Class NOTES
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Name: Jeff Sandberg
Class: The Way Connection Group Topic: 1 Peter 1:16-25
Date: 10/06/2019
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VERSES
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NOTES
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17 And if you call on the Father, who without personal favoritism judges according to each one’s work, pass the time of your pilgrimage here in reverence;
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if. This is conditional. If one confesses to be a believer and has called up on the Lord, then back up your confession with action. be the type of person who redeems the time as a pilgrim in fear.
who. All our righteousness is as filthy rags. The only thing we can do is call upon the Lord. And, what does He promise us?
Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 9:11. (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;). Matt 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” |
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your vain conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
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Matt. 15:2-3 “But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” (v3)
Acts 7:51-52 “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.” (v51)
Man’s own path to God will never succeed. Why? (see below) |
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
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The only good work that was ever effectual for our salvation was the of “the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” He is the last sacrifice, which is important here. Remember, Peter is referencing unnecessary traditions laid out by “the fathers.” He is rebuking them for not seeing the message of the cross from afar. Their eyes were blind so they couldn’t see.
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20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
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Gen. 3:15. The first giving of the Gospel.
but. This, again, is why I sympathize with my dispensation-leading brethren. As a side note, I think you might be surprised how many instances of this show up in the NT. I mean, Christ and his gospel are called a “mystery revealed” by Paul. Here, Peter says “but, was manifest in these last times for you.” So, he was hidden from out sight, but then he revealed himself - not just to us, but - for us. Think of Joshua. He asked “THE angel of the Lord” are you for us for for our adversaries? What did he say? Basically, “neither. I’ve come as captain of the armies of the Lord. And then after he received worship, he said to take off his shoes, for he is standing on holy ground.” One of the first sightings of pre-incarnate Jesus. |
21 who now by Him believe in God, who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God.
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As he was foreordained “for us,” it is “by him” that were believe in God, this same God who raised Jesus from he dead.
Jhn 5:24. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” Jesus declares this to be true. Who of us, outside of Holy Scripture as our arbiter, could make a declaration like this without being considered God or a nut? In other words, the only “thus saith the Lord” I can utter is with eyes in my Bible. Jesus IS The Word. Though He only does what He sees the Father doing, He and the Father are one. |
22 Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, see that you love one another fervently with a pure heart,
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So, after all this as a prelude, we have more imperatives. Let's recap:
If you have called on the God of the Bible for salvation, the same God who doesn’t choose us because of our works, we are to live our lives in the fear of the Lord. Remember, our sins weren’t paid for because of any of man’s ways to supposedly earn salvation because human life is precious and, quite frankly, expensive. God, himself, took on human form and paid for our lives himself with His blood which was pre-arranged from before time on earth began. We believe in and love God by Christ so that our faith and hope might be in God. Therefore, as God has brought about our salvation and we have our eyes open to obey him, we are to simultaneously direct our love to one another - fervently - with a pure heart.
Jhn 15:3. “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” Jesus says we purify our hearts through His Word. Paul says to “renew our minds.” How? What did Jesus say to satan? “It is written…” Remember my story last week of the newly saved demoniac I learned of recently? How did the devil leave her? She simply recited and believed the passage, “Greater is He who is in me than he that is in the world.” In other words, “God, you in me is greater than he who is in the world (not in me).” She repented. Her trust was in Jesus. The devil cannot fill a place that is filled up with the Light of Life. Praise Jesus! |
23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which lives and abides forever.
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See, even Peter’s logic goes straight to the Word of God, which lives and abides forever.
Corruptible seed. Vain imaginations. Vain traditions. A waste of time, space. v18 “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your vain conduct received by tradition from your fathers,”
Incorruptible seed. The seed of the woman. Gen. 3:15.
The word. Logos. Jesus. Bible. |
24 because, “All flesh is like grass, and all the glory of man like the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away,
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Psalm 103:15. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
Isaiah 40:6-8.
1 John 2:17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
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25 but the word of the LORD endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel is preached to you.
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The Word. Will we have Bibles in heaven? What we have in our hands we refer to as Sacred Scripture, the Holy Bible, God’s Word. And, yet, Jesus is also “the word made flesh,” who dwelt among us. How should our Bibles be viewed, as an academic course of study? Or, should it, as the writer to the Hebrews said, “Fix our eyes on Jesus?” We should see Jesus throughout our reading of Sacred Scripture, not banter for a pointless argument.
