Serving One Another

                            
                                                           Sunday School Lesson                                      

Lesson Scripture: I Peter 4:1-11;
                                                                                         
Golden Text:   “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (I Peter 4:10).

INTRODUCTION.  It’s always fascinating to see what different people do well.  Some are good at arithmetic, calculating numbers in their heads.  Others are very good with their hands and know how to fix things.  Yet others are good at public speaking and are good teachers of the Word.  We all are good at some things and yet very different from one another.  As Christians, we all have been given various spiritual gifts.  This week we focus on how we can use our gifts to effectively serve one another.

II. PAST PERMISSIVENESS (I Peter 4:1-4)

A. Suffering Saviour (I Peter 4:1-2). 
1. (vs. 1).  Peter was writing to Christian Jews scattered over the known world who were suffering persecution for their faith.  He ended chapter 3 speaking about how Christ suffered for them (and us) and continues in our first verse writing “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.”  Since Peter’s readers were suffering for their faith, he used Jesus’ suffering to encourage them to persevere in the midst of persecution.  Peter called on them to “arm yourselves likewise with the same mind” meaning they were to “arm” or prepare themselves for battle with the devil who was trying to devour them (see I Peter 5:8-9).  These believers were to arm themselves with the “same mind” or attitude that Jesus had toward suffering.  Jesus’ attitude toward suffering was one of perseverance and that should be our attitude as well.  The phrase “for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin” seems to refer to Christ, but when we get to the next verse we see that Peter was talking about the believer showing the difference between their present Christian lives and their past pagan lives.  The point Peter is trying to make seems to be that when a Christian suffers for doing God’s will, he or she demonstrates that they are done with living a sinful life even if it means suffering. 
2. (vs. 2).  As already mentioned this verse continues the previous verse regarding the lifestyle of Christians.  Peter writes “That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”  The word “he” refers to the believer who should not live the rest of his or her life “in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”  In other words, since we have taken on the mind of Christ, we won’t live out the rest of our life for evil desires, but instead for the will of God.  Note: Most often when people want to know the will of God they either want to know what God’s will is regarding some big decision (like marriage, or a career) or they want to know if God was behind some tragedy.  However, in many places in Scripture, including this verse, God’s will has to do with how we are to live (see I Peter 2:15; 3:17; 4:19) and may even include suffering. 
B.  Strange supposition (I Peter 4:3-4). 
1. (vs. 3).  Still speaking about our past lives Peter said “For 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, banqueting, and abominable idolatries.”  Instead of following the will of God in their lifestyle, most of Peter’s readers had been following the “will of the Gentiles” or pagans.  Peter listed some of the sins his readers had “walked in” or learned from Gentiles.  “Lasciviousness” and “lusts” refer to sexual sins.  “Excess of wine, revellings,” and “banqueting” all refer to the wild parties and orgies associated with pagan worship and the lifestyle of many Gentiles.  “Abominable idolatries” is how Peter described the worship of pagan gods who according to Greek mythology behaved worse than humans.
2.  (vs. 4).  Peter went on to say “Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.”  The word “they” refers to these believers’ old friends who thought that it was strange that these Christians no longer joined them in riotous living.  Depending on how a person lived before being converted modern reactions can be similar to the one Peter mentioned here with unbelievers “speaking evil of you” which literally means “blaspheming you.”  Very often those who stop keeping company with their former friends in their indulgences and idolatry will find that these same people will unjustly say malicious and slanderous things about them.  But if a person is truly born again, he will have new affections and new attachments (see II Corinthians 5:17).
III. PROPHETIC PROMISES (I Peter 4:5-7)
  A.  Reckoning (I Peter 4:5).  Here Peter says “Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.”  The term “who” refers back to the unsaved former friends mentioned in the previous verse.  Those who think Christians are strange because they don’t live as they once did “shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.”  Whether living or dead, both believers and unbelievers will have to stand before God in judgment (see II Corinthians 5:10).  However, the purpose of the judgment for believers will be for rewards, but for the unbeliever it will confirm their condemnation (see Matthew 10:42; Luke 19:17; I Corinthians 3:13-16; 9:24-25; II Timothy 4:7-8; Revelation 22:12).
B. Redemption (I Peter 4:6).  In this verse Peter writes “For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”   What Peter was saying here is that the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead so that they also might be judged along with other men according to what they’ve done in their bodies, but they will live in the spirit according to God’s will.  Note: There are those who claim and teach that this verse as well as I Peter 3:19 indicate that there will be another chance for salvation after one dies.  This is called universalism.  It teaches that all people will ultimately be saved.  The problem with this idea is that it is taught nowhere in the Scriptures.  If everyone is going to be saved anyway, why would we need to repent and believe?  Remember, if a Bible passage appears to be obscure or hard to understand, it should always be interpreted with other plainly understood passages.  If an interpretation does not harmonize or line up with the rest of the Bible, it must be rejected no matter how popular it might be.
C. Pray for one another (I Peter 4:7).  Here Peter writes “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”  When the apostle said that “the end of all things is at hand” he was referring to the return of Christ.  Since no one knows when Jesus will return (see Matthew 24:36), God’s people should live as if the end of the age was at hand.  Note: Even though Christians still believe that Jesus could return for His church at any time, this does not mean that we should waste time trying to determine when that time will be.  Jesus’ words that no one knows the time of His return should be enough to keep us from speculation (see Mark 13:32).  Anyone who claims to know what the angels don’t even know must be rejected!  Considering both the brevity of life and the fact that Christ could return at any time for His church, Christians should also be “sober, and watch unto prayer.”  This simply means that we should stay in a heightened state of alert, being sober minded and devoting ourselves to prayer staying prepared for Jesus’ imminent return (see Mark 13:35-37).  If we can’t think straight, we can’t pray effectively.  Prayer is vital to our spiritual growth.  It is also the means by which God acts in the lives of others.  We are to pray for our enemies (see Matthew 5:44), the lost (see Romans 10:1), political leaders (see I Timothy 2:1-2), and the sick (see James 5:13-16).  Indeed, we should pray for everything (see Philippians 4:6).

