Prophets, Angels, and You

We’re studying 1 Peter, in a series called Exiles in Our Land. We saw last week that when people experience new birth in Christ, they become exiles. That is, they receive a new identity as God’s people that distances them from whatever land or nation they belong to and brings them closer to God’s people. 

So we’re talking about a deeper identity as God’s people and with God’s people. Do you see? If you belong to God’s people, you’re going to be close to God’s people. If you belong to a group but you’re not close to the group, your belonging should be questioned.

If I told you that I am one of the most devoted Lions fans, would you believe me? (Raise your hand if you’d believe me.) You would not, because I don’t go to the games, I don’t watch the games, I don’t know the players’ names, I don’t wear cuz I don’t own any merch. “Mild sporadic interest” is the most you could say about my relationship to the Lions.

If you’re not close to the group, your belonging to the group should be questioned.

The study of God’s Word is so rich that there are always multiple things God does in us as we dig into the Bible. But there are two low-hanging fruit applications from this study in 1 Peter that I am hoping we all benefit from.

The first one is that as we grow in our identity as God’s people, exiles in our own land, we would not lose our minds this election cycle. The election matters. Politics matters. We should love our nation and work for the good of our nation, which includes politics. But if we understand what Peter is saying to us, then whoever wins the election, we know that our inheritance is kept in heaven, and it can’t perish, spoil, or fade every four years. So I am praying that, when so many people around us are losing their minds this fall, 1 Peter helps restore or keep our sanity.

The second easy application for us is that as we grow in our identity with God’s people, we would value membership in the church. When you become a member of the church, you’re simply affirming that this is the body of Christ God has joined you to. In membership, you’re giving outward expression to what God is doing, uniting you to a body of believers. Membership is us saying, I am close to this group because I belong to this group.

Since Covid, for a variety of reasons, membership at our church has been on hold. But we as elders have been praying, studying, and preparing the process by which we will begin to offer membership in the church again starting in January.

1 Peter is a wonderful place in Scripture from where we can glean much on the importance of church membership, that is, our close association and identification with the people of God.

So we’re going to keep our heads this election cycle and we’re going to prepare the church for membership.

That’s low-hanging fruit in 1 Peter. Of course, as with every series we do, our love for the gospel message will keep growing. Let’s start there today. 

1 Peter 1:10–12

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. 

Remember from last week that Peter opened his letter praising God for the salvation he had brought to the Christians in these Roman provinces, people who in many cases were suffering loss for their faith—loss of status, at times property, business opportunities, and certainly relationships.

God’s salvation gave them grace and peace, an inheritance in heaven that would never perish, spoil, or fade. It gave them a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

And now, Peter continues talking about this salvation. (The whole letter is about it.) He says, Concerning this salvation . . . 

What he says is remarkable. He speaks of God’s eternal plan in Christ. This is the message of grace, known to God before the creation of the world but only fully revealed in Peter’s time. 

The Spirit of God, working through the prophets (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and so forth), testified about God’s eternal plan, and at the center of that plan were the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.  

Do you understand what he’s saying? I don’t want you to miss it.

This is what the prophets, speaking by the Holy Spirit, were prophesying about. This is what the whole chapter of Isaiah 53 was about, which we pondered a month ago. 

And as the prophets spoke of the coming grace in the Messiah, it was made clear to them that they were not serving themselves but you. The prophets spoke many centuries before for the benefit of Peter’s generation, the generation that got to witness and hear of the fulfillment of God’s plan in Jesus. They were now being preached the gospel by the same Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit spoke by the prophets centuries before, and he was speaking now, Peter says, by those who are preaching the gospel to you. It was one Spirit speaking about one plan of salvation. 

And there’s always a future orientation to the plan. The prophets’ audience received the prophets’ message by faith—the Messiah’s sufferings and glory were still future. Peter’s audience received his message also by faith—the Messiah’s complete glory is still future: completed at his return.

It’s the same for us. We receive this message by faith—we trust the word of God, that the sufferings of Jesus were for our sins, and that he will come back with blinding, blazing glory.

This message is so exhilarating that it consumed the prophets. Peter says they searched intently and with the greatest of care.

And even angels long to look into these things. Angels rejoice when a sinner repents. So they look with great interest upon human affairs and the unfolding of the message about Jesus.

How much value do you place on this message? Would you join the company of prophets and angels? If the prophets and angels said to you, The only game in town is the sufferings of the Messiah and his subsequent glory, would you join them? Would you go, Oh wow, let me then lay down the other things I thought were the game in town? OR would you go, Thank you, prophets and angels, but I’ll pass?

Even as you hear me mention membership in the church, what kind of thoughts go through your mind? Do you think:

I already have too many memberships: Netflix. Prime. Hulu. Spotify. DoorDash.

Membership? That’s too much for me. I’m good with Sunday. 

Peter is elevating the value of this message, the gospel. He’s saying to us, Prophets searched intently into this message. Angels long to look into it. What about you?

