1 Peter 1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to the sojourners scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the full knowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit and obedience excuse me, sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In this ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold trials. 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 honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, 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. receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you. Let's pause right there and take those ten verses this afternoon, shall we pray. Loving Father, do pray that you would Bless Your Word to our hearts and encourage us in these things, that we may see also Your great wisdom in the Gospel of the Lord, that You would call us according to Your design and will, and bring us into the sanctifying grace which You would separate us unto Yourself, and thereby make us your people. Make us a people that would praise you and that will trust in you in all things that we might learn to walk in the steps of Jesus. And so we thank you, Father, and ask for your blessing now in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, we find that Peter begins in this chapter with somewhat of a customary salutation introducing himself, saying, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the sojourners scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Of course, they may use the word strangers as well, because that is the word the King James translator has put in there. And we realize that this he is writing to, in a sense, the dysphoria, that is those who are scattered abroad. And that no doubt he has in mind his own Jewish brethren, But as well as he is writing unto the church of Jesus Christ, we realize that there could be Gentiles in view as well. For Jew and Gentile are a part of the body of Christ. For the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first, but also to the Greek. And so Peter is, of course, the Greek translation of the Aramaic Cephas, and the name Jesus gave Simon when he was called to be a disciple. And so we find that the apostle here, Peter, is addressing these who are scattered abroad throughout these five Roman provinces in Asia Minor. And he says in verse 2, elect according to the full knowledge of God the Father through the sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Now here we have all three persons of the triunity of the Godhead. We have God the Father, God the Spirit, God the Son mentioned. And so, though some would like to discredit the Trinity, it is here given all in one verse. God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, though we might put them in a slightly different order, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, nonetheless they're all given here in this passage. And he says, Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Now, of course, actually Peter becomes quite theological in his introduction. in his salutation here, as he says, elect according to the full knowledge of God, the Father. Now, we recognize that God is not a respecter of persons. God doesn't choose one over another. Yet, at the same time, in God's full knowledge, He does bring forth and elect people. We know very well that the people of Israel were called the elect people. And who did God call out of the Ur of the Chaldees? But one called Abraham. And why did He choose Abraham? Why did He elect Abraham? Well, He doesn't tell us why. God just does what He does. And it is in his divine wisdom that he does it. And so he hasn't let people elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. And we find, of course, that this idea of the foreknowledge of God is very important to his own will and purposes in salvation. And even of the Lord Jesus Christ, we find that it says here that He has begotten us again unto a lively or living hope by the resurrection in verse 3. Also, He has spoken of us as being an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled in verse 4. He speaks of us as being kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation in verse 5. Again, all of this coming together, realizing that God has a divine purpose in his work and how that he is accomplishing his purposes. So, when he says in verse 2, elect according to the full knowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, we find God is at work in his decreed will as the elect according to the full knowledge of God. God is involved in his sanctifying will or we may say progressive work of salvation as he not only then elects us but calls us unto sanctification of the spirit as the Spirit of God is at work to accomplish what God the Father sent out to do. And as we look again at verse 3, we see that Jesus was obedient in that He went to the cross for us and shed His blood upon the cross. And so the unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, and then he says, grace unto you and peace be multiplied. So verse 2 is really a very theological approach at introducing himself in what he has to say to those who are scattered abroad, to the dysphoria. to those who may be Jews and Gentiles alike, but they are scattered throughout these Roman provinces. And we find in verse 3, he then goes on to talk about the Lord Jesus, He said, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So we find that all of this great theological framework rests upon the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son, the only begotten Son who came forth from the Father. So this sanctifying work of the Spirit has set these chosen ones, as it were, apart for service, as we are sanctified or set apart by the Spirit of God. And we find that the spirit work is accomplishing its purposes through the person and work of Christ as he came to die for our sins. And so the sprinkling of the blood of Christ. Now we know the idea of sprinkling of the blood of Christ is an Old Testament concept, the sprinkling of the blood. The only time the people were sprinkled with blood was in the inauguration of the Mosaic Covenant. In Exodus chapter 24, a verse reads this, And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words. Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel, and there was under his feet, as it were, a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of the heavens in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand, and they saw God and did eat and drink." It's a heavenly vision there, and certainly God meant for the people to be sanctified unto Him, and so He sprinkled them with blood. and it was concerning the giving of the covenant. I suppose it is likewise appropriate that it is said of Jesus as well, that unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace be multiplied. And so Jesus ushered in the new covenant. The old covenant was ushered in through the blood of sprinkling of the people, the Old Covenant. The New Covenant is ushered in through Christ Himself and the sprinkling of His blood for the atonement of sin. And so He says, Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. And so blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy He hath begotten us unto a living hope or lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And so we know the significance that the resurrection of Christ is to us as believers. If it were not for the resurrection of Christ, there would not be that victory over sin and death. And we find that Christ has accomplished that for us. As we might look at 1 Corinthians 15, for instance, and how that it is a chapter on the resurrection and brings forth the importance of the resurrection in Christ as well as for the believer, that the believer might know of the the full extent of the resurrection for us, presently and in the future, that Christ had means for us to have a living hope, a living hope in Christ. And verse 4 he says, to an inheritance incorruptible, to an inheritance incorruptible. And so this new birth that we have, this new birth is a living hope and it is to an inheritance incorruptible. And the inheritance of course is sure and made steadfast because of Christ and we find that through the power of God and the resurrection that Jesus Christ himself proves himself to be the guarantor of the inheritance that we might receive a certain earnest of the Spirit, as it were, in Christ. And so this future inheritance that is spoken of here for us. So in verse 4 again, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that it fadeth not away. Well perhaps three words there you can see very easily. It's incorruptible, it's undefiled, it cannot be defiled, it cannot fade away. And so it gives us a sense of the true security or guarantee of our living hope that is in Christ. And so this new birth results in a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. And so the living hope is based upon the living resurrected Christ. the living resurrected Christ. In verse 21 he says here, who by him do believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory that your faith and hope might be in God. And so Peter uses the words living, living, and we know that this is significant to our true life in Christ and our true inheritance that we have in our Lord. And so it is a believer's hope It is sure, it is certain, it is steadfast, it is real, it is fully guaranteed by God that this inheritance should be ours because of Christ. In verse 5, he goes on to say, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. And so we find this sense of the power of God is at work here, the Didymus, the dynamite, if you will, the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. And so it's ready to be revealed, it will not fade away, it is truly a work of God on our behalf. And so this inheritance is guarded, if you will, And we will inherit this eternal life. And so we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed. completely and fully will be revealed in the last time. Well, we know we have the Word of God now, but once we see the full culmination of all things in the Word of God, we will have a full view of just how significant our salvation is in Christ. Verse 6, In this ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season. If need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold trials. Well, of course, bringing ourselves back to earth again, we We have been seeing something of the election of God, the full knowledge of God, the sanctifying work of God, the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, if you will, the living hope and the inheritance that we have, and being kept by the power of God. But he says now in verse 6, in this she greatly rejoiced. And so where is our rejoicing? It is truly in God's great plan of redemption through Christ our Lord. Though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold trials. Well, we know that there are trials. we do suffer from trials, that these trials often come upon us, certain testings, if you will, that prove us. And so these various trials would seem to refer to, perhaps, persecutions and the various kinds of circumstances in life that test our faith. They refine or they purify one's faith. And he uses the illustration here of gold being refined by fire. And so when the gold is refined, the impurities, of course, are brought to the top. There's a kind of a dross, if you will, and they are taken away. and the pure gold remains. So we find that any kind of precious metal is refined this way, silver is refined this way, gold is refined this way, but since gold is the one precious commodity which stands above others, he uses gold here as the type of our trying. trying of our faith that we might be refined, that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." Well, it's our faith that will be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus, not gold. But gold is a precious commodity and everybody wants a little bit. Most of us just keep a little bit on our finger. And the rest of it, we don't have too much of that laying around. But as far as our faith is concerned, it is more precious than gold. And so that is, we perhaps don't appreciate fully that what faith accomplishes for us as we should. But you find that the trial of your faith, it says, when it is tried, be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. And of course, it is not our praise and honor and glory, it is Jesus that we will be praising and