1 Peter | Chapter 1

1 Peter

“Living in hope”

Ch. 1:1-12 Introduction

Ch.1:1-2 Greetings

Ch.1:3-12 Thanksgiving 

                               Intro: (Our Salvation, “The Living Hope”, in difficult seasons)

Poet Thomas Gray penned, “The paths of glory lead but to the grave,” but he must have been thinking of humanity’s glory and not God’s who has so richly shared with those who have trusted only in Him. I have said many times that God chooses to share His Glory with mankind three ways, in our:

  • salvation
  • sanctification
  • glorification

The question that Peter answers in this letter is in those three areas, “In what way do those three areas of shared glory overlap and influence those that they have been lavished upon?” One thing I have found true in my life, “What life does to us all depends upon what life finds in us!” How should our “salvation” affect our “sanctification”? That is the question that Peter answers in his first letter written to the “pilgrims of the Dispersion”. The backdrop of this letter is the suffering of the saints and throughout this letter’s five chapters Peter outlines what our salvation ought to be producing in and through our lives while we are suffering in our sanctification! Our salvation ought to have far more importance than just where we will spend eternity; it ought to be what powers us through this life! Peters writes in 1:3-5 “Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Peter says that we not only have a “hope” for a future with God in eternity but that it is one that is a “LIVING HOPE”, as it has the “power for the present” to keep us and sustain us who trust in Him! This “LIVING HOPE” with its “power for the present” is battle tested and able to sustain through the worst of “sufferings” as Peter says that such “sufferings” are not there to “punish” you they are designed to “perfect” you!                

Vs. 1 The man and the people

Vs. 1 The man who wrote it: This letter, over the centuries, has been used by countless persecuted Christians to dry their eyes, comfort their souls and encourage their hearts. Written around A.D. 64-65 when the followers of Jesus were regarded with growing hatred and suffering persecution as they were now walking their own Via Dolorosa. “Peter” is identified as the writer whose original name was “Simon” and received in John 1:42 the title by Jesus of what he would one day be. The word in the Greek means a “detached large rock” which speaks of firmness and strength of soul. 

In Peter’s confession of Jesus’ deity in Matt 16:18 Jesus said, “Peter or Petros, (you detached large rock) upon this ROCK or Petra, “massive LIVING ROCK” I will build my church.” The living rock was Peter’s statement of the deity of Jesus and not as the Roman Catholics insist the detached large rock of Peter! Peter is but a fragment of the living rock and he clearly understands this as he refers to himself and all believers as “living stones” in 2:4-5. It was Pentecost that transformed Peter from Simon to the Rock-man and it will be the Holy Spirit that changes us into living stones as well.  

Peter identifies himself as an “apostle of Jesus Christ” which to say he was an ambassador of Jesus sent out by Him with His credentials on a mission representing God’s kingdom not his own with the direct obligation of proclaiming His good news of salvation. To the student of God’s Word, it would seem based upon the early life of Peter to be a strange choice by the Holy Spirit to allow him to write this tender letter. Impetuous, impulsive Peter? Reading the gospel accounts in which he appears as this rough-handed quick actioned man but here in this letter he writes some of the most tender words found in the New Testament. To be sure he is still the man who abandoned all to become a “fisher of men” but the frost of life had softened the “ROCK”. 

Age had diminished some of his strength and self-confidence. His self-reliance had learned to cling to One stronger than himself, his wisdom now was adhered to One wiser than himself. The tools for making any person of God more pliable in the master’s hands are always the same, suffering and sorrow. Peter was finally at the place Jesus had said he would one day be in John 21:18, “Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” 

We cannot recover the hidden history of the events that caused this transformation. We last saw Peter emerging from prison in Jerusalem in Acts 12:19 then briefly we are told of Paul’s correction of him in Gal 2:11. Now he appears on the pages of his own letter to some of those he had preached to on Pentecost writing from “Babylon,” either a code word for Rome or the actual ancient city in modern day Iraq. 

The People Peter wrote to: There is a difference of opinion as to whom Peter intended to read this letter. Some say the word “dispersion” can only be Jewish Christians as it is a Jewish term, and to support that they offer the proof of many First Testament quotes by Peter which most gentile believers would be unfamiliar with. Then there are those that suggest that there are enough references that make it likely that it was to gentile believers as 1:14 Peter says, “not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance” which is clearly a reference to gentiles who have come from an idolatrous background. I believe that Peter is writing to the Church of Jesus Christ who was made up of both believing Jews and gentiles. The word “pilgrim” here in the Greek is made up of three words “alongside”, “upon” and “demos” which describes “people of a heathen city.” Peter is writing this letter to Christians who have been placed alongside and upon people of a heathen city! This is the first of two realities about our new life in Christ as it relates to living in this world:

We are “Pilgrims” strangers, and as such we are like fish living in the world’s fishbowl. In their home but never at home! We are not “natives,” we live as those who have surrendered our earthly worldly citizenship as we are now citizens of a heavenly city whose builder and maker is God. We live in the world but no longer are of the world and the world often thinks of us as being strange! Peter even lists the cities and provinces in which these believers were placed alongside and upon all of which are to be found in the area of modern-day Turkey. 

Second Peter calls them “pilgrims of the DISPERSION”! Here the Greek word is made up of two words, “through” and “to scatter seed”. The next reality about our new life in Christ is that we are the seeds that Jesus scatters into the fields of the world! We are tossed out by the hand of God to the fields of His choice to be placed alongside and upon people of heathen cities. Saint’s we need to understand that we are by the hand of the living God placed right next to unsaved people in a world system that is opposed to everything we long for! 

Vs. 2 The reason to write

Vs. 2 Here Peter further identifies the recipients of this letter by identifying three steps that the Godhead undertook in their salvation: 

“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”: God the Father chooses the sinner to salvation. The Greek word for elect means “to pick out”. God the Father chose the sinner out and this choice is dominated and determined by God’s foreknowledge. We finite people can know little of the infinite transactions in eternity except for what scripture has revealed in places like John 6:37 where Jesus says, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the ones who come to Me I will by no means cast out.” More knowable is what we the “elect ARE”: We are called to obedience: 

  • We are not called to merely escape the penalty due our sin. 
  • Nor are we simply called to a safe place called heaven where sin can no longer reign. 
  • The elect are called to obey, to suffer in order to make us more like Jesus who saved us. To obey to serve each other and make His name known among those in a world who causes our suffering. 
  • We are God’s elect to be the nearest to Jesus to resemble Him in devotion, love and service! 
  • Election can never be a selfish proposition, our election was never to be liked by this world, declared popular in the hearts of the unbelievers. 
  • We are called to be different, separate and to die daily to selfish ambition. All of which transforms us more and more into the image of Jesus. 

Scattered in foreign lands but gathered as God’s elect, chosen out by God while being strangers among men, removed from their home while being made heirs of a better eternal home! He chose all who were with Him, in a union before time but which was manifested in the process of time.

“In sanctification of the Spirit”: God the Spirit brings the sinner chosen to the act of obeying faith. The word “sanctification” in the Greek means to “set apart” and it is clear here that it is the Holy Spirit that does the setting apart as He separates us from our unbelief to an act of faith in the Lord Jesus. And the act of faith here is obedience as mentioned above in our election. 

“And sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”: God the Son cleanses us in His precious blood. Peter uses the phraseology and typology of the Levitical priesthood where the people were sprinkled with the sacrificial blood (Heb. 9:19).

