1 Peterchapter 4
19 verses · Peter · AD 62 to 64 · The general letters
Show hospitality to one another without complaining.
Introduction
Peter, The general letters, 1 Peter Overview.
Peter wrote this chapter for believers whose old friends could not understand why they no longer joined the feasts and nights of drinking. The cost of that change was social, and the chapter says plainly that worse might come. It speaks to a church that lived with the end of all things in view and had to go on loving, serving and praying. Listen for the name Christian, which appears here in the letter for the only time. Listen also for the fire the chapter says should come as no surprise. Read it as a steadying word before a trial.
Context
- Who
- Believers whose former friends were offended that they no longer showed up
- What
- Teaching on living for God's will after leaving the old life, on love and service in the church, and on suffering as a Christian.
- Where
- Written from Babylon, most likely Rome, to churches in the provinces of Asia Minor.
- When
- About AD 62 to 64, shortly before Nero's persecution of the church in Rome.
- Why
- To prepare believers for rising hostility by showing them that suffering for Christ is a share in His sufferings and a cause for praise.
Historical context
Ancient social life ran on shared feasts. Trade guilds, burial clubs, neighborhood associations, and family celebrations all involved eating, drinking, and honoring a god at the start. Withdrawing from the drinking parties meant withdrawing from the network that supplied a man's business contacts and his standing.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
That is why the chapter says the old crowd is surprised and speaks abusively. It was taken personally: the man who stops coming is judging everyone still there.
'If you suffer as a Christian' points at something new, the name itself becoming a charge. Within a generation, a Roman governor in this very region, Pliny in Bithynia, would be writing to the emperor about executing people simply for being Christians, which shows how quickly the name became the offense.
Hospitality without grumbling was a heavier request than it sounds. Feeding traveling believers, and hosting the meeting, fell on a few households, and it cost food, space, and risk.
Significance
The hearers were not being persecuted by an empire yet; they were being frozen out by neighbors. This chapter tells them that the cold shoulder is a form of the same thing and carries the same honor.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The instruction to use whatever gift each has received, so that God is praised, told small groups without buildings or clergy that they already had everything they needed to be a church.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Arm Yourself With the Mind That Is Done With Sin
1 Peter 4:1-2
arm yourselves with the same resolve: Believers are to arm yourselves with the same resolve Christ carried into suffering, a military image. One who has suffered in his body is done with sin, and the rest of life is lived for the will of God.
1 Peter 4:1
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh - Since he as a man has died for us. See the notes at 1Pe 3:18. The design was to set the suffering Redeemer before them as an example in their trials. Arm yourselves likewise with the same mind - That is, evidently, the same mind that he evinced - a readiness to suffer in the cause of religion, a readiness to die as he had done. This readiness to suffer and die, the apostle speaks of as armour, and having this is represented as being armed.”
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
1 Peter 4:1
“The apostle did not say that Christ died in his divinity but in his flesh, so as to emphasize that it was not his divine nature which suffered but his human one. The sufferings are those of the one to whom the body belongs. Since the flesh belonged to the Word, the sufferings of the flesh must be attributed to the Word as well.”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · CATENApatristic
1 Peter 4:1
“The Christian is by faith one with Christ: as then Christ by death is judicially freed from sin; so the Christian who has in the person of Christ died, has no more to do with it judicially, and ought to have no more to do with it actually. "The flesh" is the sphere in which sin has place.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
for the will of God: The time left on earth is short, and it is lived for the will of God, no longer for human passions. Under persecution, living by those passions could mean giving up the faith to save one's life.
1 Peter 4:2
"Rest of his time in the flesh" (the Greek has the preposition "in" here, not in 1Pe 4:1 as to Christ) proves that the reference is here not to Christ, but to the believer, whose remaining time for glorifying God is short (1Pe 4:3). "Live" in the truest sense, for heretofore he was dead.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:2
“The will of God which we live by is the witness of the gospel, which kills any interest we may have in human glory.”
Hilary of Arles · written before 449 · Introductory Commentary on 1 Peterpatristic
1 Peter 4:2
“That he no longer should live - in the flesh - Governed by the base principle of giving up his faith to save his life; to the lusts of men - according to the will of his idolatrous persecutors; but to the will of God; which will of God is, that he should retain the truth, and live according to its dictates, though he should suffer for it.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Peter 4:3-4
enough time in the past: Some readers had lived the pagan life now left behind, debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. Former companions consider it strange believers no longer join them, and heap abuse on you, the hostility the letter is written to steady them against.
