1 Peter chapter number 2 and verse number 17. A couple of days after Steve met with Sam, I didn't know he had met with him. Sam met with me on Friday morning. We were going over some deacon issues, things relating to their ministry. And before we got into our conversation, I mentioned to him that a few weeks ago, I had asked God to do a special thing in my life to warm my inner man to a greater degree than where I had been. And I told him I was surprised that it was this subject of the fear of God that did it. Sam broke out in tears. He just wept at the table. He said, that's exactly what God has done for me. Philip mentioned that blending of something there between the fear of God and the peace and the comfort and the joy that the fear of God brings. That's why it's so often mentioned. that God has made so many promises to those who fear him. And without jumping ahead, that'll be part three next Sunday, but there's something about this subject of fearing God that has just been great for my soul. And I hope it has been beneficial for you as well. I've been emotional all week, two weeks. So I'm hopeful I can maintain myself through this. Verse number 17, in 1 Peter 2, honor all, all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the king. In this verse, as we have mentioned For a few sermons now, Peter gives us a summary statement of his instructions up to verse number 16. Verse 17 is this summary. These statements, we've noticed, they are imperatives and they capsulize our duty or what we are to give to the four mentioned groups that are mentioned here or people. what we are to give to them. And it's interesting that, after all that Peter has said up to this point, that this is the summation. This is his gathering up of thoughts and stating them for us here very clearly in these four statements. The first one, we noticed honor all or all mankind. We are to give honor to all, meaning, We are to show respect to all the people that are in our small corner of the world. Wherever we live, we are to honor all that are connected to our life. We are to value others because they are made in the image of God and they possess a soul that is priceless. And we must guard our words and our conduct as Peter has taught us so that we don't hinder our witness to them. And we know that God uses his own people to draw his elect to himself. And Peter has said much about our interaction and influence on the world. And this statement summarizes our responsibilities. We are to give to all honor. knowing the possibility that our life may be the witness that God uses to draw them to salvation. The second statement he gives, the second imperative statement is directed to our relationship with our spiritual family. Again, Peter has said much about how we are to care for one another during our pilgrimage and shared time together in worship as we travel together. And at the center of our relationship with all members of our spiritual family is love. We are to give love to the brotherhood, to everyone in the brotherhood, all the time. We are to give what we've received from God, a similar kind of love, and without which we cannot preserve our unity. The third imperative, and the one we're focused on at this time, is fear God. And we've compacted our thoughts into three different sermons. We began last week, we'll do it today, and one more, and we're only scratching the surface of what this means to fear God. This focuses on our primary duty that all believers are to give to God. He summarizes everything he's taught us about our relationship with God in one word, fear God. We owe to our God, fear. Last Sunday, we focused our attention on this action of fear and considered some things about it. Why this action? Peter gives us his own response after he has said many things about the person and work of God. He's not just writing this for his hearers. He's writing this out of his own experience. And Peter gives us his own response here. He's been teaching and kind of opening up ideas and concepts about God. And it's as if he's assuming that we're all following him together in this response to God. We've heard his instruction, and the commandment doesn't take us by surprise when we hear this commandment, fear God. As if it's out of sync with all that he has said about God, but it's not, nor do we find this commandment to fear God to be grievous or burdensome to our life. As we gather up all that Peter has taught us about God, this duty to fear God makes perfect sense to us. This response is the accumulative effect of Peter's teaching. This is his own personal response from his instructions about God. And this is where we ought to be in our mind and affections. We like Peter come to the same conclusion and we stand in awe of our God that Peter has presented to us in these short 41 verses from the beginning of the letter to verse 17 of chapter two. We have been given glimpses of God's nature in these 41 verses. We have been given glimpses of his redemptive work and the glory we see of his resplendent majesty leads us to say with Peter, amen, amen. He alone is worthy of our worship and our reverence for him inspires our prayers and our thanksgiving and our obedience to him. Peter has given us his systematic theology, 12 layers, 12 times he mentions God in these 41 verses. And from it, we've gathered his theology of the person and work of God. And with Peter, we too give the same response, let us fear God. a deep reverence as we are filled with awe because of the glory of God that has been shown to us through Peter's instructions. Peter has taken us with him on a journey of contemplating what God has done for his people through the sacrificial offering of his own son for us. My goal this morning is to give special attention to the person to whom we are to give fear. We've considered the fear last week, and to the person we are to give fear, we have God. We're told in many portions of the Bible, we are not to fear man, we are not to fear any other creature. Only one deserves our fear, and that is God. We can honor the king, but we fear God. Only He deserves that kind of reverence and awe from us. And so I pray that when we've finished some of our thoughts this morning, we will join in with Peter, and we will too, like him, stand in awe with the utmost reverence for the only infinite, eternal, and majestic