Christian Message
By WARD PIMLEY
Pastor, Journalist, Author
1 Peter 1 is a message of hope.
God used the life witness of the Apostle Peter, and his words in this letter, to provide encouragement to First Century Christians, who were facing torture, beatings, ostracism, and even death for practicing their faith.
God is using the same words to encourage believers in the Twenty-First Century to keep us faithful as we journey through our own burdens.
We do not need to be defeated by our cares, pains, worries, disappointments, or discouragement.
God
Peter wrote his letter to the dispersed church when early believers faced persecution for their new faith, which taught that the Jewish Messiah had arrived at the time and place prophesied in the Person of Jesus.
This new teaching was designed to give men and women hope for a better life, even if that better life was not on Earth but in Heaven.
Even though life in modern Western countries is relatively tame and comfortable, God’s words through Peter’s writing give men and women comfort today, as well.
However, please remember, the special blessing of salvation is accorded only to those who accept Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
In this lesson, we focus on Chapter 1 and five lessons we can draw from Peter’s writing.
FIRST POINT: Heaven Awaits
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In God’s great mercy, He has caused us to be born again into a living hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. – 1 Peter 1:3 NCV
SUMMARY SENTENCE: The Bible reminds us that through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has caused those of us who believe in Him to be born again; as a result, He has promised us an eternal inheritance with Him in Heaven.
First Century Christians faced persecution, torture, even death. Peter wrote to encourage them by giving them a guaranteed vision of a better future, in Heaven.
That guarantee was based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
LESSON: We also face trials and tribulations, but “better days” await us; if not here, then in Heaven.
SECOND POINT: Battling Regret
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials … yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” – 1 Peter 1:8 BSB
SUMMARY SENTENCE: God assures us through the Apostle Peter that He wants only good things for His children, and so the primary goal of His calling on our lives is not to grant us our every wish but to prepare us for glory, for an eternity with Him.
Life doesn’t always work out the way we want it to.
God wants us to keep our focus on Him, not on ourselves.
That promise sustains us through our troubles.
Jesus told us that same point when He urged us to take heart because He has overcome the world.
This Earth is not our home, just our temporary residence. Our eternal home is where we go after our lives here are over.
- Heaven
- Hell
LESSON: We rejoice through our troubles. For a short time, if necessary, we may suffer grief, but God is with us, giving us hope. The Bible says our trials, as we go through them successfully, make us stronger in our faith.
THIRD POINT: Our Time
“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him … now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” – 1 Peter 1:8a-9 BSB
SUMMARY SENTENCE: Our test of faith as Christ followers is to believe that Jesus Christ is who He said He is, even though we have not seen Him in bodily form.
Who did He say He is?
The Son of Man
– The Son of God
– The Messiah
– Our Redeemer
– Our Savior.
LESSON: The Lord has made His presence known through His creation; that creation not only includes the universe, but all life, including us! We are His creation.
FOURTH POINT: Always Relevant
“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because ‘All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.’ Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” – 1 Peter 1:22-25 NKJV
SUMMARY SENTENCE: God’s Word is universal and eternal. As such, it is as fresh, active, and relevant today as it was yesterday and 2,000 to 3,000 years ago, when it was written. No church should distort that Word to make it “relevant” or “fit in” with secular culture. His Word will remain just as relevant tomorrow.
Peter reminds us that, as believers, our souls have been transformed from corruptible seed to incorruptible.
LESSON: We are encouraged to avoid false teaching and keep our focus on God’s promise of a glorious future with Him.
FIFTH POINT: Holy Trinity
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad … according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” – 1 Peter 1:1-2 CSB
SUMMARY SENTENCE: Peter references the Holy Trinity to a people conditioned to believe in the unity or oneness of God.
We might miss Peter’s reference to the Trinity if we glide quickly over the text. Here is how he defines it:
- Foreknowledge of God the Father,
- Sanctifying work of the [Holy] Spirit,
- Sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ.
TRANSLATION: God the Father knows the future; God the Holy Spirit guides us [teaches us]; and God the Son cleanses us [forgives or purifies] with His shed blood.
Together, the Three-in-One God:
- Knows us
- Grows us
- Forgives us
- Prepares us — for eternity with Him.
LESSON: We are a chosen people, and those of us who have come to believe God is who He says He is, and that His promises are solid, are promised eternal life. You can bet your life on that – your eternal life.
CLOSING WORDS
That is the message of hope brought to us in 1 Peter 1.
God used this letter of the Apostle Peter to give encouragement to First Century believers, who faced torture and death.
God uses those same words to encourage Twenty First Century believers through our life trials.
Our study of 1 Peter 1 shows us that:
- God promises us better days ahead (Heaven)
- We should keep our focus not on ourselves but on our Lord
- We are blessed to believe Him even though we have not seen Him
- We can rest confidently in God’s promises
- Why? Because His Word is eternal, universal, and relevant to the time … and will remain eternal, universal, and relevant right up until the day Jesus returns.
Believe it … and be blessed.
~PRAYER~
HOLY FATHER, Our Redeemer – We come to You this day – and every day – confessing our weakness, confessing our sin nature, confessing how lost we are. We are like sheep without a Shepherd.
Lead us, Lord, into humility so we will admit to our sin, pray to You and seek Your face. Lord, we lay claim to Your promise that if we do those things, You will honor our prayers by forgiving us and healing us.
May those of us who need to turn our lives over to Your hands and have not done so, do so now; and may those of us who have turned our lives over to You be encouraged and energized in renewal of our faith and our commitment.
We thank You, Lord, for Your many blessings on us ~ many of which we don’t even know ~ but we know You are a good God who loves to give good gifts to His children.
In our gratitude, Lord, we ask that You strengthen us to be salt and light to a disbelieving world hungry for Your presence.
We lift this prayer in Jesus’ name. AMEN
Ward's Words | BY WARD PIMLEY 