Spiritual Flesh

Having been set free from sin's power by the cross, the values and priorities of the world no longer make sense to us.

Scripture:  1 Peter 4:1-11

Sermon Notes:

1. Scripture requires us to live and defend our faith as a holy people set apart to God, even under persecution.
2. We’re to arm ourselves with the same way of thinking that Christ our Lord had when He faced suffering (cf. Rom. 12:2).
3. Peter sets forth an eschatology of ethics – how the redeemed are to live in the flesh before the judgment.
4. We’re done with sin, having been set free from its power in Christ’s cross.  We’re not done with our bodies, but we’ve died to sin that we may live a renewed life (Rom. 6:3-4).
5. The values and priorities of the world no longer make sense to us: lying, orgies, drunkenness, licentiousness (1 Pet 4:3).
6. The world does not bestow admiration or appreciation for rejecting its values; unbelievers feel judged by the new reality of our changed lives. If your orientation is to live for lawless desires, then a godly life is offensive.
7. Our culture lives to give expression to subconscious fantasies – the “liberation of the subconscious.”  Repressing desires is seen as harmful to your health.
8. Christ is on the throne ready to judge the world. Everyone must be ready to give an account.
9. The certainty of God’s judgment over history comforts us when facing evil and injustice.
10. Our mortality will be changed to immortality.  The end result of our salvation is near.
11. We’re to be holy, separate from sin unto God. God Himself is holy in the distinction between the persons of the Trinity.
12. Gnostic ideas, old and new, reject the goodness of God’s physical creation.
13. Our problem is not our bodies, as claimed by much of western philosophy, for Jesus Himself took on a body. 
14. Our struggle with sin is based on our ethical rebellion: lawlessness and idolatry.
15. Holiness concerns our relationship with God and others.
16. The death of a Christian is not a contradiction.  Through death we pass into the new life in the Spirit.
17. Jesus is ready to judge for the end of all things is near.
18. Peter therefore urges self-control and prayer.  Ministry and service replace the world’s way of mutual-exploitation.
19. Such love fulfills the law, and does not find delight in finding the faults and failures of others.  Instead love delights to overlook an offense.  
20. Our love for the lost needs to begin with love for one another.  We are stewards of God’s grace that we might support one-another.
21. We’re to serve by God’s strength and for His glory.  
22. Pray for those who preach that God would grant them strength to fully declare God’s Word.
23. The full reality of our spiritual flesh will be manifest when death is swallowed up by life.

Application Questions:

1. Why do unbelievers find the Christian’s ethical behavior to be offensive?
2. What is the Christian attitude toward the physical world?
3. How is the holiness of God reflected within the Trinity?
4. Am I living out Christ’s love that overlooks minor offenses?
5. Outline the Christian eschatology of ethics.
6. How should people respond to the reality of Christ’s imminent universal judgment?
7. How can we serve one another this week?