God, and give Him the fear that he is worthy of receiving from us today. Before we go back, however, and gather these 12 statements up and look at them again about God, I want to note a few things about this word, God, that we find in our text, in our English text. Without much effort, we can research the Greek word here. The theos is this Greek word for God, was a very common word in the Greek culture. They called all of their gods theos. There were many of them. They had a lot of them. They were all given the same name. All of their gods were recognized as being superior beings, possessing particular qualities that made them gods who deserved to be worshiped. There was one god who was seen as the father of all gods and was superior to all the gods, and his name was Zeus. While greater than all the other gods, He didn't possess all of their individual qualities of all the other gods, but he was just much greater and superior to all of them, and therefore given the title, the father of the gods. When the Greeks heard this word, theos, used by the Hebrews, they used this term, and later the Christians, as well as the Greek converts, to them the name theos was given to just another god. All gods were referred to as theos. But as we read in the New Testament, we hear angels using this term. Not just men. We hear Jesus Christ using this term. We hear the apostles using this term. They all call the one true God, Theos, who is the supreme being, the only one who possesses all the qualities of a divine being. And for the Greek, this was impossible. That's why they had to have many gods. No one being could possess all those qualities, but we know there is one being who does. It's interesting when we follow Paul's ministry in the book of Acts in chapter 17. Paul was invited to meet with the Greek philosophers, remember, and discuss with them the Christian theos, the Christian God that they heard him talk about in the marketplace, and they wanted to know more about it, and so they invited him to Mars Hill, and there asked him to address this matter. And remember, Paul points to the statue, the image, that was there made to the unknown Theos, the unknown God. The Greeks figured they probably left someone out, and so they had one more to the unknown God. And Paul preached to them about that God who was the true supreme God, who was the creator, and he alone who had the power to judge all people. And as he went on, it was a very short sermon and a great stir occurred, if you remember. He didn't get a chance to go into many points before there was a lot of confusion taking place. But God was good in that from that event, some believed and followed Paul and listened to his teachings. It's interesting that 200 years before Christ the Messiah came into the world, there were 70 or so Hebrew scribes or scholars who took the Old Testament Hebrew and they translated it into the Greek language 200 years before Christ came. It's called the Septuagint, which just refers to the 70 scholars who who made this translation. And why do I mention this? Because they, these Hebrew scholars, found the meaning of the Greek word, Theos, to be the closest in meaning to their Hebrew word, Elohim. Over 4,400 times in the Old Testament, Elohim was translated Theos. In fact, over 300 times they translated the name Jehovah into Theos. They capitalized those letters when they did it. Our English Bible, our English word God, is the only word in the English language that is equivalent to this Greek word Theos, which is equivalent to alien. And so when we read or speak the name God, we are referring to the one creator in the beginning, God, Elohim, the Theos, the author of our salvation. We call him God. And Peter mentions him by this name. And we have it translated here for us, God, into our English Bible. Twelve times, Chaos is mentioned in his instructions, initial teachings. Then he concludes and summarizes all of this instruction and calls us all, all believers, to give this God your utmost reverence. Your utmost awe. Fear God. Fear him because of who he is and what he has done for his people. Revere him with the utmost reverence. Peter has intentionally placed the name of Theos, God, 12 times throughout his instructions up to this point of our text in chapter 2 in verse 17. And inspired by what we've heard about God, we are moved to give him what he deserves, and that is fear. And so this morning what I want to do quickly, I'll have to be brief about it, but I don't know any other way than to build Peter's systematic theology of God that brings us to this point where he says, fear God, unless we go back and look quickly at the times that he mentions God. I don't want to re-preach it. We've spent a couple of years getting this far. It was hard for me just how do I summarize these statements, but I'm going to make attempt of it. And trust if some of these are not clear that I believe most of these sermons on these texts are available. The first reference that Peter gives, so let's look at Peter's development of this concept of God as he's given it to us and builds it for us. in his teaching. We go back to chapter number one and verse number two, and here we read about elect according to the foreknowledge of God, the first reference we have to him. What a statement. He is the God of our election. That in and of itself deserves reverence from us. We didn't elect ourselves. God chose us and he chose us and placed us in Christ because we were in his mind, foreknown of him. I can't comprehend that, but I'm humbled by it. And it should lead us toward that statement of Peter, fear God. In verse number three, we have a second reference to God made here, blessed be the God. We spent a lot of time on that, I remember, and I know it's had an impact on all of us. Here we are led by Peter. He is leading us into this eulogy of praise of God, and we are joining in with him. He can't contain himself. He bursts into adoration. as he begins to tell us about this great God. Blessed be God. Take his words and speak to him with great gratitude for all that he has done for you through our Lord Jesus Christ. Bless God. Bless God. Sing his praises. Tell about his greatness. Bless God. The third reference he gives is in verse 5. And he's taking us on this journey, what God the Father has done for us in verses 3 and 4, through Christ and all