1 Peter 4:14

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ Literally, in the name of Christ. As in chap. 1 Peter 3:14, "If ye suffer for righteousness" sake," we found an echo of one beatitude (Matthew 5:10), so in this we have the counterpart of the more personal "for my sake" of Matthew 5:11. It would be better, as indicating the reference to the beatitudes, to render the adjective by blessed rather than happy.

the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you The English version is tenable, but the construction of the sentence is peculiar and admits of a different rendering, "the principle or element of glory, and the spirit of God, resteth on you." In either case what is emphasized is the fact that the outward reviling to which the disciples were exposed brought glory and not dishonour. The Spirit of Glory was there who has glory as His essential attribute and that Spirit was none other than the very Spirit of God. Looking to the connexion between the "glory" of the Shechinah-cloud which was the witness of the Divine Presence, and that which dwelt in Christ as the only-begotten of the Father (John 1:14), it is possible that the words "the Spirit of Glory" may be equivalent to the "Spirit of Christ." The use of the word for "rest" throws us back upon the occurrence of the same verb in the LXX. version of Numbers 11:25; 2 Kings 2:15. The thought of the Apostle, in this respect true to his citation from Joel 2. in Acts 2:16-18, is that the humblest sufferers for the name of Christ are as truly sharers in the gift of the Eternal Spirit as were the greatest prophets. It "rests" on them not coming and going, in fitful movements, or extraordinary manifestations, but dwelling with them continually.

on their part he is evil spoken of It is remarkable that the whole of this clause is omitted in many of the best MSS. and versions, including the Sinaitic. On the assumption to which this fact has led most recent Editors, that it was not part of the original text, we must think of it either as a marginal note that has found its way into the text, or, as an addition made in a second transcript of the Epistle by the writer himself. Here the word for "is evil spoken of" would rightly be rendered as blasphemed, and "Christ" or "the Spirit of God" must be taken as the subject of the sentence. In this case, that of suffering for the truth, the very blasphemies which men utter in their rage, are a witness to the effective work which has been done through the power of the Spirit, and in respect of those who suffer, are working for His glory. Appalling as is the contrast between the blasphemy of the persecutors and the doxologies of the sufferer, the one is almost the necessary complement of the other.