First Peter 4:13 tells Christians that when they share in the sufferings of Christ, they should rejoice, because the suffering is connected to a future moment when Christ’s glory will be fully revealed and their joy will be complete. The apostle Peter wrote this to believers scattered across Asia Minor who were facing hostility and pressure for following Jesus.
But because you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory you also may rejoice with exceeding joy.
1 Peter 4:13 (WEB)
What 1 Peter 4:13 Means
The verse begins with “because,” which signals that its command rests on something already true. Peter does not ask his readers to rejoice in the abstract. He points to a relationship: they are “partakers of Christ’s sufferings,” meaning they are taking part in the same kind of hardship that Jesus endured. Their pain is not random or meaningless, because it places them alongside the one they follow.
The second half of the verse looks ahead. The rejoicing that begins now is tied to “the revelation of his glory,” the day Christ’s full majesty is made visible. Peter says this joy will be “exceeding,” which means overflowing and beyond ordinary measure. The verse does not promise that suffering will feel pleasant or that every hardship will be lifted in this life. It says that present pain and future glory are linked, and that the believer can rejoice because of where the story is going.
The Context of 1 Peter 4:13
First Peter is a letter traditionally attributed to the apostle Peter, written to Christians in several regions of what is now Turkey. Its readers were not facing organized state persecution on the scale of later centuries, but they were experiencing social rejection, slander, and the cost of standing apart from the customs of their neighbors. Peter writes to strengthen them so they will not lose heart or abandon their faith.
The verses just before this one speak of the “fiery trial” that has come upon the readers, and Peter tells them not to be astonished, as though something strange were happening. The verses that follow describe those insulted for the name of Christ as blessed, and they encourage believers not to be ashamed when they suffer for being Christians. Read in that setting, verse 13 is not a stand-alone pep talk. It is part of a sustained pastoral message about how to endure opposition with hope.
Key Phrases in 1 Peter 4:13
Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us.
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Paul writes that the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed. This echoes Peter’s theme of present hardship set against future glory, and the two passages reinforce each other across the New Testament.
Matthew 5:11-12
11 “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(WEB)
Jesus pronounces blessing on those who are reviled and persecuted for his sake and tells them to rejoice and be glad. Peter’s exhortation draws directly on this teaching of Jesus, showing how the same call to joy under persecution runs from the Gospels into the epistles.
A Short Prayer From 1 Peter 4:13
Lord, you know the cost of following you in the places where I live and work. Some days the pressure feels heavy, and I am tempted to hide what I believe or to quietly give in. Help me to remember that I am sharing in the sufferings of Christ, and that you have not left me alone in them. Give me a rejoicing that is deeper than my circumstances, rooted in the hope of seeing your glory fully revealed. Strengthen my heart so that I do not grow ashamed, but stand firm in faith with gladness. Amen.
