But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:13 ESV).
One scholar directs our attention to an important aspect of this passage and its reference to “…sharing Christ’s sufferings” (GNT): “Christians share in Christ’s sufferings not by contributing to Christ’s finished work of atonement for sin, but by experiencing similar mistreatment because they are identified with and united to Christ…” (1)
Another commentator adds…
“Christ’s death on the Cross is sufficient for our salvation. The Bible makes this emphatically clear. Anticipating the Cross, Jesus said to His Father, ‘I have finished the work which You have given Me to do’ (John 17:4). On the cross He cried out, ‘It is finished!’ (John 19:30). The Book of Hebrews declares unequivocally that ‘by one offering [on the cross] He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified’ (Heb. 10:14). And this He did ‘by Himself’ (Heb. 1:3), with no help from anyone else.” (2)
Therefore, our sufferings do not add to Jesus’ sacrificial work on the cross. Instead, they enable us to identify with His experience of suffering for the sake of righteousness. The Apostle Paul expressed a similar thought in Philippians 3:10 when he said, “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death” (CSB).
So Paul was not simply interested in knowing about Jesus- he wanted to identify with Him and share in “…the fellowship of His sufferings.” This is reminiscent of the camaraderie that often develops among those who have a mutual background of shared experiences. The same is true among those who are “…partakers of Christ’s sufferings” (KJV) as well.
Our first commentator closes our look at this passage with the following thought…
“This kind of response is required of all of us because the Christian life is about the imitation of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). We are being molded into His image, so we are to strive to live as He lived. Our Lord was slandered and falsely accused of all kinds of offenses, but He opened not His mouth in protest (Isa. 53:7). Like a lamb, He accepted these vitriolic attacks, and, in the very moment of His passion, He prayed for the forgiveness of those who were attacking Him (Luke 23:34). This is how we are called to react to our enemies (1 Peter 4:13). Therefore, every false accusation, every slander, every ill word spoken about me is an opportunity for me to grow in my sanctification.” (3)
(1) R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2249.
(2) Geisler, N. L., & Howe, T. A. (1992). When critics ask : a popular handbook on Bible difficulties (pp. 486–487). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
(3) R.C. Sproul, “A Charitable Reaction” Tabletalk Magazine, January, 2013 [pg. 5]