Because of man’s free-will, God knew before He created there was a chance mankind could rebel and so (“according to His foreknowledge”) put in place a plan to graciously give those who were repentant and seeking Him: 1) a new identity – i.e. to choose (“elect”) them to become “exiles” on earth and have heaven as their new home (exile [def.] a person who has is no longer welcomed in their place of origin) (1:1), 2) a new purpose – i.e. to set them apart from the world as those living in obedience to and receiving forgiveness from His Son (“Jesus Christ”) (1:2, See also 1:19-20 – Notice, forgiveness thru the sending and sacrifice of Jesus was a part of God’s pre-Creation contingency plan [“He was foreknown before the foundation of the world”]).
The components of the gospel that are the same in the New Testament as they were in the Old Testament are: 1) the paradigm of maintaining what you gain through faithfulness in testing and loyalty through time (1:2a w/Exo 24:7-8; 1:5-[7]-9 “pistis” = faithfulness), 2) the promise of God’s favor (“grace”), peace and future inheritance to those who do (1:2b w/Num 6:22-24; 1:4 w/), 3) the prerequisite of being born into God’s family to receive the “inheritance” (1:3-4 w/Gen 17:7).
The “prophesied” or “predicted” difference between the Old Covenant and New Covenant gospel was christological not soteriological (1:10-12; As further support consider: “Angels” here clearly refers to holy angels whose interest, therefore, can only be christological [how the world and their battle against the powers of darkness wb changed through “the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories” – i.e. His past victory, present rule and future return]).
Just like the holy angels, we (too) should be motivated and more focused because of Christ’s past victory, present rule, and future return (1:13).
Holy conduct is the obligation established by the knowledge of: 1) our calling to be like God (1:14-16), 2) the fearful final judgment that will be impartial and according to our deeds (17), 3) how precious, merciful and glorious is the person and ransom of Christ on our behalf (1:18-21).
“Earnestly” (putting much effort into) loving (showing affection for/being loyal to/spending time w/) our Christian bros/sis with a “sincere” (not fake) love from a “pure heart” (not possessing wrong motives) (1:22; 1Jo 3:11-20): 1) is the kind of faithful obedience to “the truth” (or “holy conduct” – 1:15) that maintains the purification gained through the blood of Christ (1:22 w/18-19), 2) is congruent w/the message (the “living and abiding word of God” that “remains forever”) that was preached to us as a requirement of the gospel (or “good news”) and our new birth (1:23-25), 3) means getting rid/repenting of (“put[ting] away”) all “malice” (intent to harm/penalize w/o righteous reason), “deceit” (intent to manipulate), “hypocrisy” (appearing to be something you are not), “envy” (being jealous of someone or of what they have) and “slander” (speaking/thinking untruths about another) (2:1).
Committing to sincerely love our Christian bros/sis is how we are born (1:22-2:1) and seeking after (“long[ing] for”) spiritual things (the “good” things of “the Lord”) is how we grow up (2:2-3).
Coming to Christ means also becoming a part of His church (“spiritual house”, “holy priesthood”), the place: 1) where acceptable service (or “sacrifices” to) God can be offered (2:4-5), 2) of “honor” for true Christians but a stumbling block for those who are false (or those who “disobey the word”) (2:6-8; It is not Christ as the stone in an of Himself that causes them to stumble but the fact that they are required to be a part of the spiritual house this “cornerstone” supports and was established to build; they have “rejected” being “builders”), 3) that changes our identity from people w/o God (those who were “not a people”, who lived in “darkness” and were w/o “mercy”) to God’s people (a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession”, those “called into His marvelous light” and receiving His “mercy”) (2:9-10).
As a means of promoting evangelism and justice – as well as reducing the number of idiots in the world, our holy or “honorable” conduct is to be evident to unbelievers (2:12-15) through our: 1) submission to “every human institution” including those who are unjust in their exercise of authority (2:13-15, 18; Notice that God does not limit our submission only to divine institutions such as the church), 2) sacrifice of freedom for the sake of God (or as “servants of God”) (2:16), 3) unwavering loyalty to: God (“fear”), those in authority (“honor”) and our bros/sis in the covenant community (“love”) (2:17).
In our continued and respectful submission to human authorities who are unjust we are to remember (or be “mindful”) that this is an important: 1) way we return the favor of God’s favor (or “grace”) to us (2:19-20), 2) aspect of our calling (or obligation to God) and imitation of Christ (2:21), 3) part of how we demonstrate our trust in God to care for us (2:23), 4) piece in our fight to be free from the practice of sin (2:24-25 w/4:1-2).
The evangelism that happens when Christians submit to human authorities – especially those who are unjust, (“likewise”) includes the respectful submission of wives to unjust husbands (3:1-2).