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SUMMARY: Write 4 or more sentences describing specific learning from these notes.
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Jeff Sandberg, writer, speaker, musician
Sunday, October 06, 2019
2019.10.06. The Way Connection Group. 1 Peter 1:17-25
Audio
2019.09.29 The Way Connection Group 1 Peter 1:13-16
No audio for this message.
1:13-16. Because of this, exercise your responsibility in Christ.
Philipians 2:12-13.
Last week, we were reminded that Christian suffering is not in vain, that through suffering we conform more and more to the image of His Son. We are also reminded that faithful service to Christ is primarily wrapped up in both knowing and preaching God’s Word, a pattern that we should continue to model by the workings of the Holy Spirit in us.
This week, we discuss the praxis - the practical outworkings - of the first 12 verses of chapter 1, as well as where the workings of praxis begins: in the mind. Truly, you could call verses 1-12 the foundation, and verse 13+ the building.
[13] Wherefore 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, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
[15] But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
[16] Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
1:13a. We are to “gird up the loins” of our minds. To gird means to be prepared. According to THe Outline of Biblical Usage, “This is a metaphor derived from the practice of the Orientals, who in order to be unimpeded in their movements were accustomed, when starting a journey or engaging in any work, to bind their long flowing garments closely around their bodies and fastened them with a leather belt.” We are told to gird up the loins of our mind. Physically speaking, the loins are where the generative or procreative powers reside.
Translations:
- NLT: “So think clearly and exercise self-control.”
- ESV: “Therefore, preparing your minds for action.”
- NIV: “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober.”
- CSB: “Therefore, with your minds ready for action.”
- NET: “Therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober.”
In the words of that famous motown hit, “Get ready!” Look at the news reports today. Remember that, for decades, Christians have been issuing the clarion call for preparedness.
1.13b. We are to prepare our minds for action and “hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” So, we have the written revelation of Jesus in our Bibles. We have the 2nd coming of Christ which will be a revelation to all of us in one way or another, those of us who believe to great joy, and those who don’t believe to great terror.
1.14a. Note that this is the 2nd part of Peter’s thought here. Peter ties in preparing our minds with the end of hoping for Christ’s return to not returning to our former lusts that we had once deluded ourselves with being ignorant (evil or otherwise) of the upward call of God in Christ. [EPHESIANS 4:18-22] Similarly, look at Colossians 3:5-7. Paul is always talking to people who had previously practiced disobedience. Isn’t that something. Those of us who believe are born again, are new creatures. Therefore, we are to walk in newness of life. That is a command of Paul in Romans 6:4. This also reminds me of a talk that, ironically enough, Joshua Harris’ brothers did on their Rebelution tour. The discussion hinged on the word “teenager” and its roots, which are only 63 years old. He asked, “Did Paul say, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a teenager, I spoke like a man but still thought and acted as a child?” Well, the answer is ‘no,’ but isn’t that the world we live in? “Hey! Become a teenager. Get a bunch of rights but still throw yourself around like a bratty child.” That’s what we tell Christians. “Hey! Come to Jesus! He doesn’t expect anything of you! Continue in your life of sin, but definitely demand your share like the prodigal child.” Doctrine is so missing from our vocabulary and understanding. Just the plain teaching of adoption - being God’s children and co-heirs with Christ - would separate the sheep from the goats. If you’re in the family, you’re to be responsible with your life. But, we Christians often mistake what it means to come to Christ and to be in Christ.
Look again at that word, ‘obedience.’ Paul opens up his manifesto in Romans 1 in verse 5 with “by whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name.” We are called to obedience. I have a tough time with boiling down the Christian call to an invitation. As parents, I doubt we invited our children to obey. They were to obey because they are our children or consequences would be had. This is scary ground. I want to say that this is the case, but are we - dare I say, am I - prepared for discipline as a child of God? We don’t want to hear it. That’s why so many pastors in our world are hired to preach the prosperity gospel or some other easy-believism for the comfort of their own ears. Congregation are much like the Israelites in the time of the first kings. A king didn’t come in and brainwash them into believing that having an earthly king was a good idea. The people declared it themselves. Moses didn’t give the people the idea that he should be a middle-man between God and the people. The people did! And yet, it is God who say “you will be my people, and I will be your God.” If that is true, we must change our thinking and our actions. If God, and God alone, has wrought our salvation for us, and if he has adopted us as sons and daughters, then let us turn to Him as our Heavenly Father and cling to Him as His beloved children.
