1^st Peter Chapter One

Introduction to 1st Peter

Theme: Hope in the Midst of Suffering:

1 Peter 1:6-7 ESV 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.

Author: Peter, The Apostle:

Peter was a trailblazer…

1. An innovative leader in a field; a pioneer.

2. He had many firsts because of his outspoken nature:

a. First one to confess Jesus as the Christ

b. First one to say he would die for Jesus

c. First one to deny Jesus

d. First one to preach the Gospel

e. First one to open the doors to the kingdom of Heaven

f. First one to officially reach out to and baptize Gentiles

3. He was only second when it came to reaching the empty tomb. John beat him to that.

4. He was brought to Jesus by his brother Andrew – John 1:40-42

5. Peter knew firsthand about hope

a. He had denied Jesus – he knew hopelessness

b. He was forgiven by Jesus and reinstated, without losing a beat! He knew hope!

c. He had received beatings and was incarcerated in the name of Jesus

d. He had seen Jesus transfiguration on the mountain

e. He had witnessed the ascension of Jesus into Heaven

f. He knew whatever he suffered here was worth the glory he was to receive!

6. Peter had the heart of a disciple

a. He said “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life?” – John 6:68

b. He couldn’t contain himself to be near Jesus: “When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.” – John 21:7

Time and Place of Writing:

According to 1 Pe 5:13; “She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.” Peter denotes his location to be Babylon.

Some have supposed that it refers to the well-known place of that name on the Euphrates; others to a Babylon situated in Lower Egypt; others to Jerusalem or Rome, represented as Babylon.

Assuming the death of Peter to be about 67 or 68 AD and the persecution to be under Nero, not under Domitian or Trajan, the date can be assumed to be around 65 AD. Perhaps Peter uses “Babylon” to hide his actual location from Nero, the Emperor of Rome at the time. Whether Peter was in Rome while Paul was still there is something we don’t know, though John Mark was there with Paul (Col 4:10). We can presume at the time of Peter writing this that Nero had not yet begun the full persecution of Christians.

Who is it Addressed To:

Peter writes “To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1Pe 1:1). These five Roman provinces are mentioned from the standpoint of Babylon (Rome).

1- Elect exiles = disciples of Jesus.

2- Soon to experience/already experiencing suffering

3- Needing hope to endure

Characteristics of the Epistle:

(1) Peter writes tenderly to the fellow disciples scattered throughout the provinces. He is consoling them and encouraging them through their present trials to remain hopeful because Jesus endured as much for them. Peter, probably an older man by the time he writes (citing himself as an elder – 1 Pe 5:1), shares the encouragement he’s had in dealing with his own toils and afflictions.

(2) Peter packs a punch in these letters, providing concise and condensed advice to the disciples. He does not seem to deal with customary or local situations, enabling any disciple of today to take in the wisdom dispensed by the Spirit and be encouraged by its depth and sobriety.

(3) Peter is well acquainted with Paul’s letters by the time he writes his letters. We see some similarity of expressions such as the apostle Paul used in his epistles.

(4) Peter’s objective is to provide encouragement and cheer to the Christians going through this dispersion. Many disciples abandoned their homes and families and had to find a living in foreign cities and amongst foreign cultures. Peter draws from his own experiences to focus them on the hope they have in Jesus.

The Epistle is in three parts:

1. Christian suffering and conduct (1 Peter 1:1 - 2:8)

2. Christian life in view of the Seven Blessings and through the vicarious suffering of Jesus
(1 Peter 2:9 - 4:19).

3. Christian service in light of the coming of the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:1-14).

Chapter One

1 Peter 1:1 (All verses from the English Standard Version)

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

GREETING

Peter starts out by identifying his stake in addressing the recipients of his letter of encouragement: he is an apostle (one sent on a special mission) of Jesus Christ. Although his birth name is Simon, he calls himself by the name the Lord gave him: Peter (Cephas in Aramaic), which means stone (John 1:42; Mat 16:18).

What is the definition of an apostle? What are the qualifications? Apostolos = One commissioned to continue in a specified work. The primary qualifications are listed in Acts 1:21-22 when they sought a replacement for Judas Iscariot. Notice that only Judas is replaced. When an apostle has died as faithful, he continues to be an apostle in Heaven, not needing replacement on Earth, for their words continue to testify to the commission assigned by Jesus. In John 17:6-21 Jesus illustrates the commission given to these apostles, and how they were to impact others who were not apostles. In Mat 19:28 Jesus teaches how they will continue to be apostles even in Heaven, so nowhere do we see the church practicing a replacement for them, not even after James is martyred (Acts 12:2).

Here's Peter’s audience – the Jews (Christians) of the Diaspora: scattering of language, culture, or people: a dispersion of a people, language, or culture that was formerly concentrated in one place.

Peter defines these brothers as elect exiles, chosen sojourners or temporary residents. Usually the kind of terminology ascribed to the Jewish nation, Peter now uses it to describe what all disciples are to the world: chosen by Jesus to be set apart from the world – longing to go home to Heaven:

1Pe 2:9-11 ESV But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Heb 11:13 ESV These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Historical Background

The Jewish state comes to an end in 70 AD, when the Romans begin to actively drive Jews from the home they had lived in for over a millennium. But the Jewish Diaspora ("diaspora" = "dispersion, scattering") had begun long before the Romans had even dreamed of Judaea. When the Assyrians conquered Israel in 722, the Hebrew inhabitants were scattered all over the Middle East; these early victims of the dispersion disappeared utterly from the pages of history. However, when Nebuchadnezzar deported the Judeans in 597 and 586 BC, he allowed them to remain in a unified community in Babylon. Another group of Judeans fled to Egypt, where they settled in the Nile delta. So from 597 onwards, there were three distinct groups of Hebrews: a group in Babylon and other parts of the Middle East, a group in Judaea, and another group in Egypt. Thus, 597 is considered the beginning date of the Jewish Diaspora. While Cyrus the Persian allowed the Judeans to return to their homeland in 538 BC, most chose to remain in Babylon. A large number of Jews in Egypt became mercenaries in Upper Egypt on an island called the Elephantine. All of these Jews retained their religion, identity, and social customs; both under the Persians and the Greeks, they were allowed to run their lives under their own laws.

