«　WEEK 4　DAY 4　»

　　1 Pet. 2:19-21 …This is grace, if anyone, because of a consciousness of God, bears sorrows by suffering unjustly. For what glory is it if, while sinning and being buffeted, you endure? But if, while doing good and suffering, you endure, this is grace with God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered on your behalf, leaving you a model so that you may follow in His steps.

　　In 1 Peter 2:19 and 20…Peter is saying that if, because of a consciousness of God, we are willing to bear sorrows and suffer unjustly, that is, suffer unjust treatment, this is grace. The Greek word rendered “grace” in verse 19 is charis, referring here to the motivation of the divine life within us and its expression in our life, becoming in our behavior gracious and acceptable in the eyes of both man and God (v. 20). (Life-study of 1 Peter, p. 173)

　　The words consciousness of God also mean conscience toward God. This is the consciousness of our relation to God. It indicates that a believer is living in an intimate fellowship with God, that he has and keeps a conscience toward God that is both good and pure (3:16; 1 Tim. 1:5, 19; 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3).

　　According to the context, the unjust suffering spoken of in 1 Peter 2:19 must be the mistreatment inflicted by the unbelieving masters. These masters opposed and persecuted their believing servants because of their Christian testimony (1 Pet. 3:14-18; 4:12-16).

　　The Christian life is a matter of behavior. Suppose we did not have the divine life within us. This would certainly make family life very difficult, especially in relation to our in-laws … For both a husband and a wife, a mother-in-law can create a difficult situation … Humanly speaking, it is better that a married couple not have a mother-in-law live with them.

　　The point here is that if we are those without the divine life, we shall face problems in our married life, no matter how much we may love one another. We shall have at least five major problems: temper, disposition, habit, background, and our way of understanding things. No matter how much alike a husband and a wife may be, there will be differences between them regarding temper, disposition, habit, background, and understanding. The husband will have his way of viewing things, and the wife will have hers. Likewise, the wife will have her habits and disposition, and the husband will have his… This will be the situation, even if the husband and wife love each other very much and are refined, educated people. Sometimes at least they will find the situation intolerable and will quarrel with one another. If a mother-in-law is visiting at such a time, she will find the situation altogether unpleasant and unacceptable. She would not even want to observe such an ungracious situation.

　　But suppose a husband and wife both have the divine life and live according to this life. In spite of the differences in temper, disposition, habit, background, and understanding, grace inwardly motivates both the husband and the wife. Furthermore, this grace is expressed in their living. If the mother-in-law of either the husband or wife observes their way of living, she will find it gracious, pleasant, and acceptable. This is grace.

　　Peter… says, “This is grace” [1 Pet. 2:19] . Then he tells us that Christ has left us a model. The grace and the model are closely related. When anyone observes the expression of the Triune God as grace from within a believer and recognizes that this is grace, there is an indication that this one has become a xerox copy of Christ, the model. To express the Triune God as grace in the midst of unjust suffering is to become a reproduction of Christ. Therefore, instead of saying, “This is grace,” it is possible to say, “This is a reproduction of Christ.” The manner of life that expresses the processed Triune God as grace is not only grace—it is a reproduction of Christ. (Life-study of 1 Peter, pp. 173-174, 182)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Peter, msgs. 19-20