WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.560 Let's read just the first two verses here. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:05.179 1 Peter 1, verses 1 and 2. 00:00:05.179 --> 00:00:35.159 1 Peter 1, verses 1 and 2. 00:00:35.179 --> 00:01:05.159 1 Peter 1, verses 1 and 2. 00:01:05.180 --> 00:01:35.160 1 Peter 1, verses 1 and 2. 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:41.739 Let's read a letter from a loved one that maybe you haven't heard from in a little while. 00:01:41.780 --> 00:01:45.379 They took the time not just to give you a call or shoot you a text, 00:01:45.459 --> 00:01:52.500 but they took the time to sit down with pen and ink and paper and dedicate a message just for you. 00:01:52.579 --> 00:01:53.560 That's exciting, isn't it? 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:55.219 It's warming. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:02:01.280 Maybe it's a bonus check from work that you either are or are not expecting. 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:08.340 Maybe you discover that you are a finalist for the publisher's clearing house giveaway. 00:02:09.539 --> 00:02:11.960 Ed McMahon is about to come to your door, whatever. 00:02:12.819 --> 00:02:14.099 It's a good mail day, right? 00:02:15.699 --> 00:02:21.120 When this little letter arrived via a personal courier to the churches in Asia Minor, 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:25.259 it was a great mail day that day. 00:02:26.259 --> 00:02:32.020 Can you imagine you show up to church on Sunday morning and you're going through your worship. 00:02:33.020 --> 00:02:33.920 The elders get up. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:37.039 One of them gets up and says, today we've got something really exciting. 00:02:37.219 --> 00:02:40.599 We've received a personal letter from Peter. 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:42.420 Amazing. 00:02:42.419 --> 00:02:51.339 At the time that the letter was written, 30 years or so have passed since Peter had been with the Lord. 00:02:52.779 --> 00:02:58.060 30 years since he had left his nets on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. 00:02:58.339 --> 00:03:02.259 30 years since he had listened to Jesus teach. 00:03:02.379 --> 00:03:08.119 30 years since he was on the Mount of Transfiguration to see this amazing moment with the Lord Jesus. 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:15.879 30 years since he denied the Lord three times on the night of his suffering. 00:03:16.920 --> 00:03:20.539 30 years since Jesus restored him. 00:03:21.700 --> 00:03:25.020 That little breakfast meeting again in Galilee. 00:03:25.180 --> 00:03:30.240 30 years since the day of Pentecost when Peter preached and the Holy Spirit was poured out. 00:03:30.580 --> 00:03:33.960 3,000 people came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:36.180 It's been three decades. 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:38.780 Peter is now living in Rome. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:45.560 He's just a matter of months from his own martyrdom. 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:50.460 His own crucifixion and identification with the Lord Jesus Christ in his suffering. 00:03:51.659 --> 00:03:57.480 And his influence at this point, 30 years beyond the ascension of Jesus Christ, 00:03:57.860 --> 00:04:01.400 is enormous in these churches. 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:08.620 How exciting it must have been for these Christians, these struggling Christians, 00:04:08.840 --> 00:04:12.920 these persecuted Christians and embattled and beleaguered Christians. 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:15.460 How exciting it must have been for them to show up. 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:16.639 And there's a letter from Peter. 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:18.079 That Peter. 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:25.460 How wonderful that God has preserved it for us. 00:04:25.459 --> 00:04:29.939 So that even today and in the months ahead, Sunday by Sunday, 00:04:30.459 --> 00:04:39.319 we get to learn and read and be encouraged by the same things that those Christians were encouraged by 2,000 years ago. 00:04:39.719 --> 00:04:48.359 When we read this letter, we read and listen to one of Jesus' closest friends and most important apostles. 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:55.000 But who exactly are these people to whom Peter initially wrote? 00:04:55.660 --> 00:05:01.980 We're told here that they were Christians in local churches spread throughout a few regions, 00:05:02.540 --> 00:05:05.580 what is considered modern-day Turkey today. 00:05:06.580 --> 00:05:09.100 But Peter doesn't address them as such. 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:12.900 He doesn't address them as churches or as Christians. 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:18.319 He uses peculiar language here in his address. 00:05:19.259 --> 00:05:24.259 He could have simply written Peter to the churches in these places. 00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:25.019 He doesn't do that. 00:05:25.099 --> 00:05:29.339 He could have Peter to all of those who are in Christ. 00:05:29.459 --> 00:05:33.899 That would have even been a little bit stronger and certainly worth our consideration. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:34.979 He doesn't do that, though. 00:05:35.060 --> 00:05:36.779 He uses this peculiar language. 00:05:36.779 --> 00:05:46.259 He says, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect exiles of the dispersion in all of these places. 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:51.299 Pontus and Galatia and Cappadocia and Asia and Bithynia. 00:05:52.919 --> 00:05:55.459 And he's using this language on purpose from the very beginning. 00:05:55.859 --> 00:05:58.679 He wants to set the tone for this letter. 00:05:59.019 --> 00:06:04.059 He wants these Christians to understand themselves in a particular light. 