1 Peter 4:6

For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

Peter says the gospel was preached to those who are now dead, and some have twisted that to mean people get a second chance after death. But that is not what he is saying. In the flow of this passage, Peter is speaking about believers who heard the gospel, suffered in this life, were judged by men, and are now alive with God in the spirit.

That is a needed reminder.

Because when suffering comes, especially when it comes because of faithfulness to Christ, a person can feel singled out, isolated, even forgotten. Peter says the opposite is true. You are not alone. You are in a long line of people who walked with God and paid for it in one way or another.

You need to see this: suffering for Christ does not put you on the outside. It puts you in good company.

It puts you near the prophets.
It puts you near the martyrs.
It puts you near the godly ones who would not bend.

That changes how you read your pain.

If someone mocks you because you belong to Jesus, you are not the first.
If people misunderstand you because you are trying to walk cleanly, you are not the first.
If obedience costs you acceptance, comfort, or applause, you are not the first.

Jeremiah knows that road.
Isaiah knows that road.
Ezekiel knows that road.
The prophets walked it long before you.

And Jesus said to rejoice when men revile you falsely for His name’s sake, because great is your reward in heaven. Think about that. The very thing that makes you feel pushed out by the world may actually be evidence that you are standing shoulder to shoulder with the faithful.

That is beautiful.

It is a little like finding yourself in a storm and then realizing the footprints beside yours belong to saints who crossed the same valley before you. The wind may still blow. The cold may still bite. But suddenly you know this path is not strange. It is well worn by men and women who loved God more than ease.

Peter says these believers were judged according to men in the flesh. That means the world looked at them, rejected them, condemned them, and in some cases killed them. Men rendered their verdict. But heaven rendered another.

They live according to God in the spirit.

Don’t miss this: the world’s verdict is never the final verdict.

Men may call you foolish.
Men may call you narrow.
Men may call you strange.
Men may even silence your voice.

But they cannot overrule God.

That is where courage comes from. Not from pretending rejection does not hurt. It does hurt. Ostracism hurts. Mockery hurts. Loss hurts. But the believer remembers that being judged badly by men does not mean being judged badly by God. In fact, sometimes it is the exact opposite.

Here’s the thing: if you live godly in Christ Jesus, sooner or later there will be friction. In some places that friction turns deadly. In others it comes as laughter, exclusion, slander, or pressure to compromise. But in every age, the godly feel it.

And when they do, Peter says, remember who you are standing with.

Not with the crowd.
Not with the careless.
Not with those who traded truth for comfort.

You are standing with the faithful.

That means your tears are not wasted.
Your loneliness is not pointless.
Your rejection is not proof that you are abandoned.

It may actually be proof that you are walking the same road the Lord’s people have always walked.

So when suffering comes because you belong to Christ, do not only ask, “Why is this happening to me?” Ask also, “Who am I standing beside?”

You are standing beside the prophets.
You are standing beside the martyrs.
You are standing beside the godly.

Good company indeed.