In the two epistles of Peter we seem to get parallel lines of truth. For instance, there is the incorruptible inheritance, the incorruptible word of God, and the incorruptible, unblemished Lamb of God. There is the precious blood, the precious stone, the precious promise, etc., and in the first epistle "the sufferings of Christ" are similarly presented. We have
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST:
Testified beforehand …. chap. 1:11
For us ….. 2:21
For sins ….. 3:18
We are partakers of 4:13
We are witnesses of 5:1
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST TESTIFIED BEFOREHAND.
In chap, i:11 we learn that the prophets inquired and searched diligently of the grace which the Holy Spirit showed them was coming to us:"When He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow." The cross of Christ was not an afterthought with God when man had failed. All through the writings of the Old Testament we have these sufferings pictured in type, prophecy and history.
In psalm 22 we find the very words uttered by our Lord on the cross, when in the darkness of distance from God, bearing the awful load of our sin, He cries, " My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ?" Take again the familiar passage in Isaiah 53:Stricken, smitten and afflicted; wounded, bruised, chastened, oppressed; despised, rejected, sorrowing and lightly esteemed; cut off out of the land of the living, and His very grave appointed with the wicked. Could the sufferings of Christ be more plainly foretold ? In fact, so far was this from the glories that should follow, that the Jews, looking only at the glories, conceived the thought of two Messiahs.
And so all through the Old Testament, from the bruising of the heel (Gen. 3:15); the sacrifice of Abel (Gen. 4); the offering of Isaac (Gen. 22); the tabernacle ritual; on to Zechariah 12 :10, where "They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced," the sufferings of Christ are told out.
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST FOR US.
While the Prophets could only look forward to the sufferings of Christ, we can look back to Calvary and exultingly say, in the language of chap. 2:21, " Christ also suffered for us." We look at Him who hung on the cross in suffering and agony, and delight to own Him " the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). There we see the love of God who "spared not His Son, but delivered Him up for us all" (Rom. 8:32). There we see Him who knew no sin made sin for us-the Christ of God wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. There we see the chastisement of our peace laid upon Him, and realize that with His stripes we are healed-that God hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. There we see Him delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification. There was no need for Him to die for Himself. It was only our need, our vileness, our wretchedness, that brought Him there. Oh, my soul! let me revel in such love-the holy Son of God suffered for me! And let me ever bow in adoring praise and thanksgiving to Him who loved me and gave Himself for me. Let me praise God who so loved me as to give His only begotten Son, the treasure of His bosom, who in the outer darkness was made a curse for me, that having put away my sins I might be made fit for His presence.
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST FOR SINS.
" Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" (chap. 3:18).
The sufferings of Christ were of two kinds:one at the hands of men, for righteousness' sake; the other, at the hands of God, as an atonement for sin. The first were largely physical; the second took hold of His very being in such a way that in Gethsemane's garden, in anticipation of this suffering, He sweat as it were great drops of blood, and prayed in agony. On the cross, alone, the unique Sufferer bears the awful load of our guilt. It is the Christ of God who is suffering, and who by Himself purged our sins-He who is " God over all, blessed forever." It is He who is "Jehovah's Fellow," who in eternity was in the bosom of the Father, His delight, the center of heaven's glory; and yet to show the love of God to guilty sinners, was given to bear the sin of the world, to take the guilty sinner's place in the outer darkness!
" Oh, what a load was Thine to bear,
Alone in that dark hour;
Our sins in all their terror there;
God's wrath and Satan's power! "
There on the cross was One who hated sin with a perfect hatred; to whom the very presence of, and outward contact with, sin brought suffering; One whose holy mind and heart had nothing in them but a perfect answer to all the light and holiness of the throne of God. One who knew no sin-was apart from it in every sense of the word ; and yet on whom fell the judgment of all the iniquity, the guilt and wretchedness of this world's sins! In a word, One who was made sin for us, and was thus judged; having descended into the horrible pit and miry clay in order to give us a perfect standing before God.
And so the gospel is:"Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (i Cor. 15 :3) ; and John the Baptist could point to Him and say, "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world" (John i :29) ; and Paul could preach that "through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by Him all that believe are justified from all things" (Acts 13:38, 39).
And He suffered "once"-not a daily or oft-repeated sacrifice which could not make the comers thereunto perfect; bat "once in the end of the ages He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself " (Heb. 9:26). After He had offered one sacrifice for sins, He forever sat down on the right hand of God, the seated Priest, signifying a completed work of atonement for sins. We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once, and by His one offering we are sanctified in perpetuity. Therefore as worshipers our conscience is purged from all sins (Heb. 10:2, 10, 12, 14).
