First Peter 4:14 goes on to say, “If you are reproached in the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” The name denotes the person. To be in the name of Christ is actually to be in the person of Christ, in Christ Himself. The believers, having believed into Christ (John 3:15) and having been baptized into His name (Acts 19:5), that is, into Himself (Gal. 3:27), are in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30) and are one with Him (6:17). When they are reproached in His name, they are reproached with Him, sharing in His sufferings (1 Pet. 4:13), in the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10).
The reason the persecutions we suffer are the sufferings of Christ is that we suffer in the name of Christ. According to Peter’s word in 1 Peter 4:14, we are blessed if we are reproached in the name of Christ. We should not think that it is a curse to be reproached in the name of Christ. This is to be blessed. However, it may be a curse if people appreciate us too highly. Regarding this matter, we need to have a change of concept.
Peter tells us in verse 14 that if we are reproached in the name of Christ, the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon us. Literally, the Greek says, “The Spirit of glory and that of God.” The Spirit of glory is the Spirit of God. The Spirit of glory is the One through whom Christ was glorified in His resurrection (Rom. 1:4). This Spirit of glory, being the Spirit of God Himself, rests upon the suffering believers in their persecution, for the glorifying of the resurrected and exalted Christ, who is now in glory (1 Pet. 4:13). When we are willing to suffer for Christ, deep within we sense the Spirit of glory and of God—the Spirit expressed as glory—resting upon us. Today we all can experience and enjoy this aspect of Christ.
The Spirit of glory rests upon the persecuted believers to glorify God. The more we suffer and are persecuted, the more glory there will be upon us. This is truly a blessing. The more we are persecuted and evil spoken of, the more we are empowered. Persecution and reproach would not hold us down. On the contrary, they should lift us up. Therefore, we should rejoice when we are reproached in the name of Christ, because the Spirit of glory is resting upon us.
If we Christians suffer for Christ, then the Spirit within us will be the Spirit of glory. On the positive side, all sufferings work out one thing; that is, they break the outer man. Then when our outer man is broken, the glory in the Holy of Holies, that is, in our spirit, will be manifested. The more we suffer in the name of Christ, the more the Spirit of glory will be manifest.
Verse 14 tells us that the Spirit is of glory, that He is full of glory. Furthermore, the phrase the Spirit of glory and of God means that the Spirit of glory is the Spirit of God. When we are persecuted for the Lord, the Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of glory, rests upon us.
Glory is God manifested, God expressed. With the martyrs, usually at the moment they suffer martyrdom, there is a condition showing that God is expressed. This is the Spirit of glory and of God resting upon them. When Stephen was being tried, those in the Sanhedrin saw his face as though it were the face of an angel (Acts 6:15); that was the glory of God being manifested. This was because the Spirit of glory was resting upon him.
When Christians suffer for the Lord, the Spirit of Christ rests upon them to express and release God from within them. When people suffer for a worldly matter, they are troubled so much that they always have a sad or distressed expression and are unable to get through. However, Christians are not like this, because the indwelling Spirit, who is also the Spirit of glory, rests upon them to manifest the glory of God.
If we are willing to be persecuted for the Lord and suffer under God’s governmental dealing, the Spirit of glory and of God will rest upon us. When we suffer for the name of the Lord, the Spirit becomes the Spirit of glory resting upon us. To be a martyr is not to be put to death with bitterness. Rather, to be a martyr is a matter of gladness and glory. What is a suffering to the people of the world is a glory to us, the believers. When we suffer under God’s governmental dealing, there is always a glory. The Spirit of glory rests upon us to help us in our suffering, and while we are suffering, this Spirit of glory gives us the hope of glory (Col. 1:27) so that our suffering will be in the way of glory.
When we are reproached in the name of Christ, the Son of God, we are blessed because the Spirit of glory and of God the Father rests upon us. In the persecution of the believers, the three of the Divine Trinity are fully involved. They are wrapped up with the persecuted believers. When the believers of the Son are reproached, the Triune God is enjoying His rest by staying with them in their persecution. The Spirit of glory and of God the Father is resting upon the believers. The word rests in 1 Peter 4:14 means “to stay, abide, comfort, sustain, cover, and protect.” While the Spirit of glory is staying with us, the suffering ones, He becomes our sustaining power, our protection, our covering, and our victory, yet with Him it is a resting. This explains the real situation of Christian persecution. When we are being persecuted, our Triune God is covering us, protecting us, sustaining us, and comforting us. He is resting upon us.
In 1 Peter 4:16 we are told that “if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this name.” As Christians in reproach, we should not be ashamed of the name Christian, a despised term in Peter’s time, but rather glorify God in this name, that is, to express God in glory.
The Greek word Christianos is a word formed from Latin. The ending ianos, denoting an adherent of someone, was applied to slaves belonging to the great families in the Roman Empire. One who worshipped the emperor, the Caesar, or Kaisar, was called Kaisarianos, which means an “adherent of Kaisar, a person who belongs to Kaisar.” When people believed in Christ and became His followers, some in the Empire came to consider Christ a rival of their Kaisar. Then, at Antioch (Acts 11:26) they began to call the followers of Christ Christianoi (Christians), adherents of Christ, as a nickname, a term of reproach. Hence, this verse says, “As a Christian, let him not be ashamed”; that is, if any believer suffers at the hands of the persecutors who contemptuously call him a Christian, he should not feel ashamed but should glorify God in this name.
Today the term Christian should bear a positive meaning, that is, a man of Christ, one who is one with Christ, not only belonging to Him but also having His life and nature in an organic union with Him, and who is living by Him, even living Him, in his daily life. If we suffer for being such a person, we should not feel ashamed but should be bold to magnify Christ in our confession by our holy and excellent manner of life to glorify (express) God in this name.