So our sermon passage today is going to be 1 Peter chapter 1, mostly focused on verses 20 and 21.
! But I like to read the broader passage because it's just glorious. It's wonderful.
So I read this trusting it's God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient word.
Let me read the verses 20 and 21 first so you can get the focus.
He, indeed, Jesus Christ, was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through him believe in God,
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God.
This will be our focus for today, but hear this glorious passage. Let's start at verse 1 through 21.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy,
has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes,
though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
whom, having not seen you love, though now you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Of this salvation, the prophets have inquired and searched carefully,
who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
searching what or in what manner of time the Spirit of Christ, who was in them,
was indicating when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
To them it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us,
they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you,
through those who have preached the gospel to you,
by the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven,
things into which angels desire to look into.
Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind,
be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace
that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts,
as in your ignorance, but as he who called you is holy,
you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written,
Be holy, for I am holy.
And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work,
conduct yourselves through the time of your stay here in fear,
knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold
from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ,
as a lamb without blemish or spot,
he indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifest in these last times for you,
who through him believe in God,
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory
so that your faith and hope are in God.
The word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Please be seated.
Lord, our minds are so limited.
We confess that you are the incomprehensible,
eternal, triune God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that we worship
because you have manifested yourself through Jesus Christ.
Lord, we pray that by your spirit,
you will manifest yourself in Jesus Christ once more today to your people.
In power we ask, Lord, for your glory.
Amen.
There's only so much that we can care about.
Isn't that true?
You start to feel saturated,
and at some point it's just,
I can't care about that football team or this other thing
because there's only so much we as human beings can care about.
So if that's true,
and this is the time where it's the end of a year,
we're hearing like the best of 2025,
everybody's trying to evaluate this past year.
My encouragement to myself and maybe to you is this.
Life is too short for us to take our cues from the world
on what we should care about.
Best-selling books,
most-watched video links,
most-read blog posts.
Ultimately, we're listening to the world,
and the heart is deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked.
So to an extent,
who cares, right?
Who cares what people were watching or reading in 2025?
As fallen humans,
we'll always find voices
that will tickle our fallen, twisted, itching ears.
That's not where we want to take the cues from
on what we care about.
Let's consider a better perspective
about what you and I should care about.
Consider the perspective
of those heavenly beings that are immortal,
created by God.
I'm talking about angels.
These angels got to watch God
form the world with His voice.
They got to watch God destroy
that version of earth with the flood.
And they've observed our species
over every generation.
Can we take our cues from the angels
about what we should care about
and pay attention to?
Think about angels' minds.
They're not restricted
like our human minds are.
We are part of fallen flesh
and we're human beings.
So I imagine those angels,
if they even do this,
but I imagine if they were to listen
to what the latest tech genius
of 2025 has to say,
and they're spirits,
they don't have bodies
and they're tireless,
so they wouldn't actually do this.
But if they could,
they would yawn.
Angels could care less about that.
Think about the other things
that make the headlines.
You know, fighting over economics
or geopolitics.
It's like a boring rerun
from previous centuries.
But if you look at the angels'
response to what God does
in redemptive history,
this is where we get a glimpse
and the angels are singing
about the birth of Jesus.
And look at our passage today.
Look at verse 10.
The Old Testament prophets,
inspired by the Spirit of Christ,
they foretold something magnificent.
It was the suffering
and the glory of God the Son
in the flesh.
That's what got the attention
of the angels.
God revealed that His gospel
was being foretold
through the Scriptures
for our benefit
in these last times.
The church,
those of us who have Scripture,
what is it that captures
the attention of the angels?
It's the life and work
of Jesus Christ.
Look at verse 12.
This is what angels
desire to look into.
So for the month of December,
with God's help,
and if He'll allow us,
our focus will be to do just that.
To gaze at the person
of Jesus Christ.
The theme of this series
is the only mediator.
And our focus for today
is very narrow
on the person of Jesus.
For today,
I encourage you to take comfort
in your Savior's ordination.
Take comfort
in your Savior's ordination.
Look at verse 20
one more time.
1 Peter chapter 1, verse 20.
For He indeed,
Jesus Christ,
was foreknown
or foreordained
before the foundation
of the world.
That's our encouragement today.
We'll ask three questions
to try to appreciate
this glorious revelation
that God has given.
The first one is,
when?
When did God do this?
The second one is,
why?
Why did God do this?
And then finally,
for whom?
When, why, and for whom?