00:06:04.060 --> 00:06:13.959 And the reason that he uses this particular language undergirds the whole purpose and content of the letter. 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:19.459 Peter uses exiles here metaphorically. 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:28.180 Of course, it could have been that some of the condition of the people in these churches were as exiled Jews, 00:06:28.300 --> 00:06:31.139 maybe dispersed and expelled from Jerusalem. 00:06:31.139 --> 00:06:33.920 That certainly could have been some of their condition. 00:06:34.080 --> 00:06:36.759 But that's certainly not most of their condition. 00:06:37.960 --> 00:06:40.340 Peter's not speaking of this in a literal sense. 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:44.960 He's not writing because everybody in these churches have been kicked out of their hometowns. 00:06:44.960 --> 00:06:45.720 That's not what it is. 00:06:45.780 --> 00:06:47.500 No, he's painting a picture for them. 00:06:47.780 --> 00:06:53.420 He's painting a picture of the Christian's place in this world. 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:56.240 He calls them exiles. 00:06:56.240 --> 00:07:02.040 They weren't exiles in the sense of being punished by God. 00:07:02.139 --> 00:07:04.060 That's not how we need to understand it here. 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:12.980 Often, we read our Bibles, this term is used and translated as strangers, sojourners. 00:07:13.780 --> 00:07:16.319 We might use the word pilgrim. 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:25.180 It denotes people who are temporarily residing outside of their homeland. 00:07:25.180 --> 00:07:39.540 And from the very beginning of the letter, Peter wanted these Christians to think of their place in this world as strangers, sojourners, pilgrims. 00:07:39.540 --> 00:07:42.760 And as we read it here in the SV, exiles. 00:07:44.700 --> 00:07:49.420 Though they lived here, they didn't belong here. 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:51.379 That's his point. 00:07:51.379 --> 00:07:56.579 They served a different king than the emperor of Rome. 00:07:56.899 --> 00:08:01.360 They represented a different country, a country that's not of this world. 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:07.319 And from the very beginning, he wants to know, I'm writing to people that I believe are strangers here. 00:08:07.699 --> 00:08:08.459 They're exiles. 00:08:08.659 --> 00:08:09.439 They're sojourners. 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:14.079 And he wants them to think of themselves in this way. 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:24.939 Now, 1 Peter might be the most practical, practically relevant of all the New Testament books. 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:37.980 And if you're a Christian, if you know Christ, your condition is no different than the condition of these Christians to whom Peter first wrote. 00:08:38.419 --> 00:08:39.759 It's exactly the same. 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:44.379 This world is not your home. 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:48.779 And it shouldn't feel like your home. 00:08:50.860 --> 00:08:56.340 If you're comfortable here, that's a red flag. 00:08:57.559 --> 00:09:06.439 If you feel at home here, there's something seriously wrong with your spiritual condition. 00:09:06.440 --> 00:09:15.960 Either you're not really a Christian, or it's been some time since you really lived like a Christian. 00:09:17.320 --> 00:09:19.040 Christians are strangers here. 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:24.860 We're called by God to live as his representatives in this world. 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:30.860 We are exiles, strangers, sojourners. 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:34.100 And that's a difficult life. 00:09:36.779 --> 00:09:39.279 Often we feel like, as Christians, I know you feel this way. 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:41.120 I know I feel this way regularly. 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:46.500 We feel like day to day, we're just doing everything we can not to give up the faith by the end of the day. 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:49.039 We're just trying to survive. 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:52.699 We're just trying to make it to the end. 00:09:53.779 --> 00:10:02.339 Through the temptation and the suffering and the doubts and all the things that come and we face on a regular basis as strangers in this world. 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:04.000 We're just trying to make it. 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:16.259 The purpose of 1 Peter is not to help you merely survive this time of exile. 00:10:17.340 --> 00:10:30.179 The purpose of 1 Peter is to show you what it looks like and that it's possible for you to thrive in this time of exile. 00:10:30.179 --> 00:10:33.679 It doesn't mean you won't suffer because you will. 00:10:34.299 --> 00:10:39.039 It doesn't mean that you won't have serious seasons of doubt because you'll have plenty of that too. 00:10:39.479 --> 00:10:44.839 It doesn't mean that you'll always have the answers and it doesn't mean that you'll never face temptation. 00:10:45.099 --> 00:10:49.079 All of those things are part and parcel of being a Christian in this world. 00:10:50.139 --> 00:10:51.779 It doesn't mean that those things go away. 00:10:51.779 --> 00:11:06.339 But what it does mean is that it is actually possible in the grace of God for you to live in light of all of those things with faith and with joy and with confidence longing for the Lord's return to take you home. 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:09.120 That's what 1 Peter is about. 00:11:09.659 --> 00:11:19.740 And right here in the opening greeting, Peter underlines three fundamental truths that we must hold on to if we're going to thrive in this exile. 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:20.639 Okay? 