Laying the Foundation for Joy
1 Peter Chapter
1:1-12
The Apostle Peter
(the Rock) was the son of a man named Jonas who was also a fisherman
and Peter took up the occupation of "fisherman" on the Sea
of Tiberias (Galilee). Peter and his brother Andrew were partners of
John and James. Notice how God had placed these men in this place to
be used of the Lord.
Although Peter may
not have been as rich as James and John, he did have hired servants
and his position did bring him in contact with men of education which
Peter probably lacked so Peter was not as worldly as some.
Act 4:13 Now when
they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were
unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge
of them, that they had been with Jesus.
We should keep in
mind Peter and John and the Apostles were called ignorant not because
they had no education but only because they had not attended a
rabbinical school.
Peter had first made
his home in Bethsaida but then he moved to Capernaum to a home
somewhat larger than the average homes of that day.
This home may have
belonged to Peter's mother in law.
Peter left all these
things behind to follow the Lord Jesus Christ!
Peter would have
spoken in a form of Aramaic probably aligned with the Syriac.
If you have a Syriac
Bible translated into English, besides the “thous” and the
“thees” it is almost identical to the King James Bible.
The Hebrew language
was used mainly by those who had been trained in the rabbinical
schools.
We will notice that
the Lord Jesus Christ had no problems at teaching and understanding
any of the language differences.
We can better
understand that phrase "cloven tongues" as the Apostles new
only one language the slang version of the Syriac, yet when they
spoke everyone understood in their own language.
Act 2:3 And there
appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon
each of them.
Act 2:4 And they
were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Act 2:5 And there
were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation
under heaven.
So let's see Peter
after he had received the Holy Spirit:
*****1Pe 1:1 Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
Who was Peter
writing to?
Peter was writing to
the Christian Jews and other Christians who were scattered because of
persecution!
Act 8:1 And Saul
was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great
persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were
all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria,
except the apostles.
Some of these
Christians did find a way to stay in Jerusalem and some of the
Apostles elected to stay in Jerusalem for them and they too met with
death.
Peter had three
names used by the Lord.
Peter was called
Simon or Simeon which means he had been circumsized according to the
Laws of Moses.
He was called Cephas
(a stone) given to him by Jesus Christ, our Lord.
He was called Peter,
which is the Greek equivalent of the Syriac name Cephas of which he
was also called.
I believe Jesus will
give us a new name according to how He thinks of us, just as He did
to Peter.
As Christians we are
all strangers in this world, because Heaven is our true home!
*****1Pe 1:2 Elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through
sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the
blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
Who are the elect?
These are all the Body of Christ, called the Saints of God. Not as
the Roman Catholic do, but all those who have accepted Jesus Christ
as their personal Savior after being called of God and Baptized into
the family of the Church.
Father God calls
each of these His Jewels!
Mal_3:17 And they
shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day "when I make
up my jewels"; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own
son that serveth him.
How do we know we
are the elect?
We have been and are
continuously being "sanctified" by the Holy Spirit!
We have been washed
in the blood of Jesus!
Election is the
source of salvation!
Again election is
being called of God,
Saying yes to the
truth of Jesus, washed in His blood,
Being filled with
the Holy Spirit!
Having a personal
relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!
Being the elect
means we are being obedient to the Word of God and connected to God
by His GRACE!
God's Riches At
Christ's Expense
You see if God loves
believers this much, to actually choose us out of this world and
elect us to be His very own chosen people, then God will look after
us and take extreme care for us!
No matter what else
is going on in this world God will provide for His elect children!
God has
foreknowledge which means no matter how far we can see into our
future God has already seen it!
God knows exactly
what all men will do and when they will do it, but God knows the
past, the present and the future, all at the same time!
God sent the Lord
Jesus Christ to die for our sins!
Act 2:23 Him, being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye
have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Act 2:24 Whom God
hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not
possible that he should be holden of it.
