Table
of Contents
.Introduction
What do you want to be when you grow up?.The Believer's Blessed Position (1 Peter 1:1-12)
1)Salutation
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, strangers in the world,
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and
Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for
obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
The Author
Peter, Petras, Cephas – name give by Jesus to Simon. His name means rock.Apostle – an emissary of the King; commissioned to carry forth the King's decrees and not just his own word
The Recipients
The places mentioned in verse 1 are all within the geographic confines of modern-day Turkey.They would be places more readily thought of as Paul's territory since he was the apostle to the Gentiles. But then again, Peter was one of the first to really see God's commission extend to the Gentiles when he went to Cornelius.
Peter calls them, God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered...
First thing we see is that they belong to God as His possession.
They are His elect – He chose them as His own and sovereignly brought about their salvation. (All believers are God's elect)
Not of this world, strangers. Some translations, exiles. In other words, this world is not their home, they are just a passin' through. (All believers are strangers)
Finally, he calls them the scattered, or part of the dispersion in the aforementioned territories. This does not necessarily mean that they were scattered due to persecution. He may be referring to the fact that they are a dispersed group. Most likely these are Gentiles, after all.
God
Notice the work of the Trinity laid out in verse 2:God the Father – chooses the elect
The Spirit – regenerates and sanctifies
Jesus Christ (the Son) – shed His blood for the elect
2)A Living Hope (1 Peter 1:3-5)
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new
birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can
never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who
through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming
of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Other Religions
There are a lot of religions in the world (all except Christianity) that are basing their whole belief system on a dead hope:- Founded by dead or dying men
- Based upon speculation about what comes after life without
the power to really know what comes next
- Theories about origins, this life, and eternity
- And gods that conform to man's weak notions about what a god
should be like
Our God
But we believe in a God that is merciful. He does not give His elect what they deserve.And yet, He is completely just – no infraction of God's perfect law will ever go unaccounted for. It can't and God still be just.
And so we see here Jesus Christ, the one who satisfied God's justice and made possible God's mercy toward us by taking upon himself what we deserve.
He died in the place of God's elect. But that's not all – He lives! Praise God for the resurrection!
An Exile's Inheritance
And though God's elect are aliens and exiles in this world, we are far from poor for we have an incorruptible inheritance.It's not only incorruptible, but it is also untouchable – God is the keeper of that inheritance.
In addition to the inheritance, we are shielded by God through faith. Reminiscent of the shield of faith Paul talked about in Ephesians 6. God hasn't left us empty-handed here on earth, but has given us a faith that endures. And a faith that is placed in the immutable God himself.
3)A Refined Faith (1 Peter 1:6-9)
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now
for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of
trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth
than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved
genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ
is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and
even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled
with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the
goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
What Peter had just presented to the believers, regarding their
hope, is certainly reason for great rejoicing.
It would be worth my while to stop and ponder verses 1-5 a bit more
often and consider the deep things that are mine in Christ.Peter does not deny, however, the present realities – harsh realities – of the persecuted believer. “though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”
The Christian life is not an easy life, especially if one is living for the Savior and not for self. But Peter does remind them of the fact that this suffering is for a little while. In light of eternity, a lifetime of suffering is a little while.
And as James had pointed out, suffering is a refiner. Here, Peter points out that the suffering refines and also validates the quality of one's faith. And when faith is proved genuine, it results in praise, glory, and honor (when Jesus Christ is revealed).
This revelation of Jesus Christ could refer to Him being revealed in the one undergoing trials. For the trials in a believer's life serve to remove the dross and show forth the character of Jesus more clearly. And then Jesus is praised, glorified, and honored.
It also may have the meaning of Jesus' return and that the faith that was tested and made strong will be a resulting praise, glory and honor as well.
Peter reminds the reader to keep the end goal in mind when enduring trials – it is the refining of faith. And faith's goal is the soul's salvation.
This faith is not based upon sight and full understanding. Peter had seen Jesus, yes, but these believers loved Jesus in the same way yet had never seen him.
4)The Unfolding Mystery (1 Peter 1:10-12)
10 Concerning this salvation, the
prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched
intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the
time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was
pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories
that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not
serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have
now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the
Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these
things.