A wife’s ability to attract both the heart of her husband and God is not found in the “external” adornments of this world, but the “imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit” that accompanies full submission to her husband and trust in God (3:3-6).
Husbands are to (“likewise”) respond to the unjust behavior of their wives by seeking to understand and disciple/deliver her from her “weaker” emotional state/way of thinking (This is how they show “honor to the woman” as “heirs…of the grace of life”) (3:7a; Women are [in general] emotional thinkers and need help in learning how to leave that behind so as to think/make decisions more like God – i.e. w/o their emotions).
It is a waste of time for husbands to pray who avoid seeking to understand, discipling and delivering their wives’ from their emotional weakness/way of thinking (3:7b).
A person who is “righteous” (3:12) or “zealous for good” (3:13) is: 1) characterized by mental agreement (“unity of mind”), sympathy and loyalty (“brotherly love”), forgiveness (“a tender heart”), teachableness (“a humble mind”), justice/righteousness, truth and “peace” (3:8-11), 2) on the path that leads to a blessed and long life (3:10 w/Psa 34:12-16), 3) receiving what they request from the Lord (3:12), 4) receiving a blessing from God even when they suffer (3:13-14a).
The way to “honor Christ the Lord as holy” w/those authorities who persecute us (causes us to suffer bc of our Faith) is through: 1) never being fearful or troubled (3:14), 2) always being prepared to proclaim Christ’s victory and bring them to God (3:14b-15a), 3) remaining submissive, respectful and in possession of a good conscience (3:15b-17), 4) constantly remembering Christ as our example: He suffered the ultimate persecution, submitted to the point of death, brought us to God and proclaimed His victory (to His enemies – the demons bound in Tartarus since the days of Noah) (3:19-20 w/2Pe 2:4 – “Tartarus”; Considered together, these texts seem to indicate that a massive demonic campaign was in play among humanity at the time of Noah. The Fall had gained global momentum necessitating a massive Flood in order to save humanity from spiritual suicide. Christ’s victory at the cross and subsequent resurrection indicated that the God’s war against the powers of evil was over. The days of Stan’s kingdom were numbered. The salvation of God’s people and the future were secure).
That we receive Christ’s salvation through the waters of baptism (i.e. baptismal regeneration) is proven by the fact that it corresponds to what God did in saving Noah and his family through water (3:20-21a).
The waters of baptism do not remove the “dirt of the body” (i.e. the death of the flesh) but rather the dirt/death of our soul since this is the place that God accepts our faith and grants our plea for the forgiveness of sins through the victorious work of Christ (our “appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”) (3:21-22; BC of sin we like Christ are “put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” – see again v18).
The right perspective on persecution (suffering in the flesh for righteousness): this is what God wants since it will cause us to no longer live for sin or this world (4:1-2).
Six lifestyle choices, practices or pursuits that allow us to easily identify who is living for the world versus living for God (4:3): 1) hedonism (“sensuality” = focused on pleasing the flesh; pleasure-seeker; focused on fun; e.g. most kids), 2) secularism (“passion” = caught up in the excitement of the world or committed to what the world finds worthy; e.g. girls crazy over music, guys crazy over a sports or cars; people caring about what’s going on in Hollywood or crazy about movies and social media; people caught up in having lots of money or status symbols), 3) gluttony (“drunkenness” = overindulgence or excessiveness; not functioning in moderation; not living or operating within your means or according to what is respectable or healthy; e.g. going overboard or overdoing it w/your adornment, diet, money or time), 4) bacchanalism (“orgies [NAS = carousing], drinking parties” = wild, celebratory events promoting illicit sexual behavior and hard drinking; e.g. rock concerts, keg parties, nightclubs), 5) antinomianism/anarchism (“lawless idolatry” = viewing and operating in relation to authority and laws/rules w/disdain, distrust and opposition; e.g. America today).
Those who pressure us with worldly or sinful things should be pressured w/: 1) the scary truth that God will judge them for such behavior (4:4-5), 2) their need to receive the gospel and live for God so that the judgment in regard to their sin will only take place in this life (their spirits being delivered/saved from such punishment in the next) (4:6).
As Christians we (too) need to keep the end-game in mind as that which most determines our: 1) daily disposition (4:7), 2) relationships w/those in the church (4:8-11).
As previously discussed, we should not, therefore “our fitness for heaven (4:12 w/19), 2) they signal a future blessing when in the form of persecution (4:13-16), 3) they represent God’s justice for our sins in this life so that we can go to heaven later (4:17-18; This is the area where we should be pursuing the least amount of suffering – see again v15).be surprised” or think “something strange” is happening to us when the trials come since: 1) they are necessary as a means of testing
Journaling: 1 Peter 1-4
February 14, 2021 • R. Scott Jarrett • 1 Peter 1, 1 Peter 2, 1 Peter 3, 1 Peter 4
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