In 63 BC, Judaea became a protectorate of Rome. Coming under the administration of a governor, Judaea was allowed a king; the governor's business was to regulate trade and maximize tax revenue. While the Jews despised the Greeks, the Romans were a nightmare. Governorships were bought at high prices; the governors would attempt to squeeze as much revenue as possible from their regions and pocket as much as they could. Even with a Jewish king, the Judeans revolted in 70 AD, a desperate revolt that ended tragically. In 73 AD, the last of the revolutionaries were holed up in a mountain fort called Masada; the Romans had besieged the fort for two years, and the 1,000 men, women, and children inside were beginning to starve. In desperation, the Jewish revolutionaries killed themselves rather than surrender to the Romans. The Romans then destroyed Jerusalem, annexed Judaea as a Roman province, and systematically drove the Jews from Palestine. After 73 AD, Hebrew history would only be the history of the Diaspora as the Jews and their world view spread over Africa, Asia, and Europe.
– The Jewish Virtual Library (www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org)

Not only were these brothers true strangers to the regions of the world they lived in since they had to leave behind their homes friends and family, sometimes their traditions and cultures, but Peter further encourages them that they are strangers in deed to the entire earth, being part of the church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven. He sees them as:

1 Peter 1:2

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.

The first thing I notice here is the affirmation of the Godhead. Peter mentions specific works of each of the persons in the Godhead that together made salvation for men possible.

1- The Father – He knows all – He is the authority of the Godhead. By His foreknowledge and will did the plan of salvation come into effect.

2- The Holy Spirit – He provides the sanctification necessary for us to make it home. He is the rebuilder and the intercessor – the other Counselor sent to be with us.

3- The Son – King of Kings and Lord of Lords, current Ruler and Master of the Universe. We have been chosen and sanctified to be in His service! He provided for our initial sanctification through His blood that the Spirit of God may do His work and carry us home!

Our God did everything in His power to sanctify us and bestows His grace and mercy on us unto salvation!

In view of the Godhead Peter refers to scattered brethren as:

1- Being chosen people of God – God had chosen his people since the times of Abraham (Gen 12:3) and put them exactly where He wanted them to be (Acts 17:26-27). They were not there by some random occurrence, but placed specifically where God knew the Gospel was needed.

2- Sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God – they were very special people – different (holy) from those around them and intermingled with the common man to lead others to Jesus by their light and holiness. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us by God's word (John 17:17).

3- Fashioned for obedience to Jesus and set apart for that purpose – not to be common men, indulging in the pleasantries of the flesh, pursuing the passions of the world; but to have continued obedience unto conformation to Jesus since we have been set apart for holiness by His blood.

1Th 5:23 ESV Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as the temple and its utensils had to be sprinkled with the blood of bulls and goats before God's spirit was to dwell in it in the days of Moses, so we have to be cleansed before God's spirit makes His dwelling in us. So Peter speaks of the initial or primary sanctification by the blood of Jesus in baptism (Heb 10:22) and then the continued sanctification for the purposes of being able to claim the inheritance readied for us in heaven, also possible through Jesus’ blood (1John 1:7). We will see both of these sanctifications, viewed also as the state and the process of sanctification addressed by Peter later on in this letter and in 2 Peter.

In the same fashion as Paul saluted the brethren in his letters, Peter wishes unto them the blessings of grace and peace in multiplication. God's will for the church is to receive His grace and peace always. He doesn't want to come to us with judgment or with strife, but mindful that His will for us is to receive His grace and so be changed, holy, peaceful people. Grace comes from the Greek word charis, which means "unmerited favor" - a divine influence on the heart and its reflection upon life, usually producing gratitude, joy and pleasure because of the knowledge of being accepted by God as a son. Rom 5:1-21 explains this grace of God exquisitely. Eirene, or peace, is denoted as prosperity, quietness and rest. This is the kind of peace Jesus gives (John 14:27; John 16:33), which is not like the world gives.

1 Peter 1:3

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,

LIVING HOPE BY NEW BIRTH

Blessed be God! That is Peter’s attitude in light of all we receive through Jesus! God is indeed merciful, He could have relented as he did during the days of Noah and destroy the entire earth, but he had mercy on us and treated us not as our sins deserve. He showed us mercy through the death of Jesus on the cross. He gave us His one and only Son, as a show of His great love (John 3:16):

Eph 2:4-7 ESV But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

He caused us to be born again to a living hope! The salvation that is granted by our Father is not something that can be attained by human effort or will, any more than a child can bring about his own natural birth. This is why we bless the Father for giving us this living hope through our new birth! Hope is not found in what is seen (Rom 8:24), in this palpable life, but the kind of hope that lasts forever is the hope that is beyond the grave, revealed through the resurrection of Jesus – shown to be true and powerful in His resurrection!

2Co 4:17-18 ESV For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Jesus’ empty grave is the greatest evidence of the living hope we have. For our God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Mat 22:32)!

Anything that can give you a sense of satisfaction on this earth is due to expire, when it breaks or dies, or when you die or the earth ends. Peter will talk about that end in 2 Pe 3:12. The lasting satisfaction comes when you have a hope that never dies – eternal life! This is what Peter wanted these early Christians to think about. He is setting up that image for them since they may have been despondent due to the loss of their homes, friends, or way of life in the dispersion. They felt like a displaced people, hopeless and lost. Peter is reminding them they have a living hope in Jesus!

Some of you who may have lost jobs, family members or other significant people or things can relate to this in a way. The loss of these things is just a reminder that we have a true living hope that cannot be lost in Jesus Christ.

Peter describes the elements of this living hope in the following verses. This living hope concerns:

1- Desire – you have to want it! To want it you need to understand that you have no hope in this world. When you fully realize that you will desire this living hope in Jesus above anything else, even your own life!

2- Expectation – fully believing and desiring passionately for your goal to be realized in Christ produces exciting and joyous expectation, similar to when you are engaged and planning for your wedding, or when you are an expectant parent. Nothing discourages you or fazes you.

3- Longsuffering (patient waiting) – you submit yourself to the wait, keeping yourself pure and free of blemish until the day comes upon you. You know you will suffer temptations and distractions, but your hope and your desire keep you focused on the goal.

