1 Peter 4:7-11

The thought of Christ's readiness to judge both quick and dead leads naturally to that of the close of the world. Peter passes thus to a new series of counsels bearing on what befits men who see the Judge approaching and the end at hand. While the former exhortations dealt mainly with the external relations of believers, these are occupied with the life within the Church itself. They fall into three series, all more or less influenced by the idea of the trials which the present order of things brings with it to Christians. In the first series certain personal and social duties are stated, which affect the inner life of the Church, and become urgent in view of the rapidly advancing end.