back to indexWed. Bible Study (1 Peter) Lesson 1 • 1-11-17
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and I'm gonna give you guys just two to three minutes 00:00:18.040 |
and that dilemma is suffering and hardship, okay? 00:00:27.480 |
is going to go through toiling, he says, you know? 00:00:35.400 |
Now, there's a question of why that happens, okay? 00:00:44.040 |
some of the answers can be a little bit more, 00:00:47.680 |
but just kind of go around and throw at each other 00:00:49.720 |
a couple reasons as to why suffering happens in our lives. 00:03:23.320 |
How about table right in front of me with John? 00:03:41.040 |
these are just obvious things that happen in our lives, 00:03:48.920 |
the reason that God could be working behind the scenes, 00:03:54.040 |
I'm surprised no one just said because we're fools, 00:03:58.120 |
we can expect that there's going to be suffering, okay? 00:04:01.000 |
Now, in your packet, I asked you this question. 00:04:05.000 |
which is suffering and hardship in our lives, 00:04:07.680 |
we as Christians have a cherry on top, so to speak. 00:04:11.960 |
We can expect, actually, above and beyond the suffering 00:04:20.100 |
Because we as Christians often go through persecution. 00:04:26.440 |
and I don't know if you guys ever asked a question, 00:04:41.080 |
like, by doctrine, supposed to be the most loving, 00:04:54.280 |
And we realize there's a lot of reasons for that, too. 00:05:04.940 |
we have an enemy who is constantly trying to attack us, 00:05:08.440 |
whether it's because, you know what scripture says sometimes 00:05:10.920 |
is that when Christians talk about their peace, 00:05:17.640 |
there's a sense in which the dark, perverse world 00:05:38.400 |
that we're gonna have hardship and suffering. 00:05:42.720 |
you can actually expect not less hardship and pain, 00:05:51.680 |
is that we are going to constantly experience 00:05:59.880 |
And Jesus was the one who taught his disciples, 00:06:20.080 |
And then Apostle Paul said it very, very explicitly, 00:06:27.060 |
"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ, 00:06:40.400 |
What you can expect and anticipate for your life 00:06:53.760 |
you're going to also expect persecution in your life. 00:06:57.360 |
Now my question is, is that what we actually expect, 00:07:01.440 |
or are we absolutely surprised whenever there's hardship? 00:07:08.080 |
Are we crumbling because certain things happen 00:07:10.280 |
and we feel ostracized, and maybe all of a sudden 00:07:21.940 |
That's a sobering question for us, is it not? 00:07:25.760 |
What was our expectation, just worldview-wise, 00:07:30.240 |
in terms of what to anticipate as we live our lives? 00:07:33.800 |
And that's something that this book, 1 Peter, 00:07:43.280 |
a body of believers, not in one specific congregation, 00:08:10.960 |
or make a list of all the experiences that we had, 00:08:14.140 |
I'm pretty sure we can make a really extensive list 00:08:16.640 |
of the different kinds of sufferings you've experienced. 00:08:19.560 |
Because, again, I know that from your personal experiences, 00:08:23.160 |
maybe, whether it was relationships and broken family, 00:08:30.640 |
I know that we've experienced a lot of suffering. 00:08:37.480 |
are people who are being intentionally persecuted, 00:08:43.800 |
How is Apostle Paul going to strengthen them? 00:08:47.520 |
How is Apostle Peter going to encourage them, 00:08:58.760 |
and let's take our Bibles out and go to 1 Peter. 00:09:09.000 |
Today, we're gonna take a look at verses one through six. 00:09:35.000 |
So it says, "Peter, an apostle to Jesus Christ, 00:09:46.340 |
"who are chosen according to the foreknowledge 00:09:49.120 |
"of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, 00:09:53.020 |
"to obey Jesus Christ, and be sprinkled with his blood. 00:09:56.720 |
"May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. 00:10:00.100 |
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:10:05.100 |
"has caused us to be born again to a living hope, 00:10:07.800 |