Living Hope Through Godly Hope

These elements of our living hope are the same as the godly hope Jesus has for us:

1- God has an intense desire for us – for God so loved the world… (John 3:16)

2- God does everything He can, hoping we will turn to Him – in hope they might find Him… (Acts 17:27)

3- Jesus suffered and waited patiently until the hope was realized on his end – for the joy set before Him He endured the cross… (Heb 12:2)

It was this godly hope, the hope God has for us to be in Him that brought about the living hope through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

· Because God hoped for us Jesus became a man

· Because God hoped for us Jesus underwent longsuffering

· Because God hoped for us Jesus was raised from the dead

The resurrection is God's evidence on deep involvement and hope that we may desire to be with Him! You have been translated from a hopeless situation into a situation where everything spells out HOPE for you:

Holiness – through Christ

Obedience – to the Gospel

Propitiation – by Jesus blood

Endurance – in the Spirit

1 Peter 1:4

to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

The inheritance received (when the hope becomes real, when the faith shall be sight) is one that is not subject to the decaying forces of earth’s realm, for this inheritance is beyond tarnishing, beyond corruption and that never will fail – eternal life in and with Jesus!

The most precious things you could have on earth can all be subject to one of these 7 curses:

1- Aging/sickness/death

2- Theft

3- Tarnishing/corruption

4- Spoiling/perishing

5- Staining/fading

6- Breaking/malfunctioning

7- Destruction

What you have waiting for you in heaven, if you have been born again, cannot be subject to any curse. It is free from any of these temporary effects and so will you! So we ought to live lives that are free from the distractions and burdens that can affect our commitment to that eternal inheritance. The Christians Peter was writing to had witnessed firsthand the 7 curses. Peter reminds them this is a sign that the real thing is waiting for you – don’t lose your hope!

Mat 6:19-21 ESV "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Godhead is doing two things at this moment:

1- Preparing heaven for you

2- Preparing you for heaven

Joh 14:2-3 ESV In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Tit 3:4-7 ESV But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

1 Peter 1:5

who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Right now this hope lives by our faith and is guarded by the power of God in us – the Spirit of the living God we have received by obedient faith.

The present tense participle shows this action is in progress and therefore continuous and unfailing.

NOTE: The guarding is through faith and NOT by an independent operation of God's power without our participation and effort.

· By - shows the cause.

· Through (by means of) - the secondary agency: our faith

· Unto (into, for) - the result.

- World Video Bible School Commentary

“The word guarded here is a military term,” Christians are garrisoned by the power of God and are safeguarded by the Father himself. Of course, the Christians themselves, under the terms of the Father's will, contribute to that safety. - Coffman

Our salvation yet has to be fully revealed. Know that what you are looking at now is simply but a slice in time, a temporary glimpse of the unfinished and temporary. To judge our life now, or anyone’s life for that matter, would be akin to judging the scaffolding of an unfinished building, or the wire model of an unfinished sculpture, or the rough pencil sketches of an unfinished artwork. The final revealing is yet to come!

This reminds me of the child that always perceived the back view of his grandma’s embroidery project. All he saw was a discombobulated array of different colored yarn without any recognizable pattern. One day he asks his grandma why she spends so much time trying to untangle the mess that never seems to get straight. He sees her day after day working with the yarns but he sees the pile getting messier and messier. Grandma shows him her view of the project, the front view, and he begins to see letters and symbols…

Extreme Makeover

In any case, this passage reminds me of a very popular show in this time called Extreme Makeover. In this show, people who have very little self-esteem and self worth apply to be made over by a group of plastic and oral surgeons, professional beauticians, personal trainers and fashion advisors. The whole process takes months. At the end when the person is ready for their revealing, all the family is gathered, anxiously awaiting their unveiling in a hotel ballroom where they will all join in celebration to the person's new body and face after they arrive. During the waiting period everyone is eagerly waiting, excitedly talking to one another and patiently waiting for the new person's arrival. When they are unveiled, everyone is astonished and there is much rejoicing and crying at the new state of the person.

All this for a physical makeover! Sad indeed, those physical makeovers won't last long because the flesh is destined to perish. The sons of God undergo an extreme makeover indeed, but of the spiritual kind. Our revealing will be at the end of the age when all the sons of God will be joined for a celebration and revealing unlike anything else the entire universe has seen.

Since it is such an eager and marvelous expectation that we hope for, we will wait - no matter how long it may seem to take. Because it will be truly life changing!

Think of those people in Extreme Makeover that have to wait for their revealing. I am now talking about the person who is undergoing the makeover. They have to go through pain and some disappointment after surgery; they have to train; they have to heal. Plastic surgery is not only very painful, but right after it is done it makes you look worse than what you were before until all is healed. Not to mention the discomfort and pain that any kind of surgery on your face or mouth will put you through. The ordeal they go through is akin to the ordeal the sons of God go through this life while they wait for their revealing at the end of time.

All those who have gone before us and are waiting for us in the ballroom of paradise are also anxious for this final revealing where we will all be changed, in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet...

1Co_15:52-58 NIV For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Peter 1:6

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

Peter encourages the brethren that we ought to learn to be joyful because of what we have by the loving kindness and generosity of our God. He went through great lengths to prove to us He is always working on our behalf:

Jer 29:11-12 ESV For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.

Not only so, but God is always working alongside us, making sure we are well cared for and on our way to His side forever:

Act 17:26-27 ESV And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,

As you can see, the Godhead has insured our present and future as long as we remain faithful to Jesus and his teachings. Because of this we rejoice, even if we are undergoing various different trials that grieve us greatly and in different ways.

Compare 1Pe 4:10 – “Manifold grace of God” – “Our troubles may be many colored, but so is the grace of God; there is no color in the human situation which that grace cannot match. There is a grace to match every trial and there is no trial without its grace” – Barclay

The sufferings that we go through cannot compare to the future glory in store for us (2Co 4:17-18). That is why I rejoice! No matter what painful and emotional trials I go through, I know I have surpassed what the flesh feels at that very moment.

We need to remember that the trials are temporary and they serve a very important purpose on our walk with Jesus:

1 Peter 1:7

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.

The Purpose of trials

Our faith can only prove genuine if it is tested regularly. We need to accept that and understand why the tests come. Although the tests and trials may grieve us, they remind us of the living hope we have through Jesus and therefore we ought to joyful even through them, like our brother James says:

Jas 1:2-4 ESV Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

No one would ever think of investing in gold if that gold were not thoroughly tested to be the genuine article. In the same way we want to be assured that our faith is the real thing, since we are staking our very lives on it – to get us through to an eternity of wedded bliss with our Lord!

Trials do not come upon us to take strength out of us, but to put strength into us! – World Video Bible School Commentary

Gold is Proved by Fire

Metallurgy was a major industry in the ancient world. From the time of the Exodus, the refining of gold and silver and manufacture of copper, iron, and lead were established trades. Metal workers moved from country to country to meet the ever growing demand. The nation with the most advanced metallurgy often produced superior weapons and gained the military advantage. The Hittites, for example, learned to make iron, which could be used to make superior weapons. Silver and gold were refined to be used for money, crafts, and jewelry.