The reason he wrote it: Peter understood and applied this “Living Hope,” as you will recall, he was the man who had believed that Jesus as Messiah was going to restore the earthly Kingdom of God and that he would then receive some position within that new government. But when the crucifixion of Christ occurred it crushed Peter’s hopes and now it is Peter who is called upon to write to those Christians whose hope has been crushed of a “living hope”! When you examine the main theme of Paul, John and Peter in their writings you discover something very interesting: John’s favorite theme in all his writings is LOVE. Paul’s favorite theme is FAITH, and Peter’s is HOPE. It is Peter’s personal understanding that when a person has FAITH in Jesus’ LOVE, it will produce Living HOPE. The Christian Hope is far more than our “hope”, so it is the confident assurance of future glory and blessing. This kind of hope isn’t a “rocking chair,” where we become complacent as we await the return of Jesus; it is a “Rocketship” that launches us out into new frontiers, boldly going where no man has gone before! This kind of hope isn’t a sedative it’s a shot of adrenaline and though like an anchor this hope can stabilize us in times of storms it never holds us back when we have clear skies, instead it propels us forward in faith. Peter then greets the readers with two results of our salvation:

  • Grace: Daily enabling unmerited favor given to the yielding Christian dependent upon the Holy Spirit.
  • Peace: Peace of heart produced by the Holy Spirit in the heart of the Spirit-filled Christian.      

Grace and peace recalls the reality that we are saved NOT because we are worthy, nor because we are good or have earned God’s favor. We are saved because of the abounding mercy and grace of God. It is an utter reality that to reach the world we will often need to be trampled into the mud of the earth to which God breathed to form humanity!

1 Peter 1:3-5

“A Living hope”

Vs. 3 Begotten us again

Vs. 4 An inheritance

Vs. 5 Kept in the power of God

Intro

We now move from the first part of the introduction of this letter in verses 1-2 to the thanksgiving part of the introduction in verses 3-12. The mention of the Godhead’s work in our salvation in verse 2 is followed by a benediction. The Greek word “Blessed” is where we get our word “eulogy” from and means to “to praise”: 

  • God the Father in verses 3-5
  • God the Son in verses 6-9 
  • God the Holy Spirit in verses 10-12 

During seasons like the one we are currently experiencing it would do all of us Christians well to realize that there are always far more reasons to be spiritually thankful than there are reasons to not be thankful. There is more spiritual prosperity in the act of constantly giving praise to God than the constant act of receiving His blessings. We will never grow spiritually as fast as when we spiritually give our  praise and service. Our Christ-like character is developed, not by our knowledge of God’s word but by putting into practice what we have learned in God’s word. Peter answers several questions these believers may have wondered: 

  • Into what kind of “new life” has God begotten us into? 
  • What are the limits of this life? 
  • What are its prospects? 
  • Does it have any liabilities? 

These are the questions that Peter answers in this section as we discover the “wealth of the glories that God has bestowed upon us”. Our glass is not half empty, but neither is it half full; no, our cup runs over as we are the sole object of God’s love and care! This “living hope”, is made possible by the resurrection of Jesus Christ as we now identify with Him who has allowed us to enjoy our heavenly inheritance NOW. 

Vs. 3 Begotten us again

Vs. 3 Peter writes of God the Father as being the Father “of our Lord Jesus Christ” and as such recognizes the unique relationship Jesus has with the Father and at the same time recognizes Jesus deity as well. Four times already in this short start of his letter Peter brings up the Name of Jesus, oh how sweet the sound! Who, “According to His abundant mercy” is an interesting phrase in the Greek as it reveals that it was “a compelling, constraining, merciful heart of God that made inevitable the atonement for us sinners.” The abundant mercy appears to us when we see what we were at one time by virtue of our natural birth and what we now are by virtue of our spiritual rebirth! There are many things that we have in our lives “hoped for,” and have found these hopes inoperative, ineffectual and uninfluential, they were not “living hope”, but “dying hopes”. 

But not so in our “new birth,” we have been granted through God into a “superabundant life” with exuberant energy and an overflowing vitality. With this realized and appreciated we can expect greater security and identity in the positive and less effectiveness of satan’s attacks upon our disposition. 

Our atonement has “begotten us again”, which is when the Holy Spirit imparted new life to us and granting us a new nature like our heavenly Father. The result of this is that we are now born into a “living hope” that is actively alive, energizing the believer with eternal optimism as we yield to the Holy Spirit.

 The Believer’s hope is Described as: 

A “living hope”: Because it is grounded upon the word of God and made possible by Jesus Christ’s resurrection. 

It’s a “living hope”: Because it imparts “life” to us and because of this life it produces spiritual growth in our lives. It gets more beautiful as time goes on which is in sharp contrast to what “Time” does to most of our “hopes”; time destroys our hopes and causes them to fade then die, but the passing of time causes the Christians hope to become more glorious! 

Peter calls this “living hope” our inheritance because he reminds us that we have been born again as children of the King of Kings.     

There can be no “I Hope So”, of uncertainty when we have been rebirthed into a “living hope”. 

How interesting it is that God uses Peter who initially didn’t accept the resurrection of Jesus as he raced to the tomb to see what had happened; to now write of the certainty of it and what faith in the fact of it blesses us with the ability to enjoy life now. We believers have a living hope because we have a Living Savior.

Vs. 4 An inheritance

Vs. 4 Peter declares that with our regeneration we have become “heirs” to a glorious spiritual estate” with inexhaustible treasures which Peter walks his readers through from differing angels so we can get the full scope of grandeur. Note that; our inheritance can only be described in terms of three negative compound words that are strung together to indicate that our inheritance is unlike any other inheritance. How dissimilar it is to the things of this world as it is not susceptible to defilement from the outside or decay from the inside! It is:

Incorruptible: Which means nothing can ruin it! It is beyond the reach of death; saints do you realize that there will never, ever be a grave ever dug on this estate! 

Undefiled: It cannot be stained or cheapened in any way. It is forever beyond the taint of our personal sin. There will never be one stain from our failure that ever will reach it as it is undefiled by us. Like the robes that we shall wear, it is purer than snow.  

Eternal: It can never grow old 

Can never wear out: Nor can it disappoint us in any way. It is beyond the blight of change, time cannot breathe its corruption upon it as it is in eternity.        

The believer’s inheritance is not subject to eternal defilement or internal corruption! It is the Holy Spirit’s pleasure to give us a taste of what awaits us as we are kept by God’s power until the day of our redemption. Peter says that it is “reserved”, which means that our inheritance is placed in the “Heaven safe-deposit box,” where God Himself is guarding it and it is under His all-knowing every-where present, all-powerful constant protection. Do you realize that Our inheritance is both prepared and protected by God?   

Vs. 5 Kept in the power of God

Vs. 5 Peter puts the importance of security as not only upon our inheritance as it is kept for us, but here Peter says that God himself makes certain that we are kept for it! Oh, how amazing is our God who is both our protector and preserver until the fullness of our time! We are included into Jesus’ “last will and testament”, but it is so vastly different from any earthly inheritance. The point Peter wants to make to these persecuted and discouraged believers is that “It doesn’t matter so much how long we have to wait to be reunited with our inheritance, as God has made certain that we will enjoy it when we arrive.”  

Before we examine this verse further; take a peek at the word “READY” in verse 5, as it means that what Peter has been talking about is ready for us, the arrangements have already been made. That means there is no defect in the preparations for our arrival, no lack of resources, what is needed is waiting for our departure.

 But how can we be certain of this? 

According to His abundant mercy: Mercy implies sympathy which tells us that it is fixed not upon our worthiness but instead upon God’s faithfulness. He is fully aware of our perpetual weakness and has issued His abundant mercy with sympathy to make certain that we arrive in spite of our constant failures.    

Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead: If Jesus hadn’t risen from the dead we wouldn’t have such certainty. Because Jesus has risen our greatest barrier has been demolished, namely death. With death defeated we have a “living hope”! 

Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation: We are guarded by God nonetheless to make sure that through this life he who has begun a good work in us will see it through to the day of our graduation. 

Not only is our inheritance being reserved for us, we are being guarded for it! So simultaneously as God has His watchful eye on our inheritance and we are also being guarded by God and the guard is never changed as He is on permanent deployment upon our behalf until we arrive safely to heaven to receive what He has been watching over. This answers the concern of some, “I know that God is guarding my inheritance but what if I don’t make it?” All believers will as we are being “kept by the power of God”! 

The Greek word “kept” is a military term that means “guarded” or “shielded” and the verb tense indicates that we are “constantly” being guarded by God assuring us that we will arrive in heaven at the exact preappointed time! When we arrive in heaven our guaranteed inheritance will be waiting for us and us for it. Now we can know for certain even if you were constantly late for your appointments here on earth you can rest assured you won’t arrive one second late for your heavenly home. The true assurance of the believer is the fact that we are not kept by our own power but instead by the power of God. 

Our faith is so fixed upon the “Author and finisher of our faith” that His power now guards us as well as guides us and as such our confidence is not in our strength but instead by God’s faithfulness. There remains yet one other question Peter answers here: “How long can we count on such guarding and guiding?” Peter answers this hypothetical question by saying, “through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time”. Until we return to Jesus or He returns to us whichever comes first. Saints we are guarded for glory, according to Romans 8:30 we have already been glorified and we only await the public revelation of this glory. We are like those who have already graduated but are only waiting for the public ceremony! Dear ones. It is Peter’s point that “No one should be concerned about the Journey when we know that the road we are on is the quickest and most certain path to home!” Suffering today only means glory tomorrow and as such suffering becomes a blessed reminder that this isn’t our home and we are only getting closer to our permanent destination. What an amazing exhilarating comfort when we realize that we were “born again for glory,” we have exchanged the “passing glory of man” for the “eternal glory of God”! As 1 Corinthians 2:9 reminds us, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” Saints, we look forward to our future inheritance waiting for us in heaven while simultaneously filled with Holy optimism about our present blessed transformation. The land of our glorious estate stretches before us and the power to possess us gloriously provided and both are ours by faith in Him!                 

1 Peter 1:6

“Under Construction”

Vs. 6 Four truths about our trials

Intro.

Peter picks up the second part of the benediction aimed this time at Jesus as a reason to rejoice in verses 6-9.  This verse ties into last week’s statement with the words, “In this you greatly rejoice”, and of course you ought to want to know what the word “this” is referring to. In verse 5 Peter had been writing about how both our “inheritance” and us for our inheritance are kept and guarded by God to guarantee both our “homecoming” and our “blessings”. He also answered the hypothetical question as to “How long would this guarding go on?” To which he said, “Until we are united in heaven with our inheritance.” Peter specifically worded it, “who are kept by the power of God through faith for SALVATION ready to be revealed in the last TIME.” That brings us to what “THIS” is referring to, and Peter wants his readers to focus on our “SALVATION,” which ought to cause us to rejoice presently in this “TIME,” even if we are experiencing “various trials” (end of verse 6). Or to put it another way, Peter is desiring to direct those who are going through various trials by “Getting through today by rejoicing in tomorrow!” To do this Peter starts with the hard part, our trials: as he gives us four truths about these trials, and why they are necessary in verses 6-7. Then he tells in verses 8-9 four things we should remember about our present salvation that will cause us to “greatly rejoice” no matter how difficult the trial is.

Vs. 6 Four truths about our trials

Vs. 6 It is always wise for the follower of Jesus to realize that all of God’s plans have the aim of eternity and that the processes He employs now are all preparations for what He has for us in heaven. The moment we trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior we entered “the pre-graduate university of the School of Christ.” All of its classes are mandatory as there are no electives! Every class is designed for you to pass and there is no grade, only glory that you strive for as you aim is to be more like Him. No need to be concerned about your fellow students with regard to your standing in class as each class course is specifically designed for the individual. The testing is both random and daily, and most of the time, in my case, I believe I have failed but the Holy Instructor is always patient to continue the testing as He has guaranteed I will pass the class. Each student in this university ought to be wearing, until we graduate, the same shirt to remind us that we are all in this world still “under construction”! To help us in our daily education, Peter has some valuable information that can get us through the daily grind of our studies. The first thing Peter does is explain the tests that we all will be taking as he gives his readers four truths about our trials:

A little while: These tests are administered by God who loves you and is for you not against you and as such they are NOT designed for your destruction but rather your graduation. In every difficult test, we students have the tendency to focus on the length of the test and begin to think that they will go on forever. So, Peter upfront wants the students to know that these tests are controlled by God for a specific season which He says amounts to only a “little while”. God will never allow the test to go on longer than is necessary to accomplish His work in you. When God tests us through trials, even when it gets “extremely hot,” He keeps His eyes on the clock and the thermostat! 

If need be: The second truth about these tests is that they are a “need based” testing! These tests aren’t on subjects or situations that we will “never need”; instead they are both given as well as designed specifically to each person’s need. In case you are wondering why you were given a certain test,  I have determined two main reasons why I was handed the test I got:

First, to cause me to grow closer to Him and to reveal areas in which I need to get more serious or pay better attention in my class time with Him. They are for my perfection and improvement . The test I am going through was specifically designed for me and there was no better test or way I could advance apart from that specific test! If there would have been, God wouldn’t have selected that test! All my fussing about how I hate this test, and how much I don’t want to take this test, or how God made a mistake and gave me the wrong test is only going to add to the length of time it will take me to take it and do nothing to persuade the Lord to change my test to one I’d prefer to take!

They are tests to get me to turn back to God, where I’m actively involved in ditching my classes and going back to a lifestyle that I was saved out of. These tests are to drive you back into His loving arms and though there may be consequences from our wandering away from His grace and mercy usually once we are safely back into His arms the test ceases!   

Been grieved: Third, Peter wants you to realize, as he did, that trials and tests are not designed to be easy, they are designed to break you.  They produce a heaviness and the word used here in the Greek for “grieved” is the same word used to describe Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane and it is also the same word used to describe the sorrow people have at the death of their loved ones. Peter lets his readers know this truth so that we wouldn’t be unaware the testing is severe and so that we would realize that such tests will break your heart and that either denying that or pretending that it’s no big deal will only make the trial more intense and sorrow greater and longer than needed.

Various trials: The word in the Greek for “various” is one that means “many colors” and it is the same word used in this letter in 4:10 to describe God’s grace. Our tests have many colors and today maybe a “Blue Monday,” and tomorrow a “grey Tuesday”, but God’s grace will always be sufficient to see us through the test. Another reason Peter wants his readers to understand that these tests are of “many colors,” is that they don’t become disillusioned when they get through one test that they have passed the course. There are many hues of blue, in fact currently there are 270 different ones. So just because you have passed “royal blue” doesn’t mean that you have passed “navy blue”, let alone “sea green” or “candy apple red”. God is always perfect at matching the color of our test to our needs so there is no point in protesting that you have received the wrong test! 

The saints are to “rejoice at the prospect of the last time when they will receive their glorified bodies.” “Glorified joy,” is made possible now by remembering that in the future we will be in a glorified state! The words “little while” is Peter’s way of getting the reader to realize that our endurance through “various trials” is a lot easier when we remember that no matter how severe they are presently, when compared to eternity it is still extremely temporary. Like fine flour we must be ground by the millstone of trials and suffering before we can be bread for the multitude! God is looking for servants who are, “faithful and dependable, and they may not necessarily be the most gifted, educated or cultured!”  Trials are the crucible for our perfection by which the Master may see His reflection in the aura of our faith and life. 

