1 Peter 4:11

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. St. Peter proceeds to give examples of the proper use of gifts. One of those gifts is utterance. The apostle means all Christian utterance, whether public in the Church, or private in Christian conversation or ministrations to the sick. The second clause may be also rendered, as in the Revised Version, "speaking as it were oracles of God." It is more natural to supply the participle" speaking" than "let him speak," after the analogy of διακονοῦντες ("ministering") in 1 Peter 4:10 . For the word λόγια , oracles, see Acts 7:38 ; Romans 3:2 ; also Hebrews 5:12 , in which last place the Scriptures of the New Testament seem to be intended. The apostle's meaning may be either that the Christian teacher was to speak as do the oracles of God, that is, the Scriptures, or (and the absence of the article rather favors this view) that he was so to yield himself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that his teaching should be the teaching of God; he was to seek no praise or reward for himself, but only the glory of God. Those who with single-hearted zeal seek God's glory do speak as it were oracles of God, for he speaketh by them. If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth. Again it is better to supply the participle "ministering." Whatever a man's gifts may be, he must minister them for the good of the whole Church (see Hebrews 5:9 ; also Romans 12:1-21 . S 1 Corinthians 12:28 ). And this he must do as of the strength which God supplieth ; the strength is not his—God giveth it. The verb χορηγεῖ , rendered "giveth," is used in classical Greek first of supplying the expenses of a chorus, then of liberal giving generally; it occurs in 2 Corinthians 9:10 . The compound, ἐπιχορηγεῖν , is more common; St. Peter has it in the Second Epistle (1. 5, 11). That God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ. The glory of God should be the one end of all Christian work. The Lord himself had said so in the sermon on the mount, in words doubtless well remembered by the apostle. To whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen ; rather, as in the Revised Version, whose is the glory and dominion for the ages of ages. It is thought by some that St. Peter is here quoting from some ancient form of prayer; the use of the "Amen," and the resemblance to Revelation 1:6 and Revelation 5:13 , seem to favor this supposition. It is uncertain whether this doxology is addressed to God the Father or to the Lord Jesus Christ; the order of the words is in favor of the latter view, and the doxology closely resembles that in Revelation 1:6 .