Lesson 18 — Serve One Another with the Gifts

¹⁰As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:¹¹whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.1 Peter 4:10–11

The last lesson gave us sober prayer, earnest love, and open homes. This one flows straight out of that, because a church that prays and loves and welcomes will soon discover that every member has been handed something to do. Peter's word is gift. Every believer has received one. And the gift is never a trophy; it is a trust. The royal priesthood is a serving priesthood, and the doxology at the end of verse 11 is the proper end of every gift used rightly. When the church serves as stewards, God is glorified. That is the whole point of the gifts.

1. Each has received a gift

The opening assumption is striking in its universality: "As each has received a gift" (4:10). Not some, not the leaders, not the gifted few. Each. In a brethren assembly, where the priesthood of all believers is a lived conviction, this verse is foundational. There are no non-ministering Christians. Every stone in the spiritual house (2:5) has a function. Every priest has a sacrifice to offer.

And notice the passivity of the verb: each has received. The gift was not earned, not discovered by self-improvement, not generated from within. It was received, in the new birth, by the Spirit who distributes "as he wills" (1 Cor 12:11). The gift is grace in a particular shape, handed to a particular person for a particular place in the body. Adrian Rogers catches the note: the question is never whether you have a gift, only which (Rogers, on 1 Pet 4:10).

Notice thisThe priesthood of all believers means the ministry of all believers. There is no audience in the assembly, only stewards. If you are in Christ, you have been handed something to manage for Him. The question is not whether you have a gift, but whether you are using it to serve.

2. Stewards of God's varied grace

The command: "use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace" (4:10). Three words deserve attention. First, serve. The gift is not for self-display but for service, and the direction is one another. The gift exists for the sake of the others. Second, stewards (oikonomoi). A steward manages someone else's property. The gift is not ours to own or to hoard; it is entrusted, and one day we will give an account for how we managed it.

Third, the delightful phrase "God's varied grace" (poikilēs charitos). The word "varied" (poikilos) means many-coloured, multi-faceted, like a tapestry woven of many threads. God's grace is not monochrome. He does not mass-produce saints. He gives a varied grace, so that the church is a mosaic of different gifts, each reflecting a different facet of the same grace. Matthew Henry lingers on the beauty: the diversity of gifts in the body displays the richness of the grace that gives them (Henry on 1 Pet 4:10).

3. Two great categories: speaking and serving

Peter now gathers all the gifts into two broad streams: "whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies" (4:11). Every gift, however specific, falls under one of these two heads. We either speak the word of God to people, or we serve the strength of God toward people. The teaching elder and the quiet hospital visitor are both stewards; only the currency differs.

If you speak, speak as the oracles of God (logia theou). The one who speaks in the assembly (teaching, exhorting, comforting) is to speak as one who utters God's words, not his own opinions. The weight of speaking is that you carry another's message. Speak only what God has said, and say it as His.
If you serve, serve by the strength God supplies. The one who serves (the practical gifts, helps, administration, mercy) is not to serve in his own strength, which would exhaust him and steal God's glory, but by the strength that God supplies. The energy for service is itself a gift, moment by moment.

The devotional pointBoth streams keep God at the center. The speaker is only the vessel of God's oracles; the server is only the conduit of God's strength. The moment a steward starts to believe the gift is his own, he has stopped being a steward and become an owner. We manage; God provides. We speak; God gives the words. We serve; God gives the strength.

4. The proper end: God glorified

Now the purpose clause that governs every gift: "in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ" (4:11). The gifts exist for God's glory, not ours. They are given so that, when we use them, the one praised is not the vessel but the Giver. This is the deepest test of any ministry: when it is exercised, who gets the glory? If the servant is exalted, the gift has been misused. If God is glorified, the gift has done its work.

And Peter ends the paragraph with a doxology that seals it: "To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" (4:11). The doxology is not decoration; it is the natural conclusion of a church serving as stewards. When every gift is used as a trust, the whole assembly becomes a sustained act of praise. David Guzik notes that this is the goal of all Christian service: that in everything, without exception, God would be glorified through Jesus (Guzik on 1 Pet 4:11).

The single takeawayEvery believer has received a gift, a thread of God's many-coloured grace, entrusted as a trust to be managed for the sake of the others. Whatever you speak, speak God's words. Whatever you serve, serve in God's strength. So God is glorified through Jesus, and the doxology becomes the church's natural breath.

Try thisName your gift this week, in one honest word (teaching, helps, mercy, hospitality, encouragement, administration, giving). Then ask: am I managing this as a steward, or hiding it as an owner? Find one concrete act of serving "one another" with it this week, and let the praise go up rather than out.

Application — head, heart, hands

Head. Believe that you have received a gift, that it is a trust rather than a trophy, and that its purpose is God's glory through Jesus. The priesthood of all believers means the ministry of all believers; there are no non-serving Christians.

Heart. Cultivate the humility of a steward who knows the gift is not his own. Mortify the pride that wants the gift to display you, and the false humility that buries the gift because you feel unworthy to use it. Both steal God's glory.

Hands. Use your gift this week to serve one person in the assembly, consciously in God's strength and for God's glory. If you do not know your gift, begin by serving somewhere, and let the shape of the grace show itself in the serving.

Check your understanding

How widely does the gift of 4:10 extend?

Only to the ordained elders of the assembly
To each believer, who received it as a trust
Only to those who have sought it earnestly
To a select few with public speaking gifts

"As each has received a gift" (4:10). The gift is universal: every believer has one, received in the new birth by the Spirit. The priesthood of all believers means the ministry of all believers. The only question is which gift, and whether it is being used to serve.

Check your understanding

How should the one who speaks speak (4:11)?

As one who speaks the oracles of God
As one who shares his own clever opinions
As one who impresses the listening crowd
As one who hides the harder truths away

"Whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God" (4:11). The speaker is a vessel, carrying Another's words. The weight of speaking is that you manage a message not your own. Speak only what God has said, and say it as His.

Check your understanding

What is the proper end of every gift in 4:11?

The reputation of the gifted believer grows
The assembly grows larger and wealthier
That in everything God may be glorified
That the steward may be praised by men

"In order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ" (4:11). The gift exists for God's glory, not ours. The deepest test of any ministry is who is exalted when it is exercised. If God is glorified, the gift has done its work.

Read for the next lessonRead David Guzik on 1 Peter 4:12-13, and sit with verse 11 until "God may be glorified" feels like the goal of every gift. The next lesson opens the section on suffering, the heart of Peter's pastoral concern: 1 Peter 4:12-13, "Do Not Be Surprised at the Fiery Trial," where the famous 4:12-13 is taught in its setting.