Reflections on 1 Peter 1:10-12

A member of the church I pastor recently sent me a list of questions regarding 1 Peter 1:10-12. I enjoyed sitting down and punching out my understanding of those verses and his questions.

First, the text and then my response...

1 Peter 1:10-12
"Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look."

Introduction

This is a FASCINATING text! In it, we see some of the mystery of divine inspiration revealed. Divine Inspiration is a term used to speak of how the Holy Spirit used fallible men to write an infallible Book. The Holy Spirit did not put them into a trance and take over their bodies. Instead, he ‘influenced’ them (in a way we cannot adequately understand) and used their experiences, their vocabulary and idioms, grammar and so much more to pen the Bible. Yet, in some way, while they may not have been conscious at the time that they were penning Scripture, at some point they came to understand that God was speaking through them and they went back to discover what God was saying through them.

v. 10 - 'prophets', who specifically? Daniel and Isaiah. I give these two names because both 'predicted the sufferings of Christ', as stated in v. 11.

·         Peter seems to be intentionally ambiguous about who the ‘prophets’ were. He seems to simply give a blanket statement.

·         In fact, I believe that Peter could have been referring not just to Isaiah and a couple of others but to every God-sent prophet in the Old Testament. If we look at how the writers of the New Testament quoted the Old Testament when speaking of Jesus, we come to see that they were convinced that everything in the Old Testament pointed to Jesus. For instance, while the Psalmist didn’t realize as he was penning Psalm 22 that he was describing in great detail the scene of the crucifixion, we now realize that is exactly what happened.

·         Further, we need only to look at Jesus to see that every Old Testament prophet spoke about Him. When He was on the road to Emmaus and speaking to the disciples who were perplexed with the crucifixion and rumors of a resurrection, Luke 24:27 tells us: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he (Jesus) interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Clearly, Jesus believed that every prophet in the Old Testament (including Moses and ALL the prophets) spoke about Him.

·         So, I believe “the prophets” is simply a blanket statement for the folks in the Old Testament who spoke on behalf of God and, without their knowledge, were speaking of Jesus.

v. 11 - 'Spirit of Christ', should I interpret this to mean Holy Spirit

·         Most certainly the “Spirit of Christ” is the Holy Spirit. This is divine inspiration. Men spoke on behalf of God as God’s Holy Spirit “influenced” them. When they were speaking the words that would eventually end up in Scripture, they spoke infallibly (no incorrect grammar, vocabulary, untruth in what they said, etc.)

·         2 Peter 1:21 “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

v. 11 - 'in them', does this imply the Holy Spirit embodied someone prior to Acts 2?

·         The Holy Spirit indwelled people before Pentecost. Yet, not in the same way as He does now.

·         In the New Testament, ever since Pentecost, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the experience of every single believer. In fact, if someone does not have the Holy Spirit within them, they are not saved (Romans 8:9). Further, the Holy Spirit will never, ever leave a believer until He has safely delivered them into God’s presence after death (Ephesians 1:13-14).

·         However, the Holy Spirit did not indwell every follower of God in the Old Testament. He limited His work to those who were in positions of leadership and influence (i.e. Israel’s kings, prophets, etc.). Further, the Spirit didn’t come on someone in the Old Testament at the point that they became a God-follower but at the point that they were set aside for godly leadership as in David’s case (1 Samuel 16:13) or at some particular point that they needed more resources than what they humanly had as in Samson’s case (Judges 14:6). Yet, in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit could depart from someone who He had been indwelling rendering them ineffective at carrying out God’s task such as in Saul’s case after His obedience (1 Samuel 16:14). Because of this, David felt the need to pray, to beg(!), that God wouldn’t take His Holy Spirit from him after his own personal sin (Psalm 51:11).

·         So, in the NT, the Holy Spirit fills every believer and it is permanent. In the OT, the Holy Spirit only indwelt those set aside for godly leadership and it could be temporary if the leader abandoned God and fell into repeated, willful sin.

v. 11 - 'glories that would follow', does this imply glory exclusively comes after suffering? I ask because NT authors advocate rejoicing during the suffering.

·         Peter wrote this letter specifically to persecuted Christians. 1 Peter 1:1 says that he wrote to “the exiles of the Dispersion.” Persecution had come and Christians scattered.

·         It MAY be true that there are specific rewards on Judgment Day for those who suffer for the sake of Christ. Yet, in 2 Timothy 3:12, we are told that every single Christian will suffer persecution to some extent.