1 Peter 4:3
"For," says Peter, "the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries." We have as a limit the cross of the Lord, by which we are fenced and hedged about from our former sins.
Clement of Alexandria · written before 215 · The Instructor Book 3patristic
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:3
“For the time past of our life may suffice us,.... The word "our" is left out in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions.”
1 Peter 4:3
“Revellings, banquetings - Have these words any meaning now? They had, seventeen hundred years ago. Then the former meant, meetings to eat; meetings, the direct end of which was, to please the taste: the latter, meetings to drink: both of which Christians then ranked with abominable idolatries.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
flood of reckless indiscretion: Adam Clarke renders the phrase a flood of reckless living that sweeps away every restraint. Former companions consider it strange when believers no longer plunge in with them. Their surprise turns to abuse.
1 Peter 4:4
“They think it strange - Ξενιζονται· They wonder and are astonished at you, that ye can renounce these gratifications of the flesh for a spiritual something, the good of which they cannot see. Excess of riot - Ασωτιας αναχυσιν· Flood of profligacy; bearing down all rule, order, and restraints before it. Speaking evil of you - Βλασφημουντες· Literally, blaspheming; i.e. speaking impiously against God, and calumniously of you.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Peter 4:5-6
give an account to Him: The mockers answer to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. Verse 6 says the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, read of believers who heard it in life and have died.
1 Peter 4:5
"Who shall give account," he says, "to Him who is ready to judge the quick and the dead." These are trained through previous judgments. Therefore he adds, "For this cause was the Gospel preached also to the dead"-to us, namely, who were at one time unbelievers. "That they might be judged according to men," he says, "in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." Because, that is, they have fallen away from faith; whilst they are still in the flesh they are judged according to preceding judgments, that they might repent.
Clement of Alexandria · written before 215 · From the Latin Translation of Cassiodoruspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
1 Peter 4:5
“Who shall give account - That is, they shall not do this with impunity. They are guilty in this of a groat wrong and they must answer for it to God. That is ready to judge - That is, “who is prepared to judge” - τῷ ἑτοίμως ἔχοντι tō hetoimōs echonti.”
the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead: The dead are read as believers who heard the gospel in life, were judged in the flesh, and live according to God in the spirit. Others read them as the dead of verse 5. The verse ties the preaching to the judgment just named.
1 Peter 4:6
“Some understand this difficult place thus: For this cause was the gospel preached to all the faithful of old, who are now dead in Christ, that thereby they might be taught and encouraged to bear the unrighteous judgments and persecutions which the rage of men put upon them in the flesh, but might live in the Spirit unto God.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:6
"Dead" must be taken in the same literal sense as in 1Pe 4:5, which refutes the explanation "dead" in sins. Moreover, the absence of the Greek article does not necessarily restrict the sense of "dead" to particular dead persons, for there is no Greek article in 1Pe 4:5 also, where "the dead" is universal in meaning.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Peter 4:6
“For to this end was the gospel preached - Ever since it was given to Adam. To them that are now dead - In their several generations. That they might be judged - That though they were judged.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
The End Is at Hand: Serve With the Strength God Supplies
The end of all things: is near speaks of the last days begun at Christ's first coming, an urgency that sharpens focus. The command pairs clear minds with prayer, the same sobriety asked at 1:13 and 5:8.
1 Peter 4:7
“But the end of all things - And so of their wrongs, and your sufferings. Is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer - Temperance helps watchfulness, and both of them help prayer.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:7
“But the end of all things is at hand - This declaration is also evidently designed to support and encourage them in their trials, and to excite them to lead a holy life, by the assurance that the end of all things was drawing near. The phrase, “the end of all things,” would naturally refer to the end of the world; the winding up of human affairs. It is not absolutely certain, however, that the apostle used it here in this sense.”