Let's begin with the first one.
When was Jesus Christ
ordained for His ministry
as our mediator
and Savior.
We're told that He was
foreordained in verse 20
before the foundation
of the world.
Peter uses this word
that you can break down
the roots in the prefix
to it would be pre-known.
Jesus Christ was pre-known
of God
before the foundation
of the world.
To know someone
in this sense
is to know them
as a person,
is to know them
in relation.
So the person
of Jesus Christ
was foreknown,
foreordained
in His office
by the triune God
before the foundation
of the world.
See, it's way more
than a mere prediction
of what God would do.
It's a prescription.
It means that
God has predetermined,
He has appointed Christ
beforehand.
We just read,
in the unity
of our triune God,
Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit,
our infinitely holy God,
triune Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit,
in His infinite wisdom
decreed that God the Son
would take on
to Himself
a body
in order to unite
a people to God.
What a glorious truth.
Thomas Watson commented,
God's counsel
is the cause
of all things.
The thoughts of a man
may be frustrated,
but the counsel of God
cannot.
He does not consult
with us.
God consults
with Himself.
This illustration
was helpful to me.
Maybe it would be
to you as well.
We see some of these
massive trees out here,
you know,
cottonwood trees,
or picture like
a massive oak
40 feet up into the air.
Before that tree
got to be so tall
and magnificent,
it started as
a small little acorn
or a seed.
The entire genetic code
of this magnificent tree,
its height,
the leaf shape,
the strength,
it's already written
into that tiny acorn.
The tree was foreordained
inside the seed,
you could say,
before it ever
breaks the soil.
Similarly,
the tree of our salvation,
the wonderful decree of God,
the plan of our salvation
by the cross
and the resurrection
of Jesus,
were in the mind of God
before creation itself
even began.
God chose Jesus Christ
to reveal His glory.
There's an old hymn
and it has this line
that Christ,
be my first elect,
God said,
then chose our souls
in Christ our head
before He gave
the mountains birth
or laid foundations
for the earth.
Brothers and sisters,
how in you can I,
how could we be cold
towards such a wise God?
Think about how
God's love to save us
has burned hotter
than the sun
since before God
even created the sun.
God has never had
a cold moment
toward you
in eternity.
This is an ancient love
found in God Himself,
His very essence.
Let His love for us
in ordaining Christ
for this work
be a great comfort.
Our confession of faith
affirms this.
God was pleased
in His eternal purpose
to choose
and ordain
the Lord Jesus,
His only begotten Son,
to be the mediator
between God
and man.
Ephesians 1, 4, and 5
says that God
chose us
in Jesus Christ
before the foundation
of the world
that we should be holy
and without blame
before Him.
In love He predestined us
for adoption
in His beloved
Jesus Christ.
The enemy wants
to accuse you and me
and one of the fears
that can creep up
in our minds
is that
when I sin
this is a surprise
to God
or that
my sin is too terrible
or too recent
for God to forgive.
Let's look
at Christ.
Remember how God
foreordained Christ
for you and me.
The remedy
for our sin
was prepared
before the world
even began.
God's grace
is eternal
for His people.
You and I
can't out-sin
God's decree
that predates
our own existence.
Revelation 13, 8
says that
Jesus Christ
is the Lamb
slain
from the foundation
of the world.
This is such great news.
It reveals to us
that the glorious truth
that our God
our Creator
our Savior
He is not reactionary.
The plan of salvation
is older
than the problem
of sin.
God didn't
discover
that you and I
are sinners
and we're lost
and then scrambled
to find a Savior.
That would contradict
what our passage
says very clearly today.
God appointed
Jesus Christ
as Savior
first.
He knew
that you and I
would be lost
and that would be
a great display
of His grace
to us
in Jesus Christ.
As someone put it,
before the first
star was kindled
or the first
mountain was raised,
the Father
had already
identified
His Son
as the Lamb.
Let this expand
our minds.
We receive the gospel
with a childlike faith
and yet our salvation
is not a fragile thing
held together
by our own
understanding even.
Certainly not
our daily performance.
It is anchored
in the bedrock
of God Himself
from all eternity.
Our salvation,
the eternal destiny
of our souls
was designed
by God.
He's the architect
of it all
from beginning
to end.
This is when
Jesus Christ
was ordained.
It's before
the foundation
of the world.
Second question,
why was Jesus
ordained?
Would you look
at verse 9?
we're told
that Jesus
was ordained
for the salvation
of our souls,
for the salvation
of His people.
