1st Peter Chapter 4 verse 19 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 19. - Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God; rather, let them also that suffer. St. Peter sums up his exhortation; he returns to the thought of 1 Peter 3:17, "It is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing, than for evil-doing." In the hour of suffering, as well as in times of prosperity, we are in the hands of a merciful and loving Father; we are to learn submission, not because the suffering is inevitable, but because it is according to his will, and his will is our sanctification and salvation. Commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator; rather, as in the Revised Version, commit their souls in well-doing unto a faithful Creator. The conjunction "as" must be omitted, not being found in any of the best manuscripts. The word rendered "Creator" (κτίστης) Occurs nowhere else in the Greek Testament. God is our Creator, the Father of spirits, He gave the spirit; to him it returneth. We must imitate our dying Lord, and, like him, commit our souls to the keeping of our heavenly Father as a deposit which may be left with perfect confidence in the hands of a faithful Creator (see 2 Timothy 1:12). There is an evident reference here to our Lord's words upon the cross (Luke 23:46; Psalm 31:5). St. Peter adds, "in well-doing." The Christian's faith must bring forth the fruits of holy living; even in the midst of suffering he must "be careful to maintain good works."

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(19) Wherefore.--Because the beginning of the judgment--the judgment of the Christians--is so light in comparison with the fearful end when it lights on the disobedient and wicked.Let them that suffer according to the will of God.--Our version omits an important little word: Let them that suffer also (or, Let even them that suffer) according to the will of God. The stress is on "suffer"--i.e., be put to death. And the clause, "according to the will of God," seems not intended to mean "in a godly and unblameable manner," as opposed to the "suffering as a murderer" (1Peter 4:15); rather, it brings out that such a death is no accident, no sudden calamity, but in strict accordance with God's prearranged design. (Comp. 1Peter 3:17 : "if the will of God will it.") Thus it harmonises with the following: "faithful Creator," "commit their souls."Commit the keeping of their souls.--The beautiful verb rendered "commit the keeping of" is a technical term for depositing a deed, or sum of money, or other valuable, with any one in trust. In the literal sense it occurs in Luke 12:48; 2Timothy 1:12 : in a metaphorical sense, of doctrines committed in trust to the safe keeping of the Episcopate, in 1Timothy 1:18; 1Timothy 6:20; 2Timothy 1:14; 2Timothy 2:2 : of leaving persons whom you love in trust, in Acts 14:23; Acts 20:32. But the words which St. Peter probably has ringing in his ears when he thus writes are the words of our Lord on the cross (where the same verb is used): "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit" (Luke 23:46). "Their souls" might, perhaps, with still more propriety, be here translated their lives. The connection will then be: "Consider the mildness of these trials compared with the terrors overhanging the sinful. Even if the worst should come to the worst, and you must die a martyr's death, it is but the execution of God's plan for you. View your life as a deposit: lay it confidently in His hands, to be returned to you again when the time comes: and you will find Him faithful to what a Creator ought to be." . . .