Download Introduction to 1 Peter Pt. 2 - The Recipients

Introduction to 1st Peter
Part 2- The Recipients
Lesson 2
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the
sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and
sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
1 Peter 1:1-2
I.
Introduction – A message to the disenfranchised
II.
The message that was sent – 1:1-2
A.
A chosen people bought with a price
B.
An alien people behaving in purity
2:11-4:11
See 2:11-12, 21-23 for the recurring theme
C.
III.
1.
turn from sin
2.
do the right thing
3.
trust God for the outcome
1:3-2:10
A suffering people bound for paradise
4:12-5:11
your true home is heaven
your true home is not here
following Christ now leads to glory later
The message’s recipients
Pontus
Galatia
Cappadocia
Asia
Bithynia
Acts 2:5-11, 41
5
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
6
When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in
his own language.
7
Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?
8
Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?
9
Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome
11
(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs - we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
41
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Acts 18:2
There (Corinth) he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with
his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome.
Acts 14:1
At Iconium (in Galatia) Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue.
There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed
1
Acts 16:6-8
6
Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit
from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
7
When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
8
So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.
Acts 19:8-10
8
Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
9
But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He
took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
10
This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
IV.
The message, Part 1 - Never forget who you are
A.
You are elect of God
1.
2.
Presentation in scripture
a.
Acts 13:48
…and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
b.
Romans 8:30
And those he predestined, he also called
c.
Ephesians 1:3-11
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to
the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the
purpose of his will,
d.
2 Thess 2:13-14
…because from the beginning God chose you
e.
Titus 1:1-2
an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect …which God,
promised before the beginning of time,
f.
2 Timothy 1:9-10
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
Illustration from Paul
Romans 9:11-24
3.
John 6:65
Confirmation of Jesus
And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me,
unless it has been granted him from the Father."
NASB
No one
____________________________________
Can
____________________________________
Come to me
_______________________________________
Unless
_______________________________________
It has been granted _____________________________________
John 6:44
No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. NASB
Gk: helko (hel’-ko) to drag; “to compel by irresistible superiority” (Kittel) “in connection with coercion” (Thayer)
John 3:7-8
7
You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'
8
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
Matt 11:27
All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
2
“Peter thus opens his letter by writing of one of the most controversial and hated doctrines and doing so with no
self-consciousness, no apology, no effort to palliate, and no explanation of or deferral to opposing arguments. He states
this truth of sovereign election for what it is, a reality recognized and believed among the apostles and in the church.”
John MacArthur
4.
Consequences for believers
1.
destroys pride
1 Cor 1:28-31
28
He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the
things that are,
29
so that no one may boast before him.
30
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our
righteousness, holiness and redemption.
31
Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
Eph 2:8-9
8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9
not by works, so that no one can boast.
2.
motivates love, gratitude, and worship
3.
encourages evangelism
“This means that in a past eternity, God chose them to belong to himself. The doctrine of divine election is not
always popular, but it does have this virtue – it allows God to be God. Attempts to make it palatable to man
only succeed in detracting from the sovereignty of God. Any difficulty in reconciling God’s election and human
responsibility lies in man’s mind, not in God’s. The Bible teaches both doctrines, and we should believe both.
The truth lies in both extremes, not somewhere between them.” William MacDonald
The problem of “either/or” thinking about God
B.
You are aliens in the world
parepidemos, an adjective signifying "sojourning in a strange place, away from one's own people" (para, "from,"
expressing a contrary condition, and epidemeo, "to sojourn"; demos, "a people"), is used of OT saints, Heb 11:13,
"pilgrims"; of Christians, 1 Peter 1:1, the word is thus used metaphorically of those to whom Heaven is their own country,
and who are sojourners on earth
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
1.
The “parepidemos” of Abraham
Heb 11:9-10; 13-16
9
By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac
and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
10
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
13
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw
them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
14
People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.
15
If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.
16
Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their
God, for he has prepared a city for them.
3
2.
The “parepidemos” of the exiles
Jer 29:4-7
4
This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5
"Build houses and settle down ; plant gardens and eat what they produce.
6
Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may
have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.
7
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because
if it prospers, you too will prosper."
3.
Phil 3:20
The “parepidemos” of Christians
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
John 14:1-3
14:1
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
2
In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
V.
The message, Part 2 – Never forget whose you are
1 Peter 1:2
A.
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, …
You belong to God the Father
1.
who “chose” you
Eph 1:3-4
3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every
spiritual blessing in Christ.
4
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world …
2.
who “foreknew” (predetermined to love) you
a.
Looking “down the corridors of time” (is fraught with problems)
1.
man is capable of seeking God if he wants to.
Rom 3:10-12
10
As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;
11
there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
12
All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."
Rom 8:7
because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God,
for it is not even able to do so;
NASB
2.
John 15:16
man is sovereign in salvation, not God
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last.
3.
man deserves credit for “making a good decision”
Eph 2:8-9
8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9
not by works, so that no one can boast.
4
1 Cor 1:30-31
30
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, …..
31
Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
b.
Looking at “foreknowledge” Biblically
proginosko, "to know before" (pro, "before," ginosko, "to know"), is used of divine knowledge, concerning (1) Christ, 1
Peter 1:20, RV, "foreknown" (KJV, "foreordained"); (2) Israel as God's earthly people, Rom 11:2; (3) believers, Rom
8:29; "the foreknowledge" of God is the basis of His foreordaining counsels;
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Amos 3:2
You only have I known of all the families of the earth;
NKJV
Matt 7:22-23
22
Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out
demons and perform many miracles?'
23
Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.
John 10:14
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me
The Father is regarded, in the Scriptures, as the Author of the plan of salvation, and as having chosen His
people to life, and given them to His Son to redeem and save, John 6:37,65; 17:2,6,11.