"through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 00:10:10.940 |
"to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, 00:10:27.060 |
"even though now for a little while, if necessary, 00:10:29.680 |
"you have been distressed by various trials." 00:10:35.900 |
Lord, as we take a time to look into your word, 00:10:46.380 |
just your truth, and that by the Spirit we'll be convicted. 00:10:53.680 |
that's preventing us, that's a hurdle to your Spirit 00:10:56.740 |
working in our lives, I ask that by the power 00:10:59.380 |
of your Spirit, you would cleanse us of those things. 00:11:01.880 |
And God, would you give us just a surrendered heart 00:11:07.540 |
Lord, we thank you for this time, it's in Christ's name. 00:11:11.820 |
So, let's take a look at the first section here. 00:11:16.680 |
So I've kinda divided the section by section for us. 00:11:26.420 |
Now, going pretty slowly, we're just looking at 00:11:31.880 |
and gives an introduction identifying himself. 00:11:35.720 |
Now, we could just, if you're reading your Bibles, 00:11:37.760 |
you could just read it and go on to the next part. 00:11:46.560 |
Even if it's something as plain Jane as this. 00:11:55.120 |
Now, if you guys have been with the church a long time, 00:11:59.200 |
Pastor Peter, I was about to call him Apostle Peter. 00:12:03.820 |
one time gave a long series about the credentials 00:12:23.740 |
We could ask the question, so you guys can jot 00:12:26.880 |
We could ask the question, what makes them different 00:12:44.540 |
what is the general attitude towards an apostle 00:12:48.660 |
Like, you can just say, oh, you know, Apostle Peter. 00:12:50.900 |
Well, at that time, you do realize they didn't have 00:12:53.500 |
a long history of like, you know, apostles from Christ 00:13:07.060 |
all of these questions, but let's have audience 00:13:10.860 |
participation and somebody kinda say, you know, 00:13:18.860 |
what kinda weight does that carry for this letter? 00:13:46.420 |
- So, Apostle is someone that Jesus hand-picked 00:13:55.780 |
Yes, apostleship is not something that's like, 00:14:09.380 |
because it came with that kind of appointment, 00:14:14.900 |
So when Apostle Peter says, I'm the apostle of Jesus Christ, 00:14:18.540 |
later on, he's gonna talk about how Christ is our Lord 00:14:25.000 |
And so, whenever you see that term being used 00:14:27.860 |
within the church context or even in the letters, 00:14:33.340 |
because the position itself was truly like an ambassador. 00:14:42.300 |
We're not gonna spend too much extensive time on that, 00:14:46.860 |
that we ask great questions as we study the passage. 00:14:50.760 |
The next part of it, part B of verse one says, 00:14:56.540 |
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, 00:15:25.800 |
and then I immediately, let me see if I can do this today. 00:15:35.920 |
You know what, I'm probably not gonna do this. 00:15:37.120 |
All right, to those who, these are the recipients. 00:15:43.360 |
that are his recipients that he's talking about. 00:15:59.600 |
And these next several ones are all gonna be, okay, 00:16:09.040 |
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, okay? 00:16:16.080 |
Next time, I'm gonna try something different. 00:16:18.140 |
But when I diagram my verse, this is how I do it. 00:16:27.480 |
and then the last one is to those who are chosen, right? 00:16:36.120 |
sometimes even when I'm trying to prepare a Bible study, 00:16:38.520 |
if I see that there is a connection like this, 00:16:40.960 |
I realize now there's going to be an added to one bucket, 00:16:58.420 |
So, also, right now, you guys don't have to copy 00:17:10.180 |
you guys can just, again, highlight one thing, 00:17:17.300 |
Like that, between each phrase is to chop it up. 00:17:20.300 |
And then you guys can draw a line towards what it modifies. 00:17:23.620 |
So, when I look at the relationship of phrases, 00:17:26.500 |
I start asking the question, what does this phrase modify? 00:17:30.060 |
These phrases modify the concept of who it is. 00:17:34.360 |
