Lesson 16 – I Peter Chapter 4:8-11

Looking back on what we covered so far in chapter 4, let’s remember to “arm ourselves” with the same attitude that Jesus had. Don’t give in looking back to a time when we didn’t have Christ in our life. Looking back to the “good ’ol days,” could possibly bring sinful thoughts to your mind.

When people slander, mistreat you, or speak badly about you, remember to treat them with the love of Christ.

The end is near… Peter felt this was true in his time, as it is true today. With the end being near, we are to always live with the urgency that Jesus could come back for us at any moment. The time is coming when God is going to judge the world… Scripture tells this. There are so many people in this world who don’t belong to Christ. Our job is to spread the gospel in any way possible. Always pray about these things.

I Peter 4:8
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

Above all… refers to the supreme importance of showing Christ’s love to one another.

If we seriously believe that Jesus is coming back for us, then we should be thinking of those who could be left behind, and ask God to help you reach them with the gospel, especially your family. This is just one way to keep fervent in your love for one another.

The word fervent pictures a person running in a race straining to reach the finish line… that’s being fervent.

So when Peter is speaking this way, he’s articulating for us to have an eagerness and intensity about us when it comes to having love for one another.

Peter expressed this concept back in chapter 1:

I Peter 1:22
“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,”

The fact that Peter is repeating himself tells us to pay close attention to this command. The word “love” occurs 348 times in 310 verses in the Bible. Love is the reason Christians will be in heaven for all eternity.

In our world, I can’t even begin to tell you how many songs have been written about love… “Love makes the world go round,” “All you need is love,” “I’ll be loving you” …and the list goes on and on. Love is important, it’s love that saved us! When Peter says, “Above all” he’s putting a spot-light on love.

A fervent love is the kind of love that forgives… that “God so loved the world the He gave His only begotten Son.”

I John 4:10
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

No matter what we’ve done or how rebellious we’ve been, God offers to forgive our sins for only one reason, and that is, that He loves us. It doesn’t seem logical, and we don’t deserve His love, but it’s still true; in spite of all our sins, He loves us. The Bible says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).

But the main reason we know that God loves us is because of His Son Jesus Christ. He was God in human flesh, and He came into this world for one reason: to make our forgiveness possible. He did this by becoming the final and complete sacrifice for our sins through dying on the cross for us… all because of His love for us.

Christian love is something that we have to work at, it doesn’t come naturally to us. For us to love others isn’t a matter of having emotional feelings, though that is included, but it’s about our being dedicated to pleasing God. When we love others, it is pleasing to the Lord.

John 13:34
“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.”

It’s even possible for us to love those we don’t even like. The key to this is to do it with no expectation of being appreciated. I experienced this when serving the “homeless.” Most of the time they were grateful, but there were times when people would take from you and not even give it a second thought, they had an attitude like they deserved it (and that was okay).

Because love covers a multitude of sins…

Proverbs 10:12
“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions.”
Commentators differ on what this means; some say it refers to God’s love covering sins, whereas others say it describes believers who are lovingly overlooking each other’s transgressions. The best way to look at this is whether it’s from God or man, love covers sin.

Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

God demonstrated His love for us in a very public way, which means that we should do the same without hesitation. Is it easy? No, it’s hard, but when you do it, it shows just how much of God’s love you have in you. So, demonstrate the love of God by showing love and kindness to others regardless of the situation. No one ever said love would be easy.

We are not to be focusing on those who are easy to love all the time, but to those seemingly “unlovable” people you run into time after time.

Matt. 5:46
“If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.” (NLT)

Showing God’s love to others can be a simple and practical way for us to demonstrate our faith. Here are some ways to show God’s love to others:

• Pray for them: Pray for the well-being of others, especially those who are in need of help or guidance.
• Encourage them: Offer words of encouragement to those who are struggling or going through a difficult time.
• Spend time with them: Spend quality time with others, listen to them, and show them that you care. Sometimes just being there with them helps a lot. Even just a phone call or text can help.

Sharing the love of God doesn’t have to be complicated. With that, don’t let satan discourage you or plant excuses in your mind to stop you from showing God’s love. Do all these things prayerfully.

I Peter 4:9
“Be hospitable to one another without complaint.”

When Peter wrote this, persecution was ramped up big time, and some of his readers were probably heading for the hills, quite literally. Then there were those who had the courage to stick around, and they would be ready to open their homes to any of those who were fleeing.

Be hospitable accurately means “to love strangers.” To do this means to go past your circle of Christian friends, to people you don’t know.

Matt. 25:35
“For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.”

Without complaint… here’s the kicker: we are to love this way “without complaining,” which makes it a little bit more of a challenge for us.

Benjamin Franklin came out with “Poor Richard’s Almanac,” it was a yearly publication. In it he would say things like; “Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one,” “Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults.” And then there was… “Fish and guests smell after three days,” which has nothing to do with Biblical hospitality.

If we complain when we’re helping somebody, just know that there’s no glory in that, you might as well do nothing. Remember that acting out in Christian love becomes a “noticeable” witness to the world. Sometimes when doing ministry you just have to hold your nose when there’s some smelly fish around.

I Peter 4:10
“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Every single Christian has received a special gift… a spiritual gift.

I Cor. 12:4-11 (NLT)
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we all serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.”

Just as each part of the human body has a special function, so does each member of Jesus’ church.

Romans 12:3-8
“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” (NLT)

Think about it, all believers are different, there’s no two that are alike, just like a snow-flake… and no, I’m not calling you guys “snow-flakes.” God gives all His children a spiritual gift, but just like in that we’re all different, even though we might have similar gifts, we use them differently… purposely as God has intended.

As each one has received a special gift… it’s up to each one of us to identify and utilize what God has given us, so that we add value to the body of Christ.

A common problem for Christians is the temptation to get so caught up in our spiritual gift that we only seek to serve God in the area in which we feel we have been gifted. That’s not how spiritual gifts work! God calls us to obediently serve Him in “all” things. He will equip us with whatever gift or gifts we need to accomplish the task He has called us to. On a mission trip, we called it “being flexible.”

Then on the other hand, some don’t make any effort at all to find out what their gift might be, let alone exercise it.

Identifying our spiritual gift can be accomplished in various ways. There are spiritual gift tests you can take such as https://spiritualgiftstest.com/. While not to be fully relied upon, they can definitely help you understand where your gifting might be. We’ve talked about this before, so when Scripture repeats itself, we need to pay attention to it.

Also, confirmation from those who know us best can help shed light on our spiritual giftedness. Other people who see us serving the Lord can often identify a spiritual gift in us that we might take for granted, or not even recognize. It’s okay to ask a fellow believer what they see in us.

Prayer is also important. The One person who knows exactly how we are spiritually gifted is the gift-giver Himself… the Holy Spirit. We can ask God to show us how we are gifted in order to better use our gifts for His glory. And remember, it’s okay to think outside of your “spiritual box” and serve God in any way He directs you.

Employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God…

When we do this, it is something that benefits the whole church. Just as we try to be good stewards financially with what God has given us, we should be good stewards with our spiritual gifts in the same way.

Peter’s readers at the time were familiar with stewards who handled an owner’s land, funds, supplies of food, or any other resources. His analogy was obvious to them, “not” using one’s gifts weakens the local church, because others cannot replace the unique giftedness of those who are not ministering. Everyone has a gift, everyone has something to contribute!

Of the manifold grace of God…

Manifold simply means “many colored” or “multi-faceted,” and this again talks about how two people might have the same gift, but through the Holy Spirt, they use their gifts differently.

It’s by God’s grace that we receive His gifts, this tells us that man can’t plan and scheme as to how people should get gifts. If you encounter a church that offers a class on “how to speak in tongues,” run away as fast as you can.

I Peter 4:11
“Whoever 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.”

Here we have two gifts, one has to do with speaking, the other with serving. Again, each Christian has at least one spiritual gift that they must use to the glory of God, and the building up of His church. God has entrusted these gifts to us so that we might use them for the good of His church.

Peter says, whoever speaks… this gift would involve things like preaching and teaching, wisdom, knowledge, and discernment (meaning good sensitivity or judgment).

Whoever serves… there are endless ways in which a person serves. It can be things such as being in administration, building and fixing things, praying for people, cooking meals, from cleaning a toilet to painting a wall, and everything in between. How can you tell if it’s a gift or not? When you exercise it, it’s not a drudgery for you.

I can tell you from personal experience, don’t shy away if you think God has given you a gift of speaking. That being said, if you ever do speak as one representing God, you must do it prayerfully and accurately, and according to His Word.

James 3:1
“Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (NLT)

Whether you speak or serve in some way, it all needs to be covered in prayer… you don’t ever want to do anything in your own strength. Whether it’s utterances of God, or serving by the strength which God supplies… before you do anything, pray. Yes, even if you’re going to fix a toilet you need to pray!

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

And remember, speaking gifts and serving gifts often cross-over.

Phil. 4:13
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

So that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ…

Romans 11:36
“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

In this last part of verse 11, Peter is getting into the praise and worship of God. As we contemplate utilizing our spiritual gifts, Christians need to have an end-game in mind, a goal. And that should be fulfilling our stewardship, and our duties as believers living in a fallen world… all resulting in glorifying God.

Rev. 4:11
“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

We are created to glorify God. We owe God our worship and we should do everything for His glory.

Psalm 100:2-3
“Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

Through Jesus Christ…

We were created to glorify God, and Jesus brought glory to the Father.

John 17:3-5
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

Everything is through Jesus! He is our hope and our salvation, every good thing comes from Him.

John 1:1-4
“In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. Jesus was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Jesus, and apart from Jesus nothing came into being that has come into being. In Jesus was life, and the life was the Light of men.”

To whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen…

Commentators have long discussed whether “to whom” refers to God or Jesus Christ. To me, I think it’s a bit of a silly discussion because the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all God. One commentary says it’s best to view this designation as a blessed and inspired ambiguity… meaning it’s an inspired mystery.

We can say unequivocally that the glory and dominion belong to the Godhead… Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… forever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 104:31
“Let the glory of the Lord endure forever; Let the Lord be glad in His works;”

Psalm 113:1-2
“Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord, from this time forth and forever.”

As we close tonight, let’s think about that one word “fervent,” like the runner in a race, putting forth all their effort. That we would be willing to make an extra effort to show God’s love to those around us (including strangers).

If you’re not already exercising your spiritual gift, find out what it is, and then use it for God’s church and for God’s glory.