Peter
the apostle shared with the “scattered”
Christians how if they “received
the gift” they were to “even
so minister the same one to another,
as good stewards of the manifold grace of God”.
In chapter four and verse eleven of his letter, Peter told the
Christians to “speak as the oracles of God”
where we read:
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.
The
verse begins, “If any man speak, let
him speak as the oracles of God;” Peter
began with the word, “If any man”
which refers to “whoever” “speak”
or “utter a voice or emit and articulate sounds”, “let
him speak as” or “like or even as”
“the oracles” which refers to “a divine
oracle or utterance of God” “of God”
which is “the Godhead bodily and trinity
which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy
Spirit”. Peter's exhortation to Christians was to “speak”
as though they were sharing the very “words
or utterances of God”.
The
verse goes on to say, “if any man
minister, let him do it
as of the ability which God gives:” Peter
continued, with the word “if any man”
which refers to “whoever” “minister”
or “serve, attend, be domestic and wait
upon”, “let
him do it as”
or “like or even as” “of the
ability”
which means “force, power, strength and might” “which
God” or
“the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the
Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “gives”
which literally means “to be a chorus leader” or “furnish,
procure and supply all things necessary to fit out a chorus”. The
Christians were to serve and attend to others according to the
furnishing and procuring the Lord Jesus supplied.
Finally the verse says,
“that God in all things may be
glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for
ever and ever. Amen.” At
last Peter wrote, “that God”
or “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the
Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “in
all things”
which refers to “each, every, any, all, the whole and everyone”
“may be glorified”
which means “praised, supposed, extolled, magnified and celebrated”
“through Jesus”
whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” and is “the Son of God
and Messiah” “Christ”
who is “the anointed one and Messiah” “to
whom” or
“to Jesus” “be praise”
which means “opinion, judgment, view, splendor, brightness,
magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity and grace” “and
dominion”
or “force, strength, power and might” “for
ever and ever”
which in Greek is “eis aiōn
aiōn” and
refers
to “an unbroken age, perpetuity of time and eternity”. “Amen”
which means “verily, faithful, truly, so it is, so be it and may it
be fulfilled”. As Peter concluded this though, he shared how the
goal was speaking and ministering in God's power rather than their
own. They were to “glorify”
God in everything they did, and this would come through the aid of
Jesus Christ who will be “praised”
and will have “dominion”
throughout eternity.
When
we think through these words of Peter, we begin to understand our
purpose and goal for being active in the kingdom of God. When we
“speak as the oracles of God” and “minister” to
others so Jesus is glorified, we “praise” the Lord and
attribute to him “force, strength, power, might, magnificence,
excellence and preeminence” forever. Let us be busy about
glorifying Jesus Christ in everything we do in this world.
Next
time Peter tells the Christians they should not “think it
strange concerning the fiery trial”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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