1 Peter 1:7-9

“Tested faith”

Vs. 7 Approval process

Vs.8-9 From grief to glory

Intro

We’ve been looking at 1 Peter and I mentioned that you could look at his encouragement as if he was speaking as a college administrator to the student body. You have entered “The pre-graduate university of the School of Christ.” 

  • All of its classes are mandatory as there are no electives! 
  • Every class is designed for you to pass and there is no grade, only glory that you strive for as your aim is to be more like Him. 
  • Grades are not on the curve but on the cross; as each class course is specifically designed for you. 
  • The testing is both random and daily, but the Holy Instructor is always patient as He has guaranteed you will pass the class. 

Remember Peter gave gives his readers four truths about our tests in verse 6:

A little while: These tests are administered by God who loves you and is for you not against you and as such they are NOT designed for your destruction but rather your graduation! 

If need be: The second truth about these tests is they are a “need based” testing! These tests aren’t on subjects or situations that we will “never need”; instead they are both given as well as designed specifically to each person’s need. 

Been grieved: Third, Peter wants you to realize, as he did, that trials and tests are not designed to be easy, they are designed to break you.  

Various trials: The word in the Greek for “various” is one that means “many colors” and it is the same word used in this letter in 4:10 to describe God’s grace. God is always perfect at matching the color of our test to our needs so there is no point in protesting that you have received the wrong test! 

Now, we will deal with the reason behind the tests that we talked about in verse 7, before he moves on to the four things we should remember about our present salvation that will cause us to “greatly rejoice” no matter how difficult the trial is, in verses 8-9. 

Vs. 7 Approval process

Vs. 7 Here Peter reminds the reader that the purpose of these various trials is to test the “genuineness of our faith” that they might meet the standard of being found to “praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ”, (verse7). God’s tests have one primary aim, “to bring us to glory”! To illustrate this Peter pulls from an analogy from the mining industry. The important realization that Peter brings forth is that no amount of tests will be able to bring us to perfection as His glory won’t be fully realized until we are with Him eternity. But He will keep us in the crucible of perfection regularly to the point of Him seeing His perfection. This is why Peter associates our rejoicing with our suffering as it may not be possible to rejoice as we look “around” in our trials and testings, but we can always rejoice as we look “ahead” through our trials and testings! Saints, a faith that cannot be tested is one that cannot ever be trusted! Too many in the Church have a “false faith” which will be revealed through testing and trials. The sincerity of our faith cannot be seen by our profession but rather only through our testing!  As we have seen:

  • We are born for glory
  • We are kept for glory
  • And now we see that we are being PREPARED for glory

The “trial” mentioned at the end of verse 6 is later referred to as the act of putting someone through a test with a view to determine if the person it is testing is worthy of being approved. The word in the Greek for “genuineness” is referring to the “act” of examination and the idea is what is behind the approval for those who seek a degree to be a Doctor of Medicine. It is the approval of our faith that is to respond to the praise of our Lord Jesus. 

“Testing times,” happen so we can determine what “our faith” is made up of! We can easily fall into a false security in our faith by thinking what we “intellectually believe” is true, and what we “truly believe”. But we have many areas of our life where what we intellectually believe is NOT what we “truly believe,” as we don’t put into practice the truths we have given verbal and intellectual assent to. It is the testing of our faith that will reveal if what we say we believe is what we really believe! It is NOT the testing of our faith that is to be to “the praise, honor, and glory of Jesus,”  but that our “tested faith” has been “APPROVED,” that resounds to His glory. Peter continues to explain the “approval process” in verse 7 as he likens it to an assayer in gold. In the Gold mining industry when gold ore is found it is an important process to the development of the mine owner to determine what quality the ore is so the owner can determine if the mine will yield enough to make it worthwhile financially in the development of the mine.

 Not all gold ore yields are the same and the less the yield of gold in the ore the more costly the process to extract it from the oar. So, the owner will employ the trials of the assayer upon the Gold Ore to determine if the Ore contains sufficient quantity of gold to make the mining of it profitable. One way of doing so is by the smelting process, once the gold is removed from the ore it is heated in a crucible until the assayer can see His reflection in the melted ore. You can see how Peter uses this illustration saying that the “genuineness of our faith” is much more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire. Our assayer, Jesus places our “faith” in the crucible of trials and melts it until He can see His own reflection in us, and it is this tested by the fire faith that is “found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Having done so to our faith God knows what He has to work with in us as He and us both know that our faith can stand the testing and trials which will come against us.

Vs.8-9 From grief to glory

The Christian life carries with it the powerful reality that our present circumstances, no matter how severe the test, need not rob us of the benefits of experiencing the joy of our salvation and future glory. To do this in verses 8-9 Peter tells us, “Four truths that will change your grief to glory.” 

Love Jesus: Vs. 8a “Whom you have not seen you love”: This phrase is tied back to Jesus in verse 7 and indicates that these believers were NOT “personal disciples” of Jesus like Peter was. They had not physically walked with Him in Israel, they hadn’t heard Him speak, or witnessed His miracles, as Peter had. Yet remarkably Peter says that they had NOT had the physical benefit of what Peter had experienced and yet “love Him.” The Holy Spirit had revealed Jesus to them in a level that was above their physical senses and it had produced the same agape love that Peter had experienced physically. 

Jesus told Thomas this in John 20:29 saying, “Jesus said, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Peter’s point is that their love for Jesus wasn’t limited to our physical senses, like our sight. Instead our love is based upon something more indestructible than our natural senses. It’s based upon a personal relationship with Jesus brought forth by the revelation of Him through the Holy Spirit empowering God’s word in our hearts. When we find ourselves in a TEST and the strain of the test is beginning to weigh us down, stop focusing on the pain of the test and start focusing on Jesus’ love for you and your love for Him! 

Satan wants the TESTS to bring out the worst in us, but God knows if we let His love and grace rule our hearts then the TEST will bring out the best in us. Listen up saints: The key is during the TEST you cannot love yourself more than you love Jesus if you want to change your grief for glory! The TEST is designed to purify us not burn us and the difference between those two things is the focus of your love!  To know Jesus is to love Jesus, to know Him better is to love Him better! 

Trust Jesus: Vs. 8b “Though now you do not see Him yet believing”: As mentioned above these believers weren’t limited by having sight as a basis of their “LOVE,” so neither should they have to TRUST Jesus based upon their TEST or results. Paul in Romans 8:28 didn’t write that “We SEE all things working together for good.” No, he said “We KNOW all things work together for the good!” The difference between SEEING and KNOWING is who you are TRUSTING IN! Love and Trust go hand in hand because when you love someone you trust them. Because of our love for Jesus we can surrender our ALL and follow Him in spite of our circumstance because we TRUST Him! 

There were three very close friends, Faith, Love and Hope. Faith and Love became quite concerned for Hope when she hadn’t returned from a walk and had been missing all day. So, Faith and Love went out looking for Hope and found that Hope had fallen and was injured. But Faith and Love were able to strengthen and carry Hope back home. Where you find faith and Love you will find confidence and hope in the future!  

Rejoice in Jesus: Vs. 8c “You rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory”: The truth is you may not be able to rejoice over your circumstance and tests, but you can and should always rejoice IN them when you make what they are producing in you your focus!” 

Each test helps us learn and depend upon some wonderful truth about Jesus. Look out through the multitude of stories of the believers in the Bible and you will find that in each of their journeys and testing they learned and leaned more upon a wonderful truth about God because they had gone through the TEST. It was Corrie TenBoom who said that she had found that, “There was no pit so deep that the Lord was not deeper still!” Dear ones, the only way you can know that is if you have spent some time in a deep, deep pit! Notice that Peter doesn’t just say that this truth produces “JOY” he says that it produces INEXPRESSIBLE JOY! The joy that such a focus produces is so great that we will not be able to express it, our words will fail at the mountain of JOY.   