that he has achieved for us through him. And then in verse 5, he's working his way back to the pilgrim's life in the journey in the world. And we have to go out from our worship into the world. And he says to us, who are kept by the power of God, preserved. We will go out, yes, but we have been kept by the power of God. We are being kept. He preserves us. We stand in awe that God has made his own power available to us, kept by the power of God. And we can overcome. We can defeat the world system and its attacks against us. We can defeat the flesh and all of its lusts. We can defeat the devil who seeks our ruin by what means? The power of God. This God keeps us. This God preserves us. but we stand amazed at his wisdom. He freely dispenses his power to us, how? Through our faith. All of the power of God dispensed and channeled to his people who live in this world, who face all kinds of challenges, but he gives it through faith. Our faith. Faith that he gave to us. We didn't even generate our own faith. He gave us the gift of faith. And through that faith, he enables us to lay hold of the things that pertain to his own power to keep us through the journey of our life. And so, how well do we know and understand who God is? How well do we know and understand what he's done and continues to do for us? I believe it is Peter's own style and Paul's and the whole purpose of the Bible, the way it's laid out for us. It is designed that as we grow in the knowledge and understanding of the things of who God is and what he's done, our reverence and all for God increases. It should. It should have an impact on our affections. It's not just information for the mind. It takes hold of our affections for God and toward God. Fear is an emotion. Reverence is a feeling. And it's the knowledge of God that produces that in us. Otherwise we're just cold intellectuals. So we're humbled by the things that we learn about God. The fourth and fifth reference that he makes concerning God is found in verse 21. Another wonderful portion here from verses 18 through 21, where he's describing what he has done through his son, Jesus Christ. It describes him from before the foundation of the world. God has had this plan concerning you. You were not purchased with gold and silver, friend. You were purchased by the blood of God's son. It's a humbling reality, but it's also empowering. Verse 21, he says, who by him, speaking of Christ and what God has done through him, we believe in God. Why is it important that you believe in God? Because it is God who has told you his plans concerning you. If you don't believe in God, your faith is weak and not able to lay hold of what God has provided for you. And so as you contemplate Christ, your belief in God is strengthened to lay hold of these things. And so he says, who by him do believe in God that raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope might be in God. And it's a part of what Romans 15's about, what Paul is talking about. So our hope and faith might be in God who has done all of this for us The sixth reference is found in verse 23, another wonderful portion here. We're told here being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of an incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. Our obedience at verse 22, Peter tells us is the evidence that God's life is alive in you. Your obedience to God. God has planted the seed of his own word, life-giving word, into your soul. And the fruit and the evidence that that word has taken root and alive in you is that it bears fruit. As Jesus taught in the Gospels, our obedience to a particular thing, especially Peter, is focused on here. And it is the love that we are commanded to have for one another. Our teachings in John's Gospel right now on the upper room discourse focus on that very thing in our Sunday school. The greatest obedience, Peter is saying, that God's life is in you, is you love your brethren. How's that possible? God, God put his word in you. He birthed you by his word, and from that word, he empowers you to obey him. So Peter's just layering these concepts about God and what he's done. The seventh reference is in chapter 2, verse number 4. He says, to whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God. And here it's a reference to Christ. Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone that was chosen by God for the church. He is the living stone, that cornerstone that gives life to all those who are lively stones built upon Christ and the foundation of the apostles and prophets that make us the spiritual house of God where we gather to worship God. God did this. unusual thing that when we gather and assemble together a spiritual house is built and he dwells among us by his own spirit and ministers to us as we give to him our worship, our praise and thanksgiving. God did this. This is a phenomenal thing. He is the architect of this. And his son was chosen to be the cornerstone of his church. The eighth reference here is in verse number five of chapter two. He says, you also, speaking to believers, as lively stones, living stones, are built upon, built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. That is remarkable as well to me. acceptable to God. How is it possible for us to provide gifts to God? Human beings giving gifts to God and God in heaven finds them acceptable. How remarkable is that? He takes pleasure in your gifts to him. your songs of praises and thanksgiving. He finds them to be agreeable to him because of his son by Jesus Christ who has made that possible for us. The ninth reference here is in verse number 10, where we read some remarkable things here again in verses 9 and 10. So look at verse 9 as well. But you, brethren, are a chosen generation of people, a related kindred of people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation, a peculiar people. that you would show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. God has done this, which in time past, you were not a people. Steve spoke of that just a moment ago as Gentiles. In time past, you were not a people, but you are now the people of God. Remember, Hosea said the same words that are being stated here by Peter, and it related to the Jews who had been discarded, the rejection of them. But now, in time past, not a people, now they are a people. They've obtained mercy. The