Together in Christ: 'Serve One Another and Glorify God' — 1 Peter 4:10-11

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Merry Christmas!

We pray the Lord blesses you with the grace of Jesus' presence this Christmas!

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God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

— 1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT

Key Thought

Peter provides one of the four inspired messages on spiritual gifts in the New Testament. [1] In each context where we find an emphasis on spiritual gifts, the Holy Spirit also stresses that the "way of life that is best of all"  [2] is love. Both Paul and Peter, in their teaching, emphasized that spiritual gifts can never be divorced from our love for each other. [3] Love is central in our use of spiritual gifts because these gifts have two primary goals, as Peter stressed in our passage today:

  1. Serving one another in the use of our spiritual gifts — we do not exercise our gifts to gain recognition for ourselves but to bless Jesus' people in His church. [4]
  2. Glorifying God in the use of our spiritual gifts — God is the one who has given us our gifts and empowered us to use them effectively through Jesus Christ.

When loving our brothers and sisters in Christ and honoring God become our defining virtues in the use of our gifts, then we not only obey the two great commandments affirmed by Jesus but also bless Jesus' family:

"'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." [5]
[1] 1 Peter 4:10-11 is our passage, the other three are our Related Scripture Readings listed below.
[2] 1 Corinthians 12:31.
[3] 1 Peter 4:8; Romans 12:9-11; 1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-13; Ephesians 4:1-6.
[4] While the expression "one another," as in today's verses, generally refers to other disciples, there is clear teaching that our call to service is also much broader (e.g., Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37, and Jesus' teaching not only on loving our enemies but also doing good to those who hate us, Luke 6:27).
[5] Matthew 22:37-40.

Today's Prayer

Almighty and sovereign Father, Jesus my Savior, and the Holy Spirit, thank You for giving me spiritual gifts to bless Your people and bring You glory. Help me know my gifts and use them to honor You and bless my fellow believers in Christ. I want these gifts to point others to You and awaken them to Your love, grace, and power. In Jesus' name, I offer myself to You. Amen.

Related Scripture Readings

  • Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:7-16
  • 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, 13:1-13

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Illustration

Illustration of 1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT — God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

About This Devotional

Together in Christ is a daily devotional that focuses on what Scripture teaches about godly living in relationships.

'Together in Christ' is written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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