1 Peter 4:7-11
The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
- What does Peter mean by when he says “the end of all things is near”?
- How does love “cover a multitude of sins”? (James 5:20, Proverbs 10:12)
- Peter lists a few practical commands. What do we learn about:
- Hospitality
- Speaking
- Serving
- It almost seems like Peter intended to end his letter with the doxology at the end of this passage, yet he goes on to pick up on the theme of suffering, vindication, and encouragement in the next section.
1 Peter 4:12-19
Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?
So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.
- This section appears to act as both a summation of what has been said before about suffering, and as an encouragement to persevere.
- Where do you see themes that Peter has already mentioned earlier in his letter?
- Describe what is meant by “judgment [beginning] with God’s household”.
- What encouragement do you find in Peter’s concluding exhortation in this section? How do you do this in practice?