This is the purpose
for which
He came
as God's servant.
Ordination
implies
an ordainer
and a person
being ordained.
And so this
points us
to the agreement
between
Father,
Son,
sealed by
the Holy Spirit.
Throughout church
history it's been
called the covenant
of redemption.
God's eternal decree
to make peace
with man
through Jesus,
God the Son,
who would become
the servant.
In Isaiah 42,
1,
we're given
a beautiful insight
into the why
behind our salvation.
It reads,
Behold,
from God's perspective,
my servant
whom I uphold,
my elect one
in whom
my soul
delights.
See,
God the Father
delights
in His Son
who will serve
as the servant,
the one to accomplish
this plan
of salvation.
God was
pleased
to save
through Jesus Christ
and Jesus was
pleased
to become
a servant
of God.
The Father
looked upon
the Son
and delighted
to appoint Him
as the captain
of our salvation.
salvation.
So the why
Jesus was ordained,
it was motivated
by God's pure,
unsurpressible,
overflowing,
divine love.
The very essence
of who God is.
God delights
in your salvation.
God is not stingy
with His mercy.
He is bound
by His own delight
and promised
to provide salvation
for all who will
come to Christ.
He wants to save you
more than you want
to be saved.
Take joy in the fact
that saving you
and saving me
was not a chore
for God.
It was His eternal
delight
in His Son.
It's God's pleasure
to save.
The beautiful thing
we see in this passage
is that God's
overflowing love
and joy
and delight,
He shares it
with His people.
It becomes our own.
The love of God
the Father
for God the Son
overflows
by God the Spirit
onto those
who God saves.
Look at 1 Peter
chapter 1
verses 8 and 9.
At the revelation
of Jesus Christ
whom,
having not seen,
so by faith
you love.
That's a work
that only the Spirit
can do.
Though now
you do not see Him
yet believing,
you rejoice
with joy
inexpressible
and full
of glory.
You know this joy
that God's promise
is true.
You truly
are saved
in Jesus Christ.
Watson pointed out,
Christ took
our flesh
upon Him
that He might
take our sins
upon Him.
That's why He did it.
The hymn captures
this as well.
Oh, the sweet
wonders of that cross
where God the Savior
loved and died.
Her noblest life
my spirit
draws
from His
dear wounds
and bleeding side.
God the Son
and our second
London Confession
chapter 8
paragraph 1
encourages us,
God was pleased
according to the
covenant made
between the
triune God
to set Christ
forth for us
as our mediator.
See, there's only
one possible
mediator between
God and man
and this is the
mediator that you
and I most need.
It's God the Son
Himself.
Why did God
send His Son
to save us?
Because of His
overflowing mercy.
Because He is
love.
In Revelation,
we get this glorious
picture of living
waters
flowing from
God and the Lamb,
flowing from
this gospel
revealed through
Jesus Christ.
And here in
Colorado,
if we drive to
the mountains
this time of year,
some of the
waterfalls are
starting to freeze
and they look
beautiful.
You can still
see some snow
melting as we
have those warm
days and it's
rushing down.
It can get to
the bottom of a
mountain and it
can be a mighty
white water rapids.
And those rivers
begin in a hidden
spring usually high
up in the mountains
where we can't even
see it or find
the source.
This is like the
eternal covenant
between Father,
Son,
and Spirit.
And the river
down below is the
visible result.
But the pressure
and the life
and the source
are high above,
unseen by those
of us down here
in the valley.
The water of life
flows to us
only because
of the love
between Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit
covenanting
to save a people
through Jesus Christ,
the mediator,
in the heights
of heaven.
we look around
us and we know
this in our own
lives that many
are dying of
spiritual thirst.
And if we step
one half step
back away from
Christ,
from the source,
we feel that
spiritual thirst
and we need to
plunge back in,
don't we?
God's love flows
through the abundance
of the blood of
Jesus.
There's no limit.
It's more precious
than anything in
this world.
It's the precious
blood of the Lamb
that was slain
before the foundation
of the world.
It will never run out.
Jesus Christ
has been lifted up
and He's offered
freely.
Come and drink.
Don't let the enemy
trick us again.
The greatest
possible pleasures
for those of us
that God made
in His image
can only be found
in God's will.
Think of this thought.
we're told here
it's the delight
of God
to set forth Jesus.
Jesus is His beloved
in whom we are chosen.
If the Father
delights in the Son
that much,
you and I
can only
experience such joy
if we delight
in the Son
also.
