Grace Means Suffering: Reaction To (Part 1)
Grace Means Suffering: Reaction To (Part 1)
1 Peter 4:7-11
You should recall from last month that the main key in verses 1-6 is the command to “arm yourself” which refers to the actions of a soldier preparing himself for battle by putting on his armor and taking up his weapons. We are in a spiritual battle and so we need to be prepared and equipped for the fight against sin and to live for the will of God in righteousness. There is nothing passive or casual about this. It is purposeful action that must be taken both defensively and offensively for the battle that is about to be entered.
Peter points out five ways in verses 1-6 by which you are to arm yourself. 1) Follow the example of Jesus Christ with His purpose and mindset to live your life according to the will of God. 2) Do not live any longer according to the former sinful manner of life you had but instead according to the will of God. 3) Be prepared to lose friends and even be blasphemed / slandered / disparaged by them because you will no longer join them in their sinful pursuits .4) Remember that God will judge everyone according to their deeds. The unrighteous will be condemned for their sins while those made righteous by Christ will have their works judged and rewards dispensed accordingly. 5) Take to heart the promise of the gospel that death for the Christian is only a transition to eternal life with Christ so that even the threat of martyrdom is not a cause of fear.
Verses 7-11 is tied to the previous verses with the conjunction “and” or “but” which is not included in all English translations. The next paragraph continues with the same theme of arming yourself with the same purpose / mind set as Jesus. However, these next verses concentrate on the positive side of what you are to do in following Jesus’ example and in light of the fact that the end of all things has drawn near.
Peter states, “The end of all things is near.” What is this “end,”? The word denotes “a point of time marking the end of a duration.” It marks reaching a goal, an achievement or even a victory with context revealing what end is in view. Using a sport analogy, is it the end of a play, a period, a game, a season or a career? Peter describes this end in an emphatic position as one of “all things.” The context of this epistle make it clear he is talking about the Lord’s return which will result in the culmination of life on this earth as it is currently known.
Peter has already made many references to the coming of the Lord beginning in 1:3-4 with the living hope we have because of Jesus’ resurrection that we will receive an imperishable, undefiled and unfading inheritance which is reserved in heaven for all those who have been caused to be born again by God’s great mercy. In 1:5 Peter marks out our “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” In 1:7 he encourages them in living out their faith to “the praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” In 1:11 he points out the seeking of the prophets to know the time and manner of fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the Messiah’s suffering and the glories to follow. He mentions the revelation of Jesus again in 1:13. Peter also remarks in 1:20 that we are already in “the last times.”
Peter continues in verse 8, “therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.” The “therefore” ties these two commands to the previous phrase as the reason for them. Because the end of all things has drawn near, then be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
Sound judgment, refers to being of sound mind, to be rational in the sense of intellectually sound and purposeful in contrast to being senseless, foolish or childish. It is “to have understanding about practical matters and thus be able to act sensibly’ (Louw-Nida).
Sober, is set in contrast to being drunk. It is to be in control of how you think as opposed to losing control and being irrational (Louw-Nida). It is to be calm and collected in spirit, to be temperate, dispassionate, circumspect (GELNT).
Peter is giving them specific commands about how to respond to the teaching that the end had drawn near. A proper understanding of the doctrine of imminence should result in calm, rational thinking and actions. In 2 Thessalonians 3 Paul had to correct some believers who misunderstood this doctrine and had stopped working. Why work hard or even at all if Jesus is coming back today or tomorrow? They had become unruly, undisciplined and lazy. The other extreme would be those who get into an eschatological frenzy by being so focused on that one doctrine they seemingly forget the rest of Biblical doctrine. Peter wants them to be calm and rational to think through all that God has revealed and follow all of His commands beginning with prayer.
You cannot pray properly if you are not thinking rationally and self-controlled to see life from God’s view point of eternity instead of whatever crisis there may be at the moment. Frankly, this is a major lack in the prayers of most Christians. There are many things that prevent or pervert proper prayer that are easily cured if Peter’s commands here were followed. James warns about selfishness in prayer. John speaks of the necessity of praying according to God’s will. Jesus’ model for prayer places the focus on God and His glory, kingdom and will which is then followed by personal petitions for physical provision, forgiveness and protection from sin. Which is mindlessly recited by many people without any consideration of actually following that model for their own prayers. They pray only when there is a crisis. They pray in order to get what they want from God instead of aligning themselves with God’s will. They pray with a view of only the immediate concerns, instead of what is best in relationship to God’s kingdom and righteousness.
