1 Peter 4:11

Contextual Overview

⁷The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. ⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. ⁷ The time is near when all things will end. So think clearly and control yourselves so you will be able to pray. ⁷ For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer. ⁷ But the end of all things is near: so be serious in your behaviour and keep on the watch with prayer; ⁷ The ende of all thynges is at hande. Be ye therefore sober, and watche vnto prayer. ⁷ For the ende of alle thingis schal neiye. Therfor be ye prudent, and wake ye in preyeris; ⁷ And of all things the end hath come nigh; be sober-minded, then, and watch unto the prayers, ⁷ But the end of all is at hand. Be prudent therefore and watch in prayers. ⁷ Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be serious and disciplined for prayer.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

any: Isaiah 8:20, Jeremiah 23:22, Ephesians 4:29, Colossians 4:6, James 1:19, James 1:26, James 3:1-6

as the: Acts 7:38, Romans 3:2, Hebrews 5:12

if: 1 Peter 4:10

the ability: 1 Chronicles 29:11-16, Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 3:10, 1 Corinthians 12:4

that: 1 Peter 2:5, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 1 Corinthians 10:31, 2 Corinthians 9:13, Ephesians 3:20, Ephesians 3:21, Ephesians 5:20

through: 1 Peter 2:5, Philippians 1:11, Philippians 2:11

to whom: 1 Peter 5:11, Romans 16:27, Ephesians 3:21, 1 Timothy 1:17, 1 Timothy 6:16, Jude 1:25, Revelation 1:5, Revelation 1:6

dominion: Psalms 145:13, Daniel 4:3, Daniel 4:34, Daniel 7:14, Matthew 6:13, Revelation 5:12-14

Reciprocal: Leviticus 8:29 - General Leviticus 9:21 - the breasts Deuteronomy 15:10 - thine heart Deuteronomy 26:10 - I have 2 Samuel 16:23 - as if 1 Chronicles 17:24 - that thy name 1 Chronicles 26:8 - able men 1 Chronicles 29:2 - with all 2 Chronicles 17:9 - the book Psalms 50:15 - glorify Song of Solomon 7:13 - I have Isaiah 43:7 - for my Isaiah 44:23 - glorified Isaiah 55:13 - for a Zechariah 14:20 - shall there Malachi 2:2 - to give Matthew 5:16 - and Matthew 6:2 - when Matthew 20:26 - minister Matthew 24:45 - is Luke 20:25 - unto God John 3:27 - A man John 7:18 - that speaketh John 11:4 - for John 13:31 - and God John 15:8 - is John 21:19 - by Acts 4:32 - ought Romans 1:8 - through Romans 6:11 - through Romans 12:3 - I say Romans 15:15 - because 1 Corinthians 7:17 - as God 1 Corinthians 12:7 - General 2 Corinthians 4:15 - the abundant 2 Corinthians 8:3 - to 2 Corinthians 8:19 - to the Galatians 2:9 - the grace Ephesians 1:6 - praise Colossians 3:17 - giving 1 Thessalonians 4:11 - and to do 1 Timothy 3:13 - used 2 Timothy 1:6 - that Hebrews 13:15 - the sacrifice 1 Peter 2:9 - show 1 Peter 2:12 - glorify 1 Peter 5:10 - settle 3 John 1:5 - General Revelation 5:13 - blessing

Cross-References

Genesis 3:14
So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:14
So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:14
The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the wild beasts and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:14
So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.

Genesis 3:14
And the lord god said vnto ye serpent: Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed aboue all cattel, and aboue euery beast of the fielde: vpon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eate all the dayes of thy lyfe.

Genesis 3:14
And the Lord God said to the woman, Why hast thou done this? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate.

Genesis 3:14
And Jehovah God saith unto the serpent, `Because thou hast done this, cursed [art] thou above all the cattle, and above every beast of the field: on thy belly dost thou go, and dust thou dost eat, all days of thy life;

Genesis 3:14
And YHWH God says to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed [are] you above all the livestock, and above every beast of the field: on your belly you go, and dust you eat, [for] all days of your life;

Genesis 3:14
The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:14
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Gill's Notes on the Bible

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God,.... This is an application of the above general rule to a particular case, the public ministry of the word, for that is here meant: "if any man speak"; not in any manner, or on any subject; not in a private way, or about things natural and civil; but in public, and concerning divine things: "let him speak": this is rightly supplied in our translation; and in which it is supported and confirmed by the Syriac and Arabic versions, who both supply the same way: "as the oracles of God"; by which are meant the writings of the Old Testament, the sacred Scriptures; see Romans 3:2 so called, because they come from God, are breathed and spoken by him, and contain his mind and will, and are authoritative and infallible; and according to these he is to speak who speaks in public on divine subjects, both as to the matter and manner of his speech: the matter of it must be agreeably to the divinely inspired word of God, must be fetched out of it, and confirmed by it; and he is to speak every thing that is in it, and keep back nothing, but declare the whole counsel of God, and only what is in it, without mixing his own chaff, or the doctrines of men with it; and it should be spoken in a manner agreeably to it, not as the word of man, but as the word of God; and not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but in the words of the Holy Ghost; and with all boldness, for so the Gospel ought to be spoken; and with all certainty and assurance, constantly affirming the things of it, for nothing is more sure than they are; and with all openness, plainness, and freedom, making truth manifest, laying it plain and open before men, as it ought to be; and that with all reverence and godly fear, which becomes both speaker and hearer. The apostle next proceeds to mention another case, to which the above rule is applicable;