God knew the
response of the people to the Messiah then and He knows the response
of the people to the second coming of the Messiah and most of all God
knows those who love Him!
This is the very
reason that we can read the Word of God and know it is true!
The foreknowledge of
God is a wonderful truth of God that we can depend upon as believers!
The Book of
Revelation is all about reveling our future and the future of the
Jewish people!
Why did God allow
all the things to happen in the past if God knew all these things?
God wants a people,
"of their own free will", to choose to live with Him
throughout eternity!
You see, God is
willing to go through the pains of rejection in order that some, a
small remnant will choose to live with Him forever!
God knows that love,
His love, is His greatest trait and most of the world would never
understand His love!
Rom 9:22 What if
God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured
with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that
he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy,
which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24 Even us,
whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
Though all we see
now is hate in our world, this does not negate the fact that love is
the greatest force that exist upon this earth, of course besides our
prayers.
Nothing teaches us
love better than the words given by the Holy Spirit to the Apostle
John.
1Jn 4:7 Beloved,
let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that
loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1Jn 4:8 He that
loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1Jn 4:9 In this was
manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only
begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
1Jn 4:10 Herein is
love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son
to be the propitiation for our sins.
God is determined to
see these things through till completion!
We may not
understand everything in the plan of God, but we do not know the
things God knows.
God just ask us to
trust Him and this trust is called "Faith"!
We must understand
that all things do work according to the purpose of God!
Rom 8:28 And we
know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to his purpose.
We must also know
that God has great plans for those who have chosen to spend eternity
with His Son!
1Co 2:9 But as it
is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love him.
Again we see that
word "love".
Remember what is
God's purpose?
God is seeking all
those who freely choose the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal
Savior and choose to live with Him throughout eternity!
Once we have chosen
to do this thing, God begins the sanctification process by sending
the Holy Spirit to live within us therefore sealing us as His
children.
2Co 1:22 Who hath
also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye
also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed
with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 4:30 And grieve
not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption.
God would not have
repeated Himself these 3 times if this was not His intention and His
truth!
The most important
thing we can do is to respond to the Holy Spirit when He begins His
work within us!
It is by the Holy
Spirit that we are set apart for salvation!
It is by the Holy
Spirit we are trained to live a life in Heaven that is totally
different than this life we have on earth.
In the end when we
are completely sanctified, we will be "glorified", ready to
be obedient to the Lord throughout all eternity!
You see God wants
the very best for us!
2Co 7:1 Having
therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
the fear of God.
You see this is the
way "grace" is multiplied toward God children!
It is those chosen
of God who are washed with the blood of Jesus, filled and sealed with
the Holy Spirit and sanctified who are the very ones who bless God!
*****1Pe 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively
hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4 To an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away,
reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 Who are
kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be
revealed in the last time.
There is no way to
improve on what the Holy Spirit is teaching us in this passage and
Peter knew it when He penned it!
We must only
believe!
God does not just
give us hope, but He gives us a living hope, which means it is not a
dead, lifeless hope, that is in this world and those who trust the
world.
,
The hope that we had
when we were in the world!
Our hope is in the
promise of God which says we will live with Him forever once He calls
us home!
The source of that
hope is in God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
We should say Lord
because He is our Lord!
Jesus Christ is our
Lord!
He is Jesus the
Carpenter of Nazareth!
He is Christ the
Messiah of God was the promised Deliverer!
When we follow the
Lord Jesus Christ, God becomes our Father as He is the Father of
Jesus. Two parts of the Holy Triunity, adding to the Holy Spirit
which makes the three parts, the three persons!
How are we blessed
of God?
We are the blessed
of God's entire creation!
We are blessed in
His Son Jesus!
We are blessed by
the Angels!
We are blessed by
God's called ministers!
We are blessed by
the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ!
We are blessed by
the Word of God!
We are blessed in
His promises!
We are blessed in
His salvation.
We are in blessed in
being adopted into His family!