The simple fact here affirmed, which no one can deny, is, that there was foreknowledge in the case on the part
of God. It was not the result of Ignorance or of blind chance that they were selected. But if foreknown, must it
not be certain? How could a thing which is foreknown be contingent or doubtful? The essential idea here is, that
the original choice was on the part of God, and not on their part, and that this choice was founded on what He
before knew to be best. He undoubtedly saw good and sufficient reasons why the choice should fall on them. I
do not know that the reasons why he did it are revealed, or that they could be fully comprehended by us if they
were. I am quite certain that it is not stated that it is because they would be more disposed of themselves to
embrace the Saviour than others; for the Scriptures abundantly teach, what every regenerated person feels to
be true, that the fact that we are disposed to embrace the Saviour is to be traced to a divine influence on our
hearts, and not to ourselves. See John 6:65; Rom 9:16; Titus 3:5; Ps 110:2-3.
(from Barnes' Notes (1860), Kregel Publishers, Grand Rapids MI; Copyright © 1962)
B.
1 Peter 1:2
You belong to God the Holy Spirit who sanctifies you (in a 3 fold progression)
….chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit,
1.
positional
(John 3:3-8)
Titus 3:5
he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
Eph 2:6
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
2.
Heb 10:14
because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
3.
Col 1:22
Rom 8:30
practical
perfection
But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight,
without blemish and free from accusation
And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
5
C.
1 Peter 1:2
You belong to the Lord Jesus Christ
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
1.
who calls you to obedience
John 14:21, 23
21
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.
He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.
23
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.
My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
2.
who secures you with His covenant
Ex 24:3-8
3
When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice,
"Everything the LORD has said we will do."
4
Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the
foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.
5
Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship
offerings to the LORD.
6
Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.
7
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the
LORD has said; we will obey."
8
Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD
has made with you in accordance with all these words."
Luke 22:20
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
which is poured out for you.
Heb 9:15
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant , that those who are called may receive the
promised eternal inheritance — now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed
under the first covenant.
Jude 24-25
24
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and
with great joy—
25
to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages,
now and forevermore! Amen.
The believer’s Great Comfort
2 Thess 2:13
VI.
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning
God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
Peter Blesses the Blessed
1 Peter 1:2b
….Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
The grace to believe who you are and whose you are. The peace that accrues to those to whom such grace is given.
6
The CHOSEN of God
Abraham was chosen
Gen 18:18-19
18
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
19
For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing
what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
Rebecca was chosen
Gen 24:14
May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says,
'Drink, and I'll water your camels too' — let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac.
By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."
Jacob was chosen
Rom 9:10-12
10
Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac.
11
Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad — in order that God's purpose in election might stand:
12
not by works but by him who calls — she was told, "The older will serve the younger."
The Israelites were chosen
Deut 7:6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you
out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
The Levites were chosen
Deut 21:5
The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to
pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.
Craftsmen for the tabernacle were chosen
Ex 35:30-31
30
Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
31
and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts —
Saul was chosen
1 Sam 10:24
Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man the LORD has chosen?
There is no one like him among all the people." Then the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
David was chosen
1 Sam 16:1
The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel?
Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."
Solomon was chosen
1 Chron 28:5
Of all my sons — and the LORD has given me many — he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the
kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
Holy Angels are chosen
1 Tim 5:21
I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality,
and to do nothing out of favoritism.
Jesus was chosen
Isa 42:1
Matt 12:18
"Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.
Luke 9:35
A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."
1 Peter 1:19-20
19
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
20
He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
7
The disciples were chosen
John 6:70
Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!"
John 13:18
"I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture:
'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'
John 15:19
If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world,
but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
Acts 1:2
…until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
Witnesses to Christ’s resurrection were chosen
Acts 10:40-41
40
but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
41
He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen — by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from
the dead.
Paul was chosen
Acts 9:15
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings
and before the people of Israel.
Kingdom people (Christians) are chosen
Matt 22:14
"For many are invited, but few are chosen."
Mark 13:20
If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen,
he has shortened them.
Matt 24:24
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect —
if that were possible.
Luke 18:7
And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
Rom 8:29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Rom 8:33
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
Rom 11:5
So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
Rom 11:7
What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
Eph 1:4
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
Eph 1:11
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with
the purpose of his will,
Col 3:12
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience.
2 Tim 2:10
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
Titus 1:1
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—
1 Peter 1:1-2
1
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia and Bithynia,
2
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit,
for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,
that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Rev 17:14
They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings —
and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."
8
TNBS Questions
Preparation for week 3
Memorize 1 Peter 1:3-4
Read 1 Peter, underlining or circling each time a term for “hope” is used ; then reread verses 3-5
1.
How have your thoughts about the doctrine of election been changed or encouraged?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2.
How does belonging to God and not belonging here, in the world, provide comfort to hurting people?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
As you read through 1 Peter, ‘hope’ is a recurring theme. How is “hoping I win the lottery” different
from “hoping I go to heaven”?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3.
4.
What are two distinguishing features of our inheritance and why does this give us reason to hope?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5.
What is this inheritance? _______________________________________________________________
6.
How is it made available to us (vs 3) ? ____________________________________________________
7.
When is it received? ___________________________________________________________________
8.
Verse 5 speaks of 2 elements in a Christian’s perseverance. What are they and how are they not
contradictory? See Matthew 24:13, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Phil 2:12-13 for help.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
9.
What are the things that Peter says guarantees our inheritance?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
10.
How can looking toward heaven be a comfort in difficult times?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
11.
Read Ephesians 1:3-14; What additional insights does this passage give us concerning our inheritance?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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