Exactly a month ago we had the wedding of our first daughter. I noticed in my daughter and her fiancé during the time of their engagement something I’ve noticed in most engaged couples I’ve interacted with. It was true of Anna and me when we were engaged. Once you get engaged, the wedding becomes the reality you live for. 

After the engagement, I’d ask my daughter, So what’s going on today? And she’d say, I’m buying the dress. I’m ordering shoes. We’re meeting with the photographer. We’re looking at venues. We’re doing a food tasting. We’re doing our pre-marital counseling homework. We’re populating our wedding registry. We’re sending out invitations. We’re meeting with our pre-marriage counseling mentors. We’re picking the music. The list was unending. 

You may say, Well, they were just planning a wedding. What’s the big deal?

No, they weren’t just planning a wedding. They were planning and living for the wedding day, yes, but also everything that followed. They were looking at apartments. They were rearranging their budget and meeting with a financial planner. They were having serious discussions about their values, their family dynamics, their purpose as a married couple. And, most importantly, they couldn’t wait. They were counting down the days, and sometimes I’d hear one of them say, It’s too slow! 

It was as if their lives as they knew them were coming to an end. 

Something new, something greater, was dawning upon them, with enough force to propel them forward and engage them fully. They were, well, engaged. 

Many of you are Christians, but you don’t live like there’s a wedding coming. Let’s see how Peter is pushing us in this direction. 

1 Peter 1:13

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 

He begins with Therefore. That is, in light of everything I’ve told you in the last twelve verses—which were all about the unbelievable worth of your salvation in Christ—set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

In the Gospels, in the Book of Revelation, Jesus is described as a bridegroom, coming again to take his beautiful bride, the church, to be with him forever. A wedding of universal proportions is coming. 

Peter here calls it grace, the grace to be brought to you at Jesus’ coming. And he says, set your hope on it. Meaning, live for it. 

When people live for something exciting that’s still future, they have extra energy and a sharp focus. I’ve seen it in people who are engaged. I’ve seen it in people expecting a baby. I’ve seen it in people who are expecting a big promotion or taking on a big new role. The size and excitement of what’s coming gives them extra energy and a sharp focus. [When I was studying for seven years doing almost no preaching, I wasn’t sad. I knew, I need to go deep because the storm, the time to pour out, is coming.]

And that’s exactly what Peter says the salvation that is coming to us in Jesus should give us. 

He says, Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on what’s coming.

Minds that are alert translates an idiom that literally says “gird up the loins of your minds.” A long tunic would be tucked into the belt to make walking or working easier, so you “girded up your loins.” A similar idiom we have is “roll up your sleeves,” and what we mean is, Get ready to work.

What’s Peter saying? The only way you’ll be able to set your hope on the wedding, the grace, that is coming at Jesus’ return is by engaging your mind and being fully sober, self-controlled. 

See, faith and thinking are not antithetical.

It takes little thinking to go along with the winds of culture. If your thing is climate, or the economy, or gender ideology, or morality and religion and politics, you can find the news outlet, the online group, that beats that drum and just beat along with them. Lots of rhetoric. Lots of breath. But that’s not necessarily thinking. 

The thinking that Peter has in mind is thinking that is transformed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. The prophets exercised their minds thinking about the sufferings and glory of Jesus, trying to discern what the Spirit was saying. Angels also want more related to Jesus’ salvation. 

What about you? 

Imagine if a couple got engaged, but nothing changed. There was no talk of the wedding, no work toward the wedding, no plan or discussion about life after the wedding. People would get concerned, Guys, are you doing this? Do you understand what you’re doing? 

Same thing with a pregnancy. No prep. No names get picked out. No visits to the doctor. It’s like, Friends, what’s happening?

If you’re going to live for the grace that Jesus is bringing to you when he shows up, you need a mind that’s alert. 

Too many people are gullible. If I see it on TikTok, I know it’s true. What? If my favorite influencer, TV personality, or religious teacher says it, I know it’s true. 

No. You need to question the winds of our culture. 

Same-sex romantic relationships? I need to think about that with my Bible in hand. 

Christian nationalism? I need to think about that with my Bible in hand. 

Living glued to my phone? I need to think about that with my Bible in hand.

Before I was a Christian, I wasn’t thinking. I was mainly going along with things I heard that resonated with me. Once I became a Christian, I started thinking and it hasn’t stopped.

1 Peter 1:14–16

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Peter puts before us two choices. We can either be conformed to evil desires, or we can become holy like God. 

When we lived in ignorance, before understanding the gospel, our evil desires ruled us. But that’s not how we thought, did we? I never had the thought, I want this because I am ignorant. The contrary is true. We think, I want this because I am smart/educated/free.

Peter says, No, you want it because you’re ignorant.

Then, Peter says something that is astonishing. He says, But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

In ancient Roman religion there was no concept of becoming a good person. That’s not the reason people practiced religion. You worshiped the gods, so that they would not be angry with you or your people and do good to you. Hesiod, the Greek poet dating to the 8^th century BC, said that you make an offering to the gods, “so that the gods’ hearts and minds might be kindly towards you, and so that you may buy someone else’s homestead and he may not buy yours.”