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:31.200 Three fundamental truths that we've got to grasp, we've got to lay hold on if we're going to thrive and not merely survive. 00:11:31.460 --> 00:11:31.820 Ready? 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:37.639 Number one, Jesus leads us in our exile. 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:43.919 Jesus leads us in our exile. 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:54.019 John 17 records that, John records for us that amazing high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus when he prays for his disciples. 00:11:54.399 --> 00:12:02.099 Right in the middle of that prayer, there's something that I would imagine if Peter and the other disciples in the room might have perked up at for just a moment. 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:09.360 You remember Jesus prays, he says, Father, I do not ask that you remove them from this world. 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:15.100 Now that would be a really cruel prayer. 00:12:16.419 --> 00:12:31.100 If Jesus was asking the Father, leave my people here, but then he had no plan, no power, no way to lead us and instruct us as we remain here. 00:12:31.100 --> 00:12:33.680 But he does lead us. 00:12:34.820 --> 00:12:39.639 And in this opening line of Peter's greeting, we're reminded of that fact. 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:43.220 Look at what he says, opening, it's very simple, but it's important. 00:12:43.779 --> 00:12:48.560 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:57.239 As exciting as it might have been to receive this letter, this letter was not simply story time with Peter. 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:04.119 As amazing as that would be, can you imagine if it wasn't a letter, but Peter actually visited our church? 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:06.099 What would we want to hear from him? 00:13:06.599 --> 00:13:08.959 Oh, you got to tell us about all the stuff, right? 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:10.859 This isn't story time with Peter. 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:12.239 It's more than that. 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:22.720 Neither does the content of this letter amount to Peter's personal thoughts and opinions on what he thought was best for these people to do. 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:25.220 No, that's not what this letter is either. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:33.139 The designation that accompanies his salutation, it's functioning as a statement of authority, 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:39.399 but it insists that the authority is not actually Peter's. 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:42.459 He is not simply Peter. 00:13:42.980 --> 00:13:50.980 He is Peter, an apostle or a messenger from the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:13:51.819 --> 00:13:54.419 The message is not Peter's. 00:13:55.419 --> 00:14:00.840 The message is from Jesus given to us through Peter. 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:06.939 Therefore, the authority of the letter is not intrinsic to Peter. 00:14:06.940 --> 00:14:11.880 It is a delegated authority from the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:14:12.920 --> 00:14:13.860 Now, what am I saying? 00:14:15.400 --> 00:14:21.460 I'm saying that God has not left us alone to fend for ourselves, 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:29.940 neither has he left us to be guided by the thoughts and opinions of fallible, sinful men. 00:14:29.940 --> 00:14:35.140 No, Christian, in this time of exile. 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:48.080 Our king himself leads us through this life, giving us all that we need to trust him and obey him and be at peace with God. 00:14:48.080 --> 00:15:00.400 Jesus graciously instructs and comforts through the apostolic witness of the Holy Scriptures. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:06.360 And 1 Peter is a crucial piece of that witness. 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:19.240 This letter is God's word given through God's servant, and it is authoritative for all of God's people. 00:15:21.320 --> 00:15:22.580 What am I saying? 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:26.519 I'm saying that a fundamental truth that we have to hold on to as believers, 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:31.559 if we are going to not merely survive but thrive in this season of exile, 00:15:31.740 --> 00:15:38.100 we must remember that Jesus leads us, and he leads us by his Spirit through the word of God. 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:43.960 And when we come to 1 Peter, we need to accept it as the very word of God. 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:51.879 So that in chapter 3 and verse 7, when Peter tells husbands that you need to understand and honor your wives, 00:15:53.400 --> 00:15:58.160 he isn't just giving good advice, happy wife, happy life. 00:15:59.680 --> 00:16:03.440 No, he's saying this is the very will of Christ for your life. 00:16:04.019 --> 00:16:07.820 And to do anything less than this is an offense against God. 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:10.280 That's what he means. 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:19.279 Well, what about the Christian wife who's struggling, trying to figure out how to honor the Lord before her unbelieving husband? 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:24.000 Well, Christ has a lot to say to you in this too. 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:35.319 What about in chapter 1, verse 22, when Peter writes to the churches that they are to love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:42.940 not out of obligation, not out of compulsion, not casually, but earnestly from a pure heart. 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:45.760 He doesn't mean that this is a good idea for us. 