1 Joy in the Midst of Trial Living in Hope 1 Peter 1:1-25.
2 Joy in the Midst of Trial Living in Hope 1 Peter 1:1-25, 1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4. To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8. Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9. Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 10. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11. Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 12. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
3 13. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14. As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16. Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 17. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: 18. Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19. But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20. Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21. Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 22. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25. But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. Background: I. First Peter was written to Christians living in five (5) Roman provinces in Asia Minor.
4 A. These geographical areas are located in what today is Turkey. II. The writer was the apostle Peter. A. Peter means pebble (rock) in Greek, cephas in Aramaic. III. The purpose of the letter was to encourage and give hope to beleaguered Christians who were suffering fiery ordeals. IV. The date of the writing appears to be after A.D. 74, the year Rome burned. A. This was during the reign of Nero. B. After the burning of Rome, Nero launched a savage campaign of hatred and persecution against the church. C. The book was most likely written in A.D. 65. V. First Peter appears to have been written from Rome. A. 1 Peter 5:13, Your sister church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark. Commentary: Introduction and Greetings 1 Peter 1:1, 2, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
5 I. Simon Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, wrote the book. A. Peter was not the Prince of the apostles, but an apostle, a delegate, a messenger of Jesus Christ. II. The book is written to elect, sojourners, dispersed who lived in five provinces in Asia Minor. A. These same areas had been represented on Pentecost in Acts 2. III. The Dispersion refers to Christians scattered throughout the world. A. The expression originally referred to scattered Jews; that is, Jews living outside Palestine. IV. Elect means picked, selected, chosen. A. John 15:16, 19, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. V. Christians are sojourners on earth. A. I am a stranger here, within a foreign land; my home is far away, upon a golden strand. B. Our citizenship is in heaven. VI. God foreknew that all people, both Jews and Gentiles, would be called to be His people. A. Scientists foreknow times of eclipses, but they do not produce the eclipses.
6 B. God foreknew who his people would be, but they and we made a personal decision to follow Christ. VII. Christians were called in sanctification of the Spirit. A. The Spirit sanctifies, makes holy, through the gospel. VIII. Holiness is a growth process. A. John 17:17, Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. B. 1 Thessalonians 5:23, And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. IX. We are chosen and sanctified by the gospel when we hear and respond. A. It is in this obedience that we contact the blood of Christ which is the remedy for our sins. B. Matthew 26:26, And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. X. Grace (God s unmerited favor) and peace are Peter s greeting/salutation to his readers. The Great Salvation 1 Peter 1:3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, I. The God of Israel and of the Hebrew prophets is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 A. God the Father and Christ the Son are inseparable. II. God s great mercy produced in us a living hope through the resurrection of Christ from the dead. III. The resurrection of Jesus made a new man out of Peter! A. It can do the same in our lives. I Peter 1:4, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, I. The old Israel s inheritance was Palestine which was corruptible, defiled, and did fade away. II. The new Israel s inheritance (heaven) is incorruptible, undefiled, and does not fade away. III. The heavenly inheritance is ours by reason of the new birth into the family of God. A. Ephesians 1:14, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. B. Colossians 3:24, Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 1 Peter 1:5, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. I. Christians are guarded by the power of God through our faith, kept secure unto salvation to be revealed at the last day, the judgment day.
8 II. Christians have been born again (past), are now guarded (present), and will be rewarded hereafter (future). I Peter 1:6, Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: I. In view of the blessings just mentioned, Christians rejoice. II. Those early Christians rejoiced even though they were facing all manner of trials and much grief. III. Our trials are confined to this world, a short while when compared with eternity. 1 Peter 1:7, That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: I. The proof of our Christian character is faithfulness under persecution. II. Gold is purified by fire. A. Christian lives are purified by trials. B. By firey trials sins are removed from our lives. C. Alloys and impurities melt away. 1 Peter 1:8, Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: I. These Christians had not seen Jesus, but they loved him.
9 II. These Christians did not at that time see Jesus, but they believed in him. III. Because of this love and faith, these Christians rejoiced with unspeakable joy and fullness of glory. IV. The writer had seen Jesus. A. Others had not. B. Both loved and had faith in Christ. C. John 20:29, Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 1 Peter 1:9, Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. I. The end of our faith is eternal life. II. It is because of eternal life that we can remain on course during manifold fiery trials. 1 Peter 1:10, Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: I. The Old Testament prophets sought to know more about Christian salvation. A. They spoke often of this age of grace. II. The prophets had written/spoken of these things, but they did not fully understand everything they had written/spoken.
10 1 Peter 1:11, Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. I. The Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, testified of the sufferings fo Christ and the glories that were to follow. A. 2 Peter 1:21, For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. II. This refers to plenary, verbal inspiration. A. The Spirit dictated to the prophets what they were to write and say. B. The prophets did not always understand the meaning of what they said and wrote. 1 Peter 1:12, Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. I. The prophets knew they were not the recipients of the blessings fo which they spoke. II. The Christian era of which the prophets spoke was announced by inspired preachers. III. The Holy Spirit was sent from heaven to guide the preachers. IV. Even the angels did not fully understand everything involved in the work and nature of Christ, but they had a keen interest in these matters.
