ACC ~ 1 Peter 4 v7 - 19

OVERVIEW:

The end of all prophecies is at hand (OECUMENIUS). The end will come when the gospel has been preached to the Gentiles (HILARY OF ARLES). Though its timing is uncertain, it is sure to come and should not be thought of as a long way off (BEDE). Meanwhile we must love one another and show hospitality, using the gifts that God has given us for the mutual benefit of the fellowship to which we belong. Nothing is stronger against sin than love (LEO, BEDE). Love cuts out the desire to sin, casts out fear (AMBROSE) and unites us to God (CLEMENT OF ROME). Receive your neighbor with hospitality, without grumbling (THEOPHYLACT), as if your neighbor were Christ himself (CHRYSOSTOM). Each one of us must use the varied gifts that we have received either by nature or by the Holy Spirit (AUGUSTINE, ANDREAS) for the benefit of others (BRAULIO OF SARAGOSSA).

Everything we do must be done to glorify God, because he is in control of all things. If we have to suffer for our beliefs, we should rejoice, because Christ also had to suffer. We shall be blessed for our faithfulness when he comes to judge the world. Our sufferings are part of that coming judgment, which begins with God’s own people. This is not a cause for despair, because however severely we may be tested, it is nothing compared with what unbelievers will have to face. We should therefore be glad that we are not forced to suffer any more than we can bear, and we must remember that our endurance through that suffering is a sign and assurance that God has accepted and approved us. Fiery trials are nothing new (CASSIODORUS). The prophets suffered the same things. Such trials find their meaning and culmination in the cross of Christ (HILARY OF ARLES, THEOPHYLACT). The Spirit of God rests upon us when we suffer for the faith (OECUMENIUS). God’s judgment is already beginning in the house of God, in the church, in that by undergoing our present sufferings we are being prepared for the joys of eternity (DIDYMUS, BEDE). Christ’s glory is revealed in the church when it suffers (HILARY OF ARLES). Salvation is not to be taken for granted, either in the case of Moses or us (BASIL, BEDE). The righteous may flourish with many virtues, but they are scarcely saved because they stand nonetheless in need of the mercy of God (JEROME).

4:7 | The End of All Things Is at Hand

AFTER THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THE GENTILES. HILARY OF ARLES: Peter is saying that once the gospel has been preached to the Gentiles the end will have come. INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.

TIMING UNCERTAIN BUT SURE TO COME. BEDE: Peter says this so that you will not be fooled into thinking that judgment is a long way off or even that it will never come. Its timing may be uncertain, as far as we are concerned, but it is sure to come sooner or later. ON 1 PETER.

THE END OF ALL PROPHECIES IS NEAR. OECUMENIUS: The end of all things means their completion and consummation. Perhaps this means that the end of all the prophecies is near, for that refers to Christ who is in himself the consummation of all things. This is very different from Epicurus, who said that pleasure is the end of all things, or other Greeks, who said that the end is wisdom or contemplation or virtue. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.

4:8 | Love Covers a Multitude of Sins

LOVE UNITES US TO GOD. CLEMENT OF ROME: Love unites us to God. Love hides a multitude of sins. Love puts up with everything and is always patient. There is nothing vulgar about love, nothing arrogant. … Without love, nothing can please God. LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS 49.

LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR. AMBROSE OF MILAN: The one who sins does not love, for love covers a multitude of sins. Love cuts out the desire to sin, and since it also casts out fear, it is obviously full of perfect faith. LETTERS TO PRIESTS 48.

LOVE CONQUERS SIN. LEO THE GREAT: Nothing is stronger against the wiles of the devil, dearly beloved, than the kindness, mercy and generosity of love, through which every sin is either avoided or conquered. SERMONS 74.5.

HOLD UNFAILING YOUR LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER. BEDE: There are many good works which alleviate sins, but Peter speaks especially of love, because it is by love that we forgive those who trespass against us, something which is righteous in the sight of God and in full agreement with the godliness which has been given to us. ON 1 PETER.