With this background, the Lord seized upon metallurgy as an analogy for divine testing of nations and people. Smelting, in which precious metals were separated from ore and inferior metals, became the symbol of divine testing. Refining gold by heating it until all the impurities have burned off was something regular people in Jesus' time would have seen happen in a bazaar or workshop.

THE REFINEMENT OF GOLD

The purification process requires:

(1) Strong Fire to bring high gloss and sheen, a good reflector of the goldsmith. (2 Pe 1:4)

1- Fire to make gold moldable (pliable). (2 Co 12:7-10)

2- Fire to increases the strength of gold. Example of Joseph-- Genesis 38

(2) Repetition: Gold's value is increased through every refinement process.

(3) Dissolution of Impurities

What spoils purification?

(1) Too much heat ruins the pliability and strength of gold.

(2) Too long of a heating process ruins the worth of gold.

(3) Cooling it too quickly makes the gold brittle and worthless.

Our faith also gleams like gold when all the impurities of sin have been burned away. Let your faith shine forth, like 24 karat gold! Even though gold itself is refined by fire and treasured, Peter reminds us it still perishes. Faith is of greater worth because it will never perish! So the end result of our analysis here is that faith is better than gold – far more precious than gold!

If people go to the trouble to test gold, how much more should it be expected that God will test faith? – Coffman

1Co 3:12-13 ESV Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

Our faith is being tested so that it results in praise, glory and honor at the great revealing of our Lord Jesus.

1- Praise – epainos: something commendable; approved of. We want to make sure that what we pursue and build up in this short life is approved by God. We do not want to seek the approval of the world. The world doesn’t know what it judges, but God judges all things. We ought to seek commendation from Jesus, not from others.

2- Glory – doxa: dignity, glory (-ious), honor, praise, worship. Seeking glory doesn't mean seeking glory for yourself in the worldly sense, but seeking the glory of the name of God for yourself (Rom 9:23), meaning whatever you do you want it to glorify and magnify the name of God in your life so those around you can see He has made you the salt and light of the earth (Mat 5:13-14). You so closely identify yourself with the name of God, since you have been adopted to the royal family (1Pe 2:9), that you closely guard your image and your name and seek only to magnify it for the sake of Jesus. For your faith to result in glory you need to keep yourself pure from the love of the world (1 John 2:15). This is done by living according to God’s word (Psalm 119:9).

3- Honor – time: a value, that is, money paid, or (concretely and collectively) valuables; by analogy esteem (especially of the highest degree), or the dignity itself: - honor, precious, price. To seek the honor of God for your sake (John 5:44) is to value who God has made you and the purpose He has given you (1Co 6:20; Mark 16:15-16). You consider your new life precious and the name you wear as a Christian more precious that whatever the world values (1Pe 4:16). Stop feeling sorry for yourself and stop letting the devil use guilt to destroy your self-image! You have overcome in Jesus – just walk onward – toward Him! Let the trials purify you and change you from within – let your faith be proven genuine!

Thus the sufferings of a Christian must not be viewed as any "unscheduled disaster overtaking him without the will of God, but on the other hand as the very route by which the Lord Jesus wrought his wonderful redemption." – Coffman

More precious…

Precious is costly, beyond price, of incalculable value and worth.

The first of four precious things Peter mentions:

1. Precious faith

2. Precious blood of Jesus – 1:18-19

3. Precious Lord – 2:4,7

4. Precious promises – 2Peter 1:4

1 Peter 1:8

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,

Our love for our Lord Jesus is shown through our purity and loyalty. In the same way a betrothed virgin showed her love to her future husband by keeping herself pure we, as the betrothed bride of Christ show our devotion and passion for Jesus by keeping ourselves pure:

2Co 11:2-4 ESV For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

The betrothed virgin was not allowed to be with her promised husband and sometimes they wouldn’t see each other for a year up to the wedding celebration! Even though the bride did not see her husband, she believed in him and was motivated by her love and devotion for him to keep herself from being contaminated or distracted, or from even considering another possible suitor. When I was engaged, and even now in my marriage, my love for my wife continues to make me devoted to her even though I do not see her in front of me all the time.

Joh 20:28-29 ESV Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

In the same way, as we strive in this life, moved and compelled by the love of our bridegroom, our faithfulness will keep us from being distracted by deception and fleshly passions.

Heb 12:2 ESV looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

We know Jesus himself felt this devotion towards the Father and us! The joy He saw was us with Him!

1Jn 4:19 ESV We love because he first loved us.

Our devotion we feel and see in us is how we know we love Him and believe Him. This faithfulness is what brings inexpressible joy to our lives despite trials and tribulations that aim to grieve us. Though often our lives may seem dreary and constant pain or disillusionment surrounds us, our hope in Jesus fills us with glory! This glory shines in the smiling faces of brethren plagued with health challenges, in the loving works of service of saints that have been abused and used by the world and yet remain positive, encouraging and bright. It is the very glory of Jesus they reflect and in doing so they refresh the saints and themselves with this living hope we have!

2Co 3:18 ESV And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

1 Peter 1:9

obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Rev 2:10 ESV Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

It is in the refiner’s fire that gold comes to be the shiniest and the most glorious. Only fiery trials are able to bring out this kind of glory in the saints of God. That is because the challenges bring out the impurities in us that need to be dealt with – that need to be cleansed in the same way fire brings out and burns the impurities in the gold. Peter is encouraging the saints not to be afraid of the trials they are undergoing, but to embrace them. Sometimes, as we go through these trials what upsets us most is the kind of things we see in ourselves: discouragement, anger, frustration and other bad things. These are the impurities that are coming out so that you allow the trials to burn them away! These very trials will eventually bring about glory, praise and honor if you are letting the impurities get burnt out by the work of the Spirit. These are the outcome of our faith! These are what prove our faith to be genuine!

This is salvation!

Meet Aubrey Parsons. Aubrey has been a We Care Ministries Cadre member for a number of years. He suffered a severe stroke a couple of years ago, but he got out of the home where he resides in Texas to come to Oklahoma to win souls. For the first part of the campaign we placed him on teams as a silent partner, to go on studies already set up. But he kindly informed us, "I really want to LEAD a team!" That means he wants to actually walk the streets, knock the doors, and lead the conversations and studies when he finds open hearts.