So, what is the answer to the gospel call being given as plea to the lost? Peter says in Acts, “God commands all men everywhere to repent.” We are told to repent and believe (obedience is more than implied here) so many times in the NT. That said, God desires all men to repent and not to perish. There is, to some degree, and invitational nature to the gospel command. This repentance that God seeks for us all includes rest for our souls. The wisdom and genius of God our Father is that he is a father above all fathers. We cannot fathom a command that is soaked with compassion and grace like our Heavenly Father can bestow.
1:15. As God is holy, so we are to be holy in all “manner of conversation.” Other translations say “in all your conduct,” “be holy in everything you do,” “be holy in all of your behavior.” The NET says “become holy yourselves in all of your conduct.” So, though we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside us through faith in Christ, we still must train ourselves in godliness, putting off the world’s allure.
Now, again, this verse is really a part of a longer thought which began back at verse 13. See, it’s all connected. The God who calls us keeps us (verse 5). Because the God who calls and keeps us is holy, meaning, he is unlike any manmade god. He is most holy, sacred, meaning pure, morally blameless. As he consecrates us through His sovereignty, we are also to be most holy, sacred, meaning pure, morally blameless. We see this more fully explained later in verses 22 and 23 when Peter says: “Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, see that you love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which lives and abides forever.” In other words, we have been purified in our obedience. Again, our faith is to bring about our obedience unto God. 2 Corinthians 7:1. “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7. What is the will of God? In a word: sanctification, that we should abstain from fornication, spiritually and physically. Wow. Paul is specifically talking about sexual immorality. But, where does it all begin? In the mind!! Lust begins in the mind. We allow it through our mental filters and let it arouse the body. How are we to avoid this? Romans 13:14. “But you, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:27 says those who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Colossians 3:10-12. Colossians 3:10 says the new man is “renewed in knowledge (where does that happen? In the mind!!!) after the image of him that created him.” No guesswork needed here. We are to assume that God is true and every man a liar. God is to be trusted. What kinds of things are we to put on that resemble Christian character? Colossians 3:12-17.
Sunday, September 22, 2019
2019.09.22. 1 Peter 1:10-12. The Way Connection Group
The Way Connection Group
1 Peter Study
1 Peter 1:10-12
Jeff Sandberg, elder
Click here for the audio from the lessonLast week, we discussed the reason Peter begins with reminders about God’s mercy towards sinners and the future blessings and promises believers have. Suffering is a key characteristic of the Christian. At the time, the faith of Peter’s audience was being tried because of the selfishness of Caesar Nero. Though these Christians were not party to Christ’s physical presence on earth, they believed the truth and are thus now under the world’s condemnation.
This week, we look further into the past to remember that their suffering was not in vain. God never had a “plan B.” The salvation of all nations and tongues was pre-arranged before the world began. Because Peter refers to the prophets, we are to assume he means those mentioned in the writings of Sacred Scripture. This came to them through the faithful preaching of the Cross of Christ, a pattern that both they and we should continue to model, by the workings of the Holy Spirit in us.
1:10-12. Prophets looked forward to this time. It was not fully revealed to them but to us.
Verses 10-11.
This faith has been prophesied about for millenia. As Peter stated in a later letter, we are to hold to “be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour.” Jesus gave us an example of this when he spoke to the men on the road to Emmaus about the Messiah. After Jesus revealed himself to them and skedaddled, they said one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us, by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures (v32)?”
