The Goal of Spiritual Gifts

God acts purposefully in all that He does. He does not operate haphazardly but acts with intent and according to what He has planned. Scripture reveals this truth to us in many ways. Ephesians 1:11, for example, declares that God “works all things according to the counsel of his will.”

Since God has a purpose for all things, He has a reason for giving us spiritual gifts and directing their use. Today’s verse gives us that purpose: “that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11b). We are called to speak in a manner befitting the oracles of God and to serve with the strength that God supplies for the ultimate goal of seeing God glorified in and through His Son.

Reformed theology, which is nothing less than the system of doctrine taught in the Bible, states boldly that the chief end that God has for all things is the revelation of His glory. Our Creator seeks to point all creation to Himself, not out of selfish, self-aggrandizing motives or insecurity but because He is by definition the greatest Being in existence. There is none greater than God (Pss. 47:2; 95:3; Heb. 6:13). His glory is a fact that must be revealed, for we are to delight in all truth (Ps. 51:6). Moreover, the revelation of God’s glory constitutes mankind’s highest good. Sin is so tragic because it exchanges the glory of the immortal God for lesser goods; it trades in our deepest purpose for that which cannot finally satisfy (Rom. 1:23). In salvation, we are being restored to that for which we were made—God’s “eternal glory in Christ” (1 Peter 5:10). Because God’s glory is the ultimate purpose and good for human beings, the revelation of His glory in all things is the best possible thing for all people.

Using our spiritual gifts according to Peter’s instruction manifests the glory of God. Speaking in a manner befitting the oracles of God directs others to His Word, where they learn of His glory in salvation. Serving with the strength that God supplies demonstrates that He is the source of all good things and is to be thanked and praised accordingly (4:11a). This use of spiritual gifts glorifies God because it shows the world in word and deed that we rely wholly on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, glorifying God is impossible apart from coming to Him through the Savior. Matthew Henry comments, “God is not glorified by any thing we do if we do not offer it to him through the mediation and merits of Jesus Christ.”