And this is normal for Aubrey. When his Mary was alive, he would bring her to our campaigns, oft a couple thousand miles away, take her to dialysis, then hit the streets with us to find the lost.

So, watch here (in the photo) as Aubrey leaves the church building in our Cordell campaign to "hit the streets!" (26 obeyed the Gospel in this campaign.)
– Larry West

Salvation is the result of obedient, loyal, faith. Salvation is something we have in Jesus, and it is something we keep in Jesus. It is a state we are brought in when we are reunited to Jesus by the Holy Spirit of God (through baptism) and it is the process of purifying our faith by trials and the renewal brought by the Holy Spirit.

“The salvation of souls,” is indeed the objective or end of all believing, the holy purpose toward which the whole eternal plan of the heavenly Father is directed. The churches of the current era have tended to overlook this. The social gains which have preempted so much time in the plans and activities of churches, although having some little value for the now and the here, are by no means "the purpose" of God's church in the world. It is the salvation of people's souls, not their take-home pay, nor the quality of their housing, which looms in Scripture as the great commission for the church. – Coffman

Many of our brethren show their salvation by who they are and by what they do in Jesus, like our brother Aubrey in Texas. We have Leonora, Cheryl Freeland, Lavera, Halina (who is now in Paradise), etc. They know they are saved because their hope and joy is no longer in the world or in any passion that originates from the flesh.

1Jn 3:18-22 ESV Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

Salvation is not some esoteric wish we hope for in the future, but something we are receiving right now – as we live faithful and devoted lives to Jesus. It is the goal of our faith that we are currently receiving inasmuch as we are described as sitting with Jesus in this passage:

Eph 2:4-7 ESV But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Even though we may still physically walk and be subjected to pain and anguish in this visible realm, our true lives and hope and future are secured in the heavenly realms. We have been raised up to live fully that resurrected life even though right now we are living it in a frail and perishable body. To be raised up implies that we have been restored from the dead, given a second chance. It means we were sick and dying and now we are raised to walk again. It means we are raised to live a different life, a resurrected one (Rom 6:3-11)!

Even though we are partially living and experiencing the physical world, the Spirit wants us to know that we are almost halfway on the other side, in our spirit. We are already seated with Jesus. My hope is right there... sitting with Jesus. To sit with Him means that we have been given a position of comfort and permanence with Christ in His Kingdom, even now! Notice this passage says that we have been seated already; this is not something that will happen later. Just as kings choose to seat people at their banquet table to show them honor and permanence in their good favor towards them, so has God, our King, chosen us to sit with His Son. I want this to be my only concern, not be distracted by my physical situations because God provides for them anyway! Mephibosheth did not care about his physical situation either, just being in the presence of his kind king (2Sa 19:30).

If we continually keep our focus and thoughts as in the presence of our Lord, which is salvation, then our wishes will coincide and the salvation of other souls will be our focus while we are here in this present body.

1 Peter 1:10

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,

PLAN OF SALVATION REVEALED

Salvation was a subject that interested all the people of God since ancient times. Ever since God promised Eve a deliverer (Gen 3:15; Rom 16:20) and a restoration to paradise (Rev 2:7), those who sought God wondered about how this was going to happen.

These prophets:

1- Inquired – ekzeteo – to search out, that is, investigate, demand, crave, seek after diligently.

2- Searched – exereunao – to explore; search diligently.

Their investigation and exploration into this was carefully and meticulously done.

Notice how our salvation is referred to as “the grace that was to be yours”. Salvation and grace are interchangeable in the New Testament.

Joh 1:17 ESV For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:11

inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

The search of the prophets was focused on the person who was to be the messiah and the time when this messiah was to suffer and eventually be glorified. The prophets longed to look into these things (Mat 13:17) and would have recognized Jesus when he came (Luke 11:29-32) – as did John the baptizer (John 1:26-29). This is why Jesus’ anger burned towards the Pharisees (Matthew 23:29-39).

It was the spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, who was in them speaking to them of the person and the times the sufferings and the glories would occur.

2Pe 1:21 ESV For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

This is (verses 10 and 11) indisputable evidence for the verbal inspiration of the prophetic writings. These prophecies, far from being the products of the prophets unaided by inspiration, were so far above them, that they were dependent on others for instruction enabling them to grasp the significance of their own writings. – World Video Bible School

1 Peter 1:12

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.

The prophets also knew these things would not be fulfilled during their time. They knew God had yet to fully reveal and realize the ultimate grace in the form of the Holy Spirit, Christ in us, the living hope of glory!

Col 1:27 ESV To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Peter undoubtedly knows that the Holy Spirit was working through the prophets long before he was poured out from heaven unto all who have received the good news in Jesus Christ. The prophets knew they were serving the future generations that would benefit from the revealing of the mystery they beheld. To this end they worked passionately, even the angels so desired to understand and know how God was to save mankind!

Angels contemplate the work of salvation from without, as spectators and not as participants. Compare Heb 2:16; Eph 3:10. – Bengel

The prophets perceived that in their communications there were some great and glorious truths which they did not fully comprehend; and they diligently employed their natural faculties to understand that which they were appointed to impart to succeeding generations. – Barnes

These verses illustrate the magnitude of the grace we have in Jesus – a grace that was so desired to be known even by angels and the prophets of long ago! We surely cannot overlook such a grace or take it for granted! Having this magnitude in mind is what ought to help create in us a living attitude as oppose to a dead, worldly one as we will see in the following section:

1 Peter 1:13

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.

NEW BIRTH – NEW MINDSET – NEW LIFE

Don’t be like the Pharisees who grew complacent and forgot their hope! Lacking action and soberness of mind they forgot about the hope of the coming messiah! They devoted themselves to laws and made-man schemes and rituals. They failed to recognize Jesus in their midst (Luke 11:29-32)! We ought to be sober-minded (self-controlled; calm and collected; temperate) – thinking about what we have and how to keep this great grace of ours that has been given to us by the power of the Holy Spirit! We cannot afford to slumber, like the five virgins who forgot their oil (Matthew 25:1ff), and forget that the grace we have will be fully disclosed when Jesus is revealed. To prevent slumber of spirit our minds must be always prepared for action (KJV – gird up the loins of your mind: a metaphor derived from the practice of the Orientals, who in order to be unimpeded in their movements were accustomed, when starting a journey or engaging in any work, to bind their long flowing garments closely around their bodies and fastened them with a leather belt). Peter is probably referring to the admonishment given by Jesus here:

Luke 12:35-36 ESV "Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.