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:51.320 No, he means this is binding on us as God's will for our lives. 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:56.300 When he talks about the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, 00:16:56.660 --> 00:16:59.620 the electing love of the Father before the world began, 00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:02.480 of the necessity of faith for justification, 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:07.559 He's not giving us his personal interpretation on things. 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:11.019 No, what he's giving us is God's word for us. 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:16.380 He's giving us the truth of Christ that is able to save your soul. 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:19.059 The bottom line is this. 00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:23.140 Jesus has something to say to you in this letter. 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:26.460 It's not that Peter has something to say. 00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:29.460 No, Jesus has something to say to you through this letter. 00:17:29.460 --> 00:17:37.559 And thriving in exile begins by recognizing Christ's authority through his word. 00:17:38.340 --> 00:17:40.880 So fundamental truth number one, right here in the greeting, 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:43.140 Jesus leads us in this exile. 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:44.279 How amazing. 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:47.160 He's given us what we need in his word. 00:17:48.740 --> 00:17:51.840 Number two, fundamental truth. 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:53.100 It's a big one. 00:17:55.100 --> 00:17:58.140 You belong to God. 00:17:59.460 --> 00:18:03.759 You belong to God. 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:07.759 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:14.299 to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion. 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:20.000 Exile speaks to our present condition. 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:27.500 Elect speaks to the Christian's true identity. 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:31.759 The word simply means chosen. 00:18:33.059 --> 00:18:38.819 Which the scriptures use to speak about those on whom God has set his redeeming love. 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:44.200 They are the chosen of God, the elect of God in Christ Jesus. 00:18:45.299 --> 00:18:48.519 Which is a remarkable designation here in this letter. 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:55.119 Because Peter is writing to churches that are predominantly non-Jew. 00:18:56.700 --> 00:19:02.059 The Old Testament speaks often designating Israel, the nation of Israel, 00:19:02.200 --> 00:19:05.259 as God's chosen and elect people. 00:19:05.259 --> 00:19:09.160 But Peter, here, right in the greeting, 00:19:09.299 --> 00:19:16.400 affirms that the church of Jesus Christ is the true Israel of God. 00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:18.680 His chosen people. 00:19:19.799 --> 00:19:22.480 You belong to him. 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:33.819 And this truth is presented to us as a means of comfort and encouragement and assurance 00:19:33.819 --> 00:19:40.079 that Christians, regardless of their ethnicity, belong to God. 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:42.319 Exile is what we are. 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:45.319 Elect is who we are. 00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:49.139 It's a statement of identity. 00:19:50.659 --> 00:19:52.879 Now, Peter could have easily moved on from this. 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:53.859 He could have easily said, 00:19:53.980 --> 00:19:57.859 To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in all of these places, 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:00.139 may grace and peace be multiplied too. 00:20:00.220 --> 00:20:01.079 But he doesn't do that. 00:20:01.299 --> 00:20:05.139 He takes this concept of the Christian identity further. 00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:09.919 He roots it in the saving work of the triune God. 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:20.360 And in verse 2, he uses three really important phrases to express how we have come to be God's people. 00:20:20.840 --> 00:20:23.420 How we have come to belong to him. 00:20:23.940 --> 00:20:27.360 How we have received this identity. 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:30.660 Let's just quickly look at the three statements in turn. 00:20:31.259 --> 00:20:38.300 Number one, Christians belong to God because he chose them before the world began. 00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:42.819 Listen, Christians belong to God because he chose them before the world began. 00:20:43.099 --> 00:20:43.859 Look at verse 2. 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:51.799 We are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. 00:20:53.379 --> 00:20:57.279 Now, this term can be a stumbling block for us, can't it? 00:20:57.779 --> 00:21:02.659 What exactly does Peter mean when he speaks of the foreknowledge of God? 00:21:02.660 --> 00:21:09.240 It could just simply refer to God's ability to know what will happen in the future. 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:16.500 It certainly doesn't mean less than that, but it definitely means more than that in the scriptures. 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:23.600 Peter isn't trying to encourage them just by letting them know that God knew everything in advance that was going to take place. 00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:27.980 Just the simple knowledge of that doesn't mean anything to us, does it? 00:21:28.339 --> 00:21:29.919 No, that's not what he's referring to here. 