Sermon Tone Analysis

*TITLE:      Living in the Light of Christ’s Return: \\ TEXT:       1 Peter 4:7-11 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

[8] And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

[9] Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

[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.

[11] 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.

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*THEME:*

*PROP.:*

*INTER.: \\ — \\ D. Edmond Hiebert*

The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen ( 1 Pet 4:7–11 , NASB).

The hope of Christ’s return is an essential part of the believer’s equipment for fruitful Christian living.

In this passage Peter discusses aggressive Christian service in the light of the impending end.

The anticipation of the Lord’s return must have an impact on present Christian conduct.

In the face of persecution from without, believers, inspired by their hope of the future, must band together in loving service to each other to the glory of God.

Peter here asserts that the end is near (v.

7a ), he delineates Christian living in view of the end (vv.

7b–11a ), and he points to the true goal of all Christian service (v.

11b ).

*The Assertion concerning the End*

“The end of all things is at hand” (v.

7a ) summarizes the Christian anticipation concerning the future.

“Of all things”

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( Πάντων ), standing emphatically forward, underlines the comprehensive nature of the end in view.

The genitive “all” could be taken as masculine, “all men, all people”; in 4:17 reference is made to “the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel.”

But here this comprehensive term is best taken as neuter, “all things” depicting the eschatological end.

“The end” ( τὸ τέλος ), the consummation of the present course of history, implies not merely cessation but also the goal toward which this present age is moving.

It is the prophetic message of Christ’s return.

It is unwarranted to limit this comprehensive designation to “the end of the temple, of the Levitical priesthood, and of the whole Jewish economy” in A.D. 70. 1 Neither is it to be understood as a reference to the impending death in martyrdom awaiting the readers. 2 These views offer no proper basis for the exhortations which follow.

The verb “is at hand” ( ἤγγικεν ) is used in the New Testament of the approach of the kingdom of God in relation to the First Advent (cf.

Matt 3:2 ; 10:7 ; Mark 1:15 , Luke 10:9 , 11 ) as well as the Second Advent ( Rom 13:12 ; Heb 10:25 ; James 5:8 ).

The verb means “to approach, to draw near”; in the perfect tense, as here, it portrays the event in view as having drawn near and now being in a position as near at hand, ready to break in.

It thus depicts the return of Christ as impending.

Newell characterized His return as “the next thing on the program.” 3 Peter’s statement expresses the conviction of the early Christian church ( Rom 13:12 ; 1 Cor 7:29 ; Phil 4:5 ; Heb 10:25 ; James 5:8–9 ; Rev 1:3 ; 22:20 ).

Christ’s anticipated return was “always near to the feelings and consciousness of the first believers.

It was the great consummation on which the strongest desires of their souls were fixed, to which their thoughts and hopes were habitually turned.” 4

The delay in the expected return of Christ did create a problem for some in the early church ( 2 Pet 3:4–7 ).

Yet the passing of the centuries has not invalidated this hope.

No dates for the return of Christ were revealed to the apostles ( Matt 24:36 ); they did not know when their Lord would return; they were instructed to be expectant and ready for His return.

They were not conscious of anything that expressly precluded such an expectation; much that they saw encouraged it.

It may be said that the lengthy time interval must be understood in the light of God’s chronology ( 2 Pet 3:8–9 ), not

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man’s.

Peter’s assertion that the end is “at hand” and ready to break in expresses the Christian conception of the nature of the present age.

With the Messiah’s first advent the reality of the eschatological kingdom broke on human history; but with the King’s rejection, His eschatological kingdom was not established.

It awaits the day of His return.

But that eschatological encounter introduced a new element into the nature of history.

Human history now moves under the shadow of the divinely announced eschatological kingdom.

Newman wrote as follows:

Up to Christ’s coming in the flesh, the course of things ran straight towards that end, nearing it by every step; but now, under the Gospel, that course has (if I may so speak) altered its direction, as regards His second coming, and runs, not towards the end, but along it, and on the brink of it; and is at all times near that great event, which, did it run towards it, it would at once run into.