“As to this salvation…” referring to “the salvation of your souls,” meaning those from the lot of nations being saved. For example, in Genesis 49:10, Jacob is blessing and prophesying over his sons. Over Judah, he says, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” In Zechariah 6:12, Zechariah prophecies, “And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
Look at Luke 25. This is, of course, Jesus with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The key verses are 25-27. [READER] So, what do we see? We see what Jesus himself saw. Blinders. In other words, people were seeing the tree, but not the forest. That’s in part why Paul called the Gospel the mystery revealed. This is also why dispensationalist churches get planted. This is also why there are covenant and dispensationalist presbyterians and baptists. It’s easy to see why. Covenant meaning, in short (and I mean, very short) that the church has been around since before Christ’s passion), and dispensationalist meaning that God works in different ways in different ears. For instance, think of the Noahic covenant versus the Abrahamic covenant, versus the judges, versus the kings, and so on. And, most notably, that Gentiles were by and large not really welcome into God’s family until the Acts of the Apostles, though we all know of exceptions, like the Centurion, the Samaritan woman, and so on.
In the spirit of Paul’s mystery, look also at Acts 3:17-26. [READER] Peter says that the prophets knew this day was coming. Wasn’t it Jesus who said, “Abraham saw this day and was glad?” Does that necessarily mean they knew all the ins and outs and what it would look like? To be honest, I wonder if Jesus was referring to what Abraham saw once he died and the truth was revealed to him? Of course, it doesn’t say. All we know is, they knew. Some, like the Pharisees, twisted it or wrongly interpreted the prophets, which is why you have multitudes running to make pre-crucifixion Jesus a king before his time.
What’s the point? Peter says here that the prophets carefully searched and investigated the Messiah’s timeline. They didn’t question the event itself. They presumed it to be true. In fact, the Scriptures says they were “seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them.” That’s the difference. They are, in the world’s eyes, not scientists, who, by definition, change with test results or even new hypotheses. The Spirit of God, the God of the universe, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of slavery, revealed to them…
V11. “... that they were not serving themselves, but you…” How? What was and is God doing? Verse 9 - bringing about the salvation of your souls. This is a person on a rescue mission. Angels are not privy to our situation. They don’t get to choose anymore. They had a chance and a third of them chose to follow Lucifer straight to hell.
Verse 12.
Vs 10-12 outline the strivings of the prophets to see and prepare for the coming of the Holy One. “Angels desire to look into” these things.” In Matt. 13:17, Jesus says, “For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” (See also Luke 10:24). Peter and Stephen both repeat these sentiments in Acts. I don't wish to over-personify this too much, but I do think that Stephen, especially, must have had a face-palm moment with the angry, unbelieving Jews.
Daniel Chapter 2 describes a scene where Daniel comes before Nebuchadnezzar to describe and interpret a troubling dream the king has. That he both seeks God (Yahweh) for the vision and issues this type of blessing is instructive for us. Daniel 2:19-23. [READER]
Daniel ascribes truth to the “God in Heaven” before issuing any prophecy. We need not “science it out. Daniel simply prays. Are we a praying people? To know the One True God and be in relationship with Him, isn’t that the point? As we see the prophets inquiring, we must ask ourselves, how does one investigate? The scientific method would have you ask a question, make an educated guess at an answer and test and retest until the hypothesis and the result match. The evidentiary method would have you look for evidence that brings out the truth, in our case, by finding eyewitnesses whose stories corroborate. Or, we can simply do what the prophets did. Ask God. We have the Bible, We are in the Bible still called to pray.
Most of you have heard the phrase, “progressive revelation.” This simply means that parts of a particular truth are revealed piece by piece until the whole is revealed at the end. In Bible terms, this means, in part, that God is revealed in his fullness, piece by piece, going from being a bit cloudy to “seeing him, as it were, face to face.” Daniel is still revealing a mystery. Yet, he trusted fully in the God he loves yet only knows in part.
In summary, we have prophets, chosen by God, seeking Him to know Christ and how and when he’ll work. We see prophecy fulfilled and continuing to be fulfilled as we speak. We see the nations having the gospel proclaimed. We see as Jerome Smith summarizes in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, “the Holy Spirit confirming and prospering the preaching of the gospel by the Apostles and deacons like Stephen and Philip.”
My challenge today would be to do as the prophets and apostles did. As Jesus did. Trust God and pray. They didn’t say, “Dear all you gods, would the one who has the answer to this question give me the answer?” No, he prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He went to the source and asked for his imminent wisdom. May we do the same as we seek to invite sinners to the one who revealed himself as Jesus, the one who through whom the world and everything in it have been made.
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