This is God's will.
Delight in His Son.
There's no other
source of happiness.
forgiveness.
This is the why
Christ was ordained.
The third question,
which sinners
was Jesus Christ
foreordained
to save?
Which sinners
was Jesus Christ
foreordained
to save?
We get this
in our whole passage,
but let's begin
by looking at
verse 20.
We're told that
Jesus was manifest
in these last times
for you.
keep reading
into verse 21.
For you
who through Him
believed in God.
Which sinners
is Christ
ordained to save?
Those who believe
in Jesus.
He is manifest.
The Spirit
reveals Him
to you and me
who behold Him
by faith
and receive Christ
as God
has freely given Him.
And through Jesus
we believe
in this glorious
gospel
of God.
Isn't God
so kind?
See,
His secret
counsel
between Father,
Son,
and Spirit
did not stay
secret.
Peter says
in verse 20,
God was
pleased to manifest
Jesus.
To manifest
means to make
visible.
Our Lord Jesus
made Himself
not only visible
but touchable.
Put your hands,
put your fingers
in my hands
and the wounds.
His disciples
eyewitnesses
like Peter
could behold
Him bleeding
in His body
on the cross.
God the Son
truly took on
a body.
He truly
was incarnate.
Spurgeon
pointed out,
He that made
man
was made
man.
in the
Athanasian
creed
that we
just read.
It was
in God
and Trinity
and the
Trinity
and unity.
That's who
we worship.
And this is
possible because
Jesus manifested
the Trinity,
the full light
of God's glory.
a wonderful
analogy for us
is the sun.
We're part
of the solar
system so as
the earth
rotates around
the sun
we experience
life under
the sun.
And at
sunrise
something very
special happens.
See,
all night long
the sun was
there and
never went
away.
But in our
part of the
world it's
dark.
The sun
is real
and it's
burning with
immense heat
and light
just as God
is real.
And God
exists in
power and
glory and
burning light.
But over
the night
time on
this earth
the sun
is hidden
from our
side.
And then
at dawn
that sun
that was
there all
along
becomes
manifest.
The rays
reach us.
We can
feel the
warmth
and we can
start to
see again.
That's what
Jesus Christ
coming in
the flesh
did.
He is
the light
of God
breaking
over the
horizon
to warm
the earth.
And Christ
is God
triune God
eternal
sun.
And his
incarnation
was the
sunrise
that brought
the light
of the
eternal
triune
creator
into the
darkness
of world
history.
God
could have
done this
in a lot
of ways.
Think about
how to
behold
God
completely
unveiled
would kill
us.
We
physically
could not
handle
seeing God
in a
display of
his glory.
Those who
got a
glimpse
even of
an angel
would fall
on their
faces
and tremble
in fear.
A.W.
Tozer
commented
this about
the
incarnation.
the
awful
majesty
of the
Godhead
was
mercifully
sheathed
like you
would put
a sword
in a
leather
pouch
in the
soft
envelope
of human
nature
to protect
mankind.
That's
who Jesus
Christ is
as our
mediator.
The
evidence
of God's
magnificence
is Christ.
put before
us.
If you
continue to
say I
don't see
my need
for Christ.
If you're
unwilling to
close your
eyes to
this world
and let the
spirit open
your eyes
by faith
to Christ
to see
the sunrise
that he
has brought
that's to
ignore the
manifest one.
The one
that God
has put
forward and
said look
at him.
and that's
to embrace
darkness
forever.
So which
sinners was
Jesus Christ
foreordained
to save?
The target
audience in
verse 20
is for
you.
He was
foreordained
for you
who believe.
See this
church now
we look
back at
verse 2.
it's a
circular
letter given
to these
churches in
Pontus,
Galatia,
Cappadocia,
Asia,
Bithynia.
In other
words real
places,
real locations,
local congregations
like this one.
And in
verse 2 he
calls people
in those
churches
elect
according to
the foreknowledge
of God
and
God
if you
have
received
Christ
manifest
it's
because you
are
elect
according to
the foreknowledge
of God
the Father.
It's
because the
spirit has
set you
apart
has
sanctified
you
and is
in the
process
of
sanctifying
you.
And it's
for obedience
and sprinkling
in the
precious blood
of Jesus
Christ.
The second
London
confession
of faith
also says
from all
eternity
God gave
the Son
a people
to be
his
offspring
and in
time
these
people
would be
redeemed.
That means
in a moment
in history
Christ
would accomplish
that salvation
that he had
promised long
ago.