But, as I ask that question, you know what I'm doing 00:17:36.480 |
is I'm practicing the hermeneutical principle of syntax. 00:17:44.660 |
and that actually teaches me a whole lot, okay? 00:17:56.780 |
oh, you guys are pilgrims in this day and age. 00:17:59.980 |
You have a heavenly place, so you're just pilgrims. 00:18:08.380 |
Because socially, you guys are aliens to those individuals? 00:18:19.260 |
But also, you wanna ask, why are they scattered, right? 00:18:25.460 |
He actually gives a list of Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, 00:18:30.460 |
Bithynia, and he gives a name of cities, right? 00:18:34.940 |
So, as you make this observation, you realize, 00:18:36.900 |
hey, is there any significance to that location? 00:18:52.860 |
In answering the first one, is it metaphorical, 00:18:56.100 |
is it spiritual, in order for something to be metaphorical, 00:19:08.580 |
where the plain reading, the literal reading of the word, 00:19:13.900 |
is kinda, doesn't make sense, or it's not sufficient, 00:19:20.940 |
But, here, in this passage, because of the list of cities, 00:19:30.920 |
We realize, actually, Apostle Peter is literally saying, 00:19:46.780 |
which, historically, referred to how the Jews 00:19:56.220 |
Let me share with you a little bit about the background, 00:20:15.660 |
You guys have probably heard the name Emperor Nero. 00:20:26.220 |
As a matter of fact, when I was a philosophy major at UCI, 00:20:36.060 |
and Nero was seen as one of the most vicious emperors 00:21:01.380 |
Because of his insanity, he would even clear the area, 00:21:05.860 |
There was suspicion of, what in the world is this man doing? 00:21:12.280 |
Emperor Nero decided to scapegoat on the Christians. 00:21:16.800 |
Christians were already seen as, like, a weird sect, 00:21:23.600 |
They wouldn't worship the gods of the Romans. 00:21:33.800 |
Emperor Nero would murder Christians regularly. 00:21:46.760 |
how Emperor Nero would send them amongst the beast 00:21:50.720 |
them to be chased and all this kind of stuff. 00:21:57.020 |
is almost too vocal to even mention in this place. 00:22:22.640 |
That's the kind of concept we're thinking about, 00:22:48.360 |
Because yes, he's talking about how they were, 00:22:54.520 |
But all of a sudden, there's almost like a contrast 00:23:00.160 |
And this concept of being chosen is a doctrine for us 00:23:09.240 |
how does he address and encourage these Christians, 00:23:23.400 |
according to the foreknowledge of God, the Father, 00:23:30.000 |
to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood. 00:23:34.280 |
May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. 00:23:39.960 |
So, we first have, the way that I would diagram it is, 00:23:45.600 |
again, for you guys right now on the paragraph, 00:23:54.700 |
He goes from who, and then, da, da, da, da, da, 00:24:04.920 |
chosen according to the foreknowledge of God, the Father, 00:24:10.440 |
Chosen by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, 00:24:36.860 |
we really start to have lots that we can ask. 00:24:45.140 |
And this is just gonna be, again, an exercise for us. 00:24:54.100 |
What kind of questions can you ask about these phrases? 00:28:03.680 |
Okay, so for those of you guys who don't have packets, 00:28:14.200 |
and we'll have some of those coming real soon, okay? 00:28:29.200 |
What are some questions that you guys came up with? 00:28:41.040 |
is there any relationship between Peter being chosen 00:28:52.480 |
Is there a relationship between Peter being chosen 00:29:00.760 |
How about, let's see, this group in the front. 00:29:11.520 |
- Are we chosen to obey or do we choose to obey? 00:29:20.480 |
- Ooh, okay, are we chosen to obey or do we choose to obey? 00:29:28.520 |
the idea of God's sovereignty over us is working, okay? 00:29:41.160 |
what is the nature of God's foreknowledge, okay? 00:29:52.680 |
work together with God's foreknowledge, okay? 00:29:55.880 |
So there's a lot of questions that you guys can ask. 00:30:04.880 |
