FIRST PETER 4:8

The Bible says in First Peter 4:8, “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” In the verses previous to this one the Apostle Peter had been telling us by the Holy Spirit about the relationship between believer and unbeliever. Starting in First Peter 4:8 Peter is telling Christians what kind of relationship they should have with one another. We are not surprised to see that the first thing that Peter writes about is the importance of Christians having love for one another. The word “charity” means love. No doubt Peter got this teaching from Jesus. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, that ye have love one for another.” Jesus loves all His children, and God wants you to love all of His followers also. The antichrist and those who are of the spirit of the antichrist hate the followers of Jesus. Perhaps the only way to prove that you are truly a believer in Christ is to have love for all of the other believers in Christ. The Apostle John seemed to indicate that very thing when he wrote in First John 2:10-11, “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” Once you find out that a person is a brother or sister in Christ, then make sure that you love that person. That would cure most of the divisions.

Peter said to make sure that you love your brothers and sisters in Christ with “fervent charity.” By using the word “fervent” God is telling us to have the greatest possible love for one another. Do not have a little bit of love for the brethren: have an intense, fervent, and earnest love for them. If we have that kind of love for one another, the Bible tells us one of the good benefits. It says, “for love shall cover the multitude of sins.” This implies that Christians will still sin. Unity among Christians is extremely important, but how will they be able to retain that unity? Each Christian is still a sinner. Each Christian still fails in some way. How will they be able to retain unity in spite of their failings? Love is the answer. Whenever you see that Christians did not work well together, that they split up, or that they got angry and went their separate ways, one common problem will have plagued them: lack of love for one another. God still loves us in spite of our faults. God still accepts us in spite of our failures. “For God so loved the world….” “Love shall cover the multitude of sins.”

The Bible says in First Peter 4:9, “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” Hospitality was very important for Christians in the first century. How else would they be taken care of as they traveled from town to town spreading the gospel of Christ? No doubt finances were limited, and there was the problem of persecution should the authorities find out why these travelers were in town. In our day we have seen hospitality disappear because of the falsehood that exists everywhere, and because Christians do not trust each other. We are in the last days. These are difficult times. Should you ever be in a situation where you have the opportunity to open up your home and give hospitality to another believer, make sure that you do it without murmuring. If you do a good thing, but murmur while you do it, then you have committed a great sin.

If you do have something to use to help someone else, what you have came from God. That is the point being made in First Peter 4:10. It says, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Whatever you have was given to you from God, whether it be a physical gift such as money or property, or a spiritual gift, such as the gift to teach. Whatever you have was given to you to use for God’s glory and for the benefit of others in the kingdom of God. Everyone has at least one gift from God to be used for the glory of Christ. Find out what your gift or gifts are and use them. One day we will all give an account for what we did with these gifts that God has entrusted to us.

Concerning gifts that God gives to us, the Bible says in First Peter 4:11, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” The first phrase of this verse could be talking about speaking in general or it could be talking about the spiritual gifts that have to do with speaking: preaching and teaching. It certainly applies to both. The more that our personal and private speech is aligned with the Word of God: the more good that it will do, and the less evil. We all know how wicked the tongue can be, saying things that it ought not. We all know how cruel the tongue can be, saying things that hurt and that destroy. The Bible says in James 3:6, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”

In regards to preaching and teaching, First Peter 4:11 is an important verse to remember. It says, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.” The only food that can be fed to the sheep that will strengthen them and give them wisdom is the Word of God. Too many sermons have too much of man’s wisdom in them. Too many sermons take one or two Bible verses at the beginning, and then depart from them never to return again. The purpose of preaching and teaching is to open up and expound upon the Word of God. “The Word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword.” Your words and my words are not “alive and powerful.” The Word of God is alive and powerful.

Notice the phrase “the ability which God giveth.” The word that is translated “ability” means literally “strength, power, capability.” The ability that each person has comes from God. If you know that and think about it properly, then you will always give God the glory for any good thing that any person accomplishes. What have they done except use the ability that God gave to them? Therefore, God should be glorified and not man. No human beings will be praised in heaven. Whenever you hear a human being praised for something accomplished in their life, remember this phrase and give the glory to Jesus Christ: “the ability which God giveth.”

