Privilege
“But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!” (1 Peter 4:16)
The world has its own definition of privilege and what it means to have privilege, but as citizens of Heaven, as foreigners in this world, rather than get bogged down or offended with the world’s definition, let us praise God for the highest privilege of all: being called by His name! If you are called a Christian, then Christ’s name identifies who you are, and Peter called this a privilege. Once, when Peter and the apostles were arrested, they were ordered to stop preaching the name of Jesus.
“But Peter and the apostles replied, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority.’” (Acts 5:29)
Peter refused the command of a human in authority in order to obey God’s Divine Authority. This is another privilege we have as Christians: to obey God first and foremost, to suffer the way Jesus did, and to be persecuted and hated by this world.
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” (John 15:18-19)
After refusing to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, Peter and the apostles were flogged and released and as they left, they rejoiced because God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus (Acts 5:41). It is another privilege of the Christian to suffer disgrace for Jesus. That’s not something that happens often in a free republic, but many of our brothers and sisters around the world get this privilege every day.
“Then Peter replied, ‘I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.’” (Acts 10:34-36)
“There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)
Often when the world speaks of privilege, the world is focusing on the benefits that one group of people have over another, but when we look at the Scriptures we find that privilege does not work that way in the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom of God there are no races, no social groups, no genders, no favoritism, and no advantage of one group over another (there are no groups!)—there is only unity in the body of Christ. While the world will seek to divide us, remember that Christ unites us. As a member of the Kingdom of God, you have the privilege of bearing his name, sharing in suffering, and being a part of one unified whole in Christ Jesus. And remember that while this may not be politically correct or the way this world would want us to speak about and understand privilege, as Peter said to the high priests and Sadducees, “we must obey God, rather than human authority.”
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
—Redeemed
