THEOSISTheophylact of Bulgaria
The Apostle speaks as if saying: have you not had enough, after spending so much time in worldly pleasures? Did you not live in the same impurity as the pagans? He then names certain forms of impurity.
1 Peter 4:3Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers
For the time past is sufficient to have fulfilled the will of the Gentiles, for them who have walked in riotousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings and unlawful worshipping of idols.
αρκετος γαρ ημιν υμιν ο παρεληλυθως χρονος του βιου το θελημα των εθνων κατεργασασθαι πεπορευμενους εν ασελγειαις επιθυμιαις οινοφλυγιαις κωμοις ποτοις και αθεμιτοις ειδωλολατρειαις
The Church Fathers on this verse
4 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Michail (Lusin)
"That he should no longer live the rest of his time in the flesh," and so forth, is the same as the saying of the holy Apostle Paul in the cited passage: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body," and so forth (Rom 6:12-14).
"The rest" means from the time of one's conversion to Christ until death. It may even mean from the time when one has felt this lofty truth: that for Christ's sake and for the salvation of one's soul, one must die to sin and live a renewed life with Christ and in Christ.
"Not according to human desires" means not according to the sinful disposition in which the natural man abides. Such a man, not regenerated by the grace of Christ, is by his very nature a sinner.
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Rather, one must live according to the will of God as set forth in divine revelation in general, and in particular in the law of the Gospel given through Christ. This means living a holy life, not a sinful one.
"If Christ died for us in the flesh, and certainly not in His immortal and divine nature, then we also, in return to Him, must die to sin for His sake. We must no longer plunge into human desires, but live the remaining time in the flesh according to the will of God alone" (Theophylact).
Of course, a man cannot live on earth without sin. But the question here is not perfect sinlessness. It concerns the believing Christian's striving that [...] not the law should rule over his spirit and in his spirit.
They will have to answer for everything at the judgment. Since their answer will not be satisfactory before the judgment of God's righteousness, their answer will be followed by a decree of punishment (cf. Mt 25:41).
Nikanor (Kamenski)
To the higher motive for living a holy life, the Apostle Peter further adds another, so to speak, practical motive. He says: you have already lived the sinful life long enough to see how shameful, unattractive, empty, and dangerous it is.
Among the sins to which pagans, and partly Jews, especially gave themselves before turning to Christianity, the apostle points to sensuality and drunkenness.
This drunkenness was accompanied by shameful and frenzied songs in honor of the god of wine, Bacchus. Sometimes there were various performances, tragicomic in kind, to which the Slavonic word "goat-singing" probably partly alludes.
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The Apostle Paul also lists sins of the pagans like these in the Epistle to the Romans (see Rom 13:13). For it is known that the whole Greco-Roman world was then marked by the same looseness of morals.
This dissoluteness appeared especially vividly during the solemnities of the feasts just mentioned.
If there was anywhere Christians could not be without losing their Christian dignity, it was at such and similar banquets. Therefore it is understandable that they became the object of blasphemous mockery at these banquets.
Among the pagans these banquets were considered the height of pleasure and happiness. This was all the more so because many pagans had no concept of life beyond the grave.
With this in mind, the apostle next raises the thought of Christians to that life where all lovers of pleasure will receive their due recompense.
Vissarion (Nechaev)
No one who has resolved to devote the rest of his life to the service of God knows how long he has left to live in this world.
Whether long or short, in any case it is not worth grieving, and it is sinful to grieve, that they have parted with their former pagan way of life.
It was long since time to part with it, for enough time has been destroyed in doing the will of the pagans, which is wholly opposed to the will of God.
The will of God requires: "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Pet 1:16). The pagans wanted nothing more than to give themselves over to impurities, that is, gross debauchery.
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They gave themselves over to desires, to unbridled sensuality, which appeared in unnatural vices, namely sodomy and bestiality, with the enslavement of the mind, which did not recognize these gross vices as sins.
They gave themselves over to drunkenness, to reveling songs, that is, attachment to immoral feasts in honor of the god of drunkenness, Bacchus, joined with the sacrifice of a goat.
They gave themselves over to greed and to God-hated idolatry, joined with corruption.
Cross references
Passages read together with this verse.
- 1 Cor 6:11And such some of you were. But you are washed: but you are sanctified: but you are justified: in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God.
- Eph 5:18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury: but be ye filled with the Holy Spirit,
- 1 Pet 1:14As children of obedience, not fashioned according to the former desires of your ignorance,
- 1 Thess 4:5Not in the passion of lust, like the Gentiles that know not God:
- Eph 4:17This then I say and testify in the Lord: That henceforward you walk not as also the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind:
- Eph 4:19Who despairing have given themselves up to lasciviousness, unto the working of all uncleanness, unto covetousness.
- Ezek 45:9Thus saith the Lord God: Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: cease from iniquity and robberies, and execute judgment and justice, separate your confines from my people, saith the Lord God.
- Gal 5:19Now the works of the flesh are manifest: which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury,
The original text
Greek text, 20 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
- ἀρκετὸςarketossufficientG713 · ἀρκετός
- γὰρgarforG1063 · γάρ
- ὁhotheG3588 · ὁ
- παρεληλυθὼςparelēlythōsI pass byG3928 · παρέρχομαι
- χρόνοςchronostimeG5550 · χρόνος
- τὸtotheG3588 · ὁ
- βούλημαboulēmawillG1013 · βούλημα
- τῶνtōntheG3588 · ὁ
- ἐθνῶνethnōna raceG1484 · ἔθνος
- κατειργάσθαιkateirgasthaiI work outG2716 · κατεργάζομαι
- πεπορευμένουςpeporeumenousI travelG4198 · πορεύω
- ἐνeninG1722 · ἐν
- ἀσελγείαιςaselgeiaiswantonnessG766 · ἀσέλγεια
- ἐπιθυμίαιςepithymiaisdesireG1939 · ἐπιθυμία
- οἰνοφλυγίαιςoinophlygiaisdrunkennessG3632 · οἰνοφλυγία
- κώμοιςkōmoisa feastingG2970 · κῶμος
- πότοιςpotoisa drinkingG4224 · πότος
- καὶkaiandG2532 · καί
- ἀθεμίτοιςathemitoisillegalG111 · ἀθέμιτος
- εἰδωλολατρίαιςeidōlolatriaisworship or service of an imageG1495 · εἰδωλολατρεία