And what was the glorious result of this suffering for sin by the holy One ? It was, " That He might bring us to God." By nature and practice we were far off from God; without God, without hope (Eph. 2). And what is more, we could do nothing of ourselves to better our condition. By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in God's sight (Rom. 3).
It was in this condition the Spirit of God found us-without Christ, without hope, without God- and, directing our hearts to a crucified Saviour, as we by faith look upon Him, we are brought to God; out of our distance and darkness and ruin, we are made nigh by the blood of Christ, and have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, and so draw nigh in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.
His sufferings are over. He was "put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." As soon as atonement was accomplished God began to honor His Son. Having been forsaken by God for us, and all being now "finished," He cried with a loud voice, and as sovereign Lord, dismissed His spirit (Matt. 27:50, Greek). Men had appointed His grave with the wicked; but God placed Him with the rich in His death (Isa. 53:9). He was put to death in the flesh (the only way in which He could die), but quickened by the Spirit, and thus in resurrection all who are in Him find their justification. " He was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification " (Rom. 4:25). We rest secure from any thought of death and judgment therefore, because they are behind us; nothing but grace and glory are before. We have, in the person of our Substitute, passed out of the first Adam state of guilt and condemnation; now we are beyond the tomb, risen with Christ. The old life as a judged and condemned thing has met its true desert, in Christ; and He being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him, therefore none over us who are in Him. Our business now is to walk according to this resurrection life, in the Spirit; and in this new life we are permitted to be partakers of Christ's sufferings.
WE ARE PARTAKERS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS.
We cannot of course be partakers of His atoning sufferings for our sins, as some blasphemously teach. In no way can we, poor sinners as we are, bear the sins of the world. To think so is blasphemous. But as soon as the cross is passed and we are on resurrection ground, we are permitted to have fellowship with Christ, and be partakers of His sufferings for righteousness' sake (chap. 4 :13). The one who is identified with Christ must stand against an ungodly world and receive its persecutions, suffering thus for well doing (chap. 4:14-16). Whether we are called to be faithful unto death, or only to receive the sneers and jeers of men, or loss of earthly gain, all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution; and in this world, our Lord has told us, we shall have tribulation. As Satan cannot touch the Lord Himself he would seek in every way to injure those who love Him. Therefore everything that the malice and hatred of Satan can suggest he directs against us through various means. The restraining hand of our God permits Satan only to go so far as is for
God's glory and our good (Job i); but God does permit us, and privileges us, to have fellowship with Christ in suffering for righteousness' sake, therefore we should count it all joy when we fall into diverse trials; we should rejoice and be exceeding glad, knowing that the prophets before us were so persecuted, and the same afflictions are being likewise accomplished in our brethren that are in the world. The first thing shown to Paul after his conversion was "how great things he must suffer" for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Unto him and unto us also is the privilege given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake; and so the apostle gladly suffered the loss of all things for Christ, and counted them but dung, that he might know Christ and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. But we are not to suffer as evil-doers, nor are we to seek persecution and oppression, but to follow Christ through an ungodly world, and the sufferings will find us quickly enough.
When our blessed Lord was here, as He came into contact with sin and its evil effects, His whole righteous being suffered. He wept, He groaned in spirit, He sighed as He felt the miseries of those He came to bless, and felt the dishonor done to God by sin. Would that each one of God's dear people felt this latter more! When we hear blasphemous, vile talk, we naturally shrink from the awfulness of it; but would to God that the refinements of sin -the polished, cultured sin-were more felt by us in the dishonor done to Him who is thus set at nought!
In the first days of the Church's history, as the apostles were beaten and bore suffering and indignity for Jesus' sake, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name (Acts 5:41). It was a privilege and joy to suffer for Him who had given Himself for their sins. Not many of us in these days of freedom of conscience will be called upon to undergo inflictions of pain. But if our walk and fellowship is with Christ, we shall face a world which hates Him, and therefore will persecute us.
But we are joint-heirs with Christ:if we suffer with Him, we shall be glorified together (Rom. 8:17, 18). So that the sufferings of this present time are unworthy of comparison with the glories which shall be revealed in us. We are to rejoice now for all in which we are permitted to bear any part in suffering with and for Him, and when He is revealed we shall be glad also with exceeding joy.
Last of all, Peter tells us he was a
WITNESS OF THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.
A witness testifies to what he knows or has seen. Peter having walked with Christ was an eye-witness of His sufferings. That is more than we can say; but we can witness of Him to a world of lost sinners going on to judgment. We can "speak what we do know" of Him in our hearts, and from the word of God of His sufferings for us. As Paul says, "Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the Prophets and Moses did say should come:that Christ should suffer, and that He should be the
first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles" (Acts 26:22, 23). In having thus the word of God to present unto a lost world, we have that which is even of more power than our own eye-witnessing testimony would be; "for the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12).
Oh, for a truer witness of the word of God to lost men! F.