We have seen that the results of the different kinds of judgments are not the same. Certain judgments result in a disciplinary dealing. This is true of the judgments we experience today. Persecution, trouble, and illness are God’s judgments resulting in a disciplinary dealing in this age.
Other judgments result in dispensational punishment. Dispensational punishment refers to punishment during the thousand years, during the millennial kingdom. The kingdom will be a dispensation. Defeated Christians will suffer a punishment during the coming age. That will be a dispensational punishment.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, some believers will suffer during the dispensation of the kingdom in the coming age (Matt. 24:48-51; 25:24-30). For them, that period of time will be a time of darkness with the weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 25 clearly indicates that when the Lord Jesus comes back, the faithful servants will be rewarded and the unfaithful ones will be punished. Some Bible teachers say that the unfaithful servants in Matthew 25 are false Christians, whereas the faithful ones are genuine Christians. This understanding is not logical nor correct. How could a false Christian be counted as a servant of the Lord? Furthermore, how could a false Christian be raptured to appear before the judgment seat of Christ? Instead of following the interpretation that the unfaithful servants are false Christians, we believe the pure Word of God. The Bible says that when the Lord Jesus comes back, we shall all stand before His judgment seat. In 2 Corinthians 5:10 Paul says clearly that we all shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive a reward according to what we have done. If we have done a faithful work, the Lord will give us a prize. But if we have been unfaithful and have failed the Lord, He will give us some kind of punishment. That will be a dispensational punishment during the millennium.
Other judgments will result in eternal perdition. As we have seen, the judgment upon men and demons at the white throne will result in eternal perdition. Therefore, we can see three kinds of results of God’s governmental judgment: disciplinary dealing, dispensational punishment, and eternal perdition.
In 2:23 Peter says concerning Christ, “Who being reviled, did not revile in return; suffering, He did not threaten, but kept committing all to Him who judges righteously.” According to the usage of the verb “kept committing” in Greek, “all” needs to be inserted here as its object, referring to all the sufferings of the Lord. He kept committing all His insults and injuries to Him who judges righteously in His government, the righteous God, to whom He submitted Himself. This indicates that the Lord recognized God’s government while He was living a human life on earth.
In no other book of the New Testament are we told that the Lord Jesus lived under God’s government. Peter is the only one who tells us of this. In 2:23 Peter indicates that when the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was under God’s government. Because the Lord lived under God’s government, He committed all His sufferings to God. Here Peter does not speak of God as the faithful One, but as the One who judges righteously. The reason for this is that judging righteously is a matter of God’s government.