the insulted Christian blessed (4:14)?

Because the Spirit of glory rests upon him
Because he has earned a higher rank in heaven
Because his suffering is removed at that moment
Because the world will soon apologize to him

"If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you" (4:14). The blessing is the manifest presence of the Spirit, the same Spirit who rested on Christ, settling on the believer in the very moment of reproach for His name.

Check your understanding

What does Peter explicitly exclude in 4:15?

Suffering for righteousness in any form
Suffering as a murderer, thief, or meddler
All forms of discipline within the assembly
Any hardship that comes in ordinary life

"Let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler" (4:15). Peter excludes suffering earned by sin or by meddling in others' affairs. Only suffering for righteousness carries the blessing; suffering for wrongdoing carries only its own shame.

Check your understanding

How should the suffering Christian respond (4:16)?

Hide the name to avoid any further cost
Retaliate so the wrong is publicly righted
Not be ashamed, but glorify God in the name
Withdraw quietly from the assembly altogether

"If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name" (4:16). The reproach meant for shame becomes the occasion of worship. Do not mute the name; turn the insult upward and glorify God in the very name they mock.

Read for the next lessonRead David Guzik on 1 Peter 4:17-19, and re-read verse 16 until "glorify God in that name" feels like a response you can give. The next lesson closes chapter 4 with the discipline that begins at God's house and the safe deposit of a faithful Creator: 1 Peter 4:17-19, "Entrust Yourself to the Faithful Creator."