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:32.919 He's speaking of something more than just simple knowledge. 00:21:34.199 --> 00:21:40.659 To know in the scriptures that particular word, Old Testament in Hebrew and in Greek and the New Testament, both, 00:21:40.719 --> 00:21:42.439 it can refer to an intellectual knowledge. 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:46.459 It can also refer to a personal knowledge, an intimate knowledge. 00:21:46.460 --> 00:21:52.980 For example, if you were to come to me today and you were to say, Jared, do you know Shane Nault? 00:21:54.380 --> 00:22:01.319 You aren't asking me if I know a certain set of facts about Shane. 00:22:01.660 --> 00:22:02.920 That's not what you're asking. 00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:06.640 It could be what you're asking, but it's probably not. 00:22:07.340 --> 00:22:08.420 What is it that you're asking? 00:22:08.759 --> 00:22:11.920 You're asking, Jared, do you have any relationship with Shane? 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:14.740 Do you know him? 00:22:14.860 --> 00:22:20.039 Not do you know about him or information about him, but do you actually know him? 00:22:20.860 --> 00:22:26.100 And this is the sense in which the Bible uses this term for knowledge and foreknowledge. 00:22:27.140 --> 00:22:30.960 God doesn't merely foreknow information. 00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:34.800 He foreknows people. 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:48.019 And the term, therefore, is conveying the fact that God chose and set his covenant love on his people before the world began. 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:52.059 Now, what does this mean for these believers? 00:22:53.419 --> 00:23:00.399 You belong to God, and he made you his own before he even created this world. 00:23:01.399 --> 00:23:03.599 He set his affection on you. 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:06.879 How do you hear that as someone in exile? 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:14.359 You're struggling because your neighbor would really love to just see you taken out because he can't stand this life that you live. 00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:16.919 He can't stand this faith that you hold to. 00:23:18.379 --> 00:23:24.200 And you're suffering as a result of the people around you literally hating you for your faith. 00:23:24.200 --> 00:23:35.400 And then Peter writes, and he says, remember, you belong to God, and he chose you before this world was even created. 00:23:37.059 --> 00:23:41.279 And well after this world is gone, you'll still be his. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:47.559 Not because he knew some things about you or about what you would do, but because he knew you. 00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:52.819 There's a helpful parallel for us right here in chapter 1. 00:23:53.119 --> 00:24:00.440 If you just look ahead to verse 20, Peter uses the same word again, except this time he's using it in relation to Jesus. 00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:17.779 He says, Jesus was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest, put on display to us in the last times, that's this time, for the sake of you, for our sake. 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:19.460 Now what is Peter saying? 00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:29.100 Peter doesn't mean that the Father simply foresaw what time Christ would come. 00:24:29.299 --> 00:24:30.799 That's not what he means, clearly. 00:24:31.140 --> 00:24:40.920 What he means to say there is that the Father foreordained not only that Christ would come, but when he would come. 00:24:40.920 --> 00:24:49.079 That before the world began, he ordained Christ to come at this time for our sake. 00:24:49.460 --> 00:24:51.279 That's what he means. 00:24:52.440 --> 00:25:09.299 So when Peter says that our election is rooted in God's foreknowledge, he means that the Father set his covenant love on us before the foundation of the world, chose us as his own, and foreordained our eternal salvation. 00:25:09.860 --> 00:25:11.460 That has nothing to do with you. 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:13.559 It has nothing to do with me. 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:19.220 It has everything to do with his gracious and sovereign love. 00:25:19.460 --> 00:25:25.960 We are God's people because in eternity past he set his divine love on us. 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:27.340 We are his. 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:28.380 Now I spend a lot of time on that. 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:29.840 Let's move a little quicker through the other two. 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:32.960 First thing here, remember what Peter's doing. 00:25:33.340 --> 00:25:36.220 He's telling us how we have become God's people. 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:38.220 How we have received this identity. 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:42.019 Well, we belong to God because he chose us before the world began. 00:25:42.019 --> 00:25:49.940 Secondly, we belong to God because the Spirit set us apart in regeneration or in our conversion. 00:25:50.660 --> 00:25:54.019 We belong to him because the Spirit has set us apart. 00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:57.000 Now look at the second phrase here, the second prepositional phrase. 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:06.079 We are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in or through, we might say, the sanctification of the Spirit. 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:09.000 Now what does it mean to be sanctified? 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:11.960 It means to be set apart or made holy. 00:26:11.960 --> 00:26:26.840 Typically, when we think of sanctification, we think of that progressive work of the Spirit where he takes believers and he makes them day by day more and more holy as we are on our way to heaven, right? 