1 PETER

1 Peter 1:13-25

2011-01-15T09:18:00.000-08:00

A New Way of Life

The Apostle’s presentation of a privileged, joyful, hope in the salvation of those who believe does not stand alone. It is followed by the adverb “therefore.” Peter had no intent to propose an abstraction to be pondered or philosophized about. Instead, his goal was to show that following Jesus requires a new way of life.

The joy that Peter associated with a “living hope” must be rooted in a holy life of reverence and love. “In other words, you have seen all these reasons to hope; therefore HOPE! And hope fully! Hope in the grace of God” (John Piper). It is an echo of St. Paul’s exhortation that Christians ought to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling” (Ephesians 4:1).

1. A Life of Holiness (1:13-16)

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

Though, we know where our future lies we are not to live idly (1 Corinthians 9). Peter exhorts us to prepare our minds for action right now. The term he uses is literally that we ought to “gird up your loins” so that nothing may hinder our journey. For first century Christians “waiting on the Lord” was the theme behind their life on earth, not the actual state of remaining in one spot until He returned. Peter could have just as easily said “pack your bags,” “ready your weapons,” “stay alert,” or “get ready to move.” All of these imply the sense of anticipation, focus, and resolve that are needed for staying rooted in our “living hope”.

Peter knew that the very nature of hope is emotional. You cannot long for something without the engagement of your heart. So here, he admonishes his readers to be “sober minded.” Followers of Yahweh are to be temperate, level headed people, who, though they do not deny their heart, they do not get caught up in capriciousness. Reactionary emotions such as worry, fear, despondency, and frustration act as lead weights. They pull our attention to the perishable (earthly) things that bog us down and keep our eyes away from the upward call that is in Jesus (Philippians 3:14).

Our calling is not wishy-washy....
It guarantees the inheritance that is rightfully ours as heirs in Christ. We are now, the children of God, and we must be obedient as such. It is no longer proper to live as anything else, for we are to be holy as God is holy (for a further explanation of holiness I defer to Andrew Murray).

2. A Life of Reverence (1:17-21)

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Do you claim Yahweh as father? Are you “fully trusting in His grace this hour?” Then know that God is to be revered. He weighs the genuine nature of your hope. He put the entire world into motion. He crafted each hair on your head and designed each neuron in your body. It was His eternal plan to give up His innocent son, so that you would stand faithful all of your days.

3. A Life of Love (1:22-25)

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for

"All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever."

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Our holy lives of reverence culminate in the outpouring of sincere love towards others. Here at the end of chapter one, the apostle is clear: everything that we have in our “living hope” finds its expression through love. As we are obedient to God’s word we purify ourselves so that we may love sincerely. For:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

This love is not sustained by the fleeting strength of men, but it is held up by the imperishable (undefiled & unfading) hope of the new life God has given us. Our bodies are like the plants that wither and fade, but our hope is in “the word of the Lord (which) remains forever.” From this “good news” we are able to love others, because we are not at any risk. Our hope, our fate, our new life is sealed in Yahweh through the Holy Spirit by the blood of Jesus Christ.

I must say it again; our holy lives of reverence culminate in the outpouring of sincere love towards others.

1 Peter 1:3-12

2010-12-24T11:06:00.000-08:00

Salvation as Hope, Joy, and Privilege

Believers, be contented with nothing short of a lively—as well as living expectation—which shall be an unfailing source of both consolation and holiness; which lifts up your head and keeps it up, when passing through the rivers of affliction; which remains, when everything else is gone; which opens a fountain amid broken cisterns; which lives in death, and exhibits heaven to the eye in the dark valley; and which judgment and eternity do not destroy—but only consummate. Let the full tide of spiritual life be poured into this—as one of the many channels through which its holy stream is to flow! (John Angell James)

In empathy Peter begins the body of his letter by praising God for a salvation that provides the joyful subsistence of the Elect. It betrays the wisdom and deep love that Peter had. He does not start with a ten point lesson on how they ought to handle their suffering, but instead proclaims “Blessed Be” and draws their attention to what holds them fast: Their hope, their Joy, their Salvation.

1. Salvation as Hope (1:3-5)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

A living hope

For me, fear of the devil never made much sense as an evangelism tool. The scare tactics of apocalyptic movies, Christian tracts, and fire and brimstone sermons always seem to detract from the greatness of the compassionate Messiah, his loving Father, and his ensuring Spirit. It is a method that seems desperate.

