Here is my rendering of the next passage in my journey to translate and teach my way through the Book of 1 Peter:

Now, the end of everything has now drawn near, so be sensible and self-controlled for the sake of [your] prayers. Above all else, always keep [your] love for one another constant, because love always covers many sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. To the degree that each [of you] has received a gift, use it to serve one another, like good servants of God’s multifaceted grace. If someone speaks, [do it like he’s speaking] God’s [very] words. If someone serves, [he must do so] from the strength that God always supplies, so that God will be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him [belongs] the glory and sovereignty for ever and ever! Amen (1 Peter 4:7-11).

These is some very good advice! Actually they’re a series of commands, which flow from that enigmatic statement at the very beginning:

Here are some questions to consider from the passage:

1. What is the “end of all things?” What is Peter referring to? How does this relate to the list of commands in this passage?
2. Why should Christians be sensible and self-controlled? Where else in this letter did Peter say something similar about how your behavior is linked to how God hears your prayers?
3. What does Peter mean when he says “love always covers many sins?”
4. What did “hospitality” look in Peter’s day, in his culture? What does it look like, today, in our culture?
5. Why does Peter call God’s grace of bestowing gifts to Christians as “multifaceted,” or “manifold” or “varied?”
6. What are some of the gifts the New Testament identifies believers have?
7. Who does Peter want you to use your gifts for? What does this tell us about the congregation being a local community of believers?
8. What does Peter suggest about how gifted you are in a particular area?
9. What kind of “speaking” is Peter referring to?
10. Where does the strength come from to serve others in the church? What does this tell us about motivation for service?
11. What is the reason and motivation for Christians to use their spiritual gifts for each other?

I’m looking forward to going through this passage over the next few weeks.