00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:29.500 And oftentimes that's what the Scripture means here. 00:26:30.840 --> 00:26:33.500 Peter's using the term more holistically than that. 00:26:33.500 --> 00:26:40.160 He is referring to that mighty work of the Spirit in our conversion. 00:26:41.779 --> 00:26:49.680 Yes, we are being sanctified day by day, but it's also true that we have been sanctified. 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:53.240 We have been set apart unto God. 00:26:53.240 --> 00:27:03.720 And that happened the moment we were, as Jesus said, born again, regenerated by the Spirit of God. 00:27:03.900 --> 00:27:05.400 We were made to be his own. 00:27:05.500 --> 00:27:07.160 Now that's what Peter has in mind here. 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:09.599 He's not talking about the progressive work. 00:27:09.819 --> 00:27:20.039 He's talking about the moment of our conversion when the Spirit of God brings us to life and sets us apart unto God as his people. 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:34.279 Though we are foreknown by the Father in eternity past, God effects our election in time and space through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. 00:27:35.759 --> 00:27:37.319 What does that look like? 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:40.980 I once was lost. 00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:43.980 Now I'm found. 00:27:45.539 --> 00:27:47.119 Well, who found you? 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:49.859 God did. 00:27:50.039 --> 00:27:50.519 God did. 00:27:53.519 --> 00:28:00.339 The Spirit came in with the preaching of the gospel and brought something that was dead to life. 00:28:01.700 --> 00:28:04.539 And you were born again and received the new birth. 00:28:05.059 --> 00:28:05.740 What is that? 00:28:06.779 --> 00:28:12.019 That is the mighty work of God in making you his very own. 00:28:13.019 --> 00:28:18.920 You belong to God, Christian, because the Spirit, through his mighty power, 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:21.200 God has made you his own. 00:28:21.400 --> 00:28:23.000 He has set you apart. 00:28:23.800 --> 00:28:26.100 He has brought you to life. 00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:34.720 Third, Christians belong to God because Jesus redeemed them on the cross. 00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:41.500 Christians belong to God, in other words, because God paid for them. 00:28:41.500 --> 00:28:46.880 He bought them with the blood of his Son. 00:28:47.880 --> 00:28:50.220 Look at the third prepositional phrase. 00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:52.079 There's two parts to it, isn't there? 00:28:52.539 --> 00:29:04.460 We are elect 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. 00:29:04.460 --> 00:29:06.380 It's the same dynamic. 00:29:06.380 --> 00:29:08.819 There's just two pieces at work here. 00:29:09.140 --> 00:29:09.920 What is this? 00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:11.700 It's a purpose statement, isn't it? 00:29:13.140 --> 00:29:14.779 The Father chooses us. 00:29:14.880 --> 00:29:17.059 The Spirit sanctifies us. 00:29:17.059 --> 00:29:26.859 With the result that we obey Jesus and we receive the benefits of his atoning work on the cross. 00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:36.980 Now, obedience here is not a moral condition that you have to meet before God is willing to call you his own. 00:29:37.480 --> 00:29:39.099 That's not what Peter means by obedience. 00:29:39.359 --> 00:29:40.919 It's not moral conditioning here. 00:29:41.859 --> 00:29:44.799 Peter means obedience to the truth. 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:55.000 Obedience to the truth of Christ, to the truth of the gospel, namely faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. 00:29:55.099 --> 00:29:57.879 So think about this process that Peter is describing. 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:01.839 We are known by God before the foundation of the world. 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:07.279 In time and space, the Spirit comes through the preaching of the gospel, and he gives us life. 00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:16.500 He gives us the new birth, which results in us saying, I believe, following after Christ. 00:30:17.500 --> 00:30:19.299 But there's a second piece here. 00:30:19.420 --> 00:30:27.519 He says that in conjunction with this faith and obedience of Jesus Christ is this sprinkling with his blood. 00:30:27.700 --> 00:30:28.220 What is this? 00:30:28.259 --> 00:30:29.279 It's weird, isn't it? 00:30:29.660 --> 00:30:30.720 It's weird to our ears. 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:35.539 Peter is bringing our attention back to the Old Testament. 00:30:36.860 --> 00:30:41.440 I think probably the primary backdrop to this language is Exodus 24. 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:43.279 If you want to write that down, you can read it later. 00:30:44.519 --> 00:30:47.519 You remember, though, Moses and the people of Israel, they're at Sinai. 00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:50.000 Moses has received the law of God. 00:30:50.360 --> 00:30:53.059 God is going through a covenant ceremony with Israel. 00:30:53.500 --> 00:30:55.079 He is making them his own. 00:30:55.079 --> 00:31:09.179 And part of that process was a sacrifice of atonement was made, and the people were then sprinkled with the blood of this sacrifice that signified their cleansing. 00:31:09.500 --> 00:31:14.299 It signified their entering into covenant with God as his people. 00:31:15.319 --> 00:31:18.899 Now, that sacrifice had already been made. 00:31:18.900 --> 00:31:33.840 The sacrifice was applied, though, the benefits of that sacrifice was applied as the people of Israel enter into this covenant ceremony trusting God and what he has said. 00:31:34.940 --> 00:31:36.880 That's what Peter has in mind here. 00:31:38.100 --> 00:31:39.900 That's what he's thinking through here. 00:31:39.900 --> 00:31:49.259 The effect of the Father's foreknowledge and the Spirit's sanctification is our faith in Christ. 