CEASED FROM SIN

Therefore, since the Christ suffered for us in His body, arm yourselves also with the same mind, because he that has suffered in the body has ceased from sin. 1 Peter 4:1




WHAT???
He that has suffered in the body has ceased from sin???
The second half of that verse asserts that there is a cessation from sin in the sense of not sinning by he who suffers in the body. There can be no other interpretation of the second half of that verse. Now the question would be… "What is meant by suffering in the body?"

We know that he who has died physically has ceased from sin, but the verse above does not even hint at death being the cessation of sin. It clearly says suffering in the body will cease sin.

Adam was created without sin… not with an inviolable divine nature, but with both the ability to choose to obey God and the ability to choose not to obey God. Adam could have chosen to not eat of that fruit which Eve had already eaten, but he presumed that Eve was going to die for her disobedience (that‘s another study). The obvious is that Adam would have SUFFERED in continuing to obey God by NOT sinning…he would have SUFFERED without Eve. God had already declared it...
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him, Gen. 2:18.
I’m talking about emotional distress….grief, anxiety, loneliness, etc.; but not any more than he could bear, 1 Cor 10:13, and he would have been personally comforted by God Himself. Well…have we not the same help and Comforter?

Jesus was born Divine, without sin. There are those that will debate whether or not Jesus “could have” sinned, but Jesus did not need to have a sin nature to be tempted, He just had to be human. He was tempted. It was not some charade He and satan played out for 40 days and nights. Jesus, while very hungry, was tempted to turn the rocks into bread. He did not, of course, quoting the Word of God to repel satan.

[The fact that satan challenged Christ to create bread out of stones is a remarkable testimony on satan’s part to the truth of Creation and the fact that Jesus Christ is the Creator God. It was a real temptation to Christ, but would have been no temptation at all to you and me!] ~Russell Grigg

For these temptations to be meaningful, they had to be real. Jesus was…
One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

Heb. 2:10... For it was fitting for Him, for Whom are all things and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Heb. 2:14-18... Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Christ's suffering in the flesh expressed the very mind and purpose of Christ... Obedience to the Will of God.
He suffered in consequence of His steadfast obedience to God. He would not sin, and suffered the earthly consequences of that kind of living.
[As it is "through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" that baptism can be an efficacious vehicle of God's redemptive intention for human beings (3:21), the causative power of Jesus Christ is implied in the statement "since therefore Jesus Christ suffered in the flesh." When Christians are challenged to arm themselves with the same thought, this is not to be understood as meaning that Christians are to imitate Christ by the power of their own will, but rather that the indicative of God's saving grace has made it possible for them to be effectively challenged to place their will and existence on the side of God's intention and into the sphere of God's action and to live in the strength of Christ's victory. It is another way of saying that the imperative is made possible by, and grounded in, the indicative.] ~SUFFERING AND CESSATION FROM SIN, ACCORDING TO 1 PETER 4:1, Ivan T. Blazen, Andrews University

The idea is, he who dies to his body ceases from sin…from its power, from wrong-doing and from its guilt. Suffering has no saving value in and of itself. For us, the sufferer of 1 Peter 4:l is the one who has desisted from his sinful ways. We have to suffer and in doing so, be free from the flesh. If you don’t agree, then you must not have much of a war going on with the flesh. There is a reason why the phrase “arm yourselves” is used by Peter.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:7-8

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: Who committed no sin. 1 Peter 2:21-22