I was initially trying to do something on my iPad, 00:30:09.920 |
on the first one, top number two, or verse two, 00:30:12.920 |
I wrote an S because as I look at this passage, 00:30:18.360 |
He's saying you are chosen, and he says according to. 00:30:22.120 |
These prepositional words, I always try to ask, 00:30:28.160 |
If something is according to his foreknowledge, 00:30:31.120 |
then that means it has, it resembles that thing. 00:30:42.200 |
hey, today we're gonna talk about being chosen. 00:30:44.320 |
First, you're chosen, and the source of being chosen 00:31:03.400 |
continues to work out salvation and his election of us. 00:31:16.040 |
Our election, the source, the means, the purpose. 00:31:25.240 |
of how the phrases attach to those simple concepts 00:31:29.360 |
is the exercise of syntax, and it teaches us a lot, okay? 00:31:33.480 |
Now I wanna take a moment here to think about this. 00:31:41.880 |
Or let me just think about this for a minute. 00:31:49.480 |
and then you can read your Bible and cursory, 00:31:54.240 |
That's like every other letter that, you know, 00:32:04.720 |
into this question of what does that teach us about God? 00:32:07.800 |
Well, let's answer some of these questions, you know? 00:32:25.360 |
Like, what is the nature of God's knowledge of us? 00:32:28.000 |
There have been camps of people who will say, 00:32:30.280 |
God's knowledge of us is kinda like prediction. 00:32:33.120 |
There are those individuals who believe God's foreknowledge 00:32:40.960 |
and therefore, he behaves in a certain fashion. 00:32:45.320 |
knows you're gonna choose and receive his gospel, 00:32:48.080 |
and therefore, he accepts you into his kingdom, 00:32:58.600 |
There's a, you know, when I ask the question, 00:33:04.960 |
these are all questions that we can actually observe 00:33:12.080 |
And again, I'm asking for audience participation here. 00:33:20.800 |
where scripture talks about God having a foreknowledge, 00:33:23.560 |
a knowledge of somebody before they even were? 00:33:39.120 |
Can you guys tell me, like, can we just, you know, 00:33:41.000 |
again, as an exercise of jogging our memories, 00:33:59.640 |
not just King David, but a lot of the prophets, 00:34:30.880 |
As a matter of fact, his foreknowledge, then, 00:34:33.400 |
is a lot more purposeful, it's more intentional, 00:34:39.080 |
And that's what scripture continues to teach us. 00:34:41.200 |
As a matter of fact, when we look at this passage alone, 00:34:43.760 |
when we ask the question, in his foreknowledge, 00:34:47.720 |
let's just kinda take a cursory look at the whole passage. 00:34:52.680 |
according to this foreknowledge, he chose us, 00:34:58.600 |
blessed be God of our father, Lord Jesus Christ, 00:35:09.480 |
and who protected you by the power of God through faith 00:35:12.200 |
for salvation, ready to be reeled in the last time. 00:35:17.520 |
who, uninvolved, is just looking into the future? 00:35:25.880 |
planned, then worked, then executed, and then accomplished. 00:35:41.360 |
and he is going to accomplish it with this power. 00:35:57.800 |
that that most powerful person is emperor and hero. 00:36:08.260 |
verse eight through 11, that reads like this. 00:36:23.280 |
from ancient times, the things which have not been done, 00:36:36.440 |
Truly, I have spoken, truly, I will bring to pass. 00:36:46.080 |
of what is the nature of God's foreknowledge, 00:36:47.920 |
we can be reminded, God is a God of absolute sovereignty 00:36:51.880 |
and what he knows is not simply in his intellect, 00:36:55.720 |
what he knows, he decrees and accomplishes, amen? 00:37:04.060 |
and we feel like things are spiraling out of control, 00:37:08.080 |
when we feel and when we see is other people in power, 00:37:16.440 |
And sometimes because things are out of our control, 00:37:26.220 |
With his foreknowledge, with the work of his spirit. 00:37:33.640 |
he asks this question, or he says that this, again, 00:37:42.720 |
We're not gonna spend an incredible amount of time 00:37:46.560 |
but that's something that we could look into too. 00:38:00.980 |