4:9 | Practice Hospitality Ungrudgingly

RECEIVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS IF CHRIST. CHRYSOSTOM: If you receive your neighbor as though he were Christ, you will not complain or feel embarrassed but rather rejoice in your service. But if you do not receive him as if he were Christ, you will not receive Christ either, because he said: “Whoever receives you, receives me.” If you do not show hospitality in this way, you will have no reward. Abraham received passers-by and travelers just as they were. He did not leave them to his servants. On the contrary, he ordered his wife to bring flour, even though he had domestic help. But he and his wife wanted to earn the blessing, not only of hospitality but of service also. This is how we ought to show hospitality, by doing all the work ourselves, so that we may be sanctified. CATENA.

WITHOUT GRUMBLING. THEOPHYLACT: Note that when Peter mentions love he immediately goes on to talk about offering hospitality without grumbling. That is a sure sign of what love is. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.

4:10 | Employ Gifts for Another

AS EACH HAS RECEIVED A GIFT. AUGUSTINE: God has granted to each of us the special graces needed for the upbuilding of his church, so that we will do what he has indicated should be done, not only without complaint but with joy. ON CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 1.15.

EMPLOY IT FOR ANOTHER. BRAULIO OF SARAGOSSA: Our creator and dispenser so orders all things that love is increased when the divine gifts which one does not see in himself are bestowed to be possessed by another. Thus the manifold grace of God is well dispensed when the gift received is believed to belong also to the one who does not have it and when it is believed to have been given for the sake of him with whom it is shared. LETTERS 5.

AS GOOD STEWARDS OF GOD’S VARIED GRACE. ANDREAS: It is not merely that the rich man is obliged to meet the needs of those who are less well off than he is but also that each one of us must use the gifts which we have received either by nature or by the Holy Spirit, so that no one may say that we are keeping these things to ourselves and refusing to share them with our neighbors. CATENA.

4:11 | Whoever Renders Service

BY THE STRENGTH THAT GOD SUPPLIES. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Those who offer hospitality to others make themselves happy and content, not so much because they are giving of their own as because they are being helped by others. And this in two ways; first, because they enjoy the company of their guests, and second, because they earn a reward for their hospitality. But if you receive a brother, do not be distracted by too much serving, and do not attempt what is beyond your strength. Unnecessary effort is always tedious, and such exertions will only embarrass your guests. Do not let your guest become a cause for impoverishing yourself, but even in hard times be as generous as you can. CATENA.

THAT GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED. BEDE: It seems that Peter was afraid that he might say or teach something which goes against the will of God, or against what is written in Scripture, and be found to be a false witness to God or a blasphemer or a heretic who was introducing something which goes against the Lord’s teaching. And what he practiced himself in this respect he enjoins on us all. ON 1 PETER.

4:12 | Do Not Be Surprised at the Fiery Ordeal

TRIALS NOTHING NEW. HILARY OF ARLES: The trials and temptations which come to Christians are nothing new. The prophets of the Old Testament suffered exactly the same things. All such trials find their meaning and culmination in the cross of Christ. The servant is not greater than his master. If Christ suffered, how can we expect to get off any more lightly? INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.

REMAIN STEADFAST. CASSIODORUS: Peter comforts believers here by telling them not to be upset when they face suffering, since Christ bore much more for our sakes than we could ever bear for his. We should therefore remain steadfast in such trials so that one day we may rejoice in his presence. SUMMARY OF 1 PETER.

DO NOT BE SURPRISED. THEOPHYLACT: Many Christians found afflictions hard to bear because they had read in the law that a prosperous and secure life was promised to those who serve God. Peter therefore approaches the subject by telling them that they are greatly beloved. He then goes on to warn them not to be surprised at their sufferings, which come to them as tests from God. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.

4:13 | Be Glad When His Glory Is Revealed

SHARING IN CHRIST’S SUFFERING. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: This means that if you are righteous you are suffering for righteousness’s sake, just as Christ did. ADUMBRATIONS.

4:14 | Reproach for the Name of Christ

THE SPIRIT OF GOD RESTS UPON YOU. OECUMENIUS: How can it be that when the Spirit of God appears to be blasphemed among the ungodly he is glorified in you? This happens because when people accuse you falsely the shame of it rests on them, but you receive glory thereby. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.

