1Pe 4:12 | KingComments | STEP | . The Lord has given something to each one to serve the other. With your gift you can serve those, who are the most important people on earth to God: the companionship of believers. What is given to you to be able to do that, is called “a [special] gift” as a grace of God. Grace plays a major role in this letter. The Lord wants to use His own to pass on His grace to His own. You are able to pass on the grace that you have received to other believers. The Lord has distributed the gifts in such a way that you are able to serve all believers and that you can be served by all believers. Therefore you are not supposed to keep the gift that you have received, for yourself, but to pass it on. Your gift is not given to you for your own pleasure or for your own honor or importance, but it ought to be useful and for the joy of the other. In that way there is an interaction between the believers. Each of the believers is a gift to all others ( ). If you do with the gift you have received from the Lord what the Lord wants you to do with it, you are a ‘good steward’. A steward is someone who manages something that belongs to another person. What you have received belongs to the Lord and He expects you to be faithful in making use of it ( ). He will once ask you to account for your use of it (cf. ). What God has given of His grace is “manifold”. Hereby you should think of a multitude of proofs of grace. Haven’t you already experienced in your life how much grace you have received? Has the Lord not often used brothers and sisters for that too? Just think about all you owe to your brothers and sisters and thank God for arranging it this way. Have you not often been richly blessed at the gatherings and have the meetings in the homes not often been encouraging for you? The fact the God has arranged things like that at the same time makes clear that a ‘one-man-ministry’ in the church is not according to His will. God did not concentrate all gifts in one person, but He gave a great diversity of gifts. Thereby He for instance gives to one the word of wisdom and to another the word of knowledge ( ). . The gifts are divided in two main categories by Peter. The one category is ‘speaking’, the other category is ‘serving’ (cf. ). First he deals with ‘speaking’. What an encouraging and edifying effect can words have on you! Speaking to edify especially happens in the meeting. Of course it should be speaking “the utterances of God” and not giving one’s own opinion on certain things. It should undoubtedly be in accordance with God’s Word, but it should also be according to God’s will that it is said at the right time. If it happens like that in the meeting it will be a great blessing of all attendants. Each attendant will feel himself personally addressed. That may imply that you are edified or exhorted or consoled by what is said ( ). It is just what you need, and God, Who guides the speaker by His Spirit in speaking ‘the oracles of God’, knows that. That, however, doesn’t elevate the speaker above criticism, for he remains in himself a fallible person. Therefore, everything that has been said must be tested whether it is according to God’s Word ( ). ‘Serving’ is distinguished from ‘speaking’. ‘Serving’ regards to the sharing with others of the material goods. We can all serve others with the means we have. That must happen with sincere motives and not for attaining a good reputation. It should not be to one’s own honor, but to God’s honor. Therefore God has to give the power to do it, He has to work it in your heart. If you are open to the will of God in both your speaking and your serving, He will make clear to you what you should say or do. He gives the gifts and also the power to use those gifts. He first gives you an order to do something and then He gives you everything you need to execute that order. It is a service that in no way can happen in one’s own power, in the power of the flesh. Only then it can happen to the glory of God. The Lord Jesus is the One through Whom you are capable to do everything to God’s glory. He will give the power for that forever and ever. . Peter comes back to suffering. By addressing his readers as “beloved”, he makes them feel his warm love. With this word “beloved” he certainly does not only indicate his own love, but he also means by that, that they are beloved of God. They may have been doubting about that because of the persecution they have to endure. There is another warmth besides the warmth of love. That warmth is more of a heat. It is the “fiery ordeal” of the persecution that they are experiencing in their midst. The enemy wants to intimidate them and wants to bring them to deny the Lord Jesus as the glorified Lord. That persecution can cause them to start doubting the love of God. However, the suffering that comes in their midst, they should not see as something that accidentally happens to them and less as something that God sends to make their life miserable. If people light a fire, it destroys everything that it comes into contact with. If God lights a fire, He also controls it so that it comes into contact only with what He allows to burn. The fire in which the three friends of Daniel found themselves, chose, under the guiding hand of God, only the ropes of the three friends, while it did not affect the other parts of their body; not one hair of their head was singed ( ). The fire is used by God to test the believer. The test of your faith is necessary because it purifies your faith from the elements that may cloud the faith in one way or another. Faith is clouded by, for instance, still trusting in your own power or by thinking that you need to fulfil certain conditions to gain God’s favor. That all has to be removed, for you must learn to unconditionally trust in God alone. The idea that as soon as a person comes to faith, all difficulties and worries belong to the past, is a serious misconception. The gospel is not a success formula for a life without problems. False evangelists may want you to believe that by accepting the gospel you will be healthy and wealthy and that you will gain prosperity and a good reputation. Those are liars, who bring a message that they themselves invented. If you believe such foolishness you will surely find it strange that you as a believer still have to face suffering. The reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ is different. If you believe in it and you desire to live in that faith, you will on the contrary have to do with sufferings. Such a life identifies you with Christ. And what was His part on earth? It was nothing more than suffering, was it? . Peter is encouraging you. Instead of being discouraged by suffering that is your portion because of your relationship with Christ, you may rejoice in it. You may “share the sufferings of Christ”, which of course refers only to the sufferings inflicted on Him by human beings and not to the sufferings for the atonement of sins. Sharing the sufferings of Christ, meaning going through something of which you know He also went through, gives a deeply inward joy ( ; ). Paul very much wanted to share the sufferings of Christ ( ) because he wanted to be like Christ as much as he possibly could. The more you share the sufferings of Christ the deeper you can rejoice in the joy of it now already. This joy will extend to “rejoice with exultation” when the Lord Jesus comes in His glory. Then He will reveal Himself and will be seen by all ( ). They will be present at that time and accompany Him with exceeding joy. The situation will be completely changed. From suffering Christians they will be changed to glorified Christians. The joy of the sufferings has not been changed, but it has been expanded to an expression of a joy tempered by nothing. It’s an exuberant expression of joy. The time of suffering is over. The time of singing has arrived ( ). The glory has come in the Person of Jesus Christ Who reveals Himself to the world as the Victor. Now read 1 Peter 4:10-13 again. Reflection: How could you serve to others and be served by others?