In First Peter 4:10 the word “steward” was used to emphasize the fact that the gift belongs to Christ, but we have been entrusted with it; and we will give an account for how we used it. In First Peter 4:10 and First Peter 4:11 the word “minister” was used to emphasize the fact that the gift is to be used for the benefit of other believers. How contrary this is to the normal human reason to do things. In these last days we live in the “me” generation. Everyone seems to be out for themselves: to draw attention to themselves and to gain for themselves. Someone who properly exercises the gift that Christ has given to him or her: must do so with the focus on helping or assisting others. What can I do and in what way can I do it; so that others will benefit thereby, and so that others will be built up in the faith or in some way helped in their service to Christ?

It is important to note exactly how the Holy Spirit tells us to give praise to God. It says in First Peter 4:11, “that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Jesus Christ is mentioned in a way that refers to His divine nature. He is the same as God. He is one with God. Jesus is God the Son. Only God should be praised, and that is exactly why Jesus should be praised. Jesus will have glory and power forever and ever, and therefore it is a good thing for man to recognize that fact now. The reason that Jesus is able to give strength to man is because Jesus has the power and the dominion over all things. You need strength to face the things that will come your way in life. Look to Jesus and you will surely find it.

At this point in the book of First Peter, our attention is turned back to the main subject of the book: the suffering that Christians must sometime endure in this life. It says in First Peter 4:12, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” Be prepared. Be fore-warned. The Christian life is not a stroll through a flower garden. Bad things will happen to good people. Becoming a Christian is not an end to your troubles: in some ways it is just the beginning of them. Thank God that we follow a Savior who has dominion over all things so that when the sufferings come, He will guide us through them. We also know that He will only allow them for a good purpose that will one day be revealed. It is a good thing that First Peter 4:12 starts with the word “Beloved.” This is a reminder that God loves us and that He will take care of His children no matter what happens.

The next verse tells us how we should respond to our sufferings. The Bible says in First Peter 4:13, “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” This will show us where we are spiritually. This will show us what kind of faith we really have. This will show us how close we really are walking with the Savior. Do we “rejoice” when we suffer, or do we respond in normal unspiritual human ways? Some of the normal ways to respond are to complain or to strike out with anger. How can we possibly rejoice when we suffer? One important way to always rejoice is to remember the rest of First Peter 4:13. It gives two important points. It says, “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” It is a privilege and an honor to be called to the same basic kind of life that Jesus Himself led when He was on the earth. The spiritual battles are similar. The spiritual opposition is similar. The joys and the sorrows are similar, and so are the sufferings. But do not forget that such a calling is a great privilege and an honor. We are called to follow the steps of Jesus. Of all the millions and millions of people on the earth only His children have such a privilege. Your sufferings prove that “ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings”.

The second point made in First Peter 4:13 is a reminder to look to the future when we suffer. We can rejoice if we can remember the great ward that is promised for those who suffer for Christ and who respond properly to those sufferings. It says, “that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” What a joyful day it will be when the faithful followers of Jesus are rewarded for their faithful service! Perhaps because so few respond properly to their sufferings is why such a great reward is promised for those who do. The joys of heaven will far out-weigh any sufferings that we are called to bear for His name. And this verse implies that the joys of heaven will be even greater for those who have suffered for Christ and learned to rejoice in spite of the sufferings.

The Bible says in First Peter 4:14, “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.” It is very important for a Christian to be filled and led by the Spirit of God. We cannot serve God in our own strength. We cannot serve God without the Spirit. Believers like to know that they are filled with the Spirit. People in the modern charismatic movement falsely think that their personal definition of speaking in tongues is evidence of having the Spirit of God come over you. One of the evidences that the Spirit of God has come upon you is the reaction of the world to you. If those who are of the world receive you with open arms and never have anything against you, then you do not have the Spirit of God filling you or guiding you. But if those who hate Christ hate you, then you know for sure that the Spirit of God is upon you, and you are blessed above other human beings. Everything you need to know about your spiritual condition will be told by who hates you and who loves you. Christ loves you. He gave His life for you. Do the same for Him.

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