Receive from Jesus: Vs. 9 “Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls”: Just like “Love and Trust” go together so do “Believing and Receiving”! If we do the above three things and are certain that you will receive from Him the “END OF YOUR FAITH”! You will experience TODAY some measure of the glory that you will have for all eternity! Charles Spurgeon once wrote: “A little faith will take your soul to heaven, but greater faith will bring heaven to your soul!” A little faith is what we need for salvation, but it will always require greater faith for our sanctification! Saints, Peter isn’t talking about us longing for heaven during our testing as we all do that, instead what Peter is urging is that we exercise Love for Jesus, Faith in Jesus and rejoicing in Jesus so that we may experience God’s glory that will be our sole experience in heaven NOW in the midst of our testing!   

1 Peter 1:10-12

“Our Salvation: “The University of Prophets and Angels” 

Vs. 10 The valley of saving grace

Vs.11-12 Our salvation under the microscope

Intro

I now have the great privilege of speaking about our “Great Salvation!” Twice already in this benediction Peter has caused the reader to focus upon their Salvation. 

Vs. 5 First, from the vista of God the Father: In verse 5 Peter informed us that our wonderful salvation cannot be fully appreciated as it doesn’t yet include the reuniting of our “spotless soul” with our yet to be realized “stainless body” which will only take place in the “last time,” when we will be raised in His likeness when He comes for us. 

Vs. 9 Second from the view of Jesus:  In verse 9 Peter’s focus for our Salvation includes something more than the deliverance from the penalty for our sins; it includes what Peter says is the “salvation of our souls”! What this informs us is that not only does Jesus’ sacrifice make us “SAFE,” it goes further making us “SOUND” and healthy as the Holy Spirit has breathed into us the nature of God, replacing our corruption with the life and vitality of the Eternal Word. 

Vs. 10 Now for the third time in this benediction our Salvation is again what Peter’s topic is and this time it is from the vantage point of the Holy Spirit!

Peter informs his readers of the remarkable reality of how great our salvation truly is amongst the most learned of all of God’s servants: These two extremely highly esteemed groups have been going to school at the most prestigious and exclusive University known as the: University of Prophets and Angels”! Its student body is so exclusive that it has:

  • Only ever allowed these two groups (Prophets and Angels) 
  • And it has only been limited to one subject that is studied as they are still at their classes as it has remained an ongoing discovery to them. 

That TRUTH ought to cause us to be both humbled and amazed which should alone bring us to NEW HEIGHTS of “inexpressible joy”. That subject, Peter tells his readers, is none other than our salvation! The point of Peter’s focus is with such a fresh glimpse of the wonder of our salvation it ought to wash away the temporary sufferings and sorrows that only indicate that we are now closer today to realizing what the Prophets and angels longed to study!

Vs. 10 The valley of saving grace

Vs. 10 The First (Old) Testament Prophets had been long engaged in an exhaustive inquiry and search, noted by the use of Peter’s words “inquired” which means a “passionate desire” with the words “searched carefully” which means to “stoop down and look carefully into, to inspect curiously”. And please note this: With the prophets it was this intense search…. Of their own writings! Specifically, they looked into “What time” or if that could not be uncovered specifically; then more generally, “What KIND of time” would usher this unique salvation! Peter uses two words for time in this passage (Times and Seasons) the first refers to “when it would occur” and the second refers to “what character the event will be”.

 Their conclusion is found in verse 12 in the words “To them it was revealed that, NOT TO THEMSELVES, BUT TO US they were ministering..” The point Peter is trying to convey to these dear suffering saints is that the prophets of old were so excited and so hopeful concerning this future salvation that they studied it and hoped that they would be experiencing it only to realize that it was to a future generation and those that Peter was writing to WAS THAT GENERATION and so ARE we! This “TIME and MANNER OF TIME” that would change salvation was Pentecost, which was the time that the Body of Christ was formed!

 That Gentiles were to be saved was no mystery to the Prophets but the manner in which they would be saved was as they thought that they would have to become Jews but instead as Paul wrote in Eph. 3:5-6 Jesus broke down the “Wall of separation” making of the two one body. It is interesting to note that Peter was making this amazing declaration, but he didn’t fully understand this according to Acts 10:1-48 until a full eight years after Pentecost! 

Before we can examine what Peter is stating we need to take a peek into who he is saying it to start with, the prophets. Peter indirectly makes two statements about these people with regards to divine inspiration: 

First, Peter says that the Holy Spirit (Spirit of Christ vs. 11) was in these prophets communicating truths which they could not have foreseen or discovered. So great were these “truths” and so apart from their own reasoning that after the Holy Spirit had given these truths to them they were “baffled by them” though they had been used to write them. 

Second, Peter states that the writings of the Prophets are, “God’s truth stated in human words” which speaks to us not only about Divine inspiration it goes further to give us understanding of Divine intention and purpose of Divine inspiration! 

The Prophets, knew that the Holy Spirit was writing through them, and according to Peter, by faith could make out plainly two mountain peaks of our salvation in Jerusalem: 

Mount Calvary (The Mount of Suffering): According to Isaiah 53:1-6 who had written 750 years before these events took place, wrote: “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” It was on Mount Calvary where the Messiah would suffer and die and the prophets understood this they could see “The Lamb of God” who would be despised and rejected, who bore our grief and carried our sorrows while we did not esteem Him all the while He was being wounded for our transgression, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we would be healed as the Lord laid upon Him the iniquity of us all!

Mount Olivet (The Mount of Glory): Here Zechariah wrote in 14:4, “And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, Making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.” They saw Jesus’ suffering and His glorious return but Zechariah hints at something that the prophets “inquired” and “searched carefully” about the “grace that would come to us gentiles” with regards to our “Salvation”. It is the “Making of a very large valley” between those two Mountains which is known as the Kidron Valley.

 In the center of the valley was a small creek that Jesus and His disciples “passed over” on the night He was arrested that was blood red due to the sacrifices being performed throughout the day. Please take careful consideration to notice that the “Glory of Mount Olivet” could not be entered into without first the “Suffering of Mount Calvary”. Those two mountains, dear ones, are the first coming of Jesus for the sin of the world and His second coming for His Church in His glory! 

And the events the prophets wanted to know of were, “When it would occur” and “What its characteristics were; what they couldn’t make out was the “Valley” in between those two mountain’s. Do you see what that “Valley” is NOW? Saints that valley made possible by Jesus’ sacrifice is our salvation! It is US gentiles that they couldn’t recognize and that means we are the valley of the church age between the two comings of Jesus! Since the sacrifice of Jesus and prior to His return we are living under the dispensation of abundant grace which has broken down the wall between Jews and gentiles as God has made from two, one body of believers through one sacrifice, His only Begotten Son.       

Vs.11-12 Our salvation under the microscope

Vs. 11 The prophets wrote of things perfectly written all the while imperfectly understood by them; that is Peter’s statement! The prophet’s conclusion was, that based upon the twofold inquiry, that what they wrote about was not for them but for us, they had written of mysteries that would be revealed and revered by a future generation and dear ones, we are of that generation! Thirty years had passed through Peter’s life from that night of despair that had broken him in denial of the One whom he had proclaimed “Had the words of eternal life”. 

He had been the eyewitness of Jesus’ sufferings as religion tried to beat out of and then kill the reality of who Jesus was. But it is clear that those 30 years have changed Peter as we remember in Matt 16:22 his protest at Jesus’ declaration that He was going to go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the religious leaders and be killed but would be raised on the 3rd day. To this statement of Jesus Peter protested a rebuke of the thought of such a thing saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to you!” That which had been Peter’s strongest protest was now the tenderest passion of his life. 