‏ 1 Peter 4:12

Serve One Another as Good Stewards

1Pet 4:10. The Lord has given something to each one to serve the other. With your gift you can serve those, who are the most important people on earth to God: the companionship of believers. What is given to you to be able to do that, is called “a [special] gift” as a grace of God. Grace plays a major role in this letter. The Lord wants to use His own to pass on His grace to His own.

You are able to pass on the grace that you have received to other believers. The Lord has distributed the gifts in such a way that you are able to serve all believers and that you can be served by all believers. Therefore you are not supposed to keep the gift that you have received, for yourself, but to pass it on. Your gift is not given to you for your own pleasure or for your own honor or importance, but it ought to be useful and for the joy of the other. In that way there is an interaction between the believers. Each of the believers is a gift to all others (Eph 4:7).

If you do with the gift you have received from the Lord what the Lord wants you to do with it, you are a ‘good steward’. A steward is someone who manages something that belongs to another person. What you have received belongs to the Lord and He expects you to be faithful in making use of it (1Cor 4:1-5). He will once ask you to account for your use of it (cf. Lk 16:1-13).

What God has given of His grace is “manifold”. Hereby you should think of a multitude of proofs of grace. Haven’t you already experienced in your life how much grace you have received? Has the Lord not often used brothers and sisters for that too?

Just think about all you owe to your brothers and sisters and thank God for arranging it this way. Have you not often been richly blessed at the gatherings and have the meetings in the homes not often been encouraging for you?

The fact the God has arranged things like that at the same time makes clear that a ‘one-man-ministry’ in the church is not according to His will. God did not concentrate all gifts in one person, but He gave a great diversity of gifts. Thereby He for instance gives to one the word of wisdom and to another the word of knowledge (1Cor 12:8-10).

1Pet 4:11. The gifts are divided in two main categories by Peter. The one category is ‘speaking’, the other category is ‘serving’ (cf. Acts 6:2-4). First he deals with ‘speaking’. What an encouraging and edifying effect can words have on you! Speaking to edify especially happens in the meeting. Of course it should be speaking “the utterances of God” and not giving one’s own opinion on certain things. It should undoubtedly be in accordance with God’s Word, but it should also be according to God’s will that it is said at the right time.