Evangelism is not a hunting trick, a systematic argument, or a threat. It is the overflowing of a heart that wants to share the delight of knowing that which they hold dear. I share about my God, because of what he has done in me and what He has promised to do.

What has he done? Peter says the Father has given us a new life with a LIVING HOPE that Christ overcame death so that we may become children of God with an inheritance awaiting us in heaven.

Our hope is active and stirring right now in the midst of life. It is “a hope which implies true spiritual life, which revives the heart, and makes the soul lively and vigorous” (John Wesley). It tilts our chin up and raises our gaze past all the things on earth that come and go. This hope sustains us as it proclaims we are citizens of heaven no matter what calamity befalls us. We have been adopted into the family of God and as heirs our inheritance will not disappear (imperishable), corrode (undefiled), or lessen (unfading), because it is held tightly in the hands of the Creator of the universe.

When we lose track of this, religiosity creeps in.

Nearly all the people in Christian lands profess to have hope—but in multitudes of cases it is a dead one; it breathes not, moves not, speaks not; it neither makes them holy nor happy; it neither animates to duty, restrains from sin, nor supports under suffering. It is a mere profession. Is it not much to be feared that this is all that many professors of religion, many members of our churches, have in this day? I would not be uncharitable—but I must express my apprehensions, fearful as they are, that large numbers in this day of 'easy profession’ have nothing but a dead faith and a dead hope. Their profession, instead of being the coat of a spiritually living man, is the shroud of a dead one. Judging from their conduct, we must conclude that they have neither desire nor expectation of eternal life. (John Angell James)

2. Salvation as Joy (1:6-9)

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

If we can lock our hearts onto this living hope then we will swell with genuine joy. The trials that come will increase our love for Jesus by connecting us to his experience and remind us again and again that if we die with him we will rise with him. As we rejoice in the hard times we display our cruciformity both to the world and to ourselves. Our struggles are the proving (indeed proofing) ground of our faith.

…Christianity is a life of tremendous joy first because we have a great and fail-safe future to look forward to beyond all our distresses, AND second because God has a design to increase our joy in that future by means of all our distresses. (John Piper on Joy through the Fiery Test of Genuine Faith)

3. Salvation as Privilege: Witnessed by Prophets and Angels (1:10-12)

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

This section ends with Peter’s plea that the significance of our salvation not be lost. Our living hope had the complete attention of godly people as well as the angels for thousands of years, but without a name first-person accounts, or even an idea of how it would look when it did happen.

John Piper notes:

Christ came to Isaiah seven hundred years before the incarnation and said, Write this:

He was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,
and with 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.(Isaiah 53:5-6)

When the Spirit of Christ told Isaiah to write that, Isaiah said, "O, Lord, who? O, Lord, when?" How long, O Lord, how long?

We are so blessed, because even though we cannot see Him, we can love a definitive person. We may not know what Jesus looked like, but we do have his miracles, his teachings, and the knowledge of how he was born, how he loved, and ultimately how his death leads to life for all who believe. Abraham, Moses, King David, Elijah, Isaiah, and even John the Baptist did not have as much. They longed for a thing (a person) that they never saw.

Our salvation (the desire of so many before Jesus’ time) has been given as a living hope and source for joy in and through all hardships. God has purposed that in trials, desperation's, burdens, and tragedies that we may stand “safe and secure,” anchored in a deep seated joy that our He is good and faithful.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is our hope, our joy, our salvation.

1 Peter 1:1-2

2010-12-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

May Grace & Peace Be Multiplied To You
1 Peter begins with a theologically packed greeting. As was common for “first century correspondence” (see any of Paul’s letter but especially 1 Corinthians 1:1-3), Peter introduces himself and then unloads a massive “just in case you forgot who you are” statement, followed by a blessing.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

To help us get a better grasp on exactly what is being said here, I’d like to break the statement up into two focus areas. The first being the “From” and “To” part and the second dealing with unpacking the heftier terms: Elect, Foreknowledge, Sanctification, and the Sprinkling of Blood.

FROM WHOM WAS IT SENT

This letter was written by Peter, the most prominent of all the apostles. His zealotry, brashness, and loyalty placed him at the center of much of Jesus’ ministry (and consequently at the center of many of the stories within the Gospels and Acts). Where the letter was written has been regularly debated, but not too many argue about its authorial authenticity. At the time of its writing, thirty years had passed since Jesus was crucified and yet Peter’s words still echo the Savior in kingdom awareness and terminology.