00:31:50.380 --> 00:32:03.900 And by faith alone, the saving benefits of the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross are then applied to our account. 00:32:04.840 --> 00:32:06.640 Our sins are forgiven. 00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:09.759 We are made at peace with God. 00:32:09.900 --> 00:32:13.180 Christian, that's who you are. 00:32:14.300 --> 00:32:15.720 Known by God. 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:19.019 Sanctified by the Spirit. 00:32:20.660 --> 00:32:24.880 Paid for by Jesus Christ. 00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:26.860 Chosen. 00:32:28.620 --> 00:32:29.300 Sanctified. 00:32:29.500 --> 00:32:30.220 Regenerated. 00:32:31.040 --> 00:32:32.060 Brought to faith. 00:32:33.360 --> 00:32:33.740 Forgiven. 00:32:35.259 --> 00:32:39.120 Now, why does any of this matter to Peter's greeting? 00:32:39.679 --> 00:32:40.739 That's the question, isn't it? 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:41.179 Why? 00:32:41.319 --> 00:32:42.500 What's the point of this? 00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:51.319 Remembering our identity as God's people is critical to thriving in exile. 00:32:53.639 --> 00:32:59.399 When we're tempted to conform to the ways of the world, which we're going to cover greatly in this letter, 00:32:59.400 --> 00:33:04.160 remembering who we are in Christ will motivate our obedience. 00:33:05.220 --> 00:33:09.040 If we really belong to him, we'll want to serve him as king. 00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:14.639 When we suffer for the faith. 00:33:16.639 --> 00:33:26.240 Remembering the love of God for us and how he has saved us will bring comfort in our distress, perseverance by his grace. 00:33:26.240 --> 00:33:43.519 Perhaps the most important reason for this little section here is to give us confidence and joy as we await the Lord's return to remove us from this exile and take us home. 00:33:43.519 --> 00:33:56.420 To remember all that God has done to make you his own should cause you to be joyfully confident that he's going to see it through to the end. 00:33:56.420 --> 00:34:01.860 So you may be struggling in your exile right now. 00:34:03.080 --> 00:34:11.840 And maybe the struggle that you have at the moment is you're facing doubts about whether or not he really is yours and you really are his. 00:34:13.300 --> 00:34:14.159 Really are. 00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:17.200 Is he really that forgiving of a God? 00:34:18.079 --> 00:34:19.420 That he will forgive what I've done. 00:34:20.820 --> 00:34:23.659 That he'll forgive my apathy or complacency or whatever it is. 00:34:23.659 --> 00:34:31.239 Will he really fulfill this promise of heaven and eternity and peace? 00:34:34.199 --> 00:34:37.019 Remembering your identity should say absolutely. 00:34:38.739 --> 00:34:39.219 Why? 00:34:40.099 --> 00:34:41.819 Because he chose you before the world began. 00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:51.899 And in his own gracious initiative through the preaching of the gospel, his spirit brought you to life which affected your faith and applied the blood of Christ to your account. 00:34:51.900 --> 00:34:54.579 Isn't this what Paul means in Romans 8? 00:34:55.599 --> 00:34:59.660 For whom he did for no, he predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. 00:34:59.960 --> 00:35:02.019 And those whom he predestined, he called. 00:35:02.300 --> 00:35:03.900 And those whom he called, he justified. 00:35:04.840 --> 00:35:06.900 And those whom he justified, he glorified. 00:35:08.680 --> 00:35:10.619 Paul uses glorified in the past tense. 00:35:10.760 --> 00:35:11.940 It's as good as done. 00:35:12.200 --> 00:35:13.820 He will see it through. 00:35:14.200 --> 00:35:18.019 So during this time of exile, remember who you are, Christian. 00:35:18.900 --> 00:35:20.019 You belong to God. 00:35:20.019 --> 00:35:23.500 And to thrive in this time. 00:35:24.440 --> 00:35:25.559 You need to remember that. 00:35:26.739 --> 00:35:29.539 Well, third, there's a third fundamental truth and we'll be finished. 00:35:30.380 --> 00:35:31.599 First was this. 00:35:31.739 --> 00:35:32.780 Jesus leads you here. 00:35:33.179 --> 00:35:34.619 There is authority in this letter. 00:35:34.739 --> 00:35:35.679 It's Christ's authority. 00:35:36.119 --> 00:35:36.980 He's leading us. 00:35:38.320 --> 00:35:39.259 You belong to God. 00:35:39.639 --> 00:35:40.239 It's important. 00:35:40.360 --> 00:35:41.000 That's the big one. 00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:46.719 Third, God supplies you with grace and peace. 00:35:46.719 --> 00:35:49.219 So that you will thrive. 00:35:51.219 --> 00:35:53.519 God supplies you with everything you need. 00:35:54.639 --> 00:35:56.119 Look again at the end of verse 2. 00:35:56.119 --> 00:36:05.420 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect exiles of the dispersion and Pontus and Galatia and Cappadocia and Asia and Bithynia. 00:36:06.380 --> 00:36:12.500 According to the foreknowledge of God the Father and the sanctification of the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling with his blood. 00:36:12.599 --> 00:36:14.099 And then he lays the blessing. 00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:18.460 May the grace and peace of God be multiplied to you. 00:36:18.460 --> 00:36:28.440 Now, if you were to take a poll today of the Blankenship household and say, what is your least favorite school subject? 00:36:29.420 --> 00:36:32.960 Ashlyn, tell them, universally, every member will say, what? 00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:34.480 Math. 00:36:35.940 --> 00:36:38.599 We stink at math. 00:36:40.619 --> 00:36:45.300 But multiplication is a concept that we actually do understand, don't we, Ashlyn? 