11 A. Mary looked into the tomb. B. Prophets peered into the future. Call to Holiness 1 Peter 1:13, Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; I. Be ready for the second coming of Christ II. By girding up the loins of our minds. A. To move about more quickly, ancient people tied the hems of their long robes to their waist bands. III. We are to be serious minded and to have our hope set fully and unwaveringly on the blessings which will be ours at Christ s second coming. 1 Peter 1:14, As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: I. We have become Children of God by obeying his will. II. We must never return to living the old life of sin. III. The old life of sin was a product of spiritual ignorance; the new life of righteousness results from spiritual enlightenment. A. Ephesians 2:2, Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
12 B. Colossians 3:6, For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 1 Peter 1:15, But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; I. Christians are to be holy in all our conduct to the extent that Christ who called us to salvation is holy. A. Hebrews 12:14, Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 1 Peter 1:16, Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. I. Holiness is essential to our salvation. II. This was written in both the Old and New Testaments. 1 Peter 1:17, And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: I. God is our Father, but he is also our judge. II. He is no respector of persons and judges each of us by our works. III. We mus pass our sojourn in fear, respect, for the loving Father. IV. Romans 2:6, For he will repay according to each one s deeds. 1 Peter 1:18, Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; I. People were familiar in the first century with the redemption of slaves.
13 II. The saved of the earth are redeemed by incorruptible things.gospel, cross of Christ III. Their vain manner of life in days gone by was handed down from their fathers (Like father. Like son.). IV. Mark 10:45, For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. V. 1 Corinthians 6:20, For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. VI. I Timothy 2:5, For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; VII. Revelation 1:5, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 1 Peter 1:19, But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: I. We are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. II. Christ, our perfect lamb, is without spot and without blemish. 1 Peter 1:20, Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, I. Christ was from eternity, before the world was created. II. He was revealed at the opportune time for our salvation.
14 III. Ephesians 4:16, From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 1 Peter 1:21, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. I. Through Christ we become believers in God, people who trust God. II. God raised Christ from the dead. III. God gave Christ glory. IV. God raised Christ from the dead and gave Christ glory, that our faith and hope may be in God. 1 Peter 1:22, Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: I. Our souls have been purified by our obedience of the gospel truth. II. One purpose of our salvation is to produce unfeigned (genuine), not hypocritical love of the brethren in our hearts and lives. 1 Peter 1:23, Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. I. Christians have been begotten by the incorruptible gospel. II. The gospel lives and abides!
15 A. James 1:18, Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. B. Luke 8:11, Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 1 Peter 1:24, 25, For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. I. Isaiah 4:6, And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain. II. All people s earthly lives and the glory of their lives soon wither as do grass and flowers. III. However, the word of God endures forever! IV. This eternal good news is the gospel which was preached unto us. Conclusion: My Hope is Built on Nothing Less 1. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name. 2. When darkness veils his lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. 3. His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood; When all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay.
16 4. When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found; dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. Chorus: On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand. The Solid Rock William B. Bradbury, 1863 Edward Mote, 1834
17 Questions 1 Peter 1:1-25 1. Who wrote this epistle? How does he identify himself? 2. To whom was this epistle written? Define Diaspora. 3. Those addressed had been and by the and by the to be to and to be with his. 4. How were those addressed chosen?
18 5. How were they destined and to what? 6. How were they sanctified? 7. Have you been sprinkled with the blood of Christ? If so, when and where did this occur? 8. Peter wished for his readers and in. 9. We the and of our because, by his, he gave us a into a through the of from the.
19 10. Our inheritance in heaven is, and. 11. What is plenary inspiration? 12. By what, through what and for what are we being protected? 13. By what is the genuineness of our faith tested? What if we fail the test? 14. We have not Christ, but we him. We in him and rejoice with an and. 15. We rejoice because the of our is the of our.
20 16. What role did the prophets of old have in regard to the salvation bought by Jesus Christ? (see verses 10-12). 17. Therefore we are to our for, ourselves; all our on the that will bring when he is. 18. Christians are not to be to the we formerly had in. We are to be in all our as God is. 19. God the judges according to their deeds. In view of this, we are to in during the time of our. 20. To a Jew like Peter, what is the significance of the word exile? What is meant by the word exile in reference to Christians? From what are we exiled?
21 21. What does ransomed mean? From what have Christian been ransomed? By what have we been ransomed? 22. What does a lamb have to do with our being ransomed? Why wouldn t gold and silver be a better ransom? 23. Christ was before the of the, but was at the of the for our. 24. Through Christ we have come to in who him from the and gave him, so that your and are set on. 25. What is meant by the end of the ages? Haven t there been many ages since the advent of Christ?
22 26. How can we purify our bodies? How can we purify our souls? What is meant by purifying our bodies? 27. How have Christians been born anew? What is involved? What produces the new birth? (see verse 23). 28. How are flesh and the word of the Lord different? (see verses 24 and 25.) 29. When was First Peter written? Where was First Peter written? What was the political climate at the time this book was written? 30. Why was First Peter written?