We are blessed in
being at peace while we remain in this world!
All these things are
the most wonderful things we can know while we are alive!
Eternal life exists
nowhere else certainly not on this world!
Eternal life can
only come by and through the Lord Jesus Christ!
Jesus Christ is
perfect, and it is by Jesus Christ we can have the perfect victory!
We have been
begotten which means God has made us to be "new creatures".
All we see in this
world is destruction and death.
We are born as babes
in an evil and wicked land, we live in a cruel world in a life that
soon seems too short and then we die!
By the Lord Jesus
Christ we are "born again" into a new life that will not be
on this earth but in the Glory Land!
This great blessing
of God came by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ!
This great blessing
came by the "resurrection" of Christ Jesus showing that He
is even Lord over death!
Just so we can get a
glimpse of our blessings, verse 4, we are born again to an
inheritance, a shared inheritance with the Lord Jesus Christ!
What is so good
about our inheritance? It is incorruptible, it is undefiled, and it
will be there when we get to Heaven.
It cannot perish!
Things on earth come as new and fade with oldness but not our
inheritance!
Who makes sure these
things are ready when we get to Heaven?
Joh 14:1 Let not
your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Joh 14:2 In my
Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I
go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4 And
whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
We know that the
Lord has to power to do all these things!
2Co 5:5 Now he that
hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given
unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
2Co 5:6 Therefore
we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the
body, we are absent from the Lord:
We know that
whatever comes against us and whatever lies the Devil tells our
Father, Jesus is right there to intercede on our behalf!
Joh 10:28 And I
give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My
Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able
to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my
Father are one.
God hides us from
trouble that we do not even know about:
Psa 27:5 For in the
time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of
his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
This is the kind of
power that gives us the hope of the truth of our salvation!
It is in all these
things that we can rejoice in the truth of God!
*****1Pe 1:6
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye
are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
We know that life is
full of trials and temptations! Anyone but a child can look around
and see that this true.
To go along with
these things there are the sins of omission and sins of commission as
we are all sinners.
Life can be harsh
many times, and this is just as true for believers and unbelievers.
The believer can add to these things the hatred for Jesus Christ that
is many times taken out on His believers!
We must understand
that this world we live in operates opposite of God! The world will
hate those who choose to believe what God has to say!
Peter is writing to
all believers.
These believers in
the day of Peter had to flee from their homes because of their love
for Jesus Christ.
Jesus said these
trials and temptations would only last for a season.
Because all these
things are true, then we can rejoice because this is just another way
that we know the Word of God is true!
Php 4:4 Rejoice in
the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
Php 4:5 Let your
moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Php 4:6 Be careful
for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7 And the
peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus.
The darkness of our
world is a fact and we should not deny it!
The two things that
hold us together should be our love for our Savior and "faith"
in the things He has done to bring to us His gift of salvation.
*****1Pe 1:7 That
the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise
and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
The fact is, God
will allow certain trials to test our "faith"!
God knows what He is
going to do all the time, but He will test us so that we can know if
we are for real.
When we know we are
real, we can do the work God has ask us to do, without regret.
We must come to
ourselves knowing that we are for real and then dedicate ourselves to
the Lord!
It is these trials
and temptations that will draw us closer to the Lord!
While we are "Born
Again" we share our new man with our old life, and we can have
rejoicing in the new man and heaviness of temptation in our old man!
Isa 48:10 Behold, I
have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the
furnace of affliction.
Another thing we
must understand is, as long as God is chastening us, it shows His
great love for us!
2Co 4:17 For our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
2Co 4:18 While we
look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are
not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things
which are not seen are eternal.
Heaven and the
things of Heaven are eternal!
*****1Pe 1:8 Whom
having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet
believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1Pe 1:9 Receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Today my heart and
my faith are my eyes. If is cannot lord the Lord without seeing Him,
how can I say I have "faith"?
It is because I can
see my Lord in my heart, that I can defeat my trials and temptations!