IV. PRESENT PRIORITIES (I Peter 4:8-11)
 A. Love one another (I Peter 4:8).  In addition to being alert and prayerful Peter also said “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”  The most important thing we can do as we await the Lord’s return is to “have fervent charity among yourselves.”  The word “charity” in Greek is “agape” and is usually translated as “love.”  According to I Corinthians 13, “charity” or love is seen as the premiere Christian virtue.  It is the single trait that identifies us as disciples of Christ (see John 13:35).  Peter said the reason love is so important is because “charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”  No doubt he was thinking about Proverbs 10:12, “hatred stirreth up strifes; but love covereth all sins.”  With this statement Peter probably meant that Christian love was so powerful that it could overlook faults, whether committed by believers or those who were persecuting believers.  Note: Love is always ready to forgive again and again.  It finds a way to keep the wrongdoer from being condemned.  This is how God has treated us and certainly how we are to treat each other.
B. Welcome one another (I Peter 4:9).  One way love can be shown to others is through hospitality.  Therefore Peter said here “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.”  The word “hospitality” literally means “love for strangers.”   It means more than just inviting friends and family over for a holiday meal.  Many Christians are hospitable toward people they know and love, so they assume that they have fulfilled the spirit of this command.  However, true hospitality is sometimes opening our homes to people we don’t know.  This does not mean that we should open up our homes to just anyone in need because that could prove to be very foolish.  In the first century early church “hospitality” meant a couple of things:
1. First, Christians in the early church had no public meeting places as we have today.  Allowing believers to gather in one’s home would have been a way to show “hospitality.”  Today, opening our home for a Bible class meeting, youth activity or Bible study would be the equivalent to what the early church did and should be done without grumbling.
2. Second, early Christians opened their homes to travelers.  This would have included those fleeing from persecution as well as travelling ministers and missionaries.  Public accommodations, like inns in ancient times were usually places where sinful activities took place like those mentioned in verse 3.  Today, Christians should be willing to open their homes to visiting speakers or even to those who have temporarily fallen on bad times.  However, be careful not to do this blindly.  Hopefully we will know something about the people we are hospitable to.
C. Serve one another (I Peter 4:10-11).
1. (vs. 10).  In this verse the apostle wrote “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”  Peter appears to be saying that every Christian has received some spiritual “gift” from God.  The Greek word for “gift” is charisma and refers to a spiritual gift of some kind.  Since all of us have received some spiritual gift we have the obligation to “minister the same one to another.”  In other words we are to use our gift in service to others.  Note: Peter did not detail here the various spiritual gifts, but other passages indicate that there are a number of them (see Romans 12:3-8; I Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-30; Ephesians 4:1-12).  Some of these gifts were unique to the apostolic age (during the time of the apostles) but many of them have continued to be operative throughout the church age.  While some of the gifts might be seen as supernatural abilities, others might be viewed as simply the exercising of God-given natural abilities.  Either way, our gifts originate with God and should be used for His glory (see Matthew 5:16).  Recognizing that our gifts are from God should cause us to be “good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”  Christians often use the term “stewardship” in reference to giving in the church, but it means much more than that.  A “steward” is one who manages something for another person.  He or she has great authority, but also has great responsibility and must give account of his stewardship.  Therefore we are to be faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms, which is the meaning of the phrase “manifold grace of God.”  Gifts should not be used for self-glorification but should be used to serve one another in love (see I Corinthians 13:1-3).
2. (vs. 11).  In our final verse Peter writes “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.”  Peter mentioned two general areas of Christian service: speaking and ministering, or serving.  Ministering through speaking can include teaching and preaching.  Those who “speak” should “speak as the oracles of God.  This means that when one uses his or her gift to speak they should do so as one giving the very words of God, remembering that God is speaking through them as they sing, teach, encourage, counsel, or preach.  Those who “minister” should serve with the strength and ability God gives.  The word for “minister” here speaks of a general kind of service and could be applied to various ministries and different forms of Christian service.  However, the purpose of all speaking and serving is so that “God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ (or in the name of Jesus).”  Christian service should not focus on the one serving: it should point to God (see I Corinthians 9:16) who will receive “praise and dominion (supreme power) for ever and ever.”
                     
V. Conclusion.  When we serve others, God is to receive all the glory.  It’s not for our own praise but for His honor.  God will receive all the glory and honor that is due Him when Christians choose to use their gifts to serve others selflessly in the name of Jesus Christ.  Christians, in fact, can be identified by their Christ-like service to others through the use of their God-given gifts.