7.2.25 – 1 Peter 1

SPEAKER 01 : 0:09

Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.

SPEAKER 04 : 0:24

Today we begin 1 Peter. I will refer to my English Standard Version Study Bible book introduction as we look at 1 Peter. The Apostle Peter wrote 1 Peter around 62 to 65 AD, within 30 years of the death of Jesus. He probably wrote it from Rome. He sent the letter to several towns in Asia Minor, which is modern-day Turkey, primarily to Gentile recipients. The theme of 1 Peter is to encourage his readers to endure sufferings and persecution by giving themselves entirely to God. The model was Jesus himself, who suffered, was persecuted, then entered glory. As followers of Christ, we too will suffer before being exalted. Those who persevere in faith while suffering persecution should be full of hope by enjoying God’s promises here on earth and knowing through the death and resurrection of Jesus, eternal salvation waits. Peter’s letter gives helpful guidance on how to maintain a holy life in a world fraught with unholiness. Look for power verses like, But the word of the Lord endures forever. a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, referring to Jesus as our cornerstone, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. And cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter is five chapters, and our guest reader for 1 and 2 Peter is Howard Copeland. Howard lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado with his wife Carla. They have been married 38 years and have two sons. I know Howard from my association with the Gideons International. Howard recently served for three years as the elected president of our state association. He also served 20 years in the U.S. Army before retiring. He currently owns a financial services business. Howard Copeland, our guest reader, will read 1 Peter 2 and 5. So let’s begin with the 25 verses of 1 Peter 1 as recorded for us by Faith Comes by Hearing. 1 Peter 1

SPEAKER 02 : 2:34

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood, may grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice though now for a little while if necessary you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him you love him. though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 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 preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on Him as Father, who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you, who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love. Love one another earnestly, from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. For…

SPEAKER 03 : 6:10

All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

SPEAKER 04 : 6:27

To help us through the book of 1 Peter, I have selected personal Bible reading journals from 1990, 2000, and 2010, so 10 years apart in various decades. In 1990, I was 35 years old, so of course in 2000, I was 45 years old, and in 2010, 55 years old, so various decades and various stages of my life will look at the book of 1 Peter. In 1990, in my personal Bible reading journal, I just made note of several of the key verses of this chapter, starting with verse 3, God causes us to be born again. Then verse 6, various trials, and 7, tested by fire. Verse 8, greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Verse 13, gird your minds for action. Keep sober in spirit. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And verse 16, be holy for I am holy. On to verse 17, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth because we were redeemed with precious blood. And then verses 24 through 25 says, The word of the Lord abides forever. In the year 2000, I wrote about 1 Peter 1. Our hope is in the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ our Lord. And then I wrote, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Lord, again, give me this kind of joy. And then I wrote, strive for holiness. And then the word of the Lord endures forever. Ten years later, in 2010, I was reading 40 books of the Bible that year. So I read 1 Peter 1-4 on the same day. And I wrote concerning chapter 1, He has caused us to be born again. Verse 3, the testing of our faith should result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Verse 7, the outcome of our faith should be salvation of souls. Verse 9, be holy in your conduct. Verse 15. And faith and our hope are in God. Verse 21. The word of the Lord remains forever. Verse 25. There was some pretty good consistency in the notes and verses that I referred to in those various journals from various decades of my life. So let’s go back now and look at 1 Peter chapter 1. Verse 3 is a very important concept. It says, That is the definition of born again. That is the only way to salvation. It’s the only way to spend eternity with God. Salvation, being born again, comes from His great mercy through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that is the only way. unto salvation. It reminds me of John 14, 6 that says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. The following verses tell us that in that guarantee we rejoice and yet we face various trials, various sufferings here on earth. Various trials and various sufferings test the genuineness of our faith. You probably have experienced that in your own life. I know I have. I can think that I have faith. I can think about how I will handle various circumstances. But I never know until I’m tested. For example, I remember thinking, how would I handle it when one of my parents dies? Well, you don’t know that until your parent actually dies. What would it be if I got a life-threatening illness? How would I handle it? Would I walk by faith? Would I get angry with God? What would I really do? You never know until it happens to you, as it did me. One of my sons recently went through a large, huge test in his personal life, and he saw that it tested his faith, and his true faith came out during the test. So though we don’t like to be tested, we don’t like to suffer, it does give us an indication of where our true faith really lies. And the outcome of our faith, according to verse 9, should be the salvation of your souls. So yes, our true salvation of our souls is tested as we go through the trials of life. This walk of faith requires action on our part. Let’s look at verse 13. Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded, set your hope on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. Since it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy. Holiness does not just happen in our lives. We have to be proactive. We have to prepare our minds for action. We have to be sober-minded. We have to set our hope on grace. We have to be obedient children. We cannot conform to the passions of this world. And holiness comes out of our conduct, how we behave. All those are action steps on our part. Our conduct should be holy. That’s what God requires of us. You shall be holy, for I am holy. Our conduct, our holiness, is improved through the testing of life. Would I consider myself holy? Well, no, not quite. But am I interested in a path of holiness? Absolutely. Am I more holy in my 60s than I was at 35 or 45 or 55? I hope so. One indication of growing in holiness is verse 22. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth, for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart. Staying close to the truth, staying close to God’s word, obeying truth creates a purified heart, which results in brotherly love, loving one another. Peter closes out chapter 1. by reminding us we are temporal, but God’s word is forever. Let’s close with these last couple of verses of 1 Peter chapter 1. For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower fails, but the word of the Lord remains forever. In summary, we are born again because of the mercy and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through this life, we will suffer various trials and temptations, but we are to be proactive in continually improving our conduct toward holiness to God. Part of the way that comes out is in our conduct and our love for one another. Lord Jesus, thank you for causing me to be born again. Thank you for inexpressible joy that is full of glory because of the guarantee that I can have eternal life through you. And thank you for the challenge to be holy because you are holy. With your help, may I continue to strive toward your truth reflected in my conduct and my love for one another. Thank you that though I am temporal, I can rely on your word, which lasts forever. Thank you for your friend Peter, who wrote down his experiences with you and his thoughts that we can enjoy thousands of years later. To God be the glory. Amen.