Commentary on First Peter (118)
Posted by Vincent Cheung on August 27, 20061 PETER 4:7-11
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
There is a de in verse 7, which can be translated "but," "and," "now," or "moreover." It appears in the KJV ("but"), NKJV ("but"), HCSB ("now"), and NET ("for"), but a number of other translations omit it (NIV, NASB, RSV, ESV). It indicates that verse 7 follows from the previous verses. Nevertheless, the connection is not dependent on the word, since the relationship is clear by the content.
Verses 5 and 6 discuss the judgment that is to come upon both the living and the dead. So when verse 7 refers to "the end of all things," it is to be understood in that context. We find here an example to remind us that "all" seldom means to be inclusive without limitation. Although sometimes it means that, usually it embraces everything only within a defined context.
Otherwise, "the end of all things" could mean the end of the human race, the end of heaven and hell, or even the end of God. No, the context forbids these absurd interpretations. The end of all things would be the judgment, and refers to the completion of redemptive history. In other words, the next great event – the event that every believer is waiting for – is the return of Christ, and along with this the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment. God is "ready" (v. 5) to consummate his plan.
Because the end "is near" (v. 7), Christians are to adopt the appropriate attitude and lifestyle. Peter tells them, "Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray." "Therefore" (accordingly, this being so) introduces the connection between eschatology and the ethics and spirituality that follow from it. Verse 7, then, tells us that a particular spiritual stance or posture follows from the imminence of the consummation of God's plan, and then a spiritual action – or better, a lifestyle – follows from this spiritual stance.
The spiritual stance is the state of being "clear minded and self-controlled." English translations offer slightly different renderings of the two terms, but the idea is clearly to maintain a mental soundness and discipline that makes deep piety possible, especially in the form of intense and persistent prayer. This is the opposite of being occupied by concerns, lusts, and distractions that tend to damage one's spiritual focus and heavenly perspective.
Remember, this call to soberness and prayer follows from the idea that "the end of all things is near." The context is eschatological. With this in mind, we find a similar teaching from Jesus in Luke 21:34-36: "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
It can be argued that Luke's passage refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 (v. 32), but it is at least analogous to our passage from Peter, if not an exact parallel. Both teach that eschatological imminence should produce spiritual watchfulness. The danger is in being "weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap." Thus the Christian must "watch and pray."
In contrast, a wicked servant says to himself, "My master is staying away a long time" (Matthew 24:48), and he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards (v. 49). The master will return at a time when that servant does not expect him (v. 50). Again, the lesson is, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come" (v. 42). The end of all things is near. As faithful stewards, we must remain in prayer, and to pray, we must maintain a state of mental soberness and discipline.