Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

1 Peter 4:10

καθὼς ἔλαβεν χάρισμα. The aorist most naturally refers to their conversion or their baptism but, if worldly goods to be used in hospitality are included as a χάρισμα, these would be possessed before conversion, and the aorist may refer to God’s endowment of His future stewards.

διακονοῦντες. διακονεῖν, διακονία, and διάκονος can be used of any kind of ministry or service. Thus our Lord uses it of His own work and it is used of the ministry of angels, or of prophets, 1 Peter 1:12, or of apostles, but it is specially used of ministering to the wants of others. The word is used both in its general and special sense in Acts 6:1-4 where διακονία is first used of the distribution of alms (cf. διακονεῖν τραπέζαις) and then of “the ministry of the word” i.e. preaching. Again in Romans 12:7 διακονία is mentioned as a special duty, side by side with prophesying, teaching, exhortation. So here διακονοῦντες is first used generally of all kinds of Christian service and then specially εἴ τις διακονεῖ.

There are such numerous echoes of Romans 12:13 in 1 Pet. (see Int. p. lx.) that there can be little doubt that in this passage about the use of various χαρίσματα St Peter is borrowing from Romans 12:6 ff. but instead of employing St Paul’s characteristic illustration of the body and its members he uses that of stewardship.

οἰκονόμοι. οἰκονομία means primarily “the office of a steward” or “household management,” but the latter meaning was used in a very wide sense of any kind of provision or arrangement, cf. the English word “dispensation,” so in Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 3:2; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:25 it is used of God’s plan or arrangement; but in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 1 Corinthians 9:17 St Paul speaks of his own stewardship and says that he and his fellow-workers should be regarded as “stewards,” so Titus 1:7 the ἐπίσκοπος must be blameless as being “the steward of God” (cf. the Parable of the unjust steward and Luke 12:42). In the latter passage the steward, though himself a slave, is evidently regarded as being in a position of authority over the other servants, but here St Peter seems to regard every man as an οἰκονόμος. As members of “the household of God” each one is responsible for using what his Master has given him for the benefit of the household in accordance with God’s “housekeeping arrangements.”

ποικίλης χάριτος. All the different gifts (χαρίσματα) are bestowed by God’s free favour (χάρις) which shows itself in a variety (ποικίλης) of forms (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Romans 12:3-8).

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

1 Peter 4:10

Old Testament

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