1 Peter 4:3 Living the Rest of Your TIME for the Will of God

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Living the Rest of Your TIME for the Will of God

1 Peter 4:3

Introduction: 1 Peter 4:7 begins with, “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be…” In 4:2, Peter spoke of how we would live “the rest of our time” in the flesh. And in 4:3 he again mentions the “time” that is past that we lived as the Gentiles do. Throughout the letter, Peter has repeatedly focused on time, whether time now or time in eternity. It is a key theme from which Peter develops his message. 

This lesson will be devoted to Peter’s message about time.

1. Peter’s Contrasting Pictures of Time
   1. First, notice Peter’s emphasis on the shortness of time that is lived in the flesh:
      1. In our text, Peter mentions the “time” spent living for human passions is quite enough (4:3), and that we ought to spend the “rest of the time” living for the will of God and no longer for human passions (4:2).
      2. In 1:1, Peter identified these Christians as “exiles,” and in 1:17 he urged them to “conduct yourself with fear throughout the time of your exile.” 
      3. In 1:6, Peter spoke of their trials as something they would suffer “for a little while.” 
      4. In 2:11, Peter identified the reason Christians ought not practice sin was because they were “sojourners and exiles.” To be a sojourner obviously implies a limited “time” in which one would be living in that state.
      5. To further emphasize their need for diligence, Peter proclaimed in 1:20 that Jesus was made manifest “in the last times” for the sake of you. In other words, Peter’s readers, and even more us, are living in the last stage of God’s great redemptive plan, and the goal of that plan is now being realized.
   2. In contrast, now notice Peter’s emphasis on our eternal hope:
      1. 1:23, 25 we are born again by the word of the Lord “which lives and abides forever.” 
      2. In 2:5, we are “living stones” built up as a “spiritual house” (2:5), implying we are built into a spiritual/eternal temple with Jesus as the cornerstone so that we will “not be put to shame” (2:6).
      3. In 4:6, those who live for the will of God will no longer be judged in the flesh the way people are, but will “live in the spirit the way God does.” In fact, the text indicates that there are those who are already dead and are enjoying living in the spirit the way God does.
      4. In 4:7, “the end of all things is at hand,” but in 4:11, “to him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.”
      5. Finally, in 5:10, after you have “suffered a little while” God “who has called you to his “eternal glory” will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. “To him be dominion forever and ever.”
      6. Now go back to 1:3-5. God caused us to be “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you…ready to be revealed at the last time.”
   3. Therefore, throughout the letter Peter has contrasted the shortness of time we live in the flesh with the eternal, living hope that will be revealed. That eternal hope is to be our motivation while the shortness of this life is an encouragement to live for the will of God, willing to suffer as Jesus did.
2. The Challenge of Peter’s Message
   1. Look again at 4:1b–2. We are called to live the “rest of our time” for the will of God. Consider those words carefully – the rest of our time. What is the problem we have with those words? We might not admit it out loud, but in the deep parts of our mind we are thinking, “Well, yes, but what about ME? What about the things I want to do? What about my bucket list?” Yes, in a balanced lifestyle, God usually provides time for rest. But God calls us to contentment: “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This I saw is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment” (Eccl. 2:24-25). But that does not mean we are allowed to live for our desires. We are to live the rest of our time in the flesh for the will of God.
   2. Now why should that be easy for us to do? It is because we are not missing out on anything! The idea that we only have “so much time” is wrong thinking. How many years will you live in the flesh “for the will of God?” Now how long is eternity? This is why Jeremiah, the prophets , and the apostles could live with such trials.
   3. In 2 Peter 3:11-12, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” 
      1. What are we waiting for? A new heavens and new earth. As cool as so many things are in this heavens and earth which will be burned up, just imagine what we have waiting for us in that new creation! Consider why the Lord used that phrase instead of just “heaven.” God always gives us pictures of our eternal home in terms we can relate to our present experience. Our present heavens and earth are beyond amazing, beyond our own ability to comprehend. But God has so much better coming – a whole new creation!
      2. Notice how Peter expresses our eagerness: waiting for and hastening. When we passionately look for and eagerly wait and hasten for that day, we will see the sufferings of the here and now as a “light momentary affliction” (2 Cor. 4:16). 
      3. What did Solomon say about all the things he attained and experienced in this life? Vanity of vanities. Poof! It’s gone. “No profit under the sun.” In other words, we are not missing out on anything! (Cf. Eccl. 12:13, “…this is the whole of man.” 
   4. Here is what is so important: when we look carefully at this letter we can see that Peter would think us absolutely foolish if we took on a depressed state of mind because he has been preparing us to suffer for righteousness sake.  That would not only be against Peter’s message, it would be against everything God desires of us. 
      1. How could we ever convince the world around us of the wonder of our God if we lived like victims of this world, depressed over what we must endure?
      2. In 1:6, Peter began with the words, “In this you rejoice…” And again in 1:8, “Though you do not see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory…” 
3. Pictures that Help Us Rejoice with Joy
   1. What did Jesus say when he invited the two-talent and five-talent man into the kingdom? “Enter into the joy of your Lord.” (Matt. 24:23)
   2. Psalm 16:10-11 “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” 
   3. Notice what was revealed to John in the Revelation 7:14-17:
      1. Robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb
      2. Before the throne of God serving him day and night in his temple
      3. He who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence
      4. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
      5. The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd
      6. He will guide them to springs of living water
      7. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
   4. Revelation 19:7-9 “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure–for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” 
   5. Revelation 21:1-7
   6. Revelation 22:1-5

Conclusion: Go to 4:10-11. We have been given gifts to be used as good stewards of God’s grace. In order to use our time for the will of God, we are to use these gifts “that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” If we do this, we will have plenty of “time” in our new heavens and new earth.

Berry Kercheville