as a workmanship, like destined for good works, right? 00:38:08.320 |
and then he has this idea of being sprinkled with his blood. 00:38:11.800 |
I wanna encourage you, if you have the ESV Bible, 00:38:15.180 |
the NASB Bible with the cross references, look at those. 00:38:35.960 |
if you look up either the ESV reference Bible, 00:38:38.700 |
or you look up the NASB, you'll find two verses. 00:38:47.420 |
In your own time, you can take a look at those 00:38:50.460 |
when the Bible talks about being sprinkled with his blood, 00:39:12.340 |
So let's read it together, or I'll read it for us. 00:39:26.820 |
"has caused us to be born again to a living hope 00:39:29.140 |
"through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 00:39:31.780 |
"To obtain an inheritance which is imperishable 00:39:38.020 |
"who are protected by the power of God through faith 00:39:40.900 |
"for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 00:39:45.500 |
Now what's hard about this is verse three through five 00:39:51.420 |
And actually, even longer, it's just like run-on going down. 00:39:58.620 |
there is kind of like an overflowing passion and thought 00:40:32.300 |
Next, "He has caused us to be born again to a living hope." 00:40:38.380 |
"through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 00:40:42.820 |
And just like before, when we asked the question, 00:40:47.180 |
how do they relate to the concept beforehand? 00:40:59.580 |
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 00:41:02.980 |
And just like before, we have a similar structure, 00:41:06.060 |
and that structure is, when he focuses on the concept 00:41:08.820 |
of being born again, there is a source, his mercies. 00:41:13.820 |
There is a means, right, through the resurrection, 00:41:19.660 |
That's the kind of relationships you can observe 00:41:30.220 |
"To obtain an inheritance which is imperishable 00:41:49.940 |
"To obtain an inheritance," what does that modify? 00:41:56.000 |
to be born again for this, to have an inheritance 00:41:59.520 |
which is imperishable, undefiled, will not fade away, 00:42:08.720 |
Oh, man, maybe when I, again, in cursory reading, 00:42:13.080 |
it was just like, oh, man, they're lofty words. 00:42:28.320 |
this and that, I would always have a sentiment of like, 00:42:31.820 |
oh, man, over-exaggeration, irreal, you know, so cliche. 00:42:36.820 |
But the fact of the matter is, if you start to slow down 00:42:40.940 |
to look at the details, he's just adding upon 00:42:44.340 |
one and the other the magnitude of what God has done for us 00:42:54.200 |
that there's so much of this, I guess you could say, 00:43:00.400 |
and he talks about us receiving this inheritance 00:43:07.920 |
Look at what he talks about, how he addresses 00:43:15.640 |
will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. 00:43:18.320 |
It convicts me because, to tell you truthfully, 00:43:52.720 |
we have something that's not simply going to improve, 00:44:06.440 |
So, by application for us, kind of putting it 00:44:13.880 |
about how things perish, how things continue to fade, 00:44:21.320 |
They start to complain about the possessions they have, 00:44:23.600 |
their house problems, their relational problems, 00:44:28.840 |
but then we ask the question, and we wonder again, 00:44:41.960 |
are ruining your house and defiling everything, 00:44:44.960 |
you have nothing to fear for your inheritance. 00:45:11.560 |
Now, I wish that I had this really, really long, 00:45:23.800 |
Let's put it together and summarize what we've been saying. 00:45:29.360 |
through chapter one, verses one down to verse five, 00:45:45.440 |
you're persecuted, and you've been chased everywhere. 00:45:48.160 |
He says, you've been given and afforded all this 00:45:54.800 |
And all of this is being accomplished for you 00:45:57.080 |
by the work of the Spirit, the resurrection of Christ, 00:46:06.760 |
inheritance, and a salvation that's incredible. 00:46:21.400 |
I've lost sight of something so amazing and so great. 00:46:28.800 |
