1 Peter 4:6-11 | |
6. 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. | 6. In hoc enim et mortuis evangelizatus fuit (vel, praedicatum fuit evangelium,) ut judicentur quiderm secundum homines carne, vivant autem secundum Deum spiritu. |
7. But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. | 7. Porro omnium finis propinquus est: sobrii itaque estote, et vigilantes ad precandum. |
8. And above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. | 8. Ante onmia vero charitatem inter vos intentam habentes; quia charitas operiet multitudinem peccatorum. |
9. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. | 9. Invicem hospitales sine murmurationibus. |
10. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. | 10. Ut quisque aecepit donurn, ministrantes illud inter vos, tanquam boni dispensatores multiplicis gratiae Dei. |
11. If any 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. | 11. Siquis loquitur, loquatur tanquam eloquia Dei; siquis ministrat, tanquam ex virtute quam suppeditat Deus; ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus per Jesum Christurn; cui est gloria et imperium in secula seculorum. Amen. |
6.
But we ought to add what Paul teaches us in Romans 8:10, that the Spirit is life; and hence it will be, that he will at length absorb the relics of death which still cleave to us. The sum of what he says is, that though the condition of the dead in the flesh is worse, according to man, yet it is enough that the Spirit of Christ revives them, and will eventually lead them to the perfection of life. 1
7.
It is, then, no wonder that the cares of this world overwhelm us, and make us drowsy, if the view of present things dazzles our eyes: for we promise, almost all of us, an eternity to ourselves in this world; at least, the end never comes to our mind. But were the trumpet of Christ to sound in our ears, it would powerfully rouse us and not suffer us to lie torpid.
But it may be objected and said, that a long series of ages has passed away since Peter wrote this, and yet that the end is not come. My reply to this is, that the time seems long to us, because we measure its length by the spaces of this fleeting life; but if we could understand the perpetuity of future life, many ages would appear to us like a moment, as Peter will also tell us in his second epistle. Besides, we must remember this principle, that from the time when Christ once appeared, there is nothing left for the faithful, but with suspended minds ever to look forward to his second coming. 2
The watchfulness and the sobriety to which he exhorted them, belong, as I think, to the mind rather than to the body. The words are similar to those of Christ:
"Watch ye, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh." (Matthew 25:13.)
For as an indulgence in surfeiting and sleep renders the body unfit for its duties, so the vain cares and pleasures of the world inebriate the mind and render it drowsy.
By adding
8.
"Hatred discovers reproaches, but love covers a multitude of sins."
What Solomon meant is sufficiently clear, for the two clauses contain things which are set in contrast the one with the other. As then he says in the first clause that hatred is the cause why men traduce and defame one another, and spread whatever is reproachful and dishonorable; so it follows that a contrary effect is ascribed to love, that is, that men who love one another, kindly and courteously forgive one another; hence it comes that, willingly burying each other's vices, one seeks to preserve the honor of another. 3 Thus Peter confirms his exhortation, that nothing is more necessary than to cherish mutual love. For who is there that has not many faults? Therefore all stand in need of forgiveness, and there is no one who does not wish to be forgiven.
This singular benefit love brings to us when it exists among us, so that innumerable evils are covered in oblivion. On the other hand, where loose reins are given to hatred, men by mutual biting and tearing must necessarily consume one another, as Paul says (Galatians 5:15.)
And it ought to be noticed that Solomon does not say that only a few sins are covered, but a multitude of sins, according to what Christ declares, when he bids us to forgive our brethren seventy times seven, (Matthew 18:22.) But the more sins love covers, the more evident appears its usefulness for the wellbeing of mankind.
This is the plain meaning of the words. It hence appears how absurd are the Papists, who seek to elicit from this passage their own satisfactions, as though almsgiving and other duties of charity were a sort of a compensation to God for blotting out their sins. 4 It is enough to point out by the way their gross ignorance, for in a matter so clear it would be superfluous to add many words.
