This article is the first in a series I will be doing over the next few months entitled ‘Digging into Peter’! I will be examining the books of 1 and 2 Peter chapter by chapter and by small bites of verses at a time. Each week’s article will be on one chapter.
I do pray that you will be as spiritually fulfilled, encouraged and edified in reading them as I have been in writing them!
God bless you all!
Background to the Books of 1 & 2 Peter
The historical indications are is that these two books of the Bible were written when the Apostle Peter was in Rome. The second letter was written after Peter had been imprisoned by the Roman Emperor Nero! Peter was writing to the Church, both Jew and Gentile converts, that had been scattered throughout Asia due to persecution by the Romans and the Jewish Zealots of the Law. Peter was writing to those that were exiled in what today is known as Northwest Turkey.
Both letters are written in a very warm, loving and caring way. A true example of a shepherd nurturing his flock!
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
In his opening address to the Church in verses 1 and 2 above, Peter encourages the Church right from the start by reminding them that they are the elect, the chosen ones of God because they have received Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and are now walking in obedience to him in the sanctification work of the Holy Spirit.
He also pronounces a blessing of the Lord’s grace and peace over them. Something we should always remember to do whenever we gather together! It supernaturally paves the way for the Holy Spirit to move upon us.
Born Again to a Living Hope
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
In verse 3 Peter reminds us that our salvation, being born again, comes only from the great love mercy of the Father and through His son Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only name by which we can be saved.
Acts 4:11-12 (NLT)
11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,
‘The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’[Ps 118:22]
12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Jesus is the firstborn from among the dead, His was the first everlasting resurrection and it is through this, the resurrection of Jesus, that we obtain our resurrection hope when He returns.
Colossians 1:18 (NIV)
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Philippians 3:20-21
20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
In verse 4 Peter tells us that our inheritance and heavenly citizenship, like that of Jesus, is to be clothed in an imperishable, undefiled (without spot or blemish) and unfading (everlasting) body which is kept in heaven for us until His return. Then we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye! As born again believers, we will be immediately clothed in our imperishable, heavenly bodies to spend eternity with the Father. Death has lost its sting!
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (NIV)
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. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[Isaiah 25:8]
In verses 5-9 Peter focuses on our faith and salvation in Christ Jesus, which is sustained and guarded by God’s power through the Holy Spirit. Verse 5 tells us that it is only this kind of faith that will keep us until Jesus returns. The Holy Spirit is the key to our safe-guarding - beings led by Him and living life in the Spirit is a necessity for us!
In verse 6 we are encouraged to rejoice in our faith even though we will go through life’s trials and tribulations because they help us to develop endurance! This is the kind of endurance we need to embrace as mature Christians!
Romans 5:3 (NLT)
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.
James 1:2-3 (NLT)
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
In verse 7 we are told that when we go through the trials and tribulations of life it is to test the genuineness of our faith! Do we really trust in Jesus and are we firmly rooted in the Word, or will we fall by the wayside? Do we live life in the Spirit? The more we read and study the Word, the more we put the Word into practice, the stronger we become in our faith in Christ Jesus and we become mature, continually Spirit filled Christians.
Romans 10:17 (NIV)
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
In verse 8 Peter commends those of us who have not seen Jesus yet love Him anyway, we rejoice in Him with inexpressible joy and in this way, we are filled with His glory! Be encouraged by this my dear readers - Peter is talking to you too!
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
In verse 10-12 Peter tells us something about the Old Testament prophets, the prophets who prophesied about the coming of Jesus and the love, mercy and grace that God would reveal to us through His suffering and crucifixion, that today’s Church doesn’t realise, and this is the fact that their prophecies were serving the Church that Christ would establish, including the Church today today! Prophecy fulfilled reveals the truth and authenticity of the Bible that nobody can deny!
2 Peter 1:21 (NIV)
For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
In verse 13-21 Peter is exhorting us to prepare our minds for action and for us to be holy just as God is holy. He tells us to be sober minded which means to remain cool, calm and collected in our Christian walk and to stay focused on the hope we have in Jesus and not be distracted by the things of the world that are around us and the trials of day-to-day life!
