The Bible Says
1 Peter 4:6 Meaning

1 Peter 4:6 states the purpose of the gospel-to bring life to those who are dead in their sin. Verse 6 begins: For the gospel has for this purpose been preached (v. 6a).

The preposition For connects this purpose to the previous verses. 1 Peter 4:1 says believers should have “the same purpose” that Christ had. Christ lived for “the will of God” (1 Peter 4:2). He endured suffering for what was right and died for the sins of the world, “the just for the unjust” in order to “bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

In 1 Peter 3:15, Peter asserted that when believers similarly endure hostility, rejection, and loss as faithful witnesses for Jesus, we should be “ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you.” In this way we can live according to the same purpose as Jesus; we can do God’s will by living a life set apart to Him, and in doing so bring people to God (1 Peter 3:18, 1 Thessalonians 4:3).

Peter continues to tell us that the gospel had been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they might live in the spirit according to the will of God (v. 6b).

This phrase contains three parts:

1. The gospel is preached to those who are dead.
2. The purpose of the gospel being preached is so that they might live in the spirit according to God’s will.
3. A by-product of them living according to God’s will is being judged by men.

This verse could be applied to an unbeliever or a believer.

1. When an unbeliever receives Jesus, they go from death to life in Christ (Ephesians 2:5).
2. They now have the resurrection power to live according to God’s will (Ephesians 3:20, 6:10, Colossians 1:11, 2:10, 1 Thessalonians 1:5, 2 Timothy 1:7).
3. When they obey God they will likely suffer rejection and judgement by men (2 Timothy 3:12).

Because Peter’s letter is speaking to people who are already redeemed and are filled with the resurrection power to walk in God’s will, Peter’s primary emphasis is probably the second and third point above, that as believers they have the power of God within to overcome sin. As we saw in Chapter 2, Peter reminded his readers they are “The people of God” and “A royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9-10). This letter can be viewed as saying “Live out who you are in Christ.”

The complete good news of Jesus includes not only being born again into God’s family, but also being indwelt by the power of His Spirit. That power gives believers the potential to walk in His ways as a faithful witness; it allows believers to transcend worldly ways.

Accordingly, walking in the ways of Jesus leads to having impact as Jesus had impact. It also leads to believers sharing in His reward for living as a faithful witness, walking in the will of His Father. This is likely what Jesus had in mind when He said, “he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” As potentially billions of believers all over the world follow Jesus faithfully, the sum total of all they do will have even greater impact because it is the resurrection power of Jesus working through His people all over the world.

A primary point Peter continues to press might be stated thusly: “Live as the new person you have become in Christ. Follow fully Jesus’s example, through His resurrection power within you, and join in both His impact on others as well as His reward for faithfulness.”

Thus, the admonition here to this group of believers seems to be “You should take full advantage of the gospel.” As with all commands of God, this is in our best interest. By living in the spirit according to the will of God, believers gain many positive consequences. These include:

• The opportunity to have “exultation” at Jesus’s coming because we were faithful witnesses (1 Peter 4:13).
• Leaders can receive the “crown of glory” for being faithful in exercising good stewardship of their authority (1 Peter 5:4).
• Anyone who humbles themselves “under the mighty hand of God” they can trust that God will exalt them in His good timing (1 Peter 5:6)

If someone is alive in Christ, then their opportunity is to walk in that life rather than walk in the death from which they have been delivered (Romans 6:11-13). It is apparent on its face that life is better than death. The struggle comes because Satan frames death as life, as he has done since he tempted Eve in the Garden (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:1-5).

Any believer who lives as a faithful witness, as Jesus lived, will be judged in the flesh as men. This likely refers to the kind of rejection spoken of in the previous verses, where former friends now rejected those who did not share their sinful deeds (1 Peter 4:4).

This phrase is preceded by though which indicates that enduring the judgment and rejection of others is an impediment to living in the spirit according to the will of God. And that fits our experience; we do not like rejection. The world is full of lusts, and our fallen flesh is weak (James 1:14). But the gospel has been preached to those who are dead so that in spite of facing rejection and persecution from the world for believing in Jesus they can live in the spirit according to the will of God.

The person who is dead in sin can hear the truth of the gospel and believe in Jesus and receive the free gift of life (John 3:14-15). The believer walking in the deadness from which they were delivered can hear the truth of the gospel and learn to set aside self and walk in the Spirit, to walk in the newness of life (Romans 6:7, 11-12).

The purpose of the gospel is to result in people living according to the will of God. This is consistent with the “Great Commission” where Jesus instructed His followers to “make disciples” by teaching them to follow His commands, which is to walk according to the will of God (Matthew 28:18-20).

Peter acknowledged in 1 Peter 1:6 that these believing Jews had “been distressed by various trials.” There was at times severe persecution of Jews who believed in Jesus. It is likely the believers receiving this letter had fled Judea because of this persecution. An example of this is Stephen. He was stoned to death because he was judged and convicted by the Jewish people in Jerusalem (Acts 7:57-60).

But those who are judged and even persecuted for their faithful witness can live in the spirit, through the power of Christ, according to the will of God; this is the very purpose of the gospel. The gospel provides reconciliation with God as well as the power to live in His will even while dwelling in a fallen world.

Said another way, all believers are saved from the penalty of sin through faith (past tense salvation, unconditional) but are being saved from the adverse effects of sin through a daily walk of faith (present tense salvation, conditional on walking in the Spirit) and will be saved from the presence of sin in the next life (future tense salvation). Some verses that use the word “salvation” or “saved” in this manner follow:

• Past tense salvation:
• • Ephesians 2:8-9 speaks of past tense salvation; we are saved from the penalty of sin by faith in Christ
  • Being made righteous in God’s sight comes by faith alone (Romans 4:3)

• Present tense salvation:
• • Romans 5:9-10 speaks of being saved from “the wrath of God” through walking in the power of His life in our daily lives.
  • 1 Peter 1:9 speaks of the outcome of our faith being the salvation of our souls. He writes 1 Peter to people who are already believers. This is at the very beginning of Peter’s assertion that walking in faith through trials and remaining apart from the world saves us from adverse consequences of sin. He has built on this theme throughout the letter.

• Future tense salvation:
• • Romans 13:11 speaks of a salvation getting nearer in time the longer we live from the point where we first believed. This is the salvation from the trials and difficulties of this life and striving against sin. This will be the case for believers when we get a new body and dwell in a new earth (Revelation 21:4).

Peter’s point about the gospel being preached includes the reality that those who responded to the gospel by believing in Christ even though they are physically dead because of persecution, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God (Acts 7:59, 2 Corinthians 5:8). This is because in Christ we have life eternal, and that life continues into the next world. In spite of the potential for severe persecution, Peter exhorts believers to follow in God’s will, imitating the example of Jesus to have the opportunity to share in His glory (1 Peter 4:13).

In the next section, Peter places his admonition to live according to the will of God in the context of the reality that the judgment day is drawing near when we will no longer have the opportunity to live by faith.