Suffer and cease
1 Peter 4:1-2 “Forasmuch then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”
We have to arm ourselves with the same purpose or have the same mindset as Christ. As He was willing to lay down and suffer in His flesh for our freedom, we too have to suffer in our flesh, meaning we have to suffer by doing what is right and not allowing our flesh the freedom to do what it wants to do.
It is only when we have this attitude that we can do something about intentional sin and stop our flesh from dictating our lives. When we suffer in the flesh, like the Apostle Paul said by the Holy Ghost, we must crucify our flesh. I think Peter is saying the same thing here but with different words.
We are no longer to live by the lusts of our flesh because if we do, we will not be able to live out the will of God for our lives, which includes finishing our course. If I am serious about finishing my course, then I have to have the mind of Christ on this, or His mindset.
Even though His flesh cried out for another way, He submitted to the will of God and went to the cross. We must take the same stand, even though our flesh is screaming to get its way. We must put it under and submit to the Word and will of God.
It is a hard thing to do, but if you say, “It’s not so hard; just do it,” I wonder if you have really done it? This scripture brings out the battle that it really is. It likens “putting your flesh under” to what Jesus did in order to go to the cross.
Remember, His sweat was as it were great drops of blood. The stress of it all was so real that blood came out His pores. I am not saying that is what it has to be like for us, but I am saying this is not a casual thing.
We must decide if we are going to live and walk with God or let our flesh rule and reign. Because you are reading this, I know your desire is to finish your course. So, let the Word of God arm us with all we need to run our races well.