4:15 | Do Not Commit Crimes

NOT AS A MURDERER OR THIEF. HILARY OF ARLES: Our suffering must not be like that of the thief on the cross, who suffered because he was a murderer, even though he himself confessed that Christ had done no wrong. Nor should we be like Ananias and Sapphira, who tried to steal what belonged to God. Even less should we imitate Simon Magus, who denounced the apostles to Nero and who tried to buy their gifts with gold and silver. INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.

OR A MISCHIEF MAKER. THEOPHYLACT: A meddler is someone who loves to mind other people’s business in order to find reasons for attacking them. This is the mentality of a wicked and treacherous person who is prepared to engage in any kind of evil. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.

4:16 | Glorify God in Your Suffering

CHRIST’S GLORY REVEALED. HILARY OF ARLES: If you suffer as a Christian, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Think of James the son of Zebedee or Stephen. However awful the trials you suffer may be, learn to glory in them, not to be upset by them. Christ’s glory is revealed in the church when it suffers. INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.

4:17 | Judgment Begins with the Household of God

PERSECUTION. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: This is the judgment which will occur in times of persecution. ADUMBRATIONS.

THE END OF THOSE WHO DO NOT OBEY. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: When the time comes for God’s judgment to begin, it will start with the best and work its way downwards, that is to say, it will commence with those who believe and belong to the church of God. Just think—if the examination of our lives begins with those who belong to God’s household, what will it be like by the time it gets to those who have rejected the gospel? God sends great suffering and fear on believers so that they may learn that he is the judge to whom they must answer, and on unbelievers he sends the same fear, saying that they will not escape the great punishments which are their lot. CATENA.

HIDDEN AND PUBLIC JUDGMENT. BEDE: Scripture teaches us that there are two kinds of divine judgment—one which is hidden and one which is public. The hidden judgment is a punishment by which each one of us is moved to repentance, or to conversion, or if we despise the calling and discipline of God, to damnation. The public judgment is the one which will take place when Christ comes again to judge the living and the dead. This judgment is already beginning at the house of God, that is, in the church, in that by undergoing our present sufferings we are being prepared for the joys of eternity. The wicked are currently living securely in this present transitory life, but once that is over there will be nothing left for them but God’s vengeance, which will be as great as the punishment which they deserve. ON 1 PETER.

4:18 | The Righteous Person Is Scarcely Saved

THE SEVERITY OF GOD. BASIL THE GREAT: When I see Moses asking for forgiveness and not obtaining it, when I see him considered unworthy of pardon because of his few words, spoken against the rock in anger, in spite of his many good deeds, I truly realize what the severity of God is like and am persuaded that these words of the apostle are true. ON THE JUDGMENT OF GOD.

THE RIGHTEOUS ALSO NEED GOD’S MERCY. JEROME: It is the righteous man who is scarcely saved on the day of judgment. If he had no fault, he would easily be saved. As it is, he is righteous because he flourishes with many virtues, but he is scarcely saved because he stands in need of the mercy of God in some things. AGAINST THE PELAGIANS 2.5.

WHY IS A RIGHTEOUS PERSON SCARCELY SAVED? BEDE: The Pelagians do not want to believe that the entire human race has been corrupted by the sin of one person and condemned as a result. From that sin and damnation only the grace of Christ can cleanse and deliver us. Why is it therefore that a righteous man is scarcely saved? Is it difficult for God to deliver the righteous? Of course not! But in order to show that our nature has been justly condemned, even the Almighty does not want it to appear as if being delivered from it is something easy. ON 1 PETER.

4:19 | Entrust Your Soul to the Creator

NO ONE TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT ONE CAN BEAR. OECUMENIUS: Peter said “according to God’s will” either because our afflictions are part of God’s providence and are sent to us as a form of testing, or because although we are afflicted by God’s will, we depend on him for the outcome. For he is faithful and sure and does not lie when he promises us that we shall never be tempted beyond what we are able to bear. COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER.