All right, so hey, listen, as we get started, actually, because I forgot to do this last time, I'm going to make sure that I begin the very first thing with, let's pray so that we can begin. Father God, you are so good. And I thank you for the opportunity that we can come together with the covering over our head, with seats that we can sit in and be comfortable with opportunities to sit and learn you, Lord. And as we sit at your feet, and I just pray you would work through me to communicate whatever message it is that you would have and Lord, and help us to just have a good time of sharing and a time of coming together, Lord, that you would enrich us in this time, that you would be with us in this time, and it's in Jesus' name, amen. So a couple of notes from the... This is no first feeder. If you're gentle and lowly, we're over in the fishbowl. That's the benefit of having the PowerPoint, because you walk in here like, that's not gentle and lowly. So a couple of notes from last time. First, the major note to myself was slow down, calm down, breathe. I was listening to the beginning of the tape, and I realized, man, you guys had to put up with some seriously fast speech last time. So I'll try and slow down a little bit, but I missed a few sections that I wanted to just kind of quickly discuss. The first was, and this is actually for me probably the most important part, is that one of the things about 1 Peter is that generally the epistle is a restatement of Matthew 10 about serving Christ, about living and having a mission, in Christ. And so, I'm not going to go through it all, and I didn't prepare anything for it, but it's worth a read. So, it doesn't take long. It's one chapter. Go in, just kind of scan through it, read it. and to know that Peter really picks on a lot of the themes within Matthew 10, and he applies them. This is kind of what one commentator called the Petrine view of Matthew 10. So, it is the life of serving Christ from Peter's perspective. So if you have some time to do that, I would just encourage you to go ahead and read it. The other is, is that of all of the authors of the New Testament, Peter relies heavily on eschatology, not only for the purposes of salvation, but for the purposes of understanding we are going to a place Right? So be this way. Why? Because we have a home in heaven. And that's an important perspective to maintain as we're working through the epistle, because he's gonna start off reminding us of exactly who we are in Christ. And then he's going to build on that from there. So much of the structure of the epistle is based on that. And then you have specific eschatological references, 1 Peter 1, 4 through 5, and 1 Peter 1, I'm sorry, 1 Peter 4, verses 1 through 7. The other thing that he and James share, actually, if you get into it, is a heavy emphasis on using imagery from the Old Testament. We're going to see a lot of that today. So Peter will draw on a lot of imagery. Now Paul quotes Old Testament scripture a lot, right? But Peter actually not only quotes it, but he draws on that as an illusion in imagery, and you'll get a good dose of that today. So, just know that that is also something that is very commonly cited or commentated about within this epistle. Also, and then this is just kind of a clerical thing, I posted the teaching schedule on Hopebook, so if you're like, oh my lord, when does Scott teach? You can go there and you can look. Yeah, I suppose I could be taken both ways, right? Yeah, so I know, I'm not suggesting that we should be gambling, but if you wanted to place bets on whether or not I trip over this cord, I could actually see, maybe we just make a pot for a donation or something to my hospital bill whenever I kill myself here. So anyway, but that's posted on Hopebook. I'm trying this with the PowerPoint and then if it works out and if everybody likes it and I get good feedback then I'll continue to use it. It's, believe it or not, a little bit of a tool for me as well because it kind of helps me stay within a certain pattern, within a certain structure. So it's helpful for me. I'm hoping that it'll also be helpful for you. So if it is, then let me know. If not, or it becomes too much of a hassle, or it gets in the way of maybe the opportunities to talk and communicate, then maybe we don't do it. But for now, I'm going to try it. And we'll see how it goes. Okay. Any questions before we begin? Okay. So one of the first things is this is not moving. So see, now maybe we do have a problem. There it goes. Last week, we had kind of a quick discussion about, I was gonna do block diagramming and how do you technically work through a passage, okay? So this is a new method for me. I'm gonna be really honest with you, I've never used it before. I actually did something that was more of like a tree diagram of the passage. The basic idea is that you wanna just break the verses out into what are the key specific sentences, like what is clearly set? Yeah, go ahead. Well, that could be a problem. Okay. I may be able to fix that, hold on. Well, I'm really close to it, so let me see if I can fix... Boy, I didn't like that. Well, you might want to post those notes. Yeah, I will. I'll post them on the Hopebook so you can see them. And really, this is actually more just an opportunity for me to illustrate how I went about doing it than it is really knowing each individual. And I can read through it. It's just basically the passage, and it's broken out into the key statements and then the statements that support what you call the dependent clauses and then the subordinate clauses. So if you're an English person and but then I did it and then I was kind of like, you know, it might be fun to just stick the Greek word next to the ones that I plan on talking about. That's for visual purposes only. I do not expect to teach or because I would drastically fail. but do not expect to teach Greek, but at least it gives you some visual idea as to where I think the key Greek terminologies are. And if I hit on them, then I hit on them. If not, just know that when you see it in the hope book, those are just, for me, they're just important terms within the New Testament. that I think are worth just mentioning. By the way, he uses this term here, he uses this term here, he uses this term here. It's just visual, not intended to be, like I said, I'm not going to do a deep dive on the Greek. I'm not going to sit here and try and, what do you call it, parse the verbs and the nouns in front of you because that would be brutal. I would fail. Anyway, let's just go through this real quick. The two verses are, specific term and we'll talk about we talk about the Old Testament the allusions to the old imagery from the Old Testament This is Peter drawing on that imagery which is chosen, and then prognosis is actually how you're supposed to say it, prognosis, which is for knowledge. So those are just kind of terms that you see frequently in scripture. When we hit them, I'll just maybe spend a little bit of time talking about them as we're going through, okay? So this is Peter's introduction, right? And we talked last week, that this was a circular epistle, right? That it, that this Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia is almost certainly the way that the letter was carried. So like geographically how that letter was dispersed. So they start here and they're kind of going through each of these major areas, major regions and hitting the churches along the way. So the idea was that, you know, that it was a, a circular epistle, or not intended to discuss a specific heresy within the church, but really more to just give general encouragement or acknowledgement about some things that were pertinent in the time. So that got me, and I'm gonna go back to this so it's a little bit easier to see. So that got me thinking about various types of salutations in scripture. So I'm gonna tell you, okay, this didn't turn out the way I thought it was gonna, okay, because I had read some stuff and some commentary, And I thought, oh, man, that's really cool. I actually want to see that. And then I started going through each of the introductions, and then I didn't see what the commentator said. I actually saw something a little bit different. The commentator made the point that in Scripture, frequently the salutation is intended to first direct and inform the reader of how the author views those people. So you are the chosen. And so, it was kind of an acknowledgement that you always begin with kind of an idea of who those people are in Christ, who those people are to them, et cetera, et cetera. And so, I was just kind of playing through that. So, Romans, to all who are beloved of God in Rome, Corinthians, 1 Corinthians, these are just examples. I didn't put them all on there, because then you really couldn't read it. I'm getting the idea that this is, I see some strained eyes, and people are like, that. But Corinthians to the Church of God who is in Corinth. The red letters indicate where I think there is some similarity between Peter's statements and James mentions to the 12 tribes who are dispersed. So, he uses that term diaspora. Paul uses in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, my true son in the faith. are my beloved son." So it's a very tender, warm, personal greeting. Philemon, where Paul is going to address something to an individual, he reminds him, you're my beloved brother and fellow worker for the gospel. So the idea here is that it addresses a specific element that then throughout the Epistle they'll draw on. Peter's was, for me, a little bit different, and that's where I wanted to bring, what is in an intro? When you're introducing yourself, even today, let's forget about Peter for a moment, but today, when you have your kids, you're gonna address your children, okay, when you're, I mean, how do you address your children? You've got your children here with you. That's when you're happy with them. But what about when you're mad? Does it change? Don't worry, because it does for me too, and Peyton's over there going, oh yeah, it can change. So, yeah, so how you address your children, but it's always, you know, I always think about, I grew up in Corpus Christi, so I had a lot of friends who were Hispanic, and I just remember mijo, Ay, mijo, my child, you know? Such a warm way of addressing, ay, mijo, come here, let me talk. Whether it was really that person's kid or not, you were still mijo to them, right? You're my child. So that was just that. What about in the military? You're in the military, you have to wear your uniform, and always on your sleeve is what? Your rank or your collar if you're an officer, right? What's the purpose of that? to distinguish who you are, right? So, anybody? Yeah, so mostly to distinguish who you are. Because you don't want some little corporal walking up, you know, and then he goes up to the general and he's like, hey, dude, what's going on? That's not what happens, right? That's not how that goes. It's like, oh, that's the general and you're high and tight and you're saluting and you're doing your thing. But if it's another corporal, Hey, buddy, what's up, man? How's it going? So it changes, right, according to what's on that sleeve, and that's purposeful within the military, right? What about businesses? Why do they keep org charts? Erica helps manage the org charts in her organization, so I know she knows why they keep org charts. Why keep an org chart? What's the purpose of an org chart? This, I promised you guys we were going to have conversation, so now it's time. Why an orchard? Anybody just take a stab at it. Anybody. Establish roles, responsibilities, authorities, accountabilities. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. If you're a payables person and you're sitting in a little cubicle, you can't really see much further outside of your cubicle, but then you got an issue with your boss, who do you go to? Right? You've got to know who in the organization. Or to your point, boy, I've got to get this done. Who do I call? I've got to call someone in sales. Well, let me find somebody in sales. You have an org chart that you can go to. So knowing where a person is placed within the organization can be very functional is the point that I'm trying to make there. So Peter's going to start off his letter, and he is going to start off with a very deep, very intricate explanation as to who he is speaking to and who he is. He's going to start off with, I'm Peter the Apostle. OK, but then he's also going to take the time. Why do you think that is? Why do you think it would be important for him to say you are the chosen exiles of the dispersion, in these areas, according to the foreknowledge of God, for the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ in it, why does He go through such great lengths to establish who He's writing to? You don't have to answer that right now, but that's the big idea. Okay, that's the main purpose of this greeting. So I want you to be thinking about why. What is the purpose of this? Why? Why does he go through this? This is a beautiful intro. And when I walked away from this was like, wow, this is deep stuff. You know, between this one and Ephesians, you can just meditate on this two verses for a long time. And Ephesians intro is very similar. But this is deep. This is a really deep, he takes some time with this. And there's a reason. And what I want you guys to be thinking about is why does he do this? Why? What's the purpose? To what end? Okay, so that's, again, that's the key theme, the key message of today, the key message of these first two verses is gonna be found in answering this question, okay? You like the picture? I'm going to tell you something. This is kind of funny, because I like putting pictures up. This is not what Peter looked like. I promise you, Peter did not look like this. Nobody knows what Peter looks like. That's from Rembrandt. And I'm like, this guy looks like Obi-Wan Kenobi. Doesn't he look like Obi-Wan Kenobi? But this is Rembrandt's version of Peter. I guess he didn't know who Obi-Wan was. But sometimes it's nice to have a little picture there. So Peter refers to himself as Peter the Apostle. And then you see the first Greek word, apostolos, which literally means a delegate or a messenger or someone who is sent forth with orders. Okay, it has the force of being an ambassador. In other words, the message that Peter is carrying, the message that he has, has the full weight and force of the one who sent him. You ever thought about that? And he knew it, right? So he knew the purpose of his mission, He was aware that he was sent by Jesus, and Jesus was God. So Peter is not making a small statement when he says, I am Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am one who brings the message that Christ gave me to give to you. The moment he says that, he's speaking inspired. The moment he gives that message, is he not telling you what you're about to hear is straight from God? The message you're about to receive is straight from God. Now, I'm gonna be honest. it's a little weighty being a teacher, right? I mean, in the, in the, in scripture, it'll tell you, you know, it says, you know, let there not be many of you that want to be teachers because they're going to acquire, or they're going to, they're going to, they're going to see, already I'm in trouble. They're going to incur a stricter judgment, right? So being a teacher, puts you in a place where you're in a position of authority within, and so churches are very careful, and this church especially is very careful to weigh out who can become a teacher and who can't, and there's a process for it, and I think that's very wise to have a good process for that. It's great wisdom in that. Why? For two reasons. Number one, because you are a representative of that church when you stand up as a teacher, right? And so that's important. you're representing the church. You better be saying and agreeing with the words that the church over and all state. And if there's doctrinal differences, you need to work through those. So you don't want them going up and stating a different doctrine from what the church is proclaiming. But then also because those people will incur a stricter judgment. Can you imagine being an apostle? I mean, I feel the weight of being a teacher, I would be crushed under the weight of being an apostle. I'm just gonna be really honest with you. I'd be like, I'm sorry, Lord, you picked the wrong dude. But that's an important point that I want you to remember that he's sitting there and he is maintaining that I am sent by Jesus Christ. I am his ambassador. OK, and there were qualifications. This is more technical than practical at this moment, but in Acts 121 and 22 he lays out. of being an apostle that they're appointed by. Now, the appointed by Christ part is just obvious, but walked with and taught by Christ. So, some people wonder, well, how did Paul then become an apostle? Well, Paul was appointed directly by Christ in the Damascus road, and he was also taught. And then they have to be a fellow witness of the resurrection. So, Paul's witness of the resurrection, for example, is when he saw the risen Savior in Damascus. pretty good evidence, right? Whoa, wait a minute. I thought you've been dead for a while. Well, apparently you're not. They were also given special authority. So they had gifts of healing, for example, miracle gifts, and they had signed gifts like gifts of tongues that would also accompany them. So there's a lot about that. I'm not going to get into that today. not really relevant to the particular passage, but the point is, is that Peter is coming up and immediately declaring that he is sent by Jesus Christ, that his words are the words of Jesus Christ, they carry the weight of Jesus Christ. So this is him knowing that what he is about to tell you is inspired by God. And then I go, wow, I can't even imagine feeling the weight of that. But that is the weight that Peter carries when he makes that statement. And he writes it to, and this is, by the way, this is the way the ESV writes it, and this is actually the most accurate interpretation if you go through the Greek, okay? Elect exiles of the dispersion. The noun is dispersion. Elect and exile are the ones that, they're the adjectives that then qualify of the dispersion. So they are members of the diaspora who are elect, chosen by God and who are scattered among, in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, aliens. The other term for exiles would be alien. So, this is a little story. Back in 2012, I was sent by my work to go fix some problems in a small office in Argentina, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. And man, when I got the call to go do that, it was super exciting, because I was like, I've never been to Latin America before, and here I'm gonna go, and this is gonna be great. So the first thing that happens, I get in the plane, and I'm flying, it's freezing cold on the plane. Turns out when you fly over the Andes, it gets really bumpy, so you can't really sleep, it's miserable. Then you land, and you get out, and you're in a whole different world. I mean a whole different world. The first thing was, you don't have a visa. Wait, well, I was told I didn't need a visa. Oh yeah, you need a visa. So, okay, what do I do? You pay 300 US dollars. Oh wow, okay, well, you take a credit card. And then nobody speaks English. Right? So, I was suddenly, you know, spent my whole life in Corpus Christi. I talked about, Mijo, don't speak a word of English, of Spanish. And I'm walking around, I can't even order food. I'm like, what is acetuna? Hmm. Oh, olives, okay. And so, I mean, literally, ordering for me was its own adventure, okay? It was its own adventure. I was an alien, right? I was foreign. It got worse when I showed up to work that day. And they're like, who is this guy coming from the U.S. to come and tell us how to do our job? So now, not only am I an alien, but I am an alien that is in a position where they don't want me there, right? And this is the imagery that Peter's trying to create with this. that you're an alien, you're chosen, but you're an alien, you are foreign, they are scattered. They are not in their home. See, because when I got in the plane and I flew back, you know, that was my best moment, right? Because I would get off the plane and I would go home and there would be my children, right? There would be my wife. And I'd maybe have a few gifts for them or something, but I was home. But when I was there, I was an alien. And what Peter's trying to tell you is you're not home, right? You're not home. The other thing is, is he is drawing on specific references from the Old Testament. All three of these words come from Old Testament imagery, okay? So the first is chosen or elect. Does someone wanna open up Deuteronomy and read chapter four, verses 35 through 38? Yeah, go for it. Just read it. To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord is God, there is no other beside him. Out of heaven he let you hear his voice that he might discipline you, and on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence by his great power, driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day." So you heard the, because he chose the offspring after, he chose the forefathers, chose the offspring after. I could have picked a lot of other verses that maybe specifically used the word chosen, but I kind of feel like this one encapsulates the Old Testament idea of being chosen. If you think about the key words that are being used there, right? He says, not because of you, not because of you, but I chose you. I chose you and I discipline you, right? And I give you and I treat you because I chose you. God's action is not based on anything that you do. God's action is based on His choosing. And specifically, His choosing of you. And that is exactly the image that Peter wants to convey here. This is the message of being chosen. Right? And we'll talk about a little bit of that in a moment on the Christian context of that, but the imagery he's trying to draw on is that right there. That idea that you are chosen by God. And then exiles or aliens. Anytime I think about this from an Old Testament sense, I immediately, boom, my mind pops to Daniel. If you want to understand Even in your own walk, a lot about what it means to reside as an alien for Christ. Read Daniel, right? Because he was faithful. And when they challenged him to do something that he felt or he believed in his heart would cause him to deny God, he was firm. Now, I can't eat that meat. I can't eat that meat. And I'm gonna trust God here, just feed me vegetables. Okay, well, first of all, I'm gonna say, congratulations, Daniel, for becoming a vegetarian, because that would be really tough on me, too. But that's a whole different discussion. The point is, he chose God, when there was an edict that you had to pray to these idols, there was a statue of Nebuchadnezzar, if I'm not mistaken, at that moment, he chose, he was not going to bend his knee to an idol. Now, he didn't run out and be like, hey, here's a sign saying, heck no, we won't go. No, he just said, I'm gonna be faithful to the Lord, and I'm gonna do what I do, Right? I'm going to be who I am, and if the consequences come, then consequences there are. You're going to throw me into a den of lions? God can stop you. You're going to throw me into fire? God can come and pull me out, if that's what He wills. Right? But I am submitted to my Lord, and I will not turn my back on Him. That is the imagery of being the resident alien, right? That is the process. And then the diaspora. So a diaspora is, technically speaking, a period of exile. So when you talk about the diaspora, here he's drawing on the Babylonian captivity. And that also draws on Daniel a little bit, right, in the imagery of Daniel. But it's really talking about a period of time. A period of time in which the people of Israel were scattered from where? Where were they moved away from? Anybody? Anybody have a thought on that? Where were they away from? They were away from the promised land, right? So again, the imagery here is you are not home. You're somewhere away from the promise that you've been given. You're somewhere apart from the place that I've given to you. Now, next week, we're gonna talk about the place that's given to you, and man, that's gonna rev me up. I probably will speak way too fast on that day, but because I, for me, this is some of my favorite bit of scripture, because then he's gonna tell you what that promised land is, and oh, it's beautiful. It's amazing, right? But here he's just mentioning, you are not yet to the land that God has promised you. Right now, you're sojourning. Right now, you're exiled. Right now, you're an alien. But soon enough, the promise will come, right? And if you think about it for, yeah, go ahead. You know, man, we just, I think, Not only is Peter telling them that they're aliens and that they're scammers, I have a feeling that they know this and they don't like this. Peter is like to the point. You are chosen and that has to be the end of the story. Boy, you're getting to the why. You're getting to the why. Boy, that's really good, and that's true. Everything she said is true, so hold on to that. You wanna answer the question right at the end. Be thinking about what she just said right there. But then I had this other question. So I was thinking about this, and actually one commentator had made a mention about this, and so I just decided that I would bring this topic up. So if Peter is referencing Old Testament Bible terms, and I told you last week he was writing to Gentiles, okay, but he is referencing, he is ascribing to these Gentile Christians what was specifically stated in Scripture to be referencing Israel. Is that a problem for anybody here? That makes you go, hmm, are we replacing Israel? There's this idea of replacement theology that I'm trying to bring up. Do we replace Israel? And if Peter is referencing these Old Testament Bible terms to refer to Gentile Christian believers, is he engaging in that? Is he elucidating replacement theology? Anybody want to comment on that? That doesn't imply that the church is a replacement of Israel. Because there are so many promises in the Old Testament that only refer to the nation, but not to the church. Perfect. Yeah, couldn't have said it better. Oh, you went and used Paul's term now. I see what you're doing. You're trying to show everybody how smart you are. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Can someone read Romans chapter 11, verses 35 through 37? I got it. For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, so that you will not be wise in your self-estimation. For the infernal hardening has happened to Israel, and so the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, just as it is written, the Deliverer will come from Zion, and He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is my covenant with them, and I take only their sins. So he's planning on fulfilling his covenant to Israel, right? Every promise to Israel is a promise to Israel. Excuse me. So every promise to Israel is a promise to Israel. And it'd be great to pull in the grafted verse here, because I think it's really relevant as well. I wish I had put the mark on there, but the fact of the matter is that we're a wild offshoot that's been grafted in. Okay, that's the imagery that Paul uses, right? We're just a bunch of heathen, no good Gentiles that God has graciously grafted in to the promises, right? So the old imagery is intended to give you some idea as to how God sees us, and there's some similarities, obviously, and then if you really get into it, there's some more eschatological things. But never think that God is done with Israel, because it's simply not biblical. It's simply not what the Bible teaches. But what this is, is not a view that Christians are replacing Israel. This is an image of the Petrine view of what a Christian is. This is Peter giving you his definition of what a Christian is. You are chosen. You didn't choose to be, you were chosen. Now do you, yes, do you name the name of, do you name the name of Christ? Is that part of becoming a Christian? Absolutely. But know that you are chosen, right? First Peter chapter two, verse nine. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. For you were once not a people, but now you are the people of God." That's a declaration, right? That's a declaration. You once were Hopeless. You were once in Ecclesiastes, to draw on the reference from earlier. You were once life under the sun. You were once squandering around in vanity. You were once groping around in the dark, as John likes to say. Hopeless. But God chose you. But God chose you. And now, look at you now, a holy race, a chosen people. That's a marvelous thought. It's a marvelous thought. Can someone read? Yeah, go ahead. In 1 Peter 2.10, it's also saying that you were not a people, so God has not made you a people. And that also refers to Hosea, basically the adoption of that bastard child. Again, the point of being grafted in is, you're not, but purely because of my choice, you are. Right, yeah, yes, yeah, absolutely. We'll kind of touch on that particular point, maybe not in view of Hosea, but that grafted idea will come back. Can someone read Ephesians chapter one, verses four through five? Okay, chose us before the foundation of the world to be predestinated, right? To be predestinated into what? into a home in heaven, to an inheritance in heaven. Okay, into an inheritance in heaven. But for now, we are a people sojourning. Our home is in heaven, our home is not here. For now, we are journeying through this world. We are experiencing this alien place. You're Frank in Argentina who can't figure out how to order a pizza. right takes him 30 minutes to order a pizza okay and then you get it and it well that's a whole different I'm not gonna get into that first couple times were miserable I'm just gonna say then I found provoleta that's a whole different I'm gonna we're gonna focus on this but we're a people so joining first Peter 117 I'll just If you address as father the one who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth, or sojourn on earth. It's just a little while. It's just a little while. You have an eternity promised to you, but for just a little while. You have to meet this, you have to rise up to this, you have to be this to the Lord for just a little while. You're sojourning. 1 Peter 2.10. For you were once not, oh, I just read that one. You've received mercy, oh no, I guess not. For you were once not a people, but now you are the people of God. You have not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. This is who you are. You're sojourning through is the idea here, that you are in the diaspora. Did Daniel know when the Jews were gonna be promised to go back to the promised land? Is anybody familiar with Daniel? Can you remember a specific moment in Daniel where suddenly he's like, wait a minute, We're supposed to be going back. Yeah, yeah, exactly. But what does he do? So he's reading Jeremiah the prophet. He's reading Jeremiah. I love this. This is like one of my favorite things about Daniel. He's reading Jeremiah the prophet. Yeah, go ahead. Oh, I gotta back up my iCloud. Now you guys know I'm bad about backing up my iCloud. Okay. So we're near, he knows after reading Jeremiah that the captivity is going to last 40 years. It's gonna last 40 years and it's time. Wait, it's 40 years. It's 40 years, we're gonna go back. And so he sets his face to prayer. He's looking ahead. Lord, you promised this. You promised this. And I know you're faithful. So I know it's coming. When's it coming, Lord? When's it coming? You promised. And he's fasting and he's praying and he's looking forward to. That is a wonderful image of how we should view life as Christians. You have a promise from God, and that promise is sure. You have a hope in God, and that hope is sure, and you can rely on that promise, and you should be looking forward to it every day, and you should be praising God for it every day, because you have a promise, and it's coming. Just as sure as for Daniel, he knew you know you have a promise, right? But for now, you're sojourning. But for a time, you're sojourning. So let's talk about this Petrine view. Now, I showed you the Petrine view of what a Christian is. Now he's going to give you his view of how you're saved. So first he tells you, you're this Christian. Well, now let me give you a Petrine view of salvation. And what is the very first thing he says? You are an elect exile of the dispersion. And how is that? According to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Prognosis, foreknowledge. Before I explain what foreknowledge is, it's great to point out what foreknowledge is not. Foreknowledge is not that God looks ahead in time, sees that you made a decision, I wanna be saved, and then comes back here and blesses it. That's a ridiculous view of foreknowledge. That is literally shooting an arrow into the air, and wherever it lands, drawing a target around it, and saying, look at what God did. He hit the bullseye. No, you did not, God. No, you did not, God. He chose it. You just rubber stamped it. That is not foreknowledge. Because if that is foreknowledge, then you're the one that chose your salvation. But he doesn't allow for that. He says it's according to the foreknowledge of God. Now, I'm going to give you what Peter refers to as foreknowledge. Acts 2, verses 22 and 23. Can someone read that? Our, my former pastor was always real big on this particular topic, and one of the things I always thought was funny about what he said is, you know, the funny thing about the Armenian argument and the foreknowledge is any third-rate lawyer can come in and defeat that argument with very little effort, because that's a ridiculous statement. But anyway, I just thought I would bring that up. Who's got it? Go for it. Israel, hear these words. So the idea here is that God always had the plan from the beginning. Right? If we go back to the Ephesians 1 verse 4, can someone read that again? Just real quick. So Peter says, Christ's work was known from the beginning. Christ's work was according to the foreknowledge of God. It was part of his sovereign plan. And your foreknowledge, your chosenness is part of the plan of God. So that's the idea there. One, verses four. Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love. Yeah, just as He chose us before the foundation of the world, before God said, let there be light, He chose you. Before God formed the world, He knew you were coming. and He knew what He was building for you. One more verse, and then we have to speed up a little bit. So, Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30. Romans, verses eight, 28 through 30 And those whom He called, He also justified. And those whom He justified, He also glorified. So, those whom He called, He justified? Those whom He chose, He glorified? Where did you enter into that equation? I just, real quick, can you tell me where it says what we did? Is that in that verse? Because I was waiting for you to tell me how I was part of my own salvation, but apparently it's not going to be there, right? So, yeah. chosen by God. Did I sufficiently beat that into the ground? Yeah, go ahead. That's a great point. I would have said that if you would have told me on the way. elect but elect exiles. A lot of the commentaries argued about what modified what, but in just a plain reading, you were a chosen group of people that would live as exiles scattered around this other country. In Genesis 12, Abraham gets called out of his homeland, right? Your country That's what I enjoyed about that, probably influenced by the Ecclesiastes study, but just the idea that I'm not out of control. I'm where the Lord has called me out of. He did call me to stop being a citizen or of like culture and kind and language and focus and destination as where I was. He called me out of that. That's intrinsic to the call, the sovereign work of God in my election. And he called me to now live as a stranger. Necessarily uncomfortable in the world that I live in. Necessarily competing with the views of those around me. Necessarily, if you will, suffering, because Peter's all about suffering, right? Suffering this ostracism, indignities, slander, whatever it is that we suffer in the current culture. That also is a part of his choosing. And then you throw in Hebrews 11, 13, every hero of the faith that says in Hebrews 11, 13, lived holding firmly, in fact, it even says greeting or something like that, but it's this word of grasping with thanksgiving. The homeland that was promised, that was not yet seen, but daily presented with an opportunity to turn around and go back to the land they came from. And they never did that. That's what makes them the heroes of the faith, right, is that they constantly press forward. So I just really love how the chosenness is not only the chosenness of our salvation, it was also the chosenness of our scattering, the chosenness of our exile. You will now not be citizens of the place that you live. Yeah, yeah, that's great. That's excellent. And when you think about the construction of the chosen exiles of the diaspora, the noun there is of the dispersion, right? You are of the dispersion, you're in the diaspora, but you are chosen exiles of the diaspora. So it carries absolutely the weight that Scott is mentioning there, 100%. So then he says next, because he's going to bring in all three members of the Trinity here, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit. by the sanctifying work of the Spirit. That term sanctifying is the same that we get haggios or saints from. It's the same word. It's the idea that you are purified, that you are holy, right? To be made more holy is what Peter is saying by the work of the Spirit. When you're home, you're gonna be completely holy. For now, the sanctifying work of the Spirit is there. John will call it the deposit given to you, right? The sanctifying work of the Spirit. And this is, Peter is going to draw on this throughout his epistle. And he's gonna start on 1.16. So I'll read that just real quick since I'm right here. Act as free men and do not use your freedom as a covering... Wait, oh, sorry, that's 2.16. Guess I wasn't quite so close. I was like, that is not the verse I was looking for. Because it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy. And then he goes on to say, if you address the Father as one who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during your time of your stay on earth. So that we read that verse previously, but now you see the connectedness between that and being holy. Through obedience of the faith. You know, if you Google images of obedience, you get a lot of weird stuff. Just know that this was chosen out of, like, I couldn't find a good one. I don't like that picture, but okay, whatever. Becoming an exile of the dispersion for the purpose of obeying Jesus Christ and be sprinkled by his blood. Now, those are two ideas. okay, to be obedient, but also to be sprinkled. And that terminology of sprinkled, here again, Peter is going to draw on the Old Testament references, right, of sprinkling of blood. When was there a sprinkling of blood? Yeah, during the sacrifice. Who is your sacrifice? Jesus Christ is your sacrifice. What he's telling you here is that Christ is your propitiation, right? That Christ is the one, his blood is the one that cleanses you. And he's drawing on that. Actually, when I first started this lesson and I was bringing it together, I actually was gonna go into Leviticus, I think it's 16, where it talks about how the priest, Goes into the temple and how he prepares the sacrifice and and I was gonna talk about how This image was there. I don't have time to completely unpack that But just know that that that is where he's drawing from with this with these Old Testament references He's thinking of it in the context of of Old Testament Sacrifice to be sprinkled with the blood to be covered by the blood of the lamb, right? I'm sorry Yeah Look, you are now my people. That is my government. There you go. That's right. It's the idea that, yes, you are propitiated by his work, and now you have a way through, and you are his people. Someone can read 1 John chapter two, verses one through four. anyone who does sin, we haven't advocated with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. Whoever says, I know He does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Yeah, that's the other place where you see the obedience of Christ being paired with the propitiation of Christ, right? So, you have been propitiated, and I don't know if we want to dig into that term much more, but the idea is that the idea of propitiation is that it takes the weight of punishment on your behalf. It's actually a legal term, and the idea is that there is a satisfaction, a satisfaction for the offenses committed. So Christ has satisfied the offenses that you commit. Right? But in so doing, it's to the end of obedience. Obedience to Christ. And if you say that you're in Christ because He has satisfied, He has propitiated your sins, brought satisfaction for your sins, but then you go on sinning, and you don't change your life, and you don't become this exiled people of the diaspora, better think about your calling. Right? Because that propitiation was to the end that you would obey Christ by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, according to the four knowledge. So, before I jump into this, note that Peter now takes the time that his view of salvation is really fundamentally a work of each member of the Trinity. It is a beautiful Trinitarian statement. So if you go and you read things, you'll never find the word Trinity in the Bible. That specific word is not there. But there are definite areas where the Trinity is spoken about. and definite areas where the Trinity is spoken about according to their cooperative work with one another. This is one of these areas. Another great area is Ephesians. So I think it's the first, I think it's verses four through 16, if I'm not sure, four through 14. It's all one word, all one sentence in the Greek. where Paul will go through in great detail how each member of the Godhead worked to bring you to them. beautiful Trinitarian statement here. Peter's a little more succinct than Paul, you know, he kind of puts it all together a little faster. You can text this, but you know, Peter, Paul, you may have to, you may have to sit down at a computer to write that one out. But, but here is a very quick, easy way of Peter just saying here, you are an elect exile of the dispersion because God chose you before the foundation of the world. and the Spirit sanctifies you and Christ propitiates your sins. And each of these members of the Godhead working in coordination with one another perfectly to work and serve and give to you this salvation. Beautiful picture of the Trinity right there. And why does Peter, now we're back to this why question again, right? Why does Peter take this time? We talked about last week that he's writing during a time, 64 AD, right? We're not yet to Nero. We're not yet to systemic wide persecution, but what you have are pockets of intense, often very intense persecution, which, to be honest, could be even worse than some of the things that Nero would have done. But there's these pockets of persecution. There are these times when it's difficult, right? There are times that it's difficult. Why