9.
10.
But this consideration is also very important, that the Lord hath so divided his manifold graces, that no one is to be content with one thing and with his own gifts, but every one has need of the help and aid of his brother. This, I say, is a bond which God hath appointed for retaining friendship among men, for they cannot live without mutual assistance. Thus it happens, that he who in many things seeks the aid of his brethren, ought to communicate to them more freely what he has received. This bond of unity has been observed and noticed by heathens. But Peter teaches us here that God had designedly done this, that he might bind men one to another.
11.
He who speaks, then, that is, who is rightly appointed by public authority,
In the meantime, we learn from these words of Peter, that it is not lawful for those who are engaged in teaching to do anything else, but faithfully to deliver to others, as from hand to hand, the doctrine received from God; for he forbids any one to go forth, except he who is instructed in God's word, and who proclaims infallible oracles as it were from his mouth. He, therefore, leaves no room for human inventions; for he briefly defines the doctrine which ought to be taught in the Church. Nor is the particle of similitude introduced here for the purpose of modifying the sentence, as though it were sufficient to profess that it is God's word that is taught. This was, indeed, commonly the case formerly with false prophets; and we see at this day how arrogantly the Pope and his followers cover with this pretense all their impious traditions. But Peter did not intend to teach pastors such hypocrisy as this, to pretend that they had from God whatever doctrine it pleased them to announce, but, he took an argument from the subject itself, that he might exhort them to sobriety and meekness, to a reverence for God, and to an earnest attention to their work.
1 Whitby, Doddridge, and Mackight, regard the dead here as the dead in sins, according to Ephesians 2:1. The first thus paraphrases what follows, "That they might condemn their former life, and live a better;" the second, "That they might be brought to such a state of life as their carnal neighbors will look upon it as a kind of condemnation and death;" and the third, "That although they might be condemned, indeed, by men in the flesh, yet they might live eternally by God in the Spirit."
Beza, Hammond, and Scott, consider that the dead were those already dead, that is, when the Apostle wrote, and even before the coming of Christ, taking the dead in the same sense as in the former verse: but they differ as to the clause which follows. The two first interpret it as signifying the same as dying to sin and living to God, a meaning which the former part of the clause can hardly bear: but the view of Scott is, that the gospel had been preached to those at that time dead, that they might be condemned by carnal men, or in the flesh, as evildoers, but live to God through the Holy Spirit. The only fault, perhaps, with this rendering is as to the word flesh, which seems to mean here the same as flesh in 1 Peter 3:18, that is, the body; and the word spirit is also in the same form, for Griesbach in that verse regards the article
It seems an objection, that the gospel had been preached to them for this end, that they might be condemned to die by wicked men; but this had been expressly stated before, in 1 Peter 2:21: "For even hereunto, (that is, suffering, mentioned in the former verse) were ye called;" or, "For to this end ye have been called." Then Christ in his suffering is mentioned as one whom they ought to follow.
There is no other view so consistent with the whole tenor of the Apostle's argument. -- Ed.
2 There is no ground to suppose, as Hammond, Macknight, and some others have supposed, that "the end of all things" was the end of the Jews as a nation, the destruction of the temple and its worship. And it is strange that such a notion should be entertained, especially when we consider that the Apostle refers to the same subject in his Second Epistle, where the end of the world is plainly spoken of. -- Ed.
3 The quotation is from the Hebrew, and the sentence in the Sept. is evidently different. The same words are found also in James 5:20.
4 " Though charity, or benevolence, hides the faults of others from the severity of our censure, yet charity or almsgiving is totally unable to conceal our own from the observance of our all-righteous Judge. Indeed, the only cover for these, or to speak more properly, the discharge of all their stains, is faith, -- is the blood of Christ, working with repentance towards God." -- Bishop Warburton, quoted by Bloomfield. -- Ed.
Back to BibleStudyGuide.org. These files are public domain. This electronic edition was downloaded from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. |