1 Peter (Program #15) -Christian Life and Its Sufferings (2)

The word “grace” bears tremendous significance in the New Testament, yet like so many biblical terms, it has become almost a clichéd to many people and it’s been greatly devalued in the understanding of most Christians.  God’s unmerited favor has become the most common definition among believers.   While this does convey a certain  limited sense of the word, it’s obvious by considering Scriptures that this definition is grossly inadequate.

Consider Peter’s use of the word “grace” in 1 Peter 2:19-20 “for this is grace” he writes “if anyone, because of a consciousness of God, bears sorrows by suffering unjustly.  For what glory is it if, while sinning and being buffeted, you endure? But if, while doing good and suffering, you endure, this is grace with God.“

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1 Peter (Program #14) -Growth in Life and Its Results (4)

The Bible in both the Old Testament and New tells us that man was formed of the dust of the ground and even as living creatures, we all are but clay in the hands of God. Yet the apostle Peter in his epistles boldly declares that we have become living stones useful in building up God’s house.  Chapter 2:5 of his first epistle says “You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”  I think we can all easily relate to being lumps of clay but it may be more difficult for us to relate to being living stones, useful for God’s building and precious.   How is it that such a transformation from clay to precious stone is possible?  Peter in both his words and by example of his own spiritual progress gives us a marvelous pattern.

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1 Peter (Program #13) -Growth in Life and Its Results (3)

After establishing a marvelous, organic metaphor at the beginning of chapter 2 in his first epistle concerning our enjoyment of Christ in His word as the nourishing milk is to a new born babe, the apostle Peter suddenly changes the metaphor to something mineral; he picks up the thought of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah even quoting him in chapter 28:16 “Therefore thus says The Lord Jehovah: Indeed I lay a stone in Zion as a foundation, A tested stone, A precious cornerstone as a foundation firmly established; He who believes will not hasten away.”  Peter shows us that the same Christ who is the very milk in the word to the believers is also this stone; a tested, precious cornerstone for the foundation of God’s building.  But Peter then goes even further than Isaiah and points out that this stone chose by God and precious can also be a stone of stumbling or even a fence to those who don’t believe.

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1 Peter (Program #12) -Growth in Life and Its Results (2)

At times the apostle Peter’s way of writing in his New Testament epistles seems very strange.  Though his content is quite high, he breaks many rules of composition by mixing metaphors and awkward use of grammar.   For example in chapter 2 of 1 Peter he describes the spiritual nourishment in the word of God by comparing it to the nourishing milk of a nursing mother for her new born babe.  But then without any apparent transition the metaphor changes to Christ being a stone for the building up of God’s house.  As a work of literature we might have a ground to criticize Peter, but as a conveyor of rich spiritual content, we will see today that Peter’s writing is full of the divine thought and deep experiential enlightenment.

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1 Peter (Program #11) -Growth in Life and Its Results (1)

What is it to grow spiritually?  Well, many think that to grow as a Christian is simply to acquire more Scriptural knowledge through diligent study of the Bible.  But genuine spiritual growth as apostle Peter indicates in his first epistle, is to take the word of God not merely as doctrinal knowledge but rather, as food as nourishment.  In fact he likens nourishment in the Word to milk, nourishing a growing infant.  This picture in 1 Peter confirms the genuine growth in the Christian life is organic and not academic.

We have been regenerated with a divine life of God.  And just as new born babe, our first requirement is to take the real nourishing supply so this divine life can grow within us.

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1 Peter (Program #10) -The Full Salvation of the Triune God and Its Issues (8)

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we accept the Bible as truth.  John 17 says specifically, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”  And so when we come to verses such as John 3:16 for example, “for God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son.”  We take that as truth without question.  But are we satisfied merely to accept the objective fact that God surely loves us or have we  in fact experienced His love in a personal and subjective way? 

The apostle Peter was one, whom no doubt knew the objective teaching of God’s love.  But it must have been his deep and personal experience and appreciation of the loving Savior that prompted him to write in the deeply and experiential manner that we find in his New Testament epistles.

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1 Peter (Program #9) -The Full Salvation of the Triune God and Its Issues (7)

In chapter one of his epistle Peter contrasts our former way of living or literally our manner of life which was vain with our present manner of life, we should be holy. Vain of course means empty, without meaning.

Well, all of us must surely confess that our life before we were regenerated were categorized by sin. But Peter points out that even more our life were vain, empty and without purpose. Yet we had been called to a holy manner of life.

14: “..Do not be fashioned,” Peter writes, “according to the former lusts in your ignorance;”

15 “But according to the Holy One who called you, you yourselves also be holy in all your manner of life;”

How can we have such a living, such a manner of life that becomes holy? Peter’s further word in this chapter becomes a very great help to us.

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1 Peter (Program #8) -The Full Salvation of the Triune God and Its Issues (6)

All genuine Christian experience is based on truth. The truth or reality convey in Scripture forms the base or foundation of all our real spiritual experience. Peter’s first epistle in the New Testament very much illustrates this point. The first twelve verses in chapter one lay out some of the great truth of the whole Bible.  Such as our being chosen according to the foreknowledge of God and our being regenerated unto a living hope and unto an incorruptible, undefiled and unfading inheritance, an inheritance that Peter shows us should be our portion, not just in eternity but also today. The in verse thirteen Peter goes on to tell us that based upon all these rich divine truths, we should gird up the loins of our mind and soberly set our hope on the grace that is ours at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

If we take Peter’s way, if we give ourselves to the word in this way, we will find that our own love and experience of the Lord as well as our love for one another will be greatly enriched and strengthened as well.

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1 Peter (Program #7) – Peter’s Well-Speaking Concerning the Triune God

The apostle Peter opens his first epistle with a long and truly marvelous blessing of the Triune God.  This blessing occupies ten of the twelves verses and these verses are full of wonderful, spiritual expressions based not on mere praise to God for His mighty works of creation and even salvation but are full of Peter’s well-speaking of all three persons of the God-head concerning what God has done and will do subjectively in all of His chosen ones.

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1 Peter (Program #6) – The Full Salvation of the Triune God and Its Issues (4)

Even though Peter’s entire contribution to the New Testament only comprises eight chapters, the scope of his writing was extremely broad.  In his first epistle he incorporates both the prophecies of the ancient Old Testament prophets and the preaching and teaching of the New Testament apostles and links both of these in the Holy Spirit’s application of God’s full salvation upon His chosen people.

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