does Peter, Take a moment to remind you of your salvation. Why does he take a moment to remind these guys who they are as Christians? Anybody wanna just take a stab at it? I know you were like right there. Why? Why would Peter take that time? I think it's easy in our culture to lose our identity. And I mean, we see it today a lot. But as we live in a world that's swimming in confusion about who they are, this anchors us to be able to live in the way he's going to call us to live. It's light. It's different without having that foundation shaky. Yeah. You're mijo. You're my child. You're mija for you. Sorry. You're my child. Just remember that. Go for it. I like what she said because when it gave, not only does it give you that sort of grounding, but it also says this is who you are. Go and be who you are. Go and be this, this And it gives you an identity. It gives you a purpose. And it also sort of solidifies within us our mission. Yeah. Anybody else have thoughts? That's great. It's a great, and both of you, great thoughts. Go for it. A hundred years ago when I went off to college, the last thing that my father said to me before leaving me in my dorm room at my college was, Rob, remember whose you are. That's the way he put it. And then he walked away. And then subsequently, for the four years I was in college, every time I go home for summer and then go back to college, that's the last thing he would say to me every time. Remember whose you are. And so that was his way of making sure I remembered who I belonged to. that I belong to the Lord, that's whose I was, and that was, as they said, an anchor. That was an anchor for me as I went off to college, and I never forgot it. I mean, it's something that just... That's great, that's really great. Decades and decades later. Yeah, that's a fantastic illustration, absolutely fantastic illustration. Anybody else have thoughts? But now as believers in Christ, they have a new identity. just like the Jewish people, when they were exiles, had to maintain their identity as Jews, but also, if they lived in that culture, the Gentiles would have to be called to do the same thing as the leaders in Christ. Yeah, that's actually a really great point. Did everybody catch that? I don't know. Because I thought that's an excellent point. He's talking to Gentiles, and part of the reason for his illusion is, probably exactly what you're saying, is that, hey, you are called to be different, right? You are called into a nation, a new people, right? You're a new people. So you might dress the same and have the same haircut, but you're a different people. Fundamentally, you have changed, right? You've gone from here to here. So that's a great, great point. I think that's a great point. Anybody else? Just that you were talking about we are chosen and why we should obey. Because we are chosen, it's not just like, oh, we are chosen. We are bought. I mean, he went and chose us. He bought us with his blood, and that blood is sprinkling Yeah, and I would leave, because it's time to wrap up, but I'll also leave with this thought. Choosing, the fact that God chose us before the foundation of the world, that is of zero comfort to the unbeliever, right? But it should be of great comfort to us. Right, I actually heard someone in an evangelical context say, don't talk to people about predestination when you're giving the gospel, because it has nothing to do with them until they're saved. I don't know if that's, to be honest with you, I kind of bounce back and forth on that notion a little bit within an evangelical context, but the idea is true, right? Chosenness is for you to rest in when you're saved. And why is that? Why is that? Because I know me and I vacillate and I have bad days and I have good days and I fall and I get up. I have times when I have to do things that I don't want to do and some of those times I fail. Right? We all do. But my election, my adoption, my inheritance does not depend on whether I'm steady. It depends on whether I was chosen according to the foreknowledge of God by the sanctifying work of the Spirit and sprinkled with His blood for obedience. It's not on me, it's on God. God chose me. And in those moments when you're at your lowest point, in those moments when you think, there is no way a God would ever choose me, because of how filthy I am or how bad I mess up. There's no way God would want me. That's when it's the greatest of comforts because you know it has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with His promise. Go ahead. kind of reminds me of my religious class in school because we were talking about this kind of, and he said to us, he said, are you picking what you want out of your religion? And is that like, are you following your religion because you've been told it's something? and you're taking your own version of that so that you can follow what you want to give you comfort, or are you following the religion for yourself, like for what you really believe? Are you really following the religion because you believe it, because you truly have accepted it and you follow it wholeheartedly, or are you just kind of moving through the motions because you've been told your whole life that that's what you need to do? Yeah, yeah. What if you wane? Right? What if you drift? What if you go a month, two months and you don't show up to church or you don't even want to open your Bible? Did you fall away? Can you make yourself fall away? but you're chosen, but you're chosen, right? Peter is giving this message to him, and I have to wrap up because now I'm a little bit over time, but Peter is giving this message because he's talking to people who are suffering. Peter is giving this message because he is talking to people who are enduring external persecution. And when the external persecution starts, the internal waves move. And Peter is trying to tell them, you are cemented in Christ. You are firm in Christ. You're chosen. And when all those waves, Peter, when you're out to sea, don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down, Peter. Look at me. Look at me. We're gonna talk about that next week. What are you looking at? What are you looking at? Don't look down. What are you looking at? Okay, let's pray.