Topic > Analysis: God's Grace in Suffering - 1290

Within the passage verses 14 and 17 are directly related, as 14 addresses the fact that we are blessed in our persecution and verse 17 states why it is a blessing suffer . In verse 17 when it is written “if God wills” it refers to verse 14 and the Greek construction implies that suffering for doing good was not what God normally wanted, even if it could happen and perhaps had already happened to some readers (4 :4,12-19) The connection between 14-16 and Isaiah 8:12-13 is almost a direct quote. It's tied in the sense of syntax, obviously, but also in context and historical setting. The hope Peter refers to in verse 15 links to the “living hope” he introduces in 1:3. Furthermore, this section of Peter is closely related to what Christ said in Matthew 5:11 when he said, “Blessed are you, when men revile you, and persecute you, and falsely speak all manner of evil against you, for my purpose. " Each verse in this section refers to some statement made by Jesus in Matthew