Studies in First Peter Part 24
“7The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. 8Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9Be hospitable to one another without complaint. 10As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (I Peter 4:7-11).
As we wait for our final redemption, “the end of all things,” we are to be clear minded and prayerful. And “above all, fervent in your love for one another.” Fervent love is a theme we visited back in I Peter 1:22. This kind of love is the over-arching umbrella of the fruits of the Spirit. This love is the new commandment for a new covenant (John 13:34).
Here Peter adds this outcome of our love for each other, “love covers a multitude of sins.” Does this covering suggest we just ignore the sins of others against us? Even as participants in His divine nature, we don’t have the ability to FORGET sins like God does (Hebrews 10:17). And that is OK. God is not asking us to. But by the power of God in us, we do have the ability to FORGIVE sins against us just as God forgives.
This is the admonition after the cross, to forgive as Christ has forgiven us. “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). And forgiving in this way is an outgrowth and demonstration of loving fervently.
Another way we love fervently is to exercise the gifts that we have received from the Lord to serve His body, our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith. Hospitality and speaking the words of God are two gifts that Peter highlights here. He also emphasizes two aspects of how we practice our gifts in the body.
First, we “serve one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” We use our gifts for the purpose of serving our fellow believers. When we do this, we are exhibiting the grace of God. We are showing the grace of God. Grace is a practice, not just a theology. We manifold grace, we display grace, when we serve each other with our gifts.
Second, we “serve by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” Serving in the power of God brings glory to God, our eternal supply and supplier. God is the one who works in us. “For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me” (Colossians 1:29).
Sound judgment, prayer, love, hospitality, serving; they are part and parcel of who you are. They flow from Christ living His life through you. May you walk in these graces, these promises of your new nature, today!