Vs. 12 To give even more weight on how amazing our salvation is Peter says that the “Angels PEER into the mysteries of  our salvation”. These angels are NOT participants in our salvation, they can only be spectators of it! Let this truth soak deep into your hearts with regards to how absolutely amazing our salvation IS that you and I, who have trusted in the finished work of Jesus, are instructing angels because of God’s grace! 

Angels are fully aware of what it is to “fall from grace” as a 1/3 of their kind did so but they know nothing of regeneration, restoration or reconciliation. They are utterly blown away at what God has done in transforming such a depraved creation into something that is even more glorious than its original creation. The angels who have no part in the plan of our salvation have a great interest in it. Luke 15:10 records that there is joy and praise in heaven in their company when one sinner repents and is transformed.

 It is these angels who didn’t participate in Satan’s rebellion and remained holy that are in no need of salvation that marvel at our redemption as they must consider the eternal consequences of those fallen angels that must remain in a state of wickedness and cannot believe in the truth. Only fallen man can know the truth and believe in it and be saved through it! Furthermore, it was these “Mysteries” that the apostles had spoken and written of that is the “Gospel”! It was this “Message of the Holy Spirit” written by the prophets, spoken by the apostles, that was NOW at work in human hearts. Their preaching was not with enticing words of human wisdom, it was a demonstration of the Spirit and power of God! Peter concludes into the angels saying that those who have led the chorus of praise of the worthiness of the Lamb that was slain have admired the Godhead with praise since their creation are trying now by their examination of us trying to set to music the mystery that is our transformation!    

  1 Peter 1:13-16

“A different life” 

Ch 1:13-16 Statement of purpose “Gird up the loins of your mind”

Intro

In verse 3 Peter encouraged the persecuted saints by writing on “Walking in hope” but here in the “statement of purpose”, (reason the Holy Spirit called him to write this letter); Peter is guided to emphasize “Walking in Holiness”! I’m reminded of what the apostle John wrote in 1 John 3:3 “everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure”. These two traits of spiritual life are connected. Hope of forever being with Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to purify our lives. The root word for Holy means “different” and biblically it doesn’t mean “weird,” it means that the believer has qualities about their life that is “different” in two ways:

First, the believer’s life is different from their own past, they are different from what they used to be. It has been said, “I’m not yet what I ought to be but thank God I’m not what I used to be!”

Second, the believer’s life is different from those unsaved people around them. Our “New Life”, will cause us to be different from the world we live in and they may think us strange to their habits and way of thinking. If the world cannot cause us to “conform” back to our old habits then it will hate us for we remind them that their life is one of choice that is not free but imprisoned by its own freedoms.

The question Peter answers in 1:13-16 is “What should a life look like when the focus is upon our great salvation?” The first thing that this question brings up to our hearts is the truth that our great salvation in which ALL is given to us by our simple trust in Jesus carries with its certain responsibilities and it is these responsibilities that Peter will spend the remainder of his letter on. The reason why a life that is focused on our great salvation has responsibilities is because our Great Salvation has forever changed us from death to life. As far as I am aware employment services never send out applications to the residents of a cemetery. 

Vs. 13 Time to roll up your sleeves

In these verses Peter will state and give three incentives to continue to “live different in a holy life” as we are to:

  • Live looking forward to the glory of God 
  • Live daily in a transforming life
  • Live in a purpose filled life 

Vs. 13 “Therefore”, gathers up all the wealthy truths of previous understanding of our Great Salvation and presents an appeal based upon them. Since we are begotten to a living hope, heirs to an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled we need to gird up our minds to live soberly setting our hope on His abundant grace that will usher us into His presence in Holiness. We are called to live a life that shines His radiance and holiness!

The context of the action that Peter is about to give is found in the phrase at the end of verse 13, “that of resting your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you AT the revelation of Jesus Christ.” What Peter is giving these believers is that; though our salvation was a “past action” it has “present day benefits,” and does so by causing the believer to “look into the future”. We Christians are to have a heavenly perspective that ought to cause us in our present actions to be guided by this future hope of forever being with Jesus! The actions that this should employ in the believer are threefold: 

A Disciplined Mind: In the first part of verse 13: “Gird up the loins of your mind”, The “therefore” forms the bridge between what he has been writing about with regard to our great salvation and the words “gird up” is best understood by today’s phrase “let’s roll up our sleeves”, and get to work but it isn’t the hard work for the body that Peter was thinking as it is the “loins of the mind”. The follower needs to get their head in the game so that their heart and will can follow! 

Peter may have had the image of the Passover as God had instructed them to eat the meal in haste, ready to move on a moment’s notice. The “outlook” of the soon return of Jesus ought to have the “outcome” of causing the believer to be ready to go by being motivated in obedience. Our souls can be clad with the flowing garments of fallen tastes, appetites and affections that hang onto our souls constantly catching on to the things of this world, tripping us up and hindering us in our race! This is why we must gird up the habits of our souls and tuck them into the “belt of truth” so we can traverse the world’s thorn bushes. 

A sober mind: Sobriety is usually associated with abstinence from alcohol, but Peter uses the word to express moral alertness and personal discipline. The Christian needs to have a “sober mind” and the word here means to be “calm, steady and controlled”. Again, the context of this admonition is the excitement over the soon return of Jesus which at times has caused people anything but calm, steady and controlled but Peter is saying that it ought to cause the believer to be calm, steady and controlled about the events of their life. Satan may be like a roaring lion on the prowl, but we have nothing to fear. Christian, anyone one whose life is falling apart usually is because their mind is not calm, steady and controlled. The focus of our life on the soon return of Jesus brings peace to our mind and heart.     

A hopeful mind: The third action Peter says that ought to impact us is found in the phrase “resting your hope fully upon the grace that is brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” This resting our hope fully upon the grace that awaits us, is a mind-set that we turn to when our “outlook is gloomy, we stop looking down at the world around us and start looking up.” It is always good to remember that the stars are only visible in the dark. Looking forward to the time when we will see Jesus face to face will grant us more and more of His grace now! 

Vs.14-15 Conformity

Vs. 14-15 Next Peter tells his readers that our great salvation ought to place us in a transforming life. Children inherit the nature of their parents and as a child of God we will inherit His divine nature. Our “conformity” can only be one of two ways: 

  • According to the world
  • According to the word

If conformity to the world is happening then that will need to be broken, if it is towards the word, that will need to foster. It reminds us of Paul’s words in Romans 12:2 where we read that we are not to be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Christian, we must always remember that freedom in Christ always enables us to be free from the things that used to entangle us so that we can pursue more of Jesus! We ought to no longer be those who say we are partakers of the divine nature but are masquerading in the costumes of the world! No one can say they are saved if they haven’t been transformed by whom they have trusted in. Our salvation will always lead to our desire to follow Him and obey Him even in areas that previously we didn’t. 

“Transformed” people will no longer be “conformed” people to this world system as we have a renewed mind according to Romans 12:2. By God’s transforming grace we are no longer practicing sinners, we are transforming saints! That separation is not only from the things of this world it is also separation to complete devotion to Him. To the transforming believer there is no such thing as “sacred and secular” as we are called to His nature; it is all sacred. If what we are involved in can’t be done to the glory of God or the will of God then it shouldn’t be DONE! 

