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| Chapter 1 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. 3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 ¶ In this ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations, 7 that the trial of your faith (being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tested with fire) might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen, ye love. In Him, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 10 ¶ Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, and have prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them had signified when He testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. 12 Unto them it was revealed that they ministered, not unto themselves, but unto us the things which are now reported unto you by those who have preached the Gospel unto you, with the Holy Spirit sent down from Heaven--things which the angels desire to look into. 13 ¶ Therefore gird up the loins of your mind; be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not fashion yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance, 15 but as He who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of living, 16 because it is written: "Be ye holy, for I am holy." 17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. 18 For ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, from your vain way of living which ye received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, 20 who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. 21 By Him ye believe in God, who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God. 22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently, 23 being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever; 24 ¶ for "all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; 25 but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever." And this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you. |
v2,3 Peter starts by describing the Christians birth. The miracle all begins with God, He makes the choice in the beginning, Eph 1:3-4. This took place sometime in eternity, and we knew nothing about it until God chose to show us in His Word. The choice had nothing to do with us or anything we had done because we had still not been born. We cannot explain it but God see’s all things, past, present and future, we are creatures who live in time, God does not for He is eternal. Rom 11:33-36. However,"the foreknowledge of God " does not mean that The Father was just able to know the future and that we would believe, the Father chose us. "To foreknow" in the Bible means ‘to love a person in a personal way.’ 1 Cor 8:3; John 10:14; Matt 7:23; Ps 1:6. The Plan of Salvation has more than the Fathers love, even if it was before we were born(elected), it involves the death and resurrection of Christ and the Holy Spirits work in convicting (telling of Christ) the sinner and bring him to faith in Christ. 2 Thess 2:13-14. It takes all three of the God head to bring salvation, we have been chosen by the Father, the price has been paid for by the Son, and set apart by the Spirit. All three must be involved in a persons salvation. v3-5 As Christians we have a living hope because of the Fathers actions and Word, made possible by the Son of God. We have an inheritance (the right to claim) as children of this King, we share in His inheritance. Rom 8:17-18; Eph 1:9-12; Sharing the Glory of Christ. John 17:22-24. This inheritance is incorruptible (cannot be destroyed), undefiled (made bad,stained). It cannot grow old or fade away as it is eternal. This inheritance is protected by God and awaits our collection, kept and reserved in heaven for those who are saved, awaiting the day when Jesus Christ the Lord returns in glory. v6-7 We are being prepared (made ready) for this glory, Peter uses the word ‘trial’ rather than ‘tribulation’ (pain, suffering) as he was talking about general problems for Christians. These trials may be for "a season," a little while, showing that God may chose to put us, or allow us to go through a time of testing or trials. The trials may be as a result of disobedience of God’s Will, or due to a need of spiritual growth, or even possible to help in preventing the person sinning. What ever happens God knows best, any trials are to the glory of God. Peter says that the trials may be "manifold" (many types, many ‘coloured’), no matter what the trial may be the grace of God will meet them. Trials will cause "heaviness," experience pain or grief, such as Matt 26:37, or sadness for departed saints 1 Thess 4:13. v7 Peter refers to the work of a goldsmith, the gold is put in a fire to burn off the rubbish and impurities to make the best objects, the furnace may be ‘burning’ until the return of Christ, when He returns we will see the full glory. Rom 8:17,18. v8-12 We can enjoy the joys of glory now. There are directions we must go even though we may have trials. v8 Love Christ: our love is not based upon seeing as we have not seen Him physically, it is a spiritual love from reading and accepting the Word of God, the Holy Spirit being poured out into us Rom 5:5. Trust in Christ. We live by faith not sight, whatever happens. Rom 8:28 We know, we must give all to God in faith Rom 10:17. We must rejoice in Jesus: As we go through our trials we may not be able to rejoice in our own life but put on Christ and take His joy. See Paul’s trial 2 Cor 12:1-11. v9 Receive: Believe and receive, this passage does not say "will receive." The promise is for today. v10-12 God’s plan was revealed to the prophets but they did not see that He was to die and suffer first before glory of the Messiah. The Jewish teachers were looking for a Messiah which would lead them into battle and conquer the world and set up the kingdom as prophesied to David. God told the prophets they were preparing the way for the future. Between the suffering Christ and the Glorified Christ and new kingdom there is a church age, the ‘mystery’ that was reveal at Pentecost. Even the angels are watching with interest as God works out His plan. 1 Cor 4:9; Eph 3:10. Remember that Christ is in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. Luke 24:25-27. Keeping Clean 1 Peter 1:13-21. We now move onto ‘walking a holy life,’ a different life to the world, holy and pure. 1 John 3:3. But this is difficult in this world who are against those who seek God. v13 The "revelation of Jesus Christ," a Christian lives for the future, we know what He has promised, ‘pull your thoughts together’ have an organized mind so you are able to ‘run’ away from the world demands, also make sure you should have a "sober" mind, a steady, controlled mind making sure you seek and follow the right spiritual balance, not concentrating on one area like prophecy but all area’s of scripture. You will then find the grace of God in your life. 1 Peter 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8. v14-15 God’s Holiness: We have inherited a nature of our new Parent, God, He is holy, as His children so must we be. 2 Peter 1:4. We were once children who disobeyed, Peter encourages the readers who have been ‘called’ by God to obey and avoid our old desires, be like God. Rom 1:5; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 John 1:5-10. v16 It is written: - the Word of God, the mind of God, the sword for battle. v17 God’s judgement: What judgement is Peter talking about? It is the judgement of a believers life, their ‘works,’ not their salvation. Salvation should bring ‘good works’ Titus 1:16; Rom 5:1-10; Rom 14:10-12; 2 Cor 5:9-10. We must live our lives to His glory and not hurt Him in any way by the way we live, live in reverence and godly fear. Note that God has no "respect of person," He shows no favorites to anyone. Rom 2:11. v18-21 The Love of God: Peter first reminds the readers of their salvation, how it happened and the cost. ‘Redeemed’ had a special meaning to the people of New Testament time, many were slaves but they could obtain freedom by being ‘redeemed,’ either they had enough of their own money to pay the price or someone else paid the price for their freedom. Redemption was a precious thing in those days. v19 Peter further reminds them who paid the price for them, no amount of money could set a sinner free only the blood of Christ. We find the doctrine of sacrifice for others throughout the Old Testament into the New Testament with "Behold the Lamb of God" John 1:29. v20-21 The death of Christ was not an accident, it was part of God’s plan from the beginning of time. Acts 2:23. All we have to do is believe and put our hope in the promise of God. One in Christ 1 Peter 22-25. These thoughts continue into the next chapter. We have all experienced the same birth through faith in Jesus, the Word of God, so we should love each other with a pure heart. We all have the same Holy Spirit, with unfailing love for us. Peter used two words for love in this passage philadelphia, ‘brotherly love’ and agape, a sacrificial Godlike love. The things man does will fail, just like the grass fades and dies, the best man can do is like a flower which soon dies but God’s love is for eternity, His Word will be for ever and through this Word we were saved. |
Easy English Translation
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