Always Be Ready To Sing, Stand, and Search

• 1. 1 Peter 1:3-5

3 Blessed be (“praised be” [REB], “all praise to” [NLT], “let us give thanks to” [TEV]) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy (“in his great mercy” [NIV], “because of his great mercy” [CSB]) has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected (“shielded” [NIV], “being guarded” [CSB]) by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

• 1. 1. How does Peter begin this section? He begins by using a prayer format called a birakhah.
        1. OT example: ¹³ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen.” (Ps 41:13, CSB)
        2. First-century example: “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who bringest forth bread from the earth.”
        3. Throughout the Scriptures, God’s mighty, merciful, and gracious acts of salvation are often followed by a response of praise and thanksgiving: E.g., Ex. 15 (Moses, Miriam, and the Israelites after the parting of the Red Sea); Lk. 1 (Mary and Zechariah)

• Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. (Ps. 98:1, ESV)

• 1. 2. What marvelous thing has God done for us? In His great mercy, He has begotten us, that is, fathered us anew. Through His word/gospel (1Pt. 1:23-24), He has graciously put his “imperishable seed” (1 Pt. 1:23) into us—His own life and nature, His own “DNA,” through Spirit (cf. Gn. 1). This sets us apart from the world (1 Pt. 1:2, 16), and makes us look strange to it (1 Pt. 4:2). We have been newly conceived and thereby been brought into a hope that is “living”—life-giving, active, alive, resilient, moving, growing, and unable to be killed, etc. It is “a hope which is able to survive the various trials which Christians, especially Peter’s readers, experience.”
     3. How has God brought us into this living hope? By raising Jesus from the dead. Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:23). Jesus’ own resurrection in real time and history assures us that our hope in the age to come and in the resurrection to come is dependable, reliable, and well-founded (2 Th. 2:16). After being raised, Jesus ascended to the Father’s right hand and poured out the Spirit (Ac. 2:32-33), which is a “down payment” and assurance of our inheritance to come (Eph. 1:14).
     4. What is this hope and conception unto? Resurrection and immortality in the Messiah’s coming kingdom.

⁵⁰ I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (1 Cor. 15:50-51, NIV)

• 1. 5. Why do we need such guarding/protection until the Second Coming? Because until that time followers of Jesus will face tests (1 Pt. 1:6-7), unjust suffering (1 Pt. 2:19-20, 14; 3:14-17), accusations and slander (1 Pt. 3:16), and opposition and assaults from the devil, who wants to devour us (1 Pt. 5:8). We need the power of God in order to follow Jesus’ own example (1 Pt. 2:21)

• 1. 1 Peter 1:6-9

6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith (“the genuineness of your faith” [NIV], “the proven character of your faith” [CSB], “the tested genuineness of your faith” [ESV]), being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, 9 and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome (“the end result” [NIV], “the goal” [CSB], “what your trust is aiming at” [CJB]) of your faith the salvation of your souls.

• 1. 1. What is the purpose of trials prior to the Second Coming? To demonstrate the genuineness of our faith.

⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. (1 Pt. 1:7a, NLT)

• 1. 2. What value does God place on genuine faith and loyalty/love even though we don’t see Jesus at present? It is extremely precious and valuable to him.

So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world (cf. Rom. 2:7, 29; 1 Co. 4:5). (1 Pt. 1:7b, NLT)

• ¹⁰ Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Rev. 2:10, NIV [84])
• ²⁹ Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” (Jn. 20:29, CSB)

• 1. 3. What is the outcome of our faith? The salvation of our souls. One quick technical point: In the Bible, “soul” sometimes refers to a part of the inner self in contrast to the body (see, e.g., 1 Th. 5:23), and sometimes to the person as a whole (see, e.g., Rom. 2:9). Here the latter is in view: “…namely, your deliverance” (CJB), “your salvation” (CEB).

• 1. 1 Peter 1:10-12

10 As to this salvation (cf. vv. 4 and 9 above), the prophets who prophesied of the grace (“this gracious salvation” [NLT]) that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries (“searched intently and with the greatest care” [NIV]), 11 seeking to know what person or time (“the time and circumstances” [NIV]; “what era or specific time” [ISV]) the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. 

• 1. 1. What did those who prophesied about the promised salvation do, and what does this reveal about them and about the value and sanctity of the gospel? They investigated them and searched them out. They were hungry. Their entire hope was set on God’s promised salvation. The gospel and the gracious salvation concerning which the prophets prophesied are of immeasurable worth, more worthy than anything else of our time, energy, thought, passion, and investment.

¹⁷ For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see but didn’t see them, to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them. (Mt. 13:17, NIV)

• 1. 2. What did they want to know? They wanted to know the times and circumstances of both the sufferings of the Christ and the glories to come. For example:
        1. Isaiah

³ He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. (Is. 53:3, NIV)

¹ Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord shines over you.^{, 2} For look, darkness will cover the earth, and total darkness the peoples; but the Lord will shine over you, and his glory will appear over you. (Is. 60:1-2, CSB)

• 1. 2. 2. Daniel

⁸ I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?” ⁹ He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end. (Dan. 12:8-9, NIV)