I also know that if
I go against my God in any way, I am committing treason!
If we die without
God, we will be exiled and cut off from God forever.
Go back and read
about God's creations, because none of these things will be in Hell,
except the unbeliever!
God created Hell for
the unholy trio and the fallen angels, only the unbelievers will join
them there of their own choice!
Each of them will
have gotten an opportunity to come to the Lord but rejected His
offer!
We all have the
strength to conquer our trials and temptations, but many Christians
walk around defeated. A defeated Christian is of no value to the work
of God!
It is the "Love
of Jesus Christ" that gives us strength to claim victory over
all obstacles upon this earth!
When we fail because
of disobedience we are rebelling against our Lord!
If we love Christ
enough, we will take a stand with Him!
If our faith is
real, we will stand with Him!
If we have that
unspeakable joy of our salvation, we will stand with the Lord!
Joh 15:9 As the
Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Joh 15:10 If ye
keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept
my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
Joh 15:11 These
things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and
that your joy might be full.
Joh 15:12 This is
my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Joh 15:13 Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends.
Joh 15:14 Ye are my
friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Resting at the end
of our faith is our salvation!
*****1Pe 1:10 Of
which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently,
who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
Even today, the
practicing Jews and the true Muslim are looking for a Messiah, but
both are looking for some man to claim to be the Messiah.
Jesus Christ was and
is, God in the flesh and He is coming again in strength and power.
They do not
understand a personal relationship with God.
To the Jews, they
will see the truth at that time!
To the Muslim, they
will be disappointed because they serve a false god who has no power
to do anything!
Salvation is having
a close personal relationship with Jehovah God, peace restored like
the first days of Adam, when God walked with him before sin entered
into this world.
Lucifer had already
sinned in Heaven, and he by temptation, caused Eve to sin who was the
cause of Adam's sin!
The prophets of God
could not see that personal relationship that God wants with us all.
The plan of God is
so marvelous, that it hides in plain sight for all those who reject
it's truth!
Tit 3:4 But after
that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5 Not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he
shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being
justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope
of eternal life.
The prophets
searched each other's writings to see what they could find about
"Grace" and "Salvation".
*****1Pe 1:11
Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was
in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of
Christ, and the glory that should follow.
We already know that
the Spirit God would guide these prophets in any manner He chose to
reveal the truth of God.
The prophets
revealed that the Messiah would come into the world to die.
The Messiah would
take the guilt of the sin of man and bear the judgment of all men's
sin!
Isa 53:4 Surely he
hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we
are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we
like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
The Jews had missed
this Prophecy.
Then the Messiah
would be raised from the dead and be exalted to the throne of God.
Isa 25:8 He will
swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears
from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away
from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Isa 25:9 And it
shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for
him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him,
we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
These are not the
only Scriptures, there are others, but we can see that Peter now knew
the truth, and all the Jews should have known this truth, but the
Priests, the Levites, rejected these truths.
*****1Pe 1:12 Unto
whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did
minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that
have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from
heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
God has caused
"Salvation" to be destined to all future believers in the
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the truth of the Scriptures!
Upon a profession of
faith in the work of the Lord Jesus, The Messiah, the Holy Spirit
would immediately take up residence in each believer and this one
thing the angels cannot understand.
Angels as powerful
as they are will never know Holy Ghost conviction and neither will
they ever have the "fruit of the Spirit"!
As Christians we are
no longer in bondage to this world
Gal 4:3 Even so we,
when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the
world:
Gal 4:4 But when
the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a
woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5 To redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of
sons.
Gal 4:6 And because
ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your
hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:7 Wherefore
thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of
God through Christ.
Salvation has come
to each and every believer, no matter who they are or where they come
from!
It costs us so
little, but the rewards are so great, that it takes a fool to reject
the truth of God.
It takes a fool to
reject the Lord Jesus Christ!
Amen
Let’s Pray!