1 Peter 4:7
“Thus "sober" is the opposite of "lasciviousness" (1Pe 4:3). watch--Greek, "be soberly vigilant"; not intoxicated with worldly cares and pleasures. Temperance promotes wakefulness or watchfulness, and both promote prayer. Drink makes drowsy, and drowsiness prevents prayer. prayer--Greek, "prayers"; the end for which we should exercise vigilance.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Above all, love one another deeply: Love comes first among the virtues the chapter names. The reason, love covers over a multitude of sins, draws on Proverbs 10:12, as James 5:20 does, and describes love bearing another's fault between believers.
1 Peter 4:8
“Love covereth a multitude of sins - Yea, "love covereth all things." He that loves another, covers his faults, how many soever they be. He turns away his own eyes from them; and, as far as is possible, hides them from others. And he continually prays that all the sinner's iniquities may be forgiven and his sins covered.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:8
“Have fervent charity - Αγαπην εκτενη· Intense love; for love shall cover a multitude of sins. A loving disposition leads us to pass by the faults of others, to forgive offenses against ourselves, and to excuse and lessen, as far as is consistent with truth, the transgressions of men. It does not mean that our love to others will induce God to pardon our offenses. See the note on Jas 5:20.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Peter 4:8
“It is not, as Rome teaches, "covereth" his own sins; for then the Greek middle voice would be used; and Pr 10:12; 17:9 support the Protestant view. "As God with His love covers my sins if I believe, so must I also cover the sins of my neighbor" [LUTHER].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Show hospitality to one another: Travelling believers and persecuted households depended on open doors, and hospitality is to be shown without complaining. The Greek word, goggusmos, is the word used of Israel's murmuring in the wilderness.
1 Peter 4:9
“Use hospitality one to another - On the duty of hospitality, see the Rom 12:13 note; Heb 13:2 note. Without grudging - Greek, “without murmurs;” that is, without complaining of the hardship of doing it; of the time, and expense, and trouble required in doing it. The idea of grudging, in the common sense of that word - that is, of doing it unwillingly, or regretting the expense, and considering it as ill-bestowed, or as not producing an equivalent of any kind - is not exactly the idea here.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:9
“The proper objects of Christian hospitality are one another. The nearness of their relation, and the necessity of their condition in those times of persecution and distress, obliged Christians to be hospitable one to another. Sometimes Christians were spoiled of all they had, and were driven away to distant countries for safety.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Peter 4:9
“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.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · CATENApatristic
1 Peter 4:10-11
the manifold grace of God: Every believer holds a gift, charisma, as a steward, to serve one another. Speaking gifts convey the words of God and serving gifts use the strength God provides. All of them continue in the church today, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 4:10
“As every one hath received a gift - Spiritual or temporal, ordinary or extraordinary, although the latter seems primarily intended. So minister it one to another - Employ it for the common good. As good stewards of the manifold grace of God--The talents wherewith his free love has intrusted you.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
the strength God provides: Peter names two kinds of gift, speaking and serving. Albert Barnes reads speaking as conveying the words of God as one sent by Him. Serving draws on the strength God provides, so that God is glorified through Jesus Christ in all things.
1 Peter 4:11
Through Christ alone can God be glorified in us and our sayings and doings. to whom--Christ. be--Greek, "is." for ever and ever--Greek, "unto the ages of the ages."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:11
“By this mark we may always know who are, so far, the true or false prophets. The oracles of God teach that men should repent, believe, obey. He that treats of faith and leaves out repentance, or does not enjoin practical holiness to believers, does not speak as the oracles of God: he does not preach Christ, let him think as highly of himself as he will.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Peter 4:11
“If anyone ministers, etc. Let everyone more humbly render every good thing he can to his neighbor, as certainly as he knows that he cannot have what he bestows from himself.”
Bede · written before 735 · Commentary on the Catholic Epistlespatristic
1 Peter 4:11
“If any man speak - As a preacher, referring here particularly to the office of the ministry. Let him speak as the oracles of God - As the oracles of God speak; to wit, in accordance with the truth which God has revealed, and with an impressive sense of the responsibility of delivering a message from him. The word rendered “oracles” (λόγια logia) means, properly, something “spoken” or “uttered”; then anything uttered by God - a divine communication - a revelation. See the Rom 3:2 note; Heb 5:12 note.”
Do Not Be Surprised at the Fire
1 Peter 4:12-13
the fiery trial: Believers are not to treat the fiery trial as something strange, since suffering for Christ is the letter's norm. They rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ and will be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory, suffering and glory joined again.