Vs. 16 A divine pledge and believers’ obligation

Vs. 16 Finally Peter gives his readers the third things that our Great Salvation should produce in our life and that is it ought to give a singular purpose, holiness. Notice that Peter quotes Leviticus 11:44 as he says, “It is written” and this indicates that the Bible is our defining guide of what it means to be holy. A life that is transformed by such a great salvation will seek three things from God’s word:

  • They will seek to have their mind transformed, so they will study God’s word to learn.
  • They will seek to have their heart transformed, so they will study God’s word to love.
  • They will seek to have their will transformed, So, they will study God’s word on how they should live. 

Holiness is the sum totality of Divine attributes, the essence of the Godhead. And such an admonition means that: 

  • First, that such holiness is within our reach as God never calls us to something that we cannot attain by faith. 
  • Second, that such a call to holiness He will grant us all we need to affect that which He has called. 

The call is a divine pledge and the acceptance of a believer’s obligation. We are transformed by what possesses us, if it be the world or the word, the reflection will be in full view! We are holy to the measure that we are God possessed and that will be seen in our denial of self as we will seek a greater amount of Him which will place more of Him and less of us in our life. It all starts with Jesus, to have holiness you must have Him who is only Holy! It is good to know the “Word of God”, but in doing so it ought to have led us to know the “God of the word”.   Positively the believer ought to desire to be constantly something new. God’s demands are that we become like Him, separate from our former things and separate unto Him. The standard is clear, but we need to realize that the attainment in this life will never be completed as we will never in this fallen world rid ourselves of our old nature, the best we can do is “die daily”! Our standard is never at our fellow travelers but always on the prize of the “upward call in Christ Jesus”, Philippians, 3:14.                    

1 Peter 1:17-21

“Wholeness so holiness” 

Vs. 17 The judgment of God

Vs. 18-19 The love of God 

Vs. 20-21 The necessity and benefits of our redemption 

Intro

There are times when you start a study that, at the initial reading you kind of read it with your heart half asleep. I say that because that is what happened to me this week. I found myself thinking, “Yep, I know this, Lord.” But then I prayed what I encourage you to pray as you approach the Word of God, “Move me Lord closer, I have come to see you!” Now my prayer is, “Lord this is too wonderful for me, how can I of all people communicate to your people what you have shown me?” So, with that: Buckle up and let’s pray the Lord will take us through a tour of our redemption! First is the context as Peter continues to give his readers motive to live a Holy life as we now by faith in Christ have been born again with the result that “old things have passed away” and “all things are made new”. Peter wants his readers to be motivated by three things in verses 17-21:

  • Vs. 17 The judgment of God
  • Vs. 18-19 The love of God
  • Vs. 20-21 The necessity and benefits of our redemption

Vs. 17 The judgment of God

Vs. 17 As God’s children we need to be serious about that which He is serious about, sin! God never winks at our sin, neither does He call it something other than what it is, namely sin. The word “IF” here in the Greek would be better translated as “SINCE,” as Peter is not doubting their relationship with God, he is pointing out the reasons for our holiness mentioned in verse 16. Also, of interest is Peter’s linking together two aspects about God that we don’t normally associate together, “Since you call on the Father,” with that of, “judges according to each one’s work”. How comforting it is when we come to realize that it is our Father who judges! We have the personality of a loving father who operates in our lives in the aspect of being our judge. And in case we have forgotten, the believer has already had their sins judged at the cross! 

This word in the Greek of “judgment” means “to judge in order to find something good” as it doesn’t refer to our salvation but rather our works produced because of our salvation. Our Heavenly Father will search our ministry and examine our hearts to see the motive behind our works for the purpose of glorifying Himself in our lives. According to Rom 14:10-12 and 2 Cor. 5:9-10 upon the Lord’s return there will be a time at the judgment seat of Christ where each of us will give an account of the works of our life brought forth by God’s ever-present work in our lives. Each of us will receive an appropriate reward as this is a “family judgment”. God will give us many blessings and privileges in our Christian life to grow, but he will never give us the privilege or blessing to disobey and sin. Listen up Christian, years of obedience and walking in His love and grace can never buy you one second of disobedience. The scales of God’s judgment are never weighed on the accumulation of “GOOD” in our lives, and we cannot purchase a little bad with the currency of good. It is like the manna of old: That which is not enjoyed today will rot by tomorrow. Furthermore, we are told that His judgment is void of “partiality”, He will not pamper or indulge His children, He accepts no bribes. 

The point Peter is making is that the gift of our life is far too short to waste in disobedience and sin. He reminds them that their status while walking here on earth is as

a “sojourner”, a person who is living in a foreign land whose temporary monarch is Satan with many of his subjects having bought into all his lies and are watching us suspiciously. If we fail to realize that we are just “sojourners” during our time here in this life it won’t be long before we suffer the same consequences as Lot and become citizens of Sodom! The “fear” mentioned here is the “self-distrust,” it is the fear of treading upon His love with indifference, the thought of sinning against One who has done nothing but love and care for us. 

Vs. 18-19 The love of God

Vs. 18-19 The second and highest motivation to live a holy life is the “love of God” Peter reminds them of two things about “WHAT THEY WERE” prior to their redemption:

Slaves: This is a word used for slaves in the first century as there were 50 million slaves in the Roman empire and many slaves fellowshipped at local churches. A slave could purchase their freedom if they had the sufficient funds or the master could sell them to a person who had the funds and the willingness to purchase them to set them free. Redemption was a real and precious reality to many in the early church. There is an ever-present danger that lingers in the hearts of many Christians and that is we are prone to forget our past slavery and bondage to sin and the world. The inevitable consequences of this, when it happens, is that we will stop appreciating the price for our redemption and the true freedom it has granted us; then it won’t be long before we go back to Egypt to dine on its destructive delicacies.

Aimless: The second thing Peter reminds them of is that they were aimless. The Greek word doesn’t mean “without” direction; it means that they were ineffective in achieving and unable to attain what they sought after. This empty life is a condition passed down from our ancestry, “a congenital birth defect,” if you will, passed down “From your fathers”. Furthermore, this birth defect comes with an equally disturbing symptom that causes the person afflicted to think they are full and happy all the while they are empty and miserable. This leads the victim to continue to try to maintain life while feasting on insufficient substitutes that will never satisfy while avoiding the cure!         

Peter not only reminds them of “WHAT THEY WERE,” before the work of Jesus, he now reminds them of “WHAT GOD DID” to change “what they were, which has to do with the price paid for our redemption which Peter describes both in the negative as well as in the positive.

 Negative: Peter tells his readers what they were NOT REDEEMED by, corruptible things. It is a strange example with regards to gold and silver being linked to “corruptible things,” as they are some of the least “corruptible things” here on earth but when compared to what is the only currency available to reverse the effects of the fall they are corruptible. The use of these two words in the Greek describe the coinage in gold and silver that was commonly used to purchase slaves. Earthly treasures account for nothing in heaven. And when we read of the jeweled walls, sea of glass and gold pavement that all and more are at God’s disposal and none of the things that human’s prize are of any use to our Heavenly Father. Fallen humanity seems to fall into the trap of thinking if they had enough money all their troubles would be over. But money can never be enough to: 

  • Reverse a lie once told
  • Take back hurtful words once spoken 
  • Bring back to life that which our actions have killed 
  • Turn back the clock once time has been wasted

With all earthly treasure and heavenly treasure at His disposal God knew that none of those things would do to reverse the above. He had available all the sum totals of Gold and the entire volume in the weight of the universe in silver, but no amount would have been near enough to purchase one soul from the grips of sin and death; so instead He gave Himself!