You know, none of the prophets or the Patriachs had ever seen
Jesus and yet they were saved in the same way, by grace through
faith.5)Principle
All Christians, regardless of circumstances, are blessed by God.
6)Applications
How might you be mistaking circumstances with blessing?
What blessings have you experienced in spite of adverse circumstances?
What trials have you praised God for lately?
.The Believer's Sacred Occupation (1 Peter 1:13-2:12)
1)Preparation (1 Peter 1:13-16)
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for
action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be
given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient
children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived
in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be
holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I
am holy.”
The Mind (1 Peter 1:13)
The mind can be a real inhibitor toward progress. This is true in many areas of life. But its especially true in the Christian life.Many of the battles we face in regard to temptation are waged in the mind. Often leading to rationalizations and eventual submission to that temptation.
But Peter calls his readers, us included, to have ready minds. Self-controlled (or sober) minds, so that we are thinking clearly and don't fall prey to the enemy's tricks or our own weaknesses.
Don't put your hopes in lesser things. Let it be in what is to come. It's too easy to become disappointed or disenchanted in this life because the things you hoped would turn out just didn't.
So let your hope be in something that is a sure thing – Jesus' return.
In what areas of your life could you use some self-control?
What are you placing your hope in?
Obedience (1 Peter 1:14)
Be obedient, as an obedient child to his parents. That includes knowing what you parents expect.Don't let your old evil desires be what you still desire.
Be Holy (1 Peter 1:15-16)
Holy living is to replace the submission to previous evil desires.We are to live in practical holiness. This does not mean that we will ever reach perfection – we will always sin before we die or Christ returns.
But we are to live a separated life. Set apart from common things that corrupt and consecrated for the things that honor God.
God is perfect and holiness is His character. We are to live lives that seek to please God – lives that are separate from sin.
2)The Redemption Price (1 Peter 1:17-21)
17 Since you call on a Father who judges
each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in
reverent fear. 18 For you know
that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that
you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from
your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a
lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the
creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your
sake.
Peter takes this concept of refined gold that he used previously –
something very valuable then and now – and contrasts it with the
value of our Savior.When something or someone was going to be redeemed in Old and New Testament times, someone – the redeemer – would have to pay a price for the item or person being redeemed.
The Old Covenant made provisions for selling property or even yourself in order to pay off a debt. If the property was to be bought back before the year of Jubilee, then one had to pay a price based upon the number of years remaining in the redemption terms.
Gold or silver would have been the typical currency.
But here, gold and silver are set aside as though they were nothing. These are things that have no value when it comes to the soul.
A real cost was paid for the souls of God's redeemed and that is Christ's precious blood.
And all the sacrifices of the OT from Passover, to each of those prescribed under the Levitical law, all pointed to this one culminating sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
3)Faith In God Through the Son and the Word (1 Peter 1:21-23)
21 Through him you believe in God, who
raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and
hope are in God.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves
by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers,
love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born
again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the
living and enduring word of God.
The object of our faith is God, made possible through the death
and redemption price paid in Jesus' blood and the word of God that
reveals these truths to us.The reality of one's need of a savior, of Jesus' death for sin, and God's acceptance of Jesus' substitutionary atonement all are true. But apart from one's acceptance of these truths, that person is still in his sin. Still under God's wrath and coming judgment.
But purification comes through faith. Positional purity – God sees the believers' sin as paid in full. And this position of purity puts the believer in a position, now, able to live a pure life – a life of holiness.
This is the believers' occupation – holy living. Be holy because God himself is holy and He paid an infinite price to make you and I holy too.
4)We're Rocks (1 Peter 2:4-12)
When ancient buildings were made of stone, say a temple, rocks were chosen. And the builder would chip away at the edges of the rocks so that they so that each stone fit tightly against the ones adjacent to it.When Solomon's temple was build, he had the massive stones cut at the quarry and pre-chissled as not to make the temple sight noisy.
Well Peter takes this temple motif and applies it to a spiritual structure that God has always been building.
4 As you (continually) come to him, the
living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to
him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a
spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in
Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is
precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,”
8 and,
“A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the
message—which is also what they were destined for.