And in
time
each of
these
souls
that God
elect
would be
called.
That means
the Holy
Spirit
will take
the work
of Christ
Christ
manifest
and
effectually
draw you
to see
Christ.
And each
of those
souls
will be
justified.
A moment
in time
you will
pass from
being
condemned
by sin
under the
law
to being
saved
righteous
united
to Christ
and you
will be
sanctified
and glorified
in him.
He knew
this from
the very
beginning
and he
will
see
it
through
all
the
way
to
glorification
and the
life
to
come
because
of
your
union
to
Jesus.
The
eternal
son
stepped
into
time
took
on
flesh
he
went
to
the
cross
for
the
sake
of
his
people
those
who
believe
in
him
by
faith
those
are
the
sinners
he
was
ordained
to
save.
In
1 Peter
chapter
1
if you
look at
verse
8
we're
encouraged
about
this
work
of
the
spirit
to
cause
us
to
believe
though
you
do
not
see
him
yet
believing
you
rejoice
and
in
verse
9
receiving
the
end
of
your
faith
the
salvation
of
your
souls
he
causes
us
to
believe
by
faith
and
he
saves
our
souls
fully
and
finally
through
Jesus
Christ
Spurgeon
commented
on
the
sinners
that
Christ
was
ordained
to
save
with
this
he
said
it
was
not
a
necessity
that
Jesus
should
save
any
he
saved
some
because
he
would
have
mercy
on
whom
he
would
have
mercy
Romans
9
15
it
was
his
own
free
will
that
moved
God
to
our
salvation
so
maybe
you're
thinking
again
today
is
Christ
really
for
me
am
I
one
that
he
has
manifested
himself
to
save
look
at
verse
1
I'm
sorry
chapter
1
verse
21
he
says
it's
for
you
who
through
Jesus
believe
in
God
the
answer
is
yes
if
you
look
to
Christ
you
are
the
you
in
this
verse
God
the
son
didn't
manifest
himself
to
condemn
you
Jesus
Christ
manifested
by
God
to
save
you
Athanasius
pointed out
that Christ
became
what we
are
that he
might
make
us
what
he
is
if
God
is
drawing
you
to
himself
making
you
more
and
more
little
by
little
imperfectly
for a
lifetime
to
love
him
to
be
more
like
Christ
this
is
the
very
purpose
for
which
he
came
be
encouraged
Jesus
was
manifested
for
sinners
like
you
and
me
he
now
manifests
himself
to
others
in
this
world
through
you
and
me
his
light
now
reflects
the glory
in his
people
and
sometimes
we
don't
even
know
it
you
could
be
having
a
horrible
week
you
can
be
beating
yourself
up
under
the
enemy's
accusations
and
you
have
had
this
happen
someone
will
just
tell
you
a
comment
there's
something
different
about
you
or
your
family
or
you
all
at
church
there's
something
different
about
the
way
you
are
and
we
have
to
say
it's
nothing
to
do
with
us
this
has
to
be
Christ
in
us
if
you
knew
who
I
am
for
myself
there
is
nothing
admirable
or
praiseworthy
but
by
God's
grace
this
is
our
lives
become
a
more
and
more
visible
display
of
his
invisible
grace
the
world
is
watching
us
let's
gaze
at
God's
love
in
Jesus
Christ
this
is
the
most
beautiful
sight
that
we
can
behold
let's
marvel
at
him
together
we
long
to
look
into
God
manifested
in
the
person
of
Jesus
Christ
like
the
angels
do
to
stare
at
him
with
the
eyes
of
faith
to
wonder
at
him
and
if
his
spirit
is
kind
even
to
weep
at
how
much
God
loves
you
and
me
not
because
of
who
we
are
but
despite
who
we
are
amen
he
was
manifest
in
these
last
times
for
you
take
comfort
in
your
savior's
ordination
Jesus
Christ
was
indeed
foreordained
before
the
foundation
of the
world
for
you
and
me
let's
thank
him
oh
lord
we
praise
you
for
the
gospel
that
you
have
revealed
through
jesus
christ
foretold
in all
of the
old
covenant
accomplished
by
jesus
christ
and
applied
to
us
by
your
holy
spirit
lord
we
pray
that
your
spirit
will
gently
kindly
comfort
encourage
strengthen
build up
sustain
your people
father
for christ's
sake
for your
glory
in us
and your
glory
in the
church
as you
manifest
yourself
to the
world
amen
do