But rejoice insofar as you are
sharing (κοινωνέω) Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout
for joy when his glory is revealed. (NRSV)
. . . I take [κοινωνέω] to have
the sense of “to have” or “to do something in common with someone,” and by
implication, as “to share, to take part/participate in something in common with
someone”’. Therefore, the believer rejoices because they participate in
suffering in common with Christ. But how is the audience to understand its
participation? . . .
Mystical
Union with Christ
Dubis explains mystical union with
Christ as, ‘to suffer in Christ rather than simply like Christ. Here the notion
is that believers are incorporated into Christ so that they participate in Christ’s
historical sufferings. And Christ likewise participates in the sufferings of
his body, the church’ (Dubis, Messianic Woes, 98). At points in 1 Peter
the believers appear to be un inion with Christ. One indication of spiritual union
is 2.24. Here Christ bears the believers’ sin on the cross (cf. 3.18) so that
they can die to sins and live for righteousness. Thus, if this depicts union,
the believer is spiritually incorporated into Christ’s death and given the
notion of living to righteousness, also his resurrection. . . . In 5.10 the author
says that God has called them ‘in Christ’ into his eternal glory. This could be
saying that their incorporation into Christ enables their entry into eternal
glory. Feldmeier offers an alternative. He reads ‘in Christ’ in 5.10 as meaning
the born anew people who belong to God (Feldmeier, Peter, 251). In this
case, εν Χριστω in 5.10 refers more to incorporation
into a group of people than spiritual union. 5.14 supports Feldmeier’s reading.
It closes the letter by wishing Ειρηνη υμιν πασιν τοις εν Χριστω (lit. Peace to you, all the ones
in Christ). Here εν Χριστω functions in
a similar way to λαος θεου in 2.10 in that it distinguishes
the believers from others and so designates a particular group of people.
Consequently, in 5.14, εν Χριστω does not have to mean mystical
union but could refer to a body of people. But, equally this corporate usage
could be a consequence of a union idea: spiritual union with Christ is what
brings one into a defined body of people distinguished by their incorporation into
Christ. Other examples in 1 Peter that could infer spiritual union are the
stone imagery of 2.4-6; the offering of sacrifices to God δια ‘Ιησου Χριστου (through Jesus Christ, 2.5); and
the adaptation of Isa 11.2 in 4.14. For Dubis, 4.14 is ‘suggestive of an incorporation
theology’ because the Spirit rests on the Messiah in Isaiah now rests upon the
believers (Dubis, Messianic Woes, 103). From this survey, it does appear
that the idea of spiritual union with Christ is potentially present in the
letter, but the examples are not explicit and some could imply simply being part
of a body of people. Regardless, I do not think that mystical union is what is
being referred to by κοινωνέω in 4.13, though it is potentially related to it.
(Katherine M. Hockey, The Role of Emotion in 1 Peter [Society for New
Testament Studies Monograph Series 173; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2019], 148, 149-51, emphasis in bold added)