How do we do this?

1- Stop acting as if your hope depends on something perishable

a. Diffuse your anger

b. Lose vindictiveness

c. Lose vengefulness

2- Don’t grow weary in doing good (Gal 6:9; 2Thes 3:13)

a. Working for the world makes you weary

b. Putting all your energy into what perishes makes you grow weary

c. Serving in the spirit refreshes you (Acts 3:19; Prov 25:13)

i. Serve your family

ii. Serve in the church

iii. Serve those at work

3- Don’t depend on material things (riches)

a. Things will break

b. Things will stain

c. Things will perish

d. Things will be stolen

e. Don’t lose any sleep over these things

4- Count your flesh as dead to the world

a. Obey – verse 14

b. Be holy – verse 15-16

c. Bea fearful – verse 17

All this refers to the gathering up of all improper thoughts, feelings and activities of the mind and restraining them so that they will not hinder one's progress toward heaven. – World Video Bible School Commentary

1 Peter 1:14

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

New Life By Obedience

Think of yourself as God's obedient child. Maybe you were obedient to your parents as a child. Maybe you didn’t have parents to be obedient to or maybe you were a spoiled brat. Whichever is the case think back and see yourself as obedient. Think about what that means.

When children are properly brought up they thrive on being taught to obey. Children who are left to themselves suffer emotional abuse and neglect (Prov 29:15). Discipline results in joy since boundaries are made known and enforced by loving parents. Children who learn to be obedient have pure and unadulterated joy because the love of their parents is made known by the discipline they receive (Prov 13:24). Perhaps you missed this as a child but if you didn’t, you know it is right!

Even if you did not have the pleasure of reaping the benefits of being taught to obey you can learn to do so now in Christ. If you are a disciple you know the joy and comfort of the Lord's rod and staff (Psalm 23:4). You have tasted that the Lord is good (Heb 6:5)!

Since obedient children are disciplined to not conform to their passions they grow up being even-keeled. Being temperate allows you to be sober minded and wise about what is good.

Ignorance of sin and absence of boundaries (which sometimes go hand in hand) makes you more of a prisoner to your fleshly passions and eventually confuse you into believing your true identity is ingrained in your fleshly passions. It is part of Satan’s plan of hijacking your identity in Christ.

The blessings, hope, joy and privileges of sonship cannot exist in the absence of obedience! – World Video Bible School Commentary

1 Peter 1:15-16

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."

New Life By Holiness

God is holy (different; set apart; special). He is not the same as the world. The world is common and ordinary. The world is a sham. Don’t copy it, don’t crave it. Satan and the demons are con-men. Satan uses your fleshly cravings against you.

We are offspring of God (Acts 17:26-31) and therefore need to find our true identity and passion in Christ. We need to conform to him to be full and be saved. This is done by renouncing the world and striving to know Jesus:

Rom 8:28-31 ESV And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Rom 12:1-2 ESV I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

To be holy in all we do is to make sure we are conforming to Jesus and not to the world. If you produce worldly fruit you are of the world but if your fruit is holy then it comes from the Holy Spirit.

Jas 3:14-18 ESV But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

This is so different from the faith only teaching that frowns at works and obedience. Without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14).

We become righteous when we join Jesus in baptism because we acquire His righteousness by faith. To be holy however, is a process… you become holy as you conform to Jesus, as you love one another, having called upon the Lord for redemption and newness, as we will see Peter summarize in this next section.

The verb "to be" is not the ordinary word for simple being, but literally means "to become." The ingressive aorist tense of the verb suggests the ushering in of one into a new state. This reveals that the holiness enjoined for the Christian is not one that is a result of having obeyed the gospel. It is rather a manner of life attained through a positive renunciation of the world by the individual himself. – World Video Bible School Commentary

1 Peter 1:17

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,

New Life By Reverent Fear

If you are bearing good and spiritual fruit you know who your Father is. If you are truly His child you will leave all judgment to Him and live in reverent fear since you know He rules! You will know this life you lead now is but a life of exile, not a life to be used for selfish gain but to help save others who are in peril. It is a life of service to our King, not a life of:

1- Material gain

2- Selfish pursuits

3- Personal fame and glory

4- Fleshly indulgence

These are all fruit of the world that end in death.

When you are in exile you are not concerned about what you can accumulate, nor are you concerned with carrying all your possessions. Think about when you take a vacation. Do you take all your worldly possession with you, or do you take what is absolutely essential? Now think about when you arrive at your destination and then you are about to go somewhere else, sightseeing, for example. What do you take then? You don’t take your entire luggage everywhere you go once you arrive at your destination! You only carry what you absolutely need. This is the type of mindset we need to have. We are only visiting here; passing through. Peter describes it as an exile: to be separated from your own country or home voluntarily or by force of circumstances. In our case, by choosing Jesus we have been exiled form the world by the forces of darkness – or you have exiled yourself voluntarily because you recognize the world is no longer your home. No longer do I long for an earthly home, house or other material things I used to cling to – my sufficiency comes from Jesus and He is preparing a place for me with Him that is everlasting!

That being said, we no longer live by the standards of the world, but we are moved by the fear of God – which is His awesome, deep love for us. To fear God is not to be afraid of Him, since the scriptures encourage us to confidently approach Him (Heb 4:16). To fear God is to reject evil (Prov 8:13) and to live a life of love.

2Co 3:4-6 ESV Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Pro 16:6 ESV By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.

Holy fear comes as a result of understanding judgment is coming:

1Pe 4:17 ESV For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Since God is impartial and does not play favorites (Rom 2:11) our fear of Him motivates us to preach the Gospel (2Co 5:11) and to be obedient, for we will be judged by our faith and our works (John 3:19; 1John 3:10).

1 Peter 1:18-19

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.

Those who live for selfish gain have forgotten their true hope and live lives full of judgment and devoid of joy. They have forgotten about their heavenly ransom or do not know about it. They fumble around as if their hope is in these temporary and perishable things.