These quotes from the Old Testament had nothing to do with a
rebuilt temple in Zion, at least not in their ultimate sense, but had
do with the One to which the temple pointed – Jesus.Jesus even mentioned to the Samaritan woman at the well, “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshiper will neither worship on this mountain or in Jerusalem. The true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth for God is spirit and the worshiper must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Verse 4 tells us that we are to come (continually) to Jesus who is by definition the Living Stone.
Have you ever come to Jesus?
Are you still coming to Jesus – continually?
5)A Nation of Priests (1 Peter 2:9-12)
9 But you are a chosen people, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, (Why?) that you may declare the praises of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you
were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had
not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
These words of Peter all reflect the condition of God's people in
Exodus prior to God redeeming them from Egypt, bringing them into
covenant with Himself, and establishing His presence in their midst
through the Tabernacle worship (and later temple).All the shadows of the Old Testament did not go away but instead were fulfilled in the cornerstone of God's true Temple.
You and I were once not a people. But if you are one of God's own, you are part of the people of God. We were brought from darkness into His glorious light. And we are to declare His praises – that's our occupation.
As priests, we offer living sacrifices – God no longer accepts animal sacrifices and He never will again. Instead, our very lives are to be lived as a sacrifice to him. Sacrificing my cravings and desires for his; my will for His; my purposes in life for His.
What sacrifices have you made lately to God?
How well are you doing at declaring God's praises?
6)Principle
All believers have a sacred occupation.
Believers are chosen and built upon Christ to reflect God's holiness.
.The Believer's Submissive Exemplar (1 Peter 2:13-25)
We often think of submission as a weakness, but it's not. It is a place where one bows to the will of another. To give over or yield to the power or authority of another. There's nothing weak about that and in fact, it takes more strength many times than opposition. More strength of character.1)Submit to Rulers (1 Peter 2:13)
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s
sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the
king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent
by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do
right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you
should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16 Live as free
men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as
servants of God. 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the
brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
The Lord's Sake
The authorities in government are given their authority by God.Our submission to those authorities are for our Lord's sake.
Without the authorities, even if we don't always agree with them, there would be anarchy. God has a purpose for them and they will be held accountable to God whether they acknowledge Him or not.
We are just to submit.
Good is God's Will
In verse 15, doing good is God's will for His people. For one thing, if we are out doing things that are not good and breaking the law, evil or foolish men, will have reason to speak evil against us and God.But, if we are doing everything above board and submitting to authority, and fulfilling our civil duties, their comments will show them to be the fools that they are.
People don't need any fodder to throw at us and God's good name.
Our Ultimate Authority
God is our ultimate authority. So, if the civil authorities call upon us to deny God's authority or sin against Him, we must not do it.But, more often than not, we try to use the excuse that we belong to God so we answer to a higher authority and need not adhere to those that are our governing authorities. By making such statements or living out such realities, we fail to submit to God's authority in the process.
How might you be dishonoring God by dishonoring God-given authority in your life?
2)Respect
Often we think of respect as something earned. But respect also comes with the position. We may not always respect the way of the individual but we must respect their position of authority.And that may even mean enduring unwarranted treatment. Certainly that was what Peter would soon face on a cross.
18 Slaves, submit yourselves to your
masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and
considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is
commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering
because he is conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit
if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you
suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before
God.
The bottom line is, those who abuse their power will be answerable
to God. As believers, we ought not give reason to be abused.If we are beaten unjustly for doing good, that is commendable to God.
Besides, no person walking this earth will ever endure so much and deserve it so little as Jesus:
3)Our Example (1 Peter 2:21-25)
Note: God did not put Jesus here on earth to be an example to humanity so that we can learn how to live. He is that, but that is not the primary reason He came.For You
21 To this you were called, because
Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you
should follow in his steps.
He was not only not suffering justly – unjust treatment – it
was something that I caused (you and I both). Peter had said it is
not commendable to be beaten for doing evil. Well, my evil did not
cause me to be beaten, it cause Jesus to bear my beating.If He suffered this way for me, how can I not be willing to suffer for His name?
His Reaction
22 “He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
23 When they hurled their insults at him,
he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.
Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 He
himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die
to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been
healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you
have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
He didn't react in kind but instead bore it – insults, suffering
(understatement), bore sin.He died at the hands of sinners for sinners so that sinners might live.
And this life is not just any life: it is a life lived for righteousness.
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