Prayer for physical healing is probably the dominate prayer request, and certainly compassion compels us to ask for God’s mercy on us and others for we are only frail physical creatures. However, what about the aspects of praying that God would use the sickness to draw that person to Himself for salvation or closer to Christ? Or that the Christian will respond to it as a positive witness for Christ. Or to give praise to God that He has promised to give us glorified bodies that are immortal and incorruptible when He comes?
Peter next applies this same principle of keeping the nearness of eternity in view to the highest priority that Christians have in relationship to one another. “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” Peter transitions to this point with the preposition and adjective, “above all,” which means “first in importance.
This is love, the love that seeks out what is best for the other even at personal sacrifice. Jesus’ command to His disciples was “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus repeats this same command twice more in John and it is repeated 10 times in the epistles of the New Testament.
It is a specific application within the church, the body of Christ, of the more general command God gives to “love your neighbor as yourself” with the love of Jesus being the higher standard than your natural love of self.
Even sinners can show compassionate love to others and assist them at sacrifice to themselves. Family members commonly show love to each other in practical ways far beyond what they will do for strangers or even friends. But Jesus demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, alienated to Him, He died on the cross of Calvary to bear the penalty of those sins in order to offer redemption, forgiveness and adoption into His family to all who will place their faith in Him.
Peter continues on in the verse to point out a very practical aspect of Christians having this love for one another, “because love covers a multitude of sins.” This statement appears to be a summary of a few Proverbs that express this idea. Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions.” Proverbs 12:16, “A fool’s anger is known at once, But a prudent man conceals dishonor.” Proverbs 17:9, “He who conceals a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends.”
In verse 9 Peter brings up a very practical way in which Christians can show love for each other. Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
Hospitality means love or fondness for strangers or aliens. Hospitality was primarily related to providing for the needs of travelers, people who were strangers to the place they were traveling through. Public houses where a traveler could stay and get a meal where often dangerous if one even existed in the area. The tie to this is still seen in that hotels and restaurants are part of the hospitality industry of our own times. The scriptures have many examples of God fearing people providing for travelers (Genesis 19; Judges 19) including Abraham in Genesis 18 when he welcomed and provided a meal for the three men that had come to him. Job defended his own righteous character saying, “The alien has not lodged outside, for I have opened my doors to the traveler” (Job 31:32).
For God fearers, the concept of hospitality is tied to love of neighbor (Luke 10:30-37), and for Christians it is tied to love for one another. There is also Jesus’ teaching concerning the sheep and goat judgment (Matthew 25:31-46) in which the King welcomes the sheep into His kingdom giving their acts of righteousness as a reason for it.
Peter sets out hospitality as a practical expression of Christian love, and then adds that it is to be done “without complaint.” The term here originally referred to dove cooing and was used to describe murmuring, grumbling, complaint given in a secretive manner. That addition to the command indicates that hospitality can be difficult and may require sacrifice. At the same time, it also exposes the heart attitude, because if being “hospitable” results in complaint, then it was done out of some sort of unwanted obligation instead of love and therefore was not actually hospitality.
Peter continues in verse 10 with a general statement about the duties of a Christian as a steward of what God has given them. “As each one has received a gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
The word gift here, refers to the particular gift given by God’s grace to an individual Christian by which he serves within the body of Christ. There are several lists of spiritual gifts in the New Testament, but none are comprehensive nor are all of them together adequate to describe the various ways God enables His children to serve Him within the church.
Peter refers to all of that here with an encouragement to use it in ministry to one another pointing out that this is in keeping with being a good steward of God’s manifold or varied grace. To put it another way, it is part of sound and sober thinking to humbly serve other Christians for that is the proper way to use the abilities and fulfill the responsibilities God has entrusted to you according to the particular grace God has given you among the many varied gifts, ministries and empowerment He has graciously given to His people.
Peter gives two specific categories of ministry in verse 11 by which God equips believers to minister with encouragement to do so in a godly manner. “whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies - in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” (ESV)
Whoever speaks can refer to a multiplicity of ways the revelation of God can be proclaimed and taught to others. Included would be preaching, teaching, counseling, singing, and just personally talking with someone else. Peter states that when this is done, it is to be as a saying, an oracle of God. This is not a reference to God giving new divine revelation through you despite claims by some to be modern prophets or apostles or the Charismatics who claim to receive a “word of wisdom” or a “word of knowledge.” It is simply a matter of historical record that the apostolic or “sign” gifts ended by the end of the first Century as the Apostles died out. Those making these claims are treading on very dangerous ground for God will hold them accountable.
To what then is Peter referring? Simply to the word of God itself. Those speaking about the things of God need to make sure they are diligent that they are being accurate to what God has said. People need to hear what God has declared and not the musing of men. The former results in people knowing and walking with Christ while the later results in ignorance and stumbling in immaturity, aberration and heresy.