·         So, the thought of “glories that would follow” may simply be referring to the blessings of God’s presence and Heaven that awaits every single believer. This is certainly what motivated Jesus to endure all that He did (Hebrews 12:2).

v. 12 - 'not serving themselves', does this mean OT prophecies about the Son of Man were meant to benefit only those believers following Christ's death, resurrection and ascension, and not those prior to Christ?

·         The Old Testament prophets and the folks who listened to them benefited from God’s words.

·         What the Lord seems to be saying in this passage is that there is a much greater understanding and, therefore, blessings that are ours because we live on the opposite side of the cross. Many of the things that they said before Jesus’ incarnation just didn’t make sense to them but we understand them because the cross is in our frame of reference. (Just read Isaiah 53. Isaiah could not have seen nearly the power and beauty of what he said as we now do simply because we live after the cross and can see much more clearly than him.)

v. 12 - 'you', does this pronoun simply refer to Peter's audience?

·         While Peter intended for the “you” to mean his audience, the truth that he is conveying is true of every single believer since the cross, resurrection and ascension.

v. 12 - 'even angels long to look into these things', three questions: what does this mean? are angels uncertain about the will of God? if so, does this imply others in the presence of God (e.g. Heaven) are uncertain about his will?

·         Angels were created as servants of God. Yet, God never made it possible for them to be made right in His eyes if they sinned as God has done for us. When Lucifer (Satan) and those angels who followed Him sinned, they were cast out of Heaven (Isaiah 14:15; Ezekiel 28:16-17; Luke 10:18) with no hope of redemption. Those faithful angels that remain are interested (fascinated!) with what God has and is doing for mankind who rebelled against Him. They are ever learning about God’s will.

·         Those in heaven most certainly do not fully understand God’s will. God is omniscient (He knows all things) but we never will. In fact, we are told in Revelation 6:9-11 that there will be martyrs who ask when God will administer justice on those who took their lives. The very fact that they are asking a question from their place in Heaven means that they do not have all knowledge and do not fully understand God’s will. Heaven isn’t all about us having a perfect knowledge. I believe that God wants part of the joys of Heaven to be the thrill of discovery. We will continually grow in our knowledge and experience of God and, in so doing, be continually motivated to worship and enjoy Him for eternity as we discover more about Him.

Law Enforcement and the Murray Half Marathon

There are many folks who helped to make today's Murray Half Marathon a success among whom were all of the law enforcement personnel.

One incident illustrates the caliber of men and women who serve the people of Murray and Calloway County...

I was running north on 641 and was approaching 121 where

the race route made a left hand turn. Since there was about 50 yards between me and the runners in front of me, a Murray Police Officer let traffic go through the intersection as I continued to get closer. As I got within about 10 yards or so, he motioned for a driver in a red truck to stop so I could make the turn. The driver, for whatever reason, wasn't stopping. So, what did the officer do? He continued to hold his hand up to the driver ... as he stepped directly in front of the truck (the driver had to brake hard!) to make sure a runner could pass safely. That, my friends, is an illustration of how seriously and sacrificially our law enforcement perform their duties.

Besides that, our own sheriff was in the race. It's impressive when those in leadership positions realize that their influence can be leveraged in areas beyond their duties ... specifically to encourage others to pursue health and fitness.

As the race progressed and I passed each of the guys and gals in law enforcement, I tried to make it a point to thank each of them. Our country is going through a mess as an anti-cop culture is brewing. Don't be a part of it! Those guys and gals are in their positions to protect you and uphold the law. Find opportunities to show your gratitude and support.

The Murray Half Marathon

It's been 2 years since I ran my last half marathon so I was extremely excited as our local race approached. It would be my fourth half.

I had not trained as rigorously as I needed to as this race approached. Yet, I had done a respectable 11 mile run two weeks ago and a 12.27 mile run three weeks ago. I felt nervous but ready to conquer today's course.

We all gathered at the Start Line at 6:45 AM. I spoke with a few friends and wished them well as I gathered with the folks around the 2:30 pace runner. I suspected that I would finish closer to 2:15 but I wanted to intentionally start out slow, settle into the race and save my energy for the whole course. (I've never finished a half without walking. I wanted to change that on this run.) After someone sang a beautiful rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner," we waited for the race to begin.

