In this thought-provoking section of 1 Peter, we explore the counterintuitive idea that pain and discomfort can be gifts from God, serving as signposts pointing us towards our true home. Drawing from 1 Peter 2:21-3:7, we unpack what it means to follow Christ's example in the face of suffering and injustice. Whether you're facing challenges at work, in your family, or in society at large, this message offers biblical wisdom for navigating discomfort while growing in Christlikeness. Join us as we learn how to hear God's voice through our pain and find our belonging in Him.
BBCC Bible Study Notes
THE GIFT OF PAIN: FINDING PURPOSE IN DISCOMFORT 1 Peter 2:21-3:7
Introduction
1 Peter 2:12 (NIV): "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."
1 Peter 2:21–25 (NIV): "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."
Key Points
Lessons and Applications
Summary of Overall Message
Life's pain serves as a reminder that we belong to God and are called to live righteously. We are encouraged to trust in God's plan, even when circumstances seem beyond our control. Embracing discomfort can lead to profound transformation, making us more like Christ. Embrace pain as a gift that nudges us closer to God, empowering us to do good and trust in His sovereignty.
BBCC Verse of the Week:. 1 Peter 2:21 (NIV) To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
1 Peter 2:4-10 Study/Discussion Guide
If God should command you to wash the devil's feet, or those of the merest wretch, you are to do it; and this work would be just as much a good work as the highest of all, when God calls you to it. Therefore you are to have no regard to the person, but only to what God requires; and in this case the least work is more to be preferred in God's sight, when rightly performed, than all the popes' and monks' works in one heap. (Martin Luther on 1 Peter 2)
The identity of Jesus Christ as the Suffering Servant poignantly yet enigmatically portrayed in Isaiah 53 is well known in Christian tradition. What may be more surprising is that the church owes this insight to the apostle Peter alone, for it is only here in the NT that Christ’s passion is discussed in terms of Isaiah’s prophecy of the Suffering Servant. There are six direct quotations of Isa. 53 in the NT (Matt. 8:17; Luke 22:37; John 12:38; Acts 8:32–33; Rom. 10:16; 15:21), but surprisingly only two of them are used in reference to Jesus. The other four quotations of Isa. 53 in the NT apply elements of that vision to aspects of Christian missions and evangelism but not to the person of Christ himself. John 12:38 quotes Isa. 53:1, “Lord, who has believed our message?” as the prophecy fulfilled when the Jews still would not believe in Jesus after seeing his many signs. In Matthew’s Gospel (8:17), Jesus’ miracles of healing are said to be the fulfillment of Isa. 53:4, “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases”—quite a different understanding than the vicarious bearing of our infirmities and diseases on the cross that Peter presents. In Luke 22:37 Jesus quotes Isa. 53:12, “He was numbered with the transgressors,” as justification for his order that his disciples sell their cloak and buy a sword. (Jobes)
Peter is urging the women of the Asia Minor churches to live a life that is respectable in society so that they will be able to maintain a good reputation for the gospel. If women in Asia Minor had considerably more freedom than women under the influence of Jewish customs, then we must interpret Peter’s words in the former context. That will mean that “submission” here probably does not refer to the same kind of restrictions in society that such a concept meant in Palestine. Furthermore, it makes his injunction a more pragmatic one.6 That is, Peter wants wives to submit because of the influence (3:1b-2) they can exert on their non-Christian husbands. This is entirely consistent with his agenda at 2:11–12, that Christians live such holy lives so that nothing can be lodged against the gospel because of their behavior. Any insults they receive must be the result of injustice. Accordingly, Peter’s injunction to Christian wives is that they conduct their lives so as to win their husbands to the Christian faith “without words.” That is, “in certain cases the eloquent silence of Christian deportment is its most effective vehicle.” (McKnight)
The pure and united marriage of a man and woman speeds on toward the gates of heaven. For if they bear the image of conjunction by which the church is mystically conjoined to Christ as his bride, they can pray that they will be elevated to a position equal to that of the church. Peter enjoins obedience on wives and tells husbands to bear patiently with them.… He also shows that there is another reason for being patient, which is so that their prayers will not be hindered. For nothing hinders the work of God like trouble in the home. (SEVERUS OF ANTIOCH: 496AD)
Discussion Questions:
next week – Read 1 Peter 3:3-11 Pastor Samuel Sutter // sam@BBCCOnline.org