If it happens like that in the meeting it will be a great blessing of all attendants. Each attendant will feel himself personally addressed. That may imply that you are edified or exhorted or consoled by what is said (1Cor 14:3). It is just what you need, and God, Who guides the speaker by His Spirit in speaking ‘the oracles of God’, knows that. That, however, doesn’t elevate the speaker above criticism, for he remains in himself a fallible person. Therefore, everything that has been said must be tested whether it is according to God’s Word (1Cor 14:29).

‘Serving’ is distinguished from ‘speaking’. ‘Serving’ regards to the sharing with others of the material goods. We can all serve others with the means we have. That must happen with sincere motives and not for attaining a good reputation. It should not be to one’s own honor, but to God’s honor. Therefore God has to give the power to do it, He has to work it in your heart.

If you are open to the will of God in both your speaking and your serving, He will make clear to you what you should say or do. He gives the gifts and also the power to use those gifts. He first gives you an order to do something and then He gives you everything you need to execute that order. It is a service that in no way can happen in one’s own power, in the power of the flesh. Only then it can happen to the glory of God. The Lord Jesus is the One through Whom you are capable to do everything to God’s glory. He will give the power for that forever and ever.

1Pet 4:12. Peter comes back to suffering. By addressing his readers as “beloved”, he makes them feel his warm love. With this word “beloved” he certainly does not only indicate his own love, but he also means by that, that they are beloved of God. They may have been doubting about that because of the persecution they have to endure.

There is another warmth besides the warmth of love. That warmth is more of a heat. It is the “fiery ordeal” of the persecution that they are experiencing in their midst. The enemy wants to intimidate them and wants to bring them to deny the Lord Jesus as the glorified Lord. That persecution can cause them to start doubting the love of God. However, the suffering that comes in their midst, they should not see as something that accidentally happens to them and less as something that God sends to make their life miserable.

If people light a fire, it destroys everything that it comes into contact with. If God lights a fire, He also controls it so that it comes into contact only with what He allows to burn. The fire in which the three friends of Daniel found themselves, chose, under the guiding hand of God, only the ropes of the three friends, while it did not affect the other parts of their body; not one hair of their head was singed (Dan 3:24-27).

The fire is used by God to test the believer. The test of your faith is necessary because it purifies your faith from the elements that may cloud the faith in one way or another. Faith is clouded by, for instance, still trusting in your own power or by thinking that you need to fulfil certain conditions to gain God’s favor. That all has to be removed, for you must learn to unconditionally trust in God alone.

The idea that as soon as a person comes to faith, all difficulties and worries belong to the past, is a serious misconception. The gospel is not a success formula for a life without problems. False evangelists may want you to believe that by accepting the gospel you will be healthy and wealthy and that you will gain prosperity and a good reputation. Those are liars, who bring a message that they themselves invented. If you believe such foolishness you will surely find it strange that you as a believer still have to face suffering.

The reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ is different. If you believe in it and you desire to live in that faith, you will on the contrary have to do with sufferings. Such a life identifies you with Christ. And what was His part on earth? It was nothing more than suffering, was it?

1Pet 4:13. Peter is encouraging you. Instead of being discouraged by suffering that is your portion because of your relationship with Christ, you may rejoice in it. You may “share the sufferings of Christ”, which of course refers only to the sufferings inflicted on Him by human beings and not to the sufferings for the atonement of sins. Sharing the sufferings of Christ, meaning going through something of which you know He also went through, gives a deeply inward joy (Acts 5:41; Lk 6:22-23). Paul very much wanted to share the sufferings of Christ (Phil 3:10) because he wanted to be like Christ as much as he possibly could. The more you share the sufferings of Christ the deeper you can rejoice in the joy of it now already.

This joy will extend to “rejoice with exultation” when the Lord Jesus comes in His glory. Then He will reveal Himself and will be seen by all (Rev 1:7). They will be present at that time and accompany Him with exceeding joy. The situation will be completely changed. From suffering Christians they will be changed to glorified Christians. The joy of the sufferings has not been changed, but it has been expanded to an expression of a joy tempered by nothing. It’s an exuberant expression of joy. The time of suffering is over. The time of singing has arrived (Song 2:11-12). The glory has come in the Person of Jesus Christ Who reveals Himself to the world as the Victor.

Now read 1 Peter 4:10-13 again.

Reflection: How could you serve to others and be served by others?