TO WHOM IT WAS WRITTEN

The letter is addressed to the displaced followers of Jesus. They are Christians of non-Jewish descent living in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire (modern day Turkey). It is important to note a) their alienation and b) that Peter is aggressively including them into the history of God’s chosen people.

To follow Jesus in a Roman dominated world meant that you were choosing to be ostracized. Many businesses would not serve you. You’re family may permanently cut you off. Your friends would discard you. The military would harass you and you would be publicly ridiculed.

Knowing that their alienation would increase during “fiery trials,” Peter empathizes and encourages them by associating them with the greater body of Christ. He (the apostle to the Jews) includes them by using terms previously reserved for Jews alone (exiles of the dispersion, Royal priesthood, chosen people, etc).

THE TERMS

When Peter wrote his first letter it is assured that he chose his words carefully and that he assumed his readers knew exactly what he meant. Two thousand years later you can be assured that finding consensus on what Peter meant will be nearly impossible in any mixed group. My hope is to provide a working definition and nothing more.

Elect / Election:

By using the term “elect” Peter is accomplishing two things. First, the word elect means “to choose.” Thus, Peter is saying that his readers are “chosen exiles.” It is by no happenstance that they are who, what, and where they are. God chose it for them.

Second, he is verbally connecting his listeners to every passage of scripture referring to the chosen people of Yahweh. Once it was a term reserved for the Jews, but through Jesus, it was a title opened to people of many races and nationalities.

Foreknowledge:

This term refers to the scriptural idea that “…God knows what the future holds both for individuals and for nations. He knows and sees everything in advance and his will is carried out in accord with his plans and purposes” (Bakers Evangelical Dictionary). Peter wanted remind the saints that God is in control and their situation was always planned and accounted for.

Sanctification:

The word sanctification both implies the “definitive” act of being made holy and the daily incremental actions of alignment, through the Spirit, to Jesus. As we will see, Peter wholeheartedly believes that followers of Christ are sealed as “righteous” in the eyes of God. Yet, this righteous pronouncement does necessitate a believer’s daily refinement.

The Sprinkling of Blood:

Peter adds the Old Testament concept of the Sprinkling of Blood as a reminder of how Jesus’ sacrifice sealed a bond between God and His people.

A REWRITING:

With this information in mind one way of reading the passage may be:

Peter, a messenger of Jesus Christ.

To those who are God’s chosen travelers throughout Asia Minor according to what God prepared before hand, by making them holy through His Spirit for obedience to Jesus in honor of their bond.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

An Introduction to 1 Peter

2010-12-06T16:47:00.000-08:00

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” – Jesus (John 15:18-19)

I believe the apostle Peter remembered these words in the year 64 AD. That was the year the emperor Nero tortured, burned, and crucified followers of Jesus as scapegoats for a great fire in Rome. Though, it is not known if this caused Peter to write his first letter, his compassion for all suffering saints can be heard as he echoes Jesus’ words:

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.(1 Peter 4:12-14)

The balance between suffering and being blessed can be heard throughout 1 Peter. It is a letter about one of the most difficult parts of being a Christian: As redeemed, Spirit filled people we are aliens in this world and hard times are a part of the journey.

This is one of the great peculiarities of believing in Jesus.

We are honored in heaven, but on earth we are seen as the foolish and meek. We believe we will live forever, but we must die to get there. Octavius Winslow describes this as one of the shadows of our faith:

Shadow is as essential as light to the beauty of a landscape, or the perfection of a painting. Either, destitute of shading- the darker hues heightening the effect of the more brilliant coloring, and throwing into bolder relief the objects of nature, and the studies of the pencil- would lose more than half their expression and grandeur. Thus is it with the spiritual life of the soul. Light and shade are closely and artistically blended with the picture of the Christian's life. Drawn by a Divine Artist, all its parts- however inartistic and incoherent they may appear to the superficial eye, or even to the more tutored eye of the Christian himself- are essential to the completeness of the work, and are the production of Him who is "excellent in counsel, and great in beauty."

Our faith is upside down and backwards in today’s world. Most only see the shadows, but despite it all I believe that as 1 Peter unravels we will see:

1) how great our salvation is and how it
2) gives us a new identity
3) with new expectations and responsibilities.