if any man minister, [let him do it] as of the ability which God giveth; that is, if any man minister in temporal things to the supply of the poor; if a private man, and in a private way, let him do it in proportion to his ability, as God has prospered him in the world; or if an officer of the church, a deacon; and which seems to be the sense, for so the word used signifies, διακονει, if any man perform the office, or act the part of a deacon, let him do it according to what God, in his providence, has put into his hands; that is, of the church's stock, which he should minister with simplicity and cheerfulness. A like division of church offices into public preaching of the word, and ministering to the wants of the poor, is here made, as in Romans 12:6. The end of all this is,

that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ; or by all means, as the Arabic version renders it; by all ways and methods proper; for the glory of God should be the principal view in every action of life: hence the Syriac version adds to the phrase, "in all things", for the sake of explanation, "which ye do"; by sobriety, by prayer, by watching unto it; by exercising fervent charity, and using hospitality one to another; by ministering the gift as it is received; by the public ministration of the word; and by supplying the wants of the poor, whether in a personal or in a church way: or in all gifts, whether private or public, temporal or spiritual; since they all come from God, and men are accountable to him for them; and therefore should be used so as to glorify him by them, and give him the glory of them; and not glory in them, as if not received from him: or in all the members of the church, whether officers, as pastors and deacons, or private Christians; all should so behave in their respective stations, as God may have glory: "through Jesus Christ": through whom all grace is communicated, by whom all gifts are bestowed, and by virtue of grace and strength received from him every good work is performed to the glory of God:

to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever; meaning either to God the Father, from whom every good gift comes; who is the God of all grace, of whom, and through whom, and to whom, are all things; and therefore the praise and glory of all belongs to him; and who has the dominion over all creatures and things, and has the disposal of all in nature, providence, and grace: or to Jesus Christ, out of whose fulness manifold grace, grace for grace, is received; and who having ascended on high, has received gifts for men, and gives them to them, and so is worthy of all praise; and who, as God, has the kingdom of nature and providence equally with the Father, and, as Mediator, the kingdom of grace, the government of the church; and whose dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth; and of whose kingdom there will be no end.

Amen; so let it be, so shall it be.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 Romans 3:2 note; Hebrews 5:12 note. See the general duty here inculcated illustrated at length in the notes at Romans 12:6-8. The passage here has a strong resemblance to the one in Romans.

If any man minister - διακονεῖ diakonei. This may refer either, so far as the word is concerned, to the office of a deacon, or to any service which one renders to another. See 1 Peter 4:10. The word commonly refers to service in general; to attendance on another, or to aid rendered to another; to the distribution of alms, etc. It seems probable that the word here does not refer to the office of a deacon as such, because the speciality of that office was to take charge of the poor of the church, and of the funds provided for them, (see Acts 6:2-3;) but the apostle here says that they to whom he referred should “minister as of the ability which God giveth,” which seems to imply that it was rather to distribute what was their own, than what was committed to them by the church. The word may refer to any aid which we render to others in the church, as distributing alms, attending on the sick, etc. Compare the notes at Romans 12:7-8.

As of the ability which God giveth - In regard to property, talent, strength, influence, etc. This is the limit of all obligation. No one is bound to go beyond his ability; everyone is required to come up to it. Compare Mark 14:8; Luke 17:10.

That God in all things may be glorified - That he may be honored; to wit, by our doing all the good we can to others, and thus showing the power of his religion. See the notes at 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Through Jesus Christ - That is, as the medium through whom all those holy influences come by which God is honored.

To whom - That is, to God; for he is the main subject of the sentence. The apostle says that in all things he is to be glorified by us, and then adds in this doxology that he is worthy to be thus honored. Compare Revelation 1:6; See the notes at 2 Timothy 4:18. Many, however, suppose that the reference here is to the Son of God. That it would be true of him, and appropriate, see the notes at Romans 9:5.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 11. If any man speak — In order to explain or enforce God's word, and edify his neighbour, let him do it as those did to whom the living oracles were committed: they spoke as they were inspired by the Holy Ghost. Those, therefore, at Pontus, c., who undertook to teach others, should speak by the same influence or, if not under this immediate influence, should speak as or according to the oracles already delivered, grounding all their exhortations and doctrines on some portion of that revelation already given. This command is sent to every man upon earth in holy orders, in pretended holy orders, or pretending to holy orders. Their teaching should be what the oracles of God, the Holy Scriptures, teach and authenticate.

Of the ability which God giveth — Perhaps the ministering here may refer to the care of the poor, and the ability is the quantum of means which God may have placed in their hands; and they are to minister this as coming immediately from God, and lead the minds of the poor to consider him as their benefactor, that he in all things may be glorified through Christ Jesus. This is implied in the essence of any charitable act: the actor is not the author, God is the author; and the poor man should be taught to consider him as his immediate benefactor. Those who give any thing as from themselves, rob God; for to him the praise for all good, and the dominion over all men and things, belong for ever and ever.