The weather was nice for the race. It was sunny and 50* when the race started. It climbed to 64* by the time I finished.

I think it was a horn that blew and we took off. The race had started!

As I look back over my initial paces, I can see that I started

faster than I needed to. (Unfortunately, I tracked my mileage on my phone and never took a look at it during the race.) Mile 1 was 9'48", mile 2 was 9'34" and mile 3 was 9'18." I find this hard to believe because I was intentionally trying to keep it slow. I certainly didn't think that I was getting faster so soon in the race.

Mile 3 was the fastest mile of the race. Mile 4 was 9'29" followed by mile splits that progressively got slower and slower until mile 10. I had to begin walking for very short periods at about the 3.5 mile mark (I also noticed that my HR hit its peak at that point - 191bpm!). So, the simple explanation for the excess walking I did in the race appears to be due to the fact I exerted more energy than I should have at the outset. I started too quickly.

My peak HR was around mile 3.5 - 191bpm!

The only other story as I struggled to reach the finish line was that I got some much needed water at the mile 10 mark a block away from my house. But, because one (or two) hydration stations weren't manned, we didn't get any more water for 2.37 miles. As the temps were heating up and we were approaching the end of the race, that was the absolute worst time to not get water. I'm sure that the race organizers will not let that happen again. Year after year, I'm impressed with how good of a job that they do.

I crossed the finish line absolutely exhausted. I gladly accepted a Finisher's medal, a cold water bottle and a banana. I found a grassy spot and dropped to the ground to consume water and carbs. I had finished, I was exhausted, but was so proud of the accomplishment.

Stats:

Chip time: 2:21:21

Race pace: 10'47"

Division place: 206 / 307

Gender place: 99 / 124

Age place: 9 / 9

Mile splits:

1 - 9:48

2 - 9:34

3 - 9:18

4 - 9:29

5 - 9:44

6 - 9:50

7 - 10:24

8 - 10:30

9 - 11:17

10 - 12:09

11 - 11:52

12 - 12:10

13 - 12:51

Already, I'm looking forward to next year's race. But, I'm also going to lose some unnecessary weight and focus on training better. I want to break that illusive 2 hour barrier!

Will God give me more than I can bear?

As I frequently visit folks who are going through various forms of difficult, I will periodically hear someone say, "I know that the Bible says that God won't put more on me than I can bear," and then they continue with a line intended to be humorous, "I just wish that He wouldn't trust me so much."

There are a few things that need to be said about this erroneous belief...

First, the Bible never says that life will not get too difficult.

Search your Bibles and you will never find that it says that God will keep life from getting too tough. I've been with parents who were letting out gut-wrenching cries of agony over the death of their precious child. I've been with adults who groaned deep in their souls at the new-found knowledge that their spouse had left for another "lover." I've been at the bed-side of a believer who, with tear-filled eyes, just learned that they only had a short time before they would breathe their last breath.

Life can be tough and sometimes it becomes unbearably tough. We do people no favors by saying that God won't let life get too tough. Why? Because when life inevitably DOES get really hard, the person going through it begins to question their relationship with God or God's love for them at the time when they most need Heaven's compassion. They falsely assume that because life has become very hard that they must have done something wrong when they need Heaven's affirmation.

Second, God has given followers of Jesus a Helper.

When we were saved, we are given the Holy Spirit. He indwells every believer (John 14:16-17; Romans 8:9). With the Holy Spirit's presence comes all of the resources of God for our assistance. So, when life gets unbearably difficult and we are quickly reminded of our frailty, we can consciously rely upon the Holy Spirit within us to help us bear up under the emotional weight.

It is only when we understand our own weakness, the difficulty of life and the power of God's Holy Spirit that 1 Corinthians 12:10 makes sense: "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Third and finally, where do folks get the idea that God won't let their life get too hard?

Well, it's a misunderstanding of 1 Corinthians 10:13. But a quick perusal of that verse makes it clear that it isn't talking about difficulties ... it's talking about temptation. It is saying that when we are tempted to sin, there is always a way out of that situation so that we can maintain our integrity.

1 Corinthians 10:13

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

So, will God let our life get hard? Almost certainly "Yes." It is the result of living in a Genesis 3 world - a world under the curse of sin. Yet, God has offered to help us in those times. He delights to lavish His grace upon us so that even in the darkest of hours we can receive what we need to bear up under the weight.