00:36:45.639 --> 00:36:46.679 We got that much, don't we? 00:36:46.679 --> 00:36:52.299 Peter could have said, may grace and peace be added to you. 00:36:53.379 --> 00:36:53.539 Right? 00:36:53.779 --> 00:36:54.899 Addition, yeah, good. 00:36:55.779 --> 00:36:56.739 Give me grace and peace. 00:36:57.319 --> 00:36:58.259 He uses multiply. 00:36:58.480 --> 00:36:58.819 Why? 00:36:59.980 --> 00:37:01.940 It's strengthening the blessing, isn't it? 00:37:01.940 --> 00:37:18.860 Oh, may the Lord God himself give you everything over and over and over and over exponentially, abundantly, so that you might thrive in this life, Peter says. 00:37:19.420 --> 00:37:20.420 But why does he say it? 00:37:20.420 --> 00:37:30.280 Because he knew that for us to thrive in exile requires, it requires an abundant outpouring of God's favor. 00:37:30.920 --> 00:37:33.019 You cannot do this. 00:37:34.180 --> 00:37:38.980 You, me, we cannot do this. 00:37:38.980 --> 00:37:46.579 If we're to even make it, much less thrive in it, we need an outpouring of God's favor and of his grace. 00:37:47.900 --> 00:37:48.900 Peter knows that. 00:37:48.960 --> 00:37:54.199 And he also knows that God willingly supplies his people with all that they need. 00:37:54.199 --> 00:37:59.239 You know the passages, Christian, his mercies are new when? 00:38:00.519 --> 00:38:01.439 Every morning. 00:38:03.059 --> 00:38:10.879 Philippians 4, he supplies us with grace according to his riches in Christ Jesus. 00:38:10.880 --> 00:38:14.280 He gives us a peace that what? 00:38:16.360 --> 00:38:17.760 Surpasses all understanding. 00:38:18.220 --> 00:38:18.980 What is that? 00:38:19.780 --> 00:38:21.140 It's a peace you can't explain. 00:38:21.680 --> 00:38:32.559 When everything going on in your life should be screaming panic, panic, panic, and yet you have a sense of peace and you don't even know that you really understand it that much. 00:38:32.559 --> 00:38:39.559 That's not just because you are a stronger mental health than the guy next to you. 00:38:40.659 --> 00:38:43.480 No, that's the grace of God at work in your life. 00:38:43.619 --> 00:38:44.519 He's supplying you. 00:38:46.119 --> 00:38:56.000 Now, I think it's important that we see that though this truth comes in the shape of a prayer of blessing, it's more than wishful thinking. 00:38:56.719 --> 00:39:01.679 There's no point in Peter's life that he ever doubts that God would actually answer this prayer. 00:39:02.739 --> 00:39:04.000 That's not in his mind. 00:39:05.059 --> 00:39:14.139 So though it's a prayer, though it's a blessing, it's taking that shape, it's not just wishful thinking, something that he hopes that God will do but he's not sure if he will. 00:39:14.299 --> 00:39:16.599 That's not what Peter has in mind. 00:39:16.960 --> 00:39:23.320 In one sense, the blessing is just meant to call our attention to the fact of God's infinite supply. 00:39:26.420 --> 00:39:30.039 Grace and peace are not things that we hope God will give us. 00:39:30.039 --> 00:39:37.239 But because he's made us his own, we know he's already poured them out. 00:39:39.539 --> 00:39:43.900 God's grace and peace are present possessions for his people. 00:39:44.840 --> 00:39:46.559 That's a present possession for you. 00:39:46.940 --> 00:39:48.539 That's not something you have to hope for. 00:39:49.119 --> 00:39:50.739 It's just something you have to recognize. 00:39:50.739 --> 00:40:02.139 The fundamental truth then is a challenge for us to lay hold on the power of God that is already ours in Christ Jesus. 00:40:02.659 --> 00:40:06.359 And this letter is going to walk us through what it looks like to do that. 00:40:06.360 --> 00:40:14.380 But what you must know now is that God's supply for thriving in exile is abundant and it's already yours. 00:40:15.160 --> 00:40:20.019 If you're his, his supply is already yours. 00:40:20.019 --> 00:40:32.059 And by his grace, he will give you all that you need to go through this suffering and this temptation and this doubt and everything else that this world will throw at us. 00:40:33.139 --> 00:40:40.440 With faith and with joy and with love and with obedience. 00:40:40.440 --> 00:40:44.220 So what's the greeting ultimately about? 00:40:44.340 --> 00:40:46.500 Well, Peter, he's laying a foundation for us. 00:40:46.539 --> 00:40:49.960 He's helping us to see where he's going to take us over these next five chapters. 00:40:51.639 --> 00:40:53.240 What are we to take from it now? 00:40:54.860 --> 00:41:05.119 As a Christian, are you prepared to acknowledge that your true condition is as a stranger and a sojourner in this world? 00:41:05.119 --> 00:41:07.940 You don't belong here. 00:41:09.420 --> 00:41:19.440 And the more faithfully you will live for Christ now, the more painfully obvious it will become that this world is not your home. 00:41:20.539 --> 00:41:21.759 You are just passing through. 00:41:22.759 --> 00:41:27.980 As the old song says, Miss Faye, your treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. 00:41:31.299 --> 00:41:34.319 But God's goal is not just simply for you to survive it. 00:41:35.119 --> 00:41:45.719 No, he intends that you, that we, will thrive as his people on this earth. 00:41:46.480 --> 00:41:53.299 And to do that, we need to live in light of these three fundamental truths that are going to launch us into the rest of the practical teaching. 00:41:55.579 --> 00:41:58.619 We need to recognize Christ's authority and submit to it. 00:41:59.940 --> 00:42:02.119 Remember your identity as God's people. 00:42:02.920 --> 00:42:04.500 Living distinctly in the world. 00:42:05.119 --> 00:42:07.219 For God's glory and for your good. 00:42:09.079 --> 00:42:13.659 And then you need to lay hold on God's infinite supply day by day. 00:42:14.839 --> 00:42:17.139 Living this life in the power of his strength. 00:42:17.859 --> 00:42:19.500 And not trying to do it on your own. 00:42:20.519 --> 00:42:22.139 This is how we'll thrive in exile. 00:42:22.739 --> 00:42:25.039 This is where Peter's going to take us in the next few weeks. 00:42:25.480 --> 00:42:25.839 Let's pray. 00:42:25.840 --> 00:42:26.280 Let's pray. 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:26.280