In the Greco-Roman world character and personality were fixed. You didn’t change. And you didn’t ask the gods to change you, either. If you were a thief ten years ago, you were considered a thief today. If you were a liar in the past, you were considered a liar today. This kind of fixed character was even brought into a court of law and used against you! 

But along come the Jews, and even more so the Christians, saying that you can change, you can become holy, like your God. And this wasn’t merely a philosophical discussion. Jesus, the Christian God, was a person, so the message to Christians who used to be prostitutes, thieves, drunks, homosexuals, greedy business people was, Be washed with his blood and imitate him. Do what he did. You have his Spirit in you, making you more and more like him. 

Be holy, because I am holy.

I want you to marvel. Marvel that our character isn’t fixed. Before I came to Christ, I was a liar, foul-mouthed, lustful, greedy, utterly selfish, proud, insecure. Want me to keep going? Without purpose, without deep healthy relationships, without hope.

But all of that began to change when salvation in Christ was preached to me and I received the new birth we talked about last week. 

And it’s still changing. We can be obedient children. 

And, by the way, parents, you can have obedient children. When Peter says, as obedient children, he’s saying something the readers of his letter understand. They’re not going, What is that? What’s this thing of an obedient child? I’ve never seen such a creature! 

But we have parents today that totally believe they can’t have obedient children, because they can’t expect their children to obey. And I just want to say that is a lie straight from hell. 

When God says to children, Children, obey your parents in the Lord (Eph 6:1), the implication is that parents can expect their children to obey them. I see parents of young and older children who will not have life-saving, God-honoring conversations (and at times confrontations) because they’re afraid. They’re afraid their children will not like them or will not like their faith. 

Wanting the love of our children can become an idol. It’s a good desire, but not if it becomes more important than teaching them obedience and expecting obedience. 

Jesus said, I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother (Matt 10:35). Who are you going to side with, if it comes to that? Jesus or your child? 

Parents, please expect obedience of your children. Show them that you seek to be an obedient child of God, and God expects them to be an obedient child to you.

This is hard work. You can’t be lazy or a coward. 

Sometimes our older children will call us out and say, You’re being too soft on the girls. And sometimes they’re right. Other times they’re revising history to come out as martyrs. 

But in either case, Anna and I talk about staying vigilant in our parenting.

The content of our hope is the grace Jesus is bringing to us when he shows up. Set your hope on the wedding. He is coming for his bride.

1 Peter 1:17

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 

We titled our series Exiles in our Land because this theme of exile is strong in 1 Peter. 

We saw it in verse 1 last week. We see it again in verse 17. He says, live out your time as foreigners here. There it is. Foreigners. Exiles. Since we’ve been born of God, we now have God as our Father, our citizenship in heaven, our inheritance is also in heaven, which means that we identify less with our nation of origin, family of origin, and more with the God who gave us new birth and his people. 

And he says we are to live our lives as foreigners in reverent fear. The Christian life is a life of reverent fear, healthy fear. 

Peter brings up reverent fear a few times in the letter. How does this work?

He says, since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live in reverent fear. We now have God as our Father and Judge. He was always our judge, whether we knew it or not. But now we know he’s our judge, but we also have him as our father. As father, God loves us. As Judge, he judges our lives. 

Fatherhood doesn’t do away with judgment. It deepens our understanding of the necessity of judgment. We agree with God’s judgments. We agree that his judgments are good. We don’t resent his judgment. We don’t excuse our deeds that mock his laws. 

So there’s a healthy fear in us. And that fear is deepened by the price of our redemption.

1 Peter 1:18–21

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 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. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

When Christians don’t take seriously their sin, they show that they’ve not spent enough time pondering the cross. 

The life of reverent fear, which helps us be obedient and not live in sin, is fueled by the preciousness of Jesus’ blood. The empty life—where sex is cheap, anger expected, and self-interest the norm—uses for currency the things of this world, silver and gold. 

But redemption for Christians came through the blood of Jesus, and as he grows in worth to us, we will grow in reverent fear. Jesus took God’s judgment of our sins, so that we could receive the Father’s love. That knowledge deepens our reverent fear.

If Jesus, a lamb without blemish or defect, had to give his life for our redemption, and nothing less would do, how serious is sin? 

He was God’s plan to remake the world from before the creation of the world. 

He is the goal of our faith, the content of our hope. Our faith and hope are in God, who promised to put all things under his feet and make him glorious. 

Just as the prophets prophesied about his sufferings, and then his suffering came to be, so also his prophesied glory will come to be. 

Do you live for the wedding, the grace Jesus will bring at his appearing?

Does it fill you with extra energy and a sharp focus? 

Do you live in reverent fear toward God born out of a sustained meditation on the preciousness of Jesus’ blood? 

Or are you so caught up in the things of this world that you are without hope? You live as if Jesus were never coming back. You don’t live as an exile. 

Confess your sins to him. Grow in your closeness to God’s people. Don’t lose your head this election cycle. Do you think the prophets and angels are bent out of shape over the 2024 presidential election?

Our great salvation mattered to the prophets. It matters to the angels. Does it matter to you?