It is only in Heaven where we are finally in a place where life will not be tough - and this world isn't Heaven.

Knowing how to participate in God's will

I have to admit that knowing God’s will can be confusing at times. Sometimes, it is difficult to know what God is doing. At other times, when we believe that we know what He’s doing, we may struggle with what our participation should look like.

As I read through John 8 this morning, it illustrated the latter …
In this chapter, Jesus was interacting with the Pharisees. While He spoke truth to them, they were not able to receive it. In fact, their hearts were conspiring to shut Him up.

But, it was God’s will that Jesus not die at their hands in that moment. Regardless of their intentions, it was God’s will for Jesus to die at a later time on a cross. So, it was God’s will for Jesus to remain alive despite their murderous intentions. How did Jesus participate in God’s will?

John 8:20 “These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.”

We are led to believe that Jesus did nothing except rest in the watchful care of God. We aren’t told that He left the temple. We aren’t told (ever) that He took up a weapon to protect Himself. He simply rested in God’s care for Him and allowed God to fight this battle for Him.

But, then there is another verse that appears at the end of this same chapter. Look at how Jesus participated in God’s will – to remain alive until He would hang on a cross…

John 8:59 “So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.”

Here, Jesus did not sit quietly and let God fight for Him. While He rested in God’s watchful care, He also took action. He hid from those who would desire to kill Him. Then, He secretly left the temple so that they could not harm Him.

In participating in God’s will for His life, we are told in John 8:20 that Jesus simply rested in God’s care without (apparently) doing anything to protect Himself. Yet, in John 8:59, Jesus acted – He took evasive maneuvers while continuing to rely upon God’s watchful care.

So, let’s go back to the first paragraph above – how do we know HOW to participate in God’s will for us? How do we know when to simply let Him fight for us and when we are to take action?

At the risk of being simplistic while bringing this post to a quick resolution, we absolutely must:
- desire to do God’s will,
- live with a conscious dependence upon Him,
- spend much time in prayer,
- inform ourselves with Biblical principles,
- “listen” for the promptings of the Holy Spirit,
- seek the counsel of those who are Christ-followers endowed with wisdom, and
- utilize good decision-making principles.

But, when it all comes down to it, while we must carefully discover what we believe God desires in a matter (and what our level of participation is), we can rest in the fact that He’s got things under control. If we genuinely seek His guidance, He will provide it. And even if we make a decision unsure of whether it is God’s will, He has promised to work it out for our good (Romans 8:28) meaning that it is an opportunity to make us more like Jesus.

Why the American church struggles with evangelism

People who care

about people they don't even know

will warn them.

Yesterday, I was in a pastor-training seminar on evangelism. The speaker was well-prepared, passionate and had the credibility to lead the discussion. His lecture was saturated with helpful ideas on how to make and keep an evangelistic culture in our churches.

Yet, as we went into small groups, a discussion ensued regarding the fact that the biggest problem in the American church isn't a "how to" problem ... it's a "why to" problem. It isn't that we don't know how to tell people how to get saved - after all, we just need to share with them what we have already experienced. The problem is that many people simply don't want to share their faith.

It's not a pragmatic problem that creative ideas can fix. It's a heart problem that only repentance and personal revival can fix.

It's just like God to help drive things home to my heart. This morning, a day after the previously mentioned discussion, I was reading in "Fresh Encounter" by Henry Blackaby and came across this:

"The problem today is that churches are striving to win their world to Christ without having first been revived themselves. The result is spiritually comatose church members going door-to-door asking unbelievers if they would like to have what they have—spiritual anemia! Such an invitation is patently unappealing. It explains the high dropout rate in the church today. Newborn spiritual babes are being placed into churches filled with spiritually lethargic people. It is a recipe for disillusionment."

We absolutely MUST tell people about Jesus. Whether we feel like it or not, people must hear about how they can be made right in God's eyes before they breathe their last breath. Yet, our efforts will be apathetic at best if we are doing so with a heart that has grown indifferent ("lost our first love") and isn't enjoying sweet fellowship with our God.

What humanity really craves

The human spirit is like a vacuum ... it is born empty and craves to be filled. Many seek to satisfy this emptiness and go after a hundred different things that never ultimately deliver (i.e. pleasure, money, fame, food, power, alcohol, drugs, etc.).

Jesus tells us exactly where we can go to be filled to overflowing...

John 7:37-39
"On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." ' Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."