Christ, then, is ever at our door.

5

As human history moves along the edge of the eschatological future, “it is always five minutes to midnight,” and “that edge at times becomes a knife-edge.”

6 Only God’s long-suffering holds back the impending manifestation of that day ( 2 Pet 3:8–9 ).

This consciousness must have an impact on present Christian living.

*The Duties in View of the End*

“Therefore” ( οὐ̂ν ) grounds the duties now depicted in the consciousness of the impending end.

In the New Testament this eschatological hope is frequently used to motivate Christian conduct ( Matt 24:45–25:13 ; Rom 13:11–14 ; 1 Cor 15:58 ; 1 Thess 4:18 ; Heb 10:25 ; James 5:8–9 ; 1 John 2:28 ; 3:2 ).

“The return of our Lord,” Erdman observes, “has always furnished the supreme motive for consistent Christian living.”

7 The proper apprehension of this hope does not lead to uncontrolled excitement and fanatical disorder (cf. 2 Thess 2:1–3 ; 3:6–16 ) but rather to self-discipline and mutual service.

Peter sets forth the believers’ duty concerning their personal life (v.

7b ) and describes proper community relations (vv.

8–11a ).

*The Duty concerning Their Personal Life (v.

7b )*

“Therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.”

Two aorist imperatives set forth the urgent and decisive nature of these personal duties.

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The first verb, “be of sound judgment” ( σωφρονήσατε ), was used of a person who was in his right mind as contrasted to one who was under the power of a demon ( Mark 5:15 ; Luke 8:35 ).

It was also used more generally of one who was reasonable, sensible, and prudent, one who retained a clear mind.

The readers are thus urged to be self-controlled and balanced in their reactions, able to see things in their proper place.

Cranfield remarks, “The sound mind is equally far removed from the worldliness and unbelief of those who think to explain away the promise of Christ’s coming again, and from the fanaticism and sensationalism of those who would fain predict the hour of it and the manner.”

8

The second verb, “sober” ( νήψατε ), conveys the thought of sobriety as the opposite of intoxication.

The Authorized Version renders this “watch,” but it is a watchfulness related not to sleepiness but to drunkenness.

It is a call to remain fully alert and in possession of one’s faculties and feelings.

The eschatological context of this passage indicates that they must “be free from every form of mental and spiritual ‘drunkenness’“ 9 resulting from befuddled views and feelings about the future.

The two verbs, akin in meaning, are connected by “and” ( καὶ ), marking a connection between the two duties.

It is a question whether both imperatives or only the latter is to be connected with “for the purpose of prayer.”

The former seems to be the intended view of the NASB, as quoted above.

The NIV also supports this position by joining both verbs with prayer: “Be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.”

The ASV, by putting a comma after the first verb, keeps the two commands as distinct duties: (1) They must maintain a personal disposition of balance and self-control as they face life, and (2) they must be alert in mind and attitude so that they can pray.

This author prefers the rendering of the ASV.

The phrase, “for the purpose of prayer” ( εἰς προσευχάς , “unto, with a view to prayer”) implies that prayer is a normal and expected activity of the Christian life, but it is easy to become distracted and unfitted for its performance.

“Prayer” is a general term and includes prayer in all its aspects.

But the original is plural, “prayers” of all kinds, both private and public.

What follows suggests that they must maintain the practice of prayer in relation to their own lives as well as in their community relations.

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*The Activities in Their Community Relations (vv.

8-11a )*

The close connection between the personal and the brotherhood relations is underlined by the fact that verses 8–11 , consisting of a series of participles, depend grammatically on the imperatives of verse 7 .

Although the participles are subordinate, the words “above all” ( πρὸ πάντων ) make clear that the duties now enjoined are of primary importance.

Peter urges the practice of fervent mutual love (vv.

8–9 ) and depicts two broad areas of mutual service (vv.

10–11a ).

/The duty of mutual love (vv.

8–9 )/ .

“Keep fervent in your love for one another” (v.