honoring and glorifying because of what He has done for us. And our trials have been merely a means to reach a certain desired end, that we might have a purified faith. We might have a purified faith. In verse 8, Who having not seen ye love, in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Well, it is true that we do not see Jesus. We have perhaps some vision in our mind of what Jesus is like, but we do not see Him. Preferably, we see Him more for His true value as being a savior rather than a corruptible image that might be created by man, because men like to create images. But here is the climax of the experience and the joy that results from faith, that we want to see Jesus, and in some sense we do. see him. We do, in some sense, though not literally. Whom having not seen ye love, in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing, even though we don't see him physically, because of faith being purified, we believe and we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Well, the joy unspeakable is probably that part of us which doesn't know how to express words to say enough to glorify the Lord. Isaac Watts wrote the song, Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise. the glory of my God and King, etc. So he said, if I had a thousand tongues, I couldn't say enough, I couldn't praise Him enough, I couldn't give glory enough, I couldn't express the joy enough of my salvation to the Lord. And that is the sense that we have within us. What can we say? We don't know how much to say, but we know we want to say much. But we don't know. And of course many of the hymn writer has put many words to expression. Many words have been given to bring out that praise and glory of our Lord. And it is a wonderful thing to do, to do that. Whom having not seen ye love, in whom though now you see him not, yet believing, He rejoiced with joy unspeakable. And so we haven't seen Him, but we love Him. We cannot see Him, not now, but yet we believe in Him, and we rejoice in Him, and that joy is really unspeakable joy, and it is full of glory to our Lord, not to self, but to the Lord. Verse 9, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. And so this is kind of like the culmination of all things, that through Christ our Savior, we receive the end of our faith, which is the salvation of our souls. And so, though we know that we have come to faith Christ now, and that we affirm that we are saved, the full glorification and culmination of that salvation will not be until we see the Lord face to face, until we go to be with the Lord. And so there are many others who have gone to be with the Lord and have realized more than what we have. all the heroes of the faith of the Bible, all those Christians of the first century that suffered for Christ, all the apostles who died as martyrs for Jesus, or even John, who did not die as a martyr, but was persecuted greatly and saw visions unspeakable, and many believers that you and I have known in our lifetime, who have also gone on before us unto faith, in faith unto the Lord Jesus Christ, have a better expression of the full joy of their salvation than what we have, because they are there with the Lord. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and the apostle looked forward to that time when he would. The Apostle Paul did, and I'm certain Peter did as well. But he says, even now we go through certain trials and sufferings, but they are precious in the sight of God. Verse 10, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you. Well, there were many prophets, of course, in the Old Testament. And they did prophesy concerning salvation, and they did search diligently of that salvation. We might think of Isaiah, when he wrote Isaiah 53, certainly he was writing things far beyond his understanding, but yet he glorified God through those very things. And what about the psalmist in Psalm 22, in his great extolling of God and of his sufferings upon the cross? There were many such prophets who wrote concerning those things, and we see them popping up in the Scriptures and the Psalms. and in the words of the prophets, he says, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently. There was some sense they didn't know what they were writing at the same time they wrote. And of course it proved to be much concerning the coming of Christ or the sacrifice of Christ or the sufferings of Christ. Who prophesied of the grace unto you. Now of course the words that should come are supplied But you could read it, of the grace unto you. Grace unto you. Well, it wasn't grace unto them, because the Lord did not come in their day. But He would come in a future day. And He came in our day, when that is unto our time, unto our age, as it were the age of grace. He came into that time where he was revealed, born of a virgin, that he came into this world by divine revelation and that he was born to die for the sins of the world. And Simeon and Anna of course experienced a glimpse of that coming when Jesus was presented at the temple And we find that there were others who of course caught a glimpse of Jesus in his messianic type and personhood. And of course the apostles themselves, the disciples themselves saw that, who prophesied of the grace unto you, prophesied of the grace unto you. So that grace that should come That grace that should be revealed in time. And so we find that, again, Peter echoed the teachings of Christ. In Matthew chapter 13 verse 17, for verily I say unto you that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. And so Jesus goes into the parable of the sower. That's in Matthew chapter 13 verse 17. So we find that the suffering and the glory are in view, but also our great inheritance, which has come by the way of God the Father, God the Spirit, and God the Son. Shall we pray? Loving Father, we do thank you for your word to us this afternoon. Pray, Father, for your Holy Spirit to continue to reveal to us much more. Pray also, Lord, that the sanctifying work of the Spirit of God and the trials of our faith may reveal greater truths of how we have come to this place through the sprinkling of the blood of Christ. We give thanks and praise to you, our Father, in all these blessings, in Jesus' name. Amen.