people of God, we are now the people of God. What a world of information that contains. We are now the people of God. On this earth, we are those whom God has chosen to be his people. How is it possible for the Christian life to be static? It can't be. How is it possible to be static, not move to action? How can we hear these truths and not respond with at least, at the very least, with reverence and fear of God, but to obedience as well? Can a Christian really be disinterested in spiritual things? Is that possible? Sadly, yes. Christians can decline. They can grow cold. They can grow indifferent to these glorious truths. They can have a cold heart. And some of the things we've heard about those we believe to be the people of God in years past and saw their growth and development and then to hear they've turned their back on God. These cause us to go to God with great reverence and fear and cry out to him, don't let that be me. Don't let that be me. Keep me, preserve me, renew me, strengthen me that I might continue on this path. The 10th reference he gives in verse number 12 where he mentions God. And here he says we are to use our life to glorify God through our good works. Therefore, we must live, Peter says honestly, before the Gentiles, before the world, that is, we are to live with beautiful symmetry, a balanced life, a lifestyle that honors our God. So when we think of God, Peter attaches how we should respond to knowing him and to be personally engaged in our relationship with him. What does that mean? It means that we ought to demonstrate that we are gods by our lifestyle before the world, that our influence matters. And then the 11th reference is here in chapter 2, verse 15, where he says, for so is the will of God. Our God has left all of his children specific information about his will concerning many things. God's children consider their father's will to be of interest to him, to them. Can't imagine that we would not be interested in the will of our God if we are his children. And what is his will, Peter says, is with well-doing. You silence the critics who speak against the ways of God by the way that you live. Shut their mouths by good works, doing well. who want to criticize the ways of God. And then the 12th one before he hits verse 17 is found in verse 16, where he says that we are to live as free people, not using our liberty, our Christian liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, not covering up evil within us, using our liberty, but rather using our liberty to be the servants of God. the servants of God. We are free people, free from the bondage of sin. Though we continue to struggle with sin that remains, we're free from the bondage. We don't have to live under its bondage. We are free from the judgment for our sin because Christ bore it for us. But free to do what? Free to do what? We're free to be the servants of God. bond slaves who've dedicated their life to him and his ways. This is where Peter pauses. His instruction about God summarizes his subjects for us and states our duty to God in one word, fear. Fear God. Have a utmost reverence for him, who is this person that I've been describing to you, who has done all of this for you through his only begotten son. Stand in awe of him. Regard him highly. And so let us with Peter Stand in awe and give the utmost reference to this God today, the great Theos that has been presented to us in this letter. Peter is very specific about the God that we give fear to. This is not some human imagination of God. This is not a version of God that you're comfortable with. It is this God, that Peter has described for us, whom we are to give the utmost reverence to. This presentation of God has been layered for us by Peter, line upon line, one upon the other, one idea, one thought, and the weight of the glory of God who's been revealed to us brings us to a humble position of adoration. That's what Peter felt. That's what we are to feel as well. We are overwhelmed with the reverence that is due to him. I'm grateful that Peter was himself so overwhelmed with his contemplation of the person and work of God that he paused and directed our response to what we've learned about him. And what will you say? How will we summarize his instruction? Fear God? I'm glad he paused one third of the way through this letter and caused us to respond to what we've already learned. 13 references. Why is that important? He's going to mention God 26 more times to help us continue our development of thought about who God is, what he has done and why he deserves to be feared. And why it's so often mentioned throughout his word. Why the promises of God to those who fear him, which we will look at next week, God willing, why they're so important for us to be familiar with. And I trust that what Peter has done here is just simply going to make us more attentive moving forward. We are among other things, but maybe the most important thing, hearing Peter's systematic theology of God. And I pray, may this truth about the person and work of God that he has presented to us, and everything he's going to say from this point forward, may we understand why Moses and Solomon and others have simply said, hear the conclusion to the whole matter. Let's boil it down to its basic elements of the life you are to live. Fear God and keep his commandments. These go together. We cannot say we fear God and choose to live a disobedient life. We struggle with obedience, but we don't consent to it as being right. We acknowledge it's wrong. And it's what leads us to our confession and our desire to live more wholly for him. Fear God, brethren. For those of you who know him and understand what he has done, May this be your response of great reverence and awe before him today. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for its clarity. We thank you how it has living power to influence our mind and our affections for you. We thank you for the truth concerning how we ought to respond to you as we grow in our knowledge and understanding of you. May we be improved in this area of our life today. May we be more committed to it as we move forward through Peter's letter, that every time we see the great Theos, the God, the supreme and sovereign being, that we take note of what is being said about you. Help us, we pray, by thy Spirit, in Christ's name.