when I counsel people, I get a little bit apprehensive, 00:46:34.920 |
to counsel individuals, and they're just not hearing it. 00:47:09.520 |
And it's like, and that was just an indication 00:47:11.240 |
what's gonna happen, because as they jacked my parking spot, 00:47:19.920 |
like she's embittered with me because I was frustrated, 00:47:22.400 |
and then now she's frustrated, and she's mad at me. 00:47:25.120 |
And then my kids, they're just driving me crazy. 00:47:27.320 |
I'm losing all my hair, and they're not obedient. 00:47:34.520 |
I asked a question earlier of like how Apostle Peter 00:47:39.800 |
would encourage the people who are suffering like that. 00:47:44.600 |
a hypothetical scenario like this in my head. 00:47:50.200 |
you have an inheritance that's so much greater. 00:47:52.560 |
The scripture says that there is an inheritance for you 00:48:02.160 |
and what they'll typically say is, yes, yes, I get that. 00:48:16.680 |
and challenge us with today is there is something 00:48:28.360 |
Because when you have that kind of worldview, 00:48:30.560 |
what you're saying is the solution I'm looking for 00:48:35.200 |
The solution I'm looking for is not what you're saying 00:48:45.560 |
all I want is the solution of get rid of this for me. 00:48:49.720 |
And that's a lot of times what people experience. 00:48:55.840 |
is remove the difficulty, change the circumstance. 00:48:58.840 |
But what Apostle Peter is saying, you have to have faith. 00:49:02.440 |
You have to have faith to believe that even the solution, 00:49:05.640 |
even if God said, okay, I'll remove that from you, 00:49:10.340 |
You have something greater than just simple peace, 00:49:15.040 |
the absence of discomfort, and the removal of all pain. 00:49:23.880 |
that no one can touch, that only God can give you. 00:49:28.320 |
And that's why he says, so what I wanna give you 00:49:30.920 |
is the abounding fullness of grace and peace. 00:49:33.840 |
I skipped it because I wanted to save it for the end. 00:49:36.480 |
Apostle Peter's purpose for us is that we would abound 00:49:40.680 |
to the full measure of grace and peace in his heart, 00:49:51.080 |
and because we had all the suffering and persecution 00:49:55.880 |
Apostle Peter is saying, have this faith and belief 00:49:58.600 |
and trust in your heart that you have something 00:50:00.840 |
so much greater than the solution you so eagerly 00:50:06.440 |
The eradication of discomfort is actually weak 00:50:12.320 |
compared to what we have in the gospel, amen? 00:50:21.240 |
at the very end of the book, 1 Peter chapter five, 00:50:29.640 |
I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying 00:50:32.920 |
that this is the true grace of God, stam-fer-minent. 00:50:38.940 |
Sometimes we're looking for practical advice, 00:50:40.920 |
we're looking for application, all that kind of stuff, 00:50:47.120 |
dealing with persecution, comes down to this, our belief. 00:51:03.880 |
that he has chosen with his great foreknowledge? 00:51:17.000 |
God is moving me towards his end, what he purposed for me? 00:51:26.400 |
the battle on the level of, where is my faith? 00:51:29.740 |
So I wanna challenge us with this first lesson, 00:51:45.460 |
And is it one where it's strong and standing firm 00:51:51.980 |
Father God, we wanna pray, Lord, that by your spirit, 00:52:06.320 |
And then in your grace, you would remind us of the truth 00:52:12.300 |
Lord, we confess and we also repent of the fact 00:52:20.480 |
But I pray, Father God, that we would not live our lives 00:52:23.240 |
by our physical sight, but truly that we would live by faith. 00:52:28.000 |
God, trusting and believing that the salvation we have 00:52:31.060 |
is worth all the sacrifice, is worth all the things 00:52:36.920 |
And I pray, Father God, that if there's anybody in here 00:52:39.280 |
who is tempted with quitting, tempted with despairing, 00:52:48.520 |
That God, you are a God who have been actively working 00:52:52.800 |
And Lord, you will always accomplish your will,