This is because someone who lives for the worldly mindset that most inherit from their predecessors (forefathers); whether it be their parents, their generation or their schooling; has been kidnapped by those very passions that seek to control you. Peter uses the term “ransom” here, personifying how the sinful ways (which are futile, empty ways) take us captive and arrest us. We’ve been taken captive and hijacked by the very things we desire. And these things do not deliver! They are empty and worthless and leave us in like fashion. Jesus was the only One who was able to ransom us from these worthless things that held us captive:

1- Worthless goals
2- Worthless ideas
3- Useless plans
4- Enslaving mindsets
5- Enslaving habits
6- Empty promises

Those of us who are convinced of our inheritance know we have been saved from these futile ways of the world to glory in our inheritance: life with Jesus! Nothing in this world was able to redeem us from our former way of life, from the offensive life of sin. Only God’s perfect offering, Jesus Christ, was able to fully redeem us from the Law (Gal 4:5; Titus 2:14) into a new way of life through Jesus’ blood (Acts 20:28; Eph 1:7; Rom 5:9; Rev 1:5):

Gal 3:13-14 ESV Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-- 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Heb 10:19-22 ESV Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Think of the goals and hope you had in your former life: what were some of those goals? What did you really live for? Who inspired you to have those perishable goals? Even the religion handed down to us from our fathers was corrupt and devoid of power, akin to man – unless you were trained and raised by disciples.

Most are motivated to live by:

1- Guilt

2- Fear

3-   Lust

These are motivations that come as a result of living by the world’s standards. These emotions can be used to manipulate. When you live by these standards and decide to do things because of guilt or fear you are being controlled. You are not in control and most of the times you will regret living with these decisions because they are not yours.

When we become adopted sons of the King we now live by:

1- Conviction (belief by reason)

2- Love (expressing that belief)

3-   Faith (trusting in the one who saves us)

These are the fruit of truly free men; men who have been purchased by the blood of Christ and have had their consciences cleansed of guilt – which is a manipulative tool of the devil. We do not live in fear because perfect love casts out all fear:

1Jn 4:17-18 ESV By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

We approach our loving Father in full confidence as a child approaches his daddy whom he knows loves him with all his heart!

We know God gave us the greatest gift in the precious blood of Jesus that saves us and we live in thankfulness and in reverence of God for such an indescribable gift. We look to Jesus, who has perfected our faith and has been given power and dominion above all. He is our king!

Jesus lived a holy life and set the bar for all of us who call ourselves his brothers (Heb 2:10-12). His perfection allows us to ride his coattails into heaven (Eph 4:8; Psalm 68:18).

Psalm 68:18 ESV You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.

Because Jesus was without blemish He alone can cleanse us of dead works (Heb 9:14) and make us alive (Eph 2:4-6)! In order to redeem us from under the curse of the law Jesus had to become the curse. Only He who was without sin could become sin on our behalf so that we could become righteous in Him!

2Co 5:21 ESV For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

When God looks at us in Jesus we are righteous as He is righteous because He is looking at Jesus in us. Amen!

Jesus: the Paschal Lamb

The Passover Lamb that appears in the book of Exodus introduces the theme of propitiation for the sins of mankind in the sight of a Holy God. Those who partook of the blood of that lamb without defect not only were saved from imminent judgment, but were set apart from the rest, on a journey that took them to meet God face to face on the mountain.

V He came to save us from our sins (Mat 1:21).

V He came to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

V He came to suffer and rise again (Luke 24:46; Mat 20:28).

V He came to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

V He came to be a propitiation for sin (Rom 3:25).

V He came that we might receive the reconciliation (Rom 5:11).

V He came to buy us with a price (1Co 6:19).

V He came to give himself a ransom for all (1Ti 2:5).

V He came that he might redeem us from all iniquity (Titus 2:14).

V He came that he might purify unto himself a people (Titus 2:14).

V He came to make propitiation for the sins of the people (Heb 2:17).

V He came to bear the sins of many (Heb 9:27).

V He came to put away sins by the sacrifice of himself (Heb 9:26).

V He came to offer one sacrifice for sins forever (Heb 10:12).

V He came to redeem us with his blood (1Pe 1:18).

V He came to bear our sins in his body on the tree (1Pe 2:24).

V He came to suffer for sins that he might bring us to God (2Pe 3:18).

V He came to be the propitiation for our sins (1John 2:2; 1John 4:10).

V He came to be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world.

V He came to take away sins (1John 3:5).

V He came to loose us from our sins by his blood (Rev 1:5).

Therefore, salvation by the blood of Christ is the crimson thread that runs from Matthew to Revelation, and there is no adequate theology that fails to take this into consideration. – Coffman

In the same way, when we are incorporated in Christ, our sins are not only washed away, but the requirements of the law are fully met in us by the righteousness of Christ – we will see the face of God and be restored to fellowship with Him as it was in the beginning!

Heb 10:12-14 ESV But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

The incredible value of the precious blood of Jesus affirms our value in the eyes of God! We are worth that much! Wow!

1 Peter 1:20

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you

God had planned all along to redeem mankind from the curse it would encounter in sin. Only in the last days was the plan fully revealed for our sake and the sake of those before us and after us.

Rom 5:6 ESV For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Rom 16:25-27 ESV Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith-- 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Eph 3:4-5 ESV When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

God knows everything and executes everything with perfection so that He alone can take the credit! The fact that Jesus has been manifested as the Savior of all mankind proves these are the end times; the last days.

This verse proves the church was not an afterthought to God but He knew before the foundation of the world Jesus would suffer, die and then purchase the church with His blood!

The church was in the purpose (mind of) God:

V At the birth of Paul – Gal 1:15-16

V At the time of Moses – Acts 26:22-23

V At the time of Abraham – Eph 3:6

V Before foundation of world – 1Pe 1:20

World Video Bible School Commentary

Before the world was ever made God had already chosen us in Christ (1Peter 1:2; Eph 1:4)! This doesn’t mean we are predestined, only that God knew salvation would come to man through Jesus, and anyone in Jesus would be saved. In these end times our hope is ever more secure in Jesus and soon what we will be will be fully known:

1Jn 3:2 ESV Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

1 Peter 1:21

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.

Jesus made us believers:

1- Because He first loved us

2- Because He proved His love on the cross

3- Because He proved His authority by being raised from the dead

So our faith and hope are all in God, not in any man or artifact. It is an active and living faith – the faith of Jesus that has made possible our salvation! Apart from Jesus we could not have feared, hoped and believed in God.

God glorified His Son that we may be able to be saved by the righteousness and faith of Jesus.

Since our faith does not depend on anything in this world or on anything we have conjured up, we have security and conviction; and therefore can learn to love – unimpeded by guilt or fear in this life of exile. We are truly free to serve until we see Jesus face to face!