Positive: “But with the precious blood of Christ” The word “precious” in the Greek has a two-fold meaning as it means both extremely priceless in terms of value and extremely priceless with regards to being held in honor as being essential. Peter’s point is that as wonderfully thankful a slave would be if freedom was purchased or a great sum of little gold and silver coins, how much more so should we be thankful when we realize the price paid for our redemption? It would take the life of Jesus to grant life for our dead souls. What this reveals to our hearts is both how much God values us as well as the cost He had to pay! Peter goes on to explain why Jesus’ blood is so exclusively one of a kind as it has two elements that no other has ever had as He is a lamb of God:

“Without blemish”: That is to say that He was 100% pure and without any trace of personal sin, neither from commission or omission. Jesus never one time in His entire earthly life committed sin by what He did do nor by what He didn’t do. Simply put he was without any moral, ethical or character defect.  

“Without spot”: This is to say that even though He lived among fallen humanity who are extremely contagious in their sin and yet none of humanity’s curse “Rubbed off” on Him. He could not and did not catch our affliction! Jesus never became like those He lived amongst continually, all the while we are told He ate and drank with sinners but never caught what has plagued fallen humanity and caused a 100% death rate.

Vs. 20-21 The necessity and benefits of our redemption

Vs. 20-21 Here in these two verses Peter elaborates further on the necessity of our redemption which he touched on in the phrase of verse 18 when he said of his readers, “Your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers.” Our “slavery to sin” was far worse than human trafficking, as horrible as that is; ours had no way to set us free, gold and silver coins couldn’t purchase us and even if they could they had no power to change our condition as it wasn’t environmental it was biological! No amount of heavenly or earthly treasure could change our “natural birth defect of sin”, our ransom was beyond hope, humanity was doomed to suffer the effects of the fall … .BUT FOR A GOD WHO IS RICH IN MERCY! He chose to purchase us by the Chosen One to make us the Chosen! And when was this initiated by God? “He (Jesus) was foreordained before the foundation of the world” to be what Jesus said in Matt 20:28 “ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” That is what Peter describes in the next sentence when he says, “but was manifest in these last times.” Dear ones, please hear me and take this in, Jesus’ death was an APPOINTMENT and NOT an ACCIDENT and that APPOINTMENT was FOR YOU! According to verse 21 the comprehension of this truth should have two outcomes in our lives:

“Who through Him believe in God”: The first thing it ought to produce in those is FAITH. When an unbelieving heart hears this by way of the Holy Spirit they are faced with a decision: 

  • Stay in your horrible death sentence 
  • Or trust in the living God who has the ONLY CURE for you 

And yet we know that broad is the way to destruction and narrow is the way to life. The answer to why this is so prevalent is what I said before: this birth defect comes with an equally disturbing symptom that causes the person afflicted to think they are full and happy all the while they are empty and miserable. This leads the victim to continue to try to maintain life while feasting on insufficient substitutes that will never satisfy while avoiding the cure!             

“So that your faith and hope are in God”: The second thing this should produce is in those who have taken the cure by faith and that grant us further faith to face the uncertainties and difficulties of life NOW as we have a wonderful side effect of faith in the cure of Jesus….HOPE! And all of this is based upon the foundation of certainty as seen in God’s ability to raise “Him from the dead and give Him glory”. In other words it is only His blood that has the cure and He proved it worked when the SIN of the whole world was laid upon Jesus, not just the sin of a few but all who has ever been or ever will be and with all that sin laid upon Him…Now listen: It couldn’t keep him in the grave or out of glory!!!!!   

1 Peter 1:22-2:3

“We are family” 

Vs. 22 Marks of love

Vs. 23-25 Love like your inheritance

Intro

With the start of this section of verse 22 starting with the word “since,” we know that it has its connection with Peter’s point in verse 21 which is about our salvation through new birth. This section will continue through chapter one and into chapter two verse ten. Its theme is that: 

  • True personal holiness should create relational togetherness. 
  • Or if you will: Vertical holiness ought to create horizontal togetherness. 

Peter will explain why this is true and give us four examples of what this looks like:

  • Vs. 1:22-2:3 We are family
  • Vs. 2:4-8 We are bricks in the same building
  • Vs. 2:5 We are servants under the same Master
  • Vs. 2:9-10 We are citizens of the same nation   

Now let’s look at verses 1:22-2:3 and the fact Jesus has caused us to all become part of the same family. It is a painful reminder that God’s children don’t always get along with each other. One would think that those who are to walk in hope and holiness ought to be able to walk in harmony, but we know that this isn’t as it should be. From God’s perspective He doesn’t recognize any denominations that separate and segregate God’s people as all He sees is one body. Yet as the apostle John reminds us in 1 John 4:20 “ If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” It is clearly easier said than done! Peter by way of the Holy Spirit will teach us how this can be accomplished. 

1:22-25 Marks of Love, So loved, so love

Vs. 22 First in this section Peter will remind his readers that we all experienced the same spiritual birth. We are all familiar with John 3:16 and just as earthly birth requires two parents so too does spiritual birth; notice that Peter says in verses 22 and 23 that the conception of our “New Birth” was consummated “through the Spirit” and “through the Word”. 

This explains why those who have only been born of the flesh have no power to get along with their fellow man and why civilization is falling apart all around. The world has been trying to build unity on the basis of our natural birth and have never been able to succeed and will only happen when unity is built upon our New Birth! We must eat our meals of God’s Word from the table of the Cross of Christ if it is to transform our character.

 It appears that Peter’s exhortation may have been prompted by call distinctions as some new believers preferred time with their former associates then they did their new brothers and sisters who were from a different class of people. Notice that Peter uses two different words for love in verse 22. The first is “phileo” in the Greek, and it speaks of a love called out in the heart of a person by the pleasure they get from another being around another person. 

The idea here is that one person likes another person because that person is similar to them as they reflect the same ideals and interests. The question is why does the Holy Spirit encourage believers who are already “loving one another in sincerity” to “love one another fervently”? Whereas the word in the Greek for the second love is “agape,” and in classical Greek the definition means a “love called out by the preciousness of the person loved”. Clearly loving someone merely because you share things in common isn’t as deep as loving someone because they are precious to God and to love them with God’s love that is willing to sacrifice one’s self for their benefit. Peter describes three marks of this love in verse 22:

Sincere: Our love of one another must not be only skin deep or to gain advantage for our own purpose it must be genuine and authentic. Our motive must be to give and not to get. In the end it is not what we have that matters, it is what we have given away!   

Fervently: Our love for our fellow Christian is to be with our whole heart and all our energy! It’s not just a mere feeling, it is a matter of the will that we are committed to until we succeed. That was Jesus’ last prayer in John 17:21 when He prayed, “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” 

Pure heart: In the Greek the tense of this verb indicates that it is a past completed process that has caused a present state of transformation. The love that Peter is expressing is that since we have been so loved we have forever been changed to love with the same purity as we have been loved. As such it is not a manufactured or artificial love just put on for the occasion. 

The reason for this exhortation was already stated by Peter at the beginning of this verse when he said, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth.” We were transformed by God’s love, so we now have the ability to love others the way He first loved us. In order to be so affected by God’s love there are three things that need to happen in our hearts to be so transformed:

  • We must know the truth
  • We must obey the truth
  • We must be purified by the truth

Dear ones, it is impossible to love God, the truth of the Bible and hate His people! 

Vs. 23-25 Love like your inheritance
Vs. 23-25 Notice that the life of love implanted in us is like the inheritance that awaits us that Peter already mentioned in 1:4. As such it cannot be corruptible because it is incorruptible therefore it is not limited by the world as it is eternal in infinite as He is Love. Peter contrasts it with worldly love as he quotes Isa 40:6-8 saying that worldly love of the flesh is like the grass and flowers as they wither and fade away; whereas the love of God shed abroad in our heart is like Him as it endures forever. Nothing of our Lord is ever passing away not in His word or His work, it endures forever and that is a great way of judging our love for others because if it is God’s love through us towards us then no matter what it will continue even when injured and forgotten.