1 Peter 4:1-6 | Bible Study Questions

1. How does this passage (1 Peter 4:1-6) connect to the previous texts? (Ref: 1 Peter 3:17-18)
2. What did Christ experience in the flesh according to V:1? (1 Peter 4:1)
3. According to V:1, what specific armour are believers told to arm themselves with? And why? (1 Peter 4:1)
4. Observe the contrast mentioned in V:2. How is the reader encouraged to live the rest of the time in the flesh? (1 Peter 4:2)
5. Identify the specific behaviors Peter lists in V:3. Who is associated with these behaviours? How should a believer relate to these behaviours? (1 Peter 4:3)
6. How is a believer's past behaviour described in V:4? What is the reaction of those who live according to V:3, when believers no longer join in their activities? (1 Peter 4:4)
7. According to V:5, Who will be  judged? What is the status of the judge’s readiness? What would be required to be given to the judge? (1 Peter 4:5)
8. According to V:6, who was the Gospel preached to? (1 Peter 4:6)
9. What are the similarities between the experience of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:18, 4:1) and the suffering believer? (1 Peter 4:6)

1. In V:1, what does it mean to have the ‘same way of thinking as Christ’ regarding suffering?(1 Peter 4:1)
2. What does it mean that “He who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin?” How does a willingness to suffer relate to ‘ceasing from sin’?  (1 Peter 4:1)
3. V:2 contrasts "human passions" with "the will of God." How does having the “same way of thinking as Christ” (suffering in the flesh  V:1) change a person's priorities? (1 Peter 4:2)
4. What does it mean that “The time that is past is sufficient to have carried out what  the Gentiles want to do?” (1 Peter 4:3)
5. What does this passage teach us about the nature of sin? Based on the context, what could be the reason why a believer would not join in to sin? (1 Peter 4:4)
6. What does the phrase “give an account” mean in V:5? What does it teach us about God?
7. Who are the “dead” that Peter is referring to in V:6? What does it mean for the gospel to be preached even to those who are dead? (1 Peter 4:6)
8. What does it mean to be “judged in the flesh” and “to live in the spirit”? (1 Peter 4:6)

The gospel was preached even to those who are dead. (From the ESV Study Bible)

Some think that Peter offers a chance to accept Christ after death for those who rejected him while they were alive. This view contradicts both the clear teaching of Scripture (e.g., Luke 16:26; Heb. 9:27) and the immediate context. In this context, “those who are dead” are Christians to whom “the gospel was preached” when they were alive but who have since died. This fits with the meaning of “dead” in 1 Pet. 4:5. 

Believers will experience physical death (that is, they are judged in the flesh the way people are). But believers who have died live in the spirit the way God does. That is, they live in heaven now, and they will live at the resurrection when Christ returns.

1. Thank the Lord for the gift of salvation and for suffering for us in the flesh.
2. Have you ever felt "maligned" or "spoken evil of" (v. 4) because you chose not to participate in certain activities? How does this passage help you to stay firm?
3. How is the example of Jesus a model for us when we are faced with suffering in the flesh due to temptation to sin or social pressure?
4. In practical terms what could it mean to arm ourselves with the attitude of Christ?
5. What should change in us so that we no longer live for human passions but for the will of God?
6. How does this passage encourage us to preach the Gospel and live in obedience to God’s word?