Victorious Suffering; 1Pet. 3:18-20

Delivered during the Sunday evening worship service, 03/15/2020. Peter continues his discussion of suffering by turning his attention to the supreme example: the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. As he does, he will continue two themes all ready established in this part of his epistle: the benefits of good behavior in the midst of suffering, and its underlying impact on evangelism (even of those who persecute us). In this passage he will introduce a third thread, or perhaps just a nuance of the other two. Using Christ as the model, he will show how suffering can be victorious-- even under the most intense persecution. We will find in Peter's somewhat enigmatic words both comfort and encouragement as we also face from time to time our own persecution for the Gospel of Christ, and thereby the prospect of victorious suffering.