What Does It Mean "Whoever Has Suffered In The Flesh Has Ceased From Sin?"

Ever come across a passage of scripture that makes you scratch your head? I am sure we have all done that. I recently came across one of those head scratching verse in the book of 1 Peter. These are the verses:

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God (1 Peter 4:1-2).

"Whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin." What does that mean? Does that mean those who have suffered no longer sins? If that is the case, why is there Paul's confession in Romans 7 when he states thing I want to do, I don't do and thing I don't want to do, I do them. What did Peter mean by "whoever has suffered in the flesh as ceased from sin?"

Here is a study note from the ESV Study Bible:

Concerning the phrase whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, three different interpretations have been suggested:

(1) Some suggest that this could refer to the suffering of Christ (“the one who has suffered”)—who, though he was not himself a sinner, took sin upon himself and then triumphed over it forever through his suffering and death. This interpretation seems unlikely, however, because “whoever” seems too broad and imprecise to be a clear reference to Christ.

(2) Others have suggested that this is a reference to the believer being dead to the power of sin, as a result of having died with Christ (similar to Paul’s concept in Rom. 6:1–11).

(3) More likely, Peter’s point is that when believers are willing to suffer, the nerve center of sin is severed in their lives. Although believers will never be totally free from sin in this life (cf. James 3:2; 1 John 1:8), when believers endure suffering for the sake of Christ they show that their purpose in life is not to live for their own pleasures but according to the will of God and for his glory.

Next we have a note from the Gospel Transformation Bible:

To suffer for belief in God’s will is to follow in the footsteps of the sufferings of Christ. Peter wants believers to “arm” themselves (v. 1) with this reality, as they focus on “the will of God” rather than on “human passions.” While such suffering may not lead to a ceasing from every sin, godly priorities establish a wholesome pattern of life (vv. 1–2).

Note that Peter speaks not simply of making better decisions but of living for something (v. 2). Only in the gospel of grace are we given the power to surrender all our rights and live for Christ (cf. Phil. 3:7–9).

Finally, the Reformation Study Bible (Older edition) says:

Though Christ was always sinless (2:22; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15), He nevertheless fully identified with sinful humanity by coming “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3) and becoming subject to temptation, suffering, and death (Mark 1:12, 13; Heb. 2:10; 4:15). Christ “died to sin” (Rom. 6:10) in the sense that after His death and Resurrection He was no longer subject to the power of sin and death.

Christ has died for our sin. Not just our past sins, but our present and future ones. Believers in Christ are no longer under the power of sin because we have set free. If Christians were to be sinless, we would all be in trouble. When we sin, we have assurance that God will forgive us and Jesus pleads our case to the Father on our behalf (see 1 John 1:9, 2:1-2).