1 Peter 4:12
“Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial - Πυρωσει· The burning. The metaphor is old, but noble; it represents the Christians at Pontus as having fire cast upon them for the trying of their faith, as gold is tried by fire, 1Pe 1:7, to which the apostle alludes - Macknight.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:12
“That afflictions and persecutions arise for the sake of our being proved. In Deuteronomy, "The Lord your God proveth you, that He may know if ye love the Lord. your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength." And again, Solomon: "The furnace proveth the potter's vessel, and righteous men the trial of tribulation." Paul also testifies similar things, and speaks, saying: "We glory in the hope of the glory of God.”
Cyprian · written before 258 · Treatise XI Exhortation to Martyrdom Addressed to Fortunatuspatristic
1 Peter 4:12
“For whosoever has resolved to fight under Christ's banner, will not be dismayed when persecution happens, but, as one accustomed to it, will patiently bear it.”
1 Peter 4:12
“Wonder not at the burning which is among you - This is the literal meaning of the expression. It seems to include both martyrdom itself, which so frequently was by fire, and all the other sufferings joined with, or previous to, it; which is permitted by the wisdom of God for your trial.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
share in the sufferings of Christ: Albert Barnes explains sharing in the sufferings of Christ as suffering of the kind Christ suffered and for the same reasons. Those who rejoice now will be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. The letter joins the two again and again.
1 Peter 4:13
“But as ye partake of the sufferings of Christ - chap. 1, while ye suffer for his sake, rejoice in hope of more abundant glory. For the measure of glory answers the measure of suffering; and much more abundantly.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Peter 4:13
“Christ himself endured them; and forsaking all, denying ourselves, are the terms upon which Christ accepts of us to be his disciples. [3.] Christians ought not only to be patient, but to rejoice, in their sharpest sorest sufferings for Christ, because they are tokens of divine favour; they promote the gospel and prepare for glory.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
insulted for the name of Christ: Those insulted for the name of Christ are blessed, the beatitude of Matthew 5:11. The phrase the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you echoes Isaiah 11:2, resting on the Messiah, now resting on those who suffer.
1 Peter 4:14
“If ye be reproached for the name of Christ - To be reproached for the name of Christ is to be reproached for being a Christian, that is, for being like Christ. This is the highest honor to which any man can arrive in this world, and therefore the apostle says to such? Happy are ye. The Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you - As this Divine Spirit rested upon Jesus, so does it rest upon his persecuted followers.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:14
“For the Church alone sustains with purity the reproach of those who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, and endure all sorts of punishments, and are put to death because of the love which they bear to God, and their confession of His Son; often weakened indeed, yet immediately increasing her members, and becoming whole again, after the same manner as her type, Lot's wife, who became a pillar of salt.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book 4patristic
1 Peter 4:14
“Let your suffering be on account of Christ, not on account of evil-doing (1Pe 2:20). reproached--Reproach affects noble minds more than loss of goods, or even bodily sufferings. the spirit . . . upon you--the same Spirit as rested on Christ (Lu 4:18). "The Spirit of glory" is His Spirit, for He is the "Lord of glory" (Jas 2:1).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Peter 4:15-16
suffer as a murderer: Suffering has worth only when undeserved, so none should suffer as a murderer or thief or wrongdoer, or even as a meddler. The name Christian appears for the third time in the New Testament, after Acts 11:26 and 26:28; believers glorify God that you bear that name.
1 Peter 4:15
“But let none of you suffer as a murderer - If you must be called to suffer, see that it be not for crime. Compare the notes at 1Pe 3:14, 1Pe 3:17. They were to be careful that their sufferings were brought upon them only in consequence of their religion, and not because any crime could be laid to their charge. If even such charges were brought against them, there should be no pretext furnished for them by their lives. As an evil doer - As a wicked man; or as guilty of injustice and wrong toward others.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Peter 4:15
“But I hear that some infect your number, and destroy the praise of a distinguished name by their corrupt conversation; whom you yourselves, even as being lovers and guardians of your own praise, should rebuke and check and correct. For what a disgrace is suffered by your name, when one spends his days in intoxication and debauchery, another returns to that country whence he was banished, to perish when arrested, not now as being a Christian, but as being a criminal!”