1 Peter 1:22

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

Having purified your souls…

This does not imply we have the capacity to cleanse our sin, since Peter already has shown that only by Jesus blood is that possible, but the spirit teaches that it is up to us to accept that sacrifice that was done on our behalf. Without our own desire and volition the gift cannot be executed on our behalf. We must take it and make it our own (1Co 15:1-2).

"This is the perfect tense, pointing to a past act of obedience which has enduring results." It is therefore a clear reference to the conversion which comes at the beginning of the Christian life, and not to subsequent spiritual endowments of the Christian. – Coffman

This purification happened because we obeyed the truth, the Gospel, not by obedience to man or by holding onto traditions handed down by men or by any other code or creed. Only by obedience to the specific Gospel is any man saved and purified!

Our continued obedience enables us to walk in the light (1John 1:7), and now our pursuit should be to love one another, having abandoned our useless worldly pursuits:

1- To serve

2- To edify

3- To teach

4- To be patient

5- To believe one another

We are not just merely saved, but saved for a purpose: to conform ourselves to our spiritual groom, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). Remember the qualifiers of love in 1 Co 13:4-7. These are the things we pursue because:

1- Our hope is on the grace given us

2- We believe and obey Jesus

3- We see the example of love and suffering in Jesus

4- We should conform to our spiritual groom, Jesus

5- We call on the Father of our souls

6- We have an inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade

To have earnest love is too love sincerely:

1- Without malice

2- Without guilt

3- Without spite

4- Without manipulation

5- With supreme effort

6- With every muscle strained

7- With mental acuity and clarity

8- With an emotional and physical intent

There are four stages of love reflected in the work of Bernard of Clairveux’s, The Four Degrees of Love. Bernard was a French monk born in 1090 AD who reflected on how our motives for practicing love change as we mature:

1- Love me for my benefit – the most basic (carnal) love; the first one we learn to be able to survive – “That is the flesh, which can appreciate nothing beyond itself.”

2- Love you for my benefit – is a love practiced because we know we cannot survive on our own. We need others to help us make it. We graduate to this motive for loving and love through it for most of our teen and early adulthood years. I dare say most of us come into the body of Christ knowing this kind of love in ourselves. “To love others as something necessary to his own welfare, not for other’s sake, but selfishly”

3- Love you for your benefit – this is the stage of love that most of us attain in our walk with Christ. It is a very mature form of loving; loving people for their benefit, for their own good – seeking their good and not our own, as Paul mentions in this verse. It is this form of love that is sharpened and put into practice in the church. Of this degree Bernard says: “Surely he must remain long in this state; and I know not whether it would be possible to make further progress in this life to that fourth degree and perfect condition wherein man loves himself solely for God's sake.”

4- Love me for your benefit – the highest degree of love has to do with loving ourselves for the benefit of others. In this degree we freely practice the Golden Rule and the Greatest Command: Love God with all your heart, soul mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. I believe this is the love that marriage and parenting teaches. If you don’t learn it while being married without kids you will surely learn it when you have kids. Those who go through marriage and parenting without reaching this stage are those who probably end up being frazzled, frustrated, parents who suffer the empty nest syndrome for making their kids be the center of attention for most of their married life. Concerning this degree Bernard will say: “Doubtless it will be reached when the good and faithful servant shall have entered into the joy of his Lord (Matt. 25:21), and been satisfied with the plenteousness of God's house (Ps. 36:8). For then in wondrous wise he will forget himself and as if delivered from self, he will grow wholly God's. Joined unto the Lord, he will then be one spirit with Him (I Cor. 6:17).” Although he hints at this degree only being obtained in heaven, it may be that some saints get to it while they live here.

This kind of earnest love is free of guilt and fear – being perfect (1John 4:18).

1 Peter 1:23

since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

This verse proves Peter was referring to the new birth by water and spirit in the preceding verse. There is nothing in from this world, no idea, event or fabrication that can give us new birth. God sent his Son from above to accomplish this – the living and abiding (enduring) word of God (Heb 4:12).

Truly the fruit of sincere love is brought forth in those who live and abide in the word of Jesus. The kind of language Peter uses here is also used by Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, particularly in chapter 15:

1Co 15:53-54 ESV For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

V Perishable seed – human birth – the flesh (mortality)

V Imperishable seed (word of God) – spiritual birth – new spirit (immortality)

Peter and Paul are not contradicting each other here. Peter is speaking about our spiritual status – born again of that which is imperishable: the living word of God. Paul is referring to when our perishable external bodies, our physical nature, will be clothed with an imperishable nature. Our hope of being external changed comes from the fact that we have been born again – internally changed by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us:

Titus 3:5 ESV …he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit…

1 Peter 1:24

for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,

Those who are truly His disciples know the flesh is temporary and the sufferings thereof. Just like we mentioned before, all material things are subject to the 7 curses:

1- Aging/sickness/death

2- Theft

3- Tarnishing/corruption

4- Spoiling/perishing

5- Staining/fading

6- Breaking/malfunctioning

7- Destruction

Our bodies are compared to grass here. The glory of our earthly body is compared to a flower – while beautiful and captivating it still withers and falls in time. Even the body we have now will be clothed with the imperishable and be transformed to a new glory if we are banking on the redemption brought by Jesus:

1Co 15:39-44 ESV For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. 42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

It is so wondrous to me, as a biologist, how that new body will be. As different as fish are from birds so will our imperishable body be from the one we currently have. As glorious as the moon and the sun are, the glory we will have will far outshine the sun (Psalm 37:6; Matthew 13:43; Phil 2:15), like Jesus (Rev 1:16; 21:23).

1 Peter 1:25

but the word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Our hope is in the enduring and living word of God, the Son Himself Who gave us His life because He loved us from the very beginning and so desires to be with us forever!

It is Jesus, the very Word of God made flesh, who endured the cross that we may be with Him forever! When we obey His eternal word and are found in Him, clothed in His very righteousness, we will also remain forever and will be transformed. This is the Good News – even Jesus Christ, who was preached to you!

People may busy themselves with studies of theology and a multitude of religious matters, but the means of saving the world from sin is the same as it always has been, namely, that of preaching the gospel to all people. It is not the deductions that people make from the sacred text, but the word itself that saves. The church's chief mission on earth is the proclamation of the word Peter mentioned here; failing in that, a church becomes not merely useless but abhorrent. What can give people the new birth and save their souls? The answer lies in the last verse of this chapter: It is, "The word of good tidings which was preached unto you." – Coffman

The word of God, the Logos, who is the One and Only Son, being eternal and imperishable can only regenerate men with the same power God used to speak the universe in existence.