As God’s obedient children we are instructed not to return to our former ways but to always conduct ourselves in the reverent fear of God, because we belong to God and we were ransomed from sin by the precious blood of Jesus, His Son, which gives us everlasting life in Heaven and saves us from eternal death in Hell.
Through Jesus we are born-again and receive everlasting life and so our hope is in God alone and our lives to Him are more precious than gold or silver. Because of the blood of Jesus, we become spotless and sinless in the eyes of God!
As God's children we are called to love one another
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” (Isaiah 40:6)
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
In verses 22-25 Peter very appropriately ends this first chapter urging us to ‘love one another earnestly from a pure heart!’
Something in verse 22 that I find very interesting is the fact that two different kinds of love are mentioned right next to each other, just separated by a comma in our modern day grammar.
The first use of the word in this verse relates to brotherly love, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love,” The Greek word or this kind of love is ‘philadelphia’ and it means to have a proper affectionate love for fellow believers – our brothers and sister in Christ.
The second word for love follows directly after the use of the first love, “love one another earnestly from a pure heart,.” The Greek word used for this love is the word ‘agapó’ and is very closely related to the ‘agapé’ love of God used in 1 John 4:8 (and in many other New Testament verses when the writers are talking about God’s love), “God is love.”
1 John 4:8 (NIV)
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Now, let’s take a look at the full significance of why these two words for love are used here.
I believe Peter is saying to us that because we have ‘purified’ our souls (the flesh) by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour – being born-again, we are now able to love our brothers and sisters in Christ in the correct manner as human beings.
Then he takes this love to the next level and encourages us to love each other with the love of God. This is a pure spiritual love, a love that is selfless unconditional and requires nothing in return.
This is the love that Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 13. This is the love of God that we receive from Him through continually being filled by the Holy Spirit. This is an empowering love! It is this love in us that draws people to Jesus for their salvation and it is a love that never fails!
This is a love that we can only emulate through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us – living life in the Spirit - being continually filled with the Holy Spirit.
In verse 22 Peter tells us that we have a pure heart because we are born again of imperishable seed by the living word of God that is alive within us through the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The Word and the Spirit alive within us working in perfect unity so that in all we do we will do in love and this will bring glory to Jesus!
And last but by no means least, in verse 24 Peter quotes from Isaiah 46:10 and reminds us that all flesh like flowers, withers away but the Word of God lasts forever!
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father
In the name of Jesus, I pray that by your Holy Spirit, you would strengthen and increase my faith in Christ Jesus. Help me Lord to be holy as you are holy. Strengthen me, Lord, to meditate on your Word day and night and help me to endure the trials and tribulations of this world so that I can fulfil the purpose that you created me for and remain faithful to you until the end of my life on earth. Amen!
My prayer for you, dear reader, is that while you are reading this article that the Holy Spirit will reveal His Rhema word for you on a much greater personal level. Amen.
Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (NIV)
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
This is a love that we can only emulate through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us – living life in the Spirit - being continually filled with the Holy Spirit.
In verse 22 Peter tells us that we have a pure heart because we are born again of imperishable seed by the living word of God that is alive within us through the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The Word and the Spirit alive within us working in perfect unity so that in all we do we will do in love and this will bring glory to Jesus!
Ephesians 1:13 (NIV)
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
John 6:63 (NLT)
The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
And last but by no means least, in verse 24 Peter quotes from Isaiah 46:10 and reminds us that all flesh like flowers, withers away but the Word of God lasts forever!
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father
In the name of Jesus, I pray that by your Holy Spirit, you would strengthen and increase my faith in Christ Jesus. Help me Lord to be holy as you are holy. Strengthen me, Lord, to meditate on your Word day and night and help me to endure the trials and tribulations of this world so that I can fulfil the purpose that you created me for and remain faithful to you until the end of my life on earth. Amen!
To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!
Jesus the Name above all names!
Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!
Thank you, Ray. It is true we can only love our brothers (as we should) once we have the love of Christ indwelling us. Yet, to exceed that to love with the sacrificial love with which Christ loves us illustrates the depth of work He endeavours to carry out in our lives. Oh, how we need a new heart!
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