Cyprian · written before 258 · Epistle VIpatristic
suffer as a Christian: Adam Clarke notes that the name Christian appears only here and in Acts 11:26 and 26:28. Matthew Henry writes that the cause makes the martyr. To suffer as a Christian is no shame, and the name is a reason to glorify God.
1 Peter 4:16
“Yet if - as a Christian - If he be persecuted because he has embraced the Christian faith, let him not be ashamed, but let him rather glorify God on this very account. Christ suffered by the Jews because he was holy; Christians suffer because they resemble him. The word Χριστιανος, Christian, is used only here and in Act 11:26; Act 26:28. See the note on the Act 11:26 (note).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:16
“Let us then continually persevere in our hope, and the earnest of our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ, "who bore our sins in His own body on the tree," "who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth," but endured all things for us, that we might live in Him. Let us then be imitators of His patience; and if we suffer for His name's sake, let us glorify Him. For He has set us this example in Himself, and we have believed that such is the case.”
Polycarp of Smyrna · written before 155 · Epistle to the Philippians 8patristic
1 Peter 4:16
“It forbids them to be sought after as innocent, and it commands them to be punished as guilty.”
Tertullian · Apology, chapter 2Early Church
1 Peter 4:17-18
time for judgment to begin: Persecution is judgment that begins with the family of God, like the discipline of 1 Corinthians 11:32. Verse 18 quotes Proverbs 11:31: If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?
1 Peter 4:17
“The time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God - God first visits his church, and that both in justice and mercy. What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel - How terribly will he visit them! The judgments which are milder at the beginning, grow more and more severe.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:17
“For the time is come - That is, this is now to be expected. There is reason to think that this trial will now occur, and there is a propriety that it should be made. Probably the apostle referred to some indications then apparent that this was about to take place. That judgment must begin - The word “judgment” here (κρίμα krima) seems to mean “the severe trial which would determine character.” It refers to such calamities as would settle the question whether there was any religion, or would test the value of that which was professed.”
1 Peter 4:17
“Judgment is already begun, the Gospel word, as a "two-edged sword," having the double effect of saving some and condemning others, and shall be consummated at the last judgment. "When power is given to the destroyer, he observes no distinction between the righteous and the wicked; not only so, but he begins first at the righteous" [WETSTEIN from Rabbins].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
hard for the righteous to be saved: Peter quotes the Greek form of Proverbs 11:31. If judgment begins with the family of God and the righteous are saved through hardship, the end of the ungodly and the sinner is worse. John Wesley reads it of the trials of this life first.
1 Peter 4:18
“The "scarcely" marks the severity of the ordeal, and the unlikelihood (in a mere human point of view) of the righteous sustaining it; but the righteousness of Christ and God's everlasting covenant make it all sure. ungodly--having no regard for God; negative description. sinner--loving sin; positive; the same man is at once God-forgetting and sin-loving. appear--in judgment.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
4 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:18
“31 , Behold the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; how much more the wicked and the sinner? This the LXX. translates exactly as the apostle here quotes it. Hence we may learn, [1.] The grievous sufferings of good people in this world are sad presages of much heavier judgments coming upon impenitent sinners.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Peter 4:18
“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.”
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · On the Judgment of Godpatristic
1 Peter 4:18
SOME people suppose that it is a very easy thing to be saved, but our Lord said, "Strive ("Agonize" is the original word) to enter in at the strait gate, for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in and shall not be able." When men hear a simple Gospel sermon of which the pith and marrow is the great soul-saving message, "Believe and live," they say, "If it is such a simple matter, will not all believe?"
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3047: “If So—what Then?” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
1 Peter 4:18
“And the open sinner appear - In that day of vengeance. The salvation here primarily spoken of is of a temporal nature. But we may apply the words to eternal things, and then they are still more awful.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Cross references
1 Peter 4:18
- QuotingProverbs 11:31“If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!”
'If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly appear?'
their faithful Creator: Sufferers entrust their souls to their faithful Creator, the verb paratithemi naming a deposit left with someone reliable. God is trusted here as Creator, the one who made them, and they continue to do good while they suffer.
