FROM PETER, AN APOSTLE. Peter does not claim authority higher than the other apostles. TO GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE. See Romans 8:29-30 and notes. REFUGEES SCATTERED. DIASPORA originally meant the Jews who were scattered all over the world in Gentile nations. But it soon came to be used of Christians in g... [ Continue Reading ]
ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE. The _plan_ which God had already decided on, was to save men and women through the Good News! See Colossians 1:20; Acts 2:23 and notes. WERE MADE A HOLY PEOPLE. This looks from God's side. Compare Titus 3:5. TO OBEY JESUS CHRIST. This looks from man's side. We _reach out_ t... [ Continue Reading ]
LET US GIVE THANKS. We thank God and praise him for his love which is the basis of what he has done for us!!! HE GAVE US NEW LIFE. God's act in Christ is to change us!!! BY RAISING JESUS CHRIST. See 1 Peter 3:21 and note. [Some think Peter is talking about the _living hope_ that filled the apostles... [ Continue Reading ]
WE LOOK FORWARD. Our living hope is not merely of eternal existence, but we become sons and daughters of God, and will share in everything God keeps for his people! IN HEAVEN. "This is better than any earthly wealth, because it is in heaven where it remains safe!... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO THROUGH FAITH ARE KEPT SAFE. See 1 Peter 5:7; 1 John 5:4-5. God's power is available to the Christian through faith! REVEALED. 1 John 3:1-3.... [ Continue Reading ]
BE GLAD. In this hope you have as a Christian! EVEN THOUGH. "You will be faced with persecution in different forms and many problems because of your relationship to Christ." See John 16:33.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEIR PURPOSE IS TO PROVE. "There is a reason why God allows these things to happen to you. They are to prove that your faith is genuine. All false believers will be _weeded out_ by the many kinds of trials." EVEN GOLD. "Gold, which is so precious to men, is tested and refined by fire. Your faith is... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU LOVE HIM. "You have not seen Jesus Christ, nor do you see him now. But you love him and believe in him! You live by faith! AND SO YOU REJOICE. "You have believed the witness of us apostles, and so you rejoice in Christ who is your Savior, with a great and glorious joy! Which words cannot express... [ Continue Reading ]
BECAUSE YOU ARE RECEIVING. "Eternal life begins NOW, for those who love God!" Compare John 10:10; 1 Corinthians 2:9. The Christian has past sins forgiven, and is God's child (Romans 8:15). In this way, we are _now receiving_ salvation. But some of this is still future, as we wait for our whole being... [ Continue Reading ]
IT WAS CONCERNING. The prophets did not understand the symbols and words which the Spirit spoke through them. They prophesied about the Messiah and salvation, and then tried to understand the message the Spirit had given them. See 1 Corinthians 2:9. God gives salvation as a _gift_ through His act in... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS WAS THE TIME. The prophets of the Old Testament spoke by means of the Spirit of Christ = Holy Spirit. But their message was partial, and they could only guess at how these things would come true. One of the _gifts_ from the _Spirit_ was the inspired ability to understand the Old Testament (1 Co... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD REVEALED. God showed the prophets that what they predicted pointed forward to a future time. They looked forward to a New Age (Matthew 19:28) which would be the _last days_ (Acts 2:16-17) and the kingdom of God's dear Son (Colossians 1:13). WHICH YOU HAVE NOW HEARD. This is the Good News preache... [ Continue Reading ]
SO THEN. "Because of all these things I remind you about, hold firm to what you have in Christ!" READY FOR ACTION. These people wore long flowing robes. When they prepared for action, they pulled their robes up and fastened them with a belt, to keep from being _tripped up._ Peter's symbolism says: ... [ Continue Reading ]
BE OBEDIENT. "Your sense of being God's child will cause you to turn away from the things you did in your ignorance!... [ Continue Reading ]
INSTEAD, BE HOLY. "Supersede evil desires with holy living! God your Father is holy, and you must be like him!... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SCRIPTURE SAYS. "Moses, whom some of the false teachers claim to honor, wrote the same thing in Leviticus 19:2. "[Peter did not quote chapter and verse divisions, since they originated in the sixteenth century.]... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU CALL HIM FATHER. Compare Jeremiah 3:19. "You worship the God of the Universe, and you call-him Father! He judges men by the same standard, whether they are Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, free or slave, man or woman!" IN REVERENCE FOR HIM. "If God is your Father, then heaven is your home, and you... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT WAS PAID. "It cost something to _buy you for God!_ And you know it was not material things like silver or gold." WORTHLESS MANNER OF LIFE. See note on 1 Thessalonians 1:9.... [ Continue Reading ]
BY THE COSTLY SACRIFICE OF CHRIST. BLOOD = BLOODY DEATH= COSTLY SACRIFICE. "YOU see the value which God placed on you, by the costly sacrifice which He paid to buy you for Himself!!!" LIKE A LAMB. The Passover lamb pointed to Christ the Lamb of God who takes away sins! God demands the best! Compare... [ Continue Reading ]
HE HAD BEEN CHOSEN