1 Peter 4:19
“Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God - That is, who endure the kind of sufferings that he, by his providence, shall appoint. Compare 1Pe 3:17; 1Pe 4:15-16. Commit the keeping of their souls - to him. Since there is so much danger; since there is no one else that can keep them; and since he is a Being so faithful, let them commit all their interests to him. Compare Psa 37:5. The word “souls” here (ψυχὰς psuchas) is equivalent to themselves.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 4:19
“Commit to him their souls - (Whatever becomes of the body) as a sacred depositum. In well doing - Be this your care, to do and suffer well: He will take care of the rest. As unto a faithful Creator - In whose truth, love, and power, ye may safely trust.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Peter 4:19
“God's will that the believer should suffer (1Pe 4:17), is for his good. One oldest manuscript and Vulgate read, "in well-doings"; contrast ill-doings, 1Pe 4:15. Our committing of ourselves to God is to be, not in indolent and passive quietism, but accompanied with active well-doings. faithful--to His covenant promises.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
How this psalm is built
The form: A charge to arm oneself with Christ's resolve at verses 1 to 6, the church's life in view of the end at verses 7 to 11, and the fiery trial at verses 12 to 19, as The Berean text's own markers: the Therefore of verse 1, the end of all things at verse 7, the Amen of verse 11 and the Beloved of verse 12 classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Suffering counted | A word from the root suffer stands six times in the Berean text of the chapter, at verses 1, 13, 15, 16 and 19, more than in any other chapter of the letter. The chapter sets suffering as a wrongdoer at verse 15 against suffering as a Christian at verse 16. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that suffering for one's own faults is no honour and suffering for Christ is no shame.Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on 1 Peter 4:16. | 1 Peter 4:1, 1 Peter 4:13, 1 Peter 4:15, 1 Peter 4:16, 1 Peter 4:19 |
| The first doxology | Verse 11 closes the instructions on gifts with praise to God through Jesus Christ, with glory and power forever and ever. The letter closes its last instructions at 5:11 with the same praise. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read verse 11 as God glorified through Christ alone.Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on 1 Peter 4:11. | 1 Peter 4:11, 1 Peter 5:11 |
| Two proverbs quoted | Verse 8 echoes Proverbs 10:12 on love covering sins, and verse 18 quotes Proverbs 11:31 in its Greek form. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown cite Proverbs 10:12 and 17:9 at verse 8, and Matthew Henry notes that the Greek translation reads as the apostle quotes it at verse 18.Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 1 Peter 4:18. | 1 Peter 4:8, 1 Peter 4:18 |
The debated reading: the gospel preached to the dead
8 more paragraphs on the patterns
Verse 6 says the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead. Matthew Henry records the reading that these are believers of old, now dead in Christ, who heard the gospel while they lived. Men judged them in the flesh (Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 1 Peter 4:6). Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take the dead in the literal sense of verse 5 and set aside a reading of the dead in sins (Commentary Critical and Explanatory, on 1 Peter 4:6).
John Wesley reads it of the gospel preached since it was first given to Adam to those now dead in their generations (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 1 Peter 4:6). Thomas Aquinas sets the chapter's language beside the descent of Christ into hell (Summa Theologiae III, Question 52).
Love that covers
Verse 8 says love covers over a multitude of sins. John Wesley reads it of love covering the faults of another (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 1 Peter 4:8). Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read it the same way from Proverbs 10:12 (Commentary Critical and Explanatory, on 1 Peter 4:8). Theophylact of Ohrid teaches that mercy toward a neighbour makes God merciful toward us (Commentary on 1 Peter, on 1 Peter 4:8).
Gifts for the church
Verses 10 and 11 name two kinds of gift, speaking and serving, and ask that each be used for others as stewards of God's grace. John Wesley reads the gifts as spiritual or temporal, ordinary or extraordinary, and all for the common good (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 1 Peter 4:10).
What the chapter hands forward
Judgment beginning with the family of God at verse 17 leads into the charge to the elders at 5:1, who are to shepherd that family. The fiery trial of verse 12 returns as the devil's attack and the suffering of the brothers throughout the world at 5:8 and 5:9.
Keep studying
Studies12
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Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
The form and classifications
The Berean text's own markers: the Therefore of verse 1, the end of all things at verse 7, the Amen of verse 11 and the Beloved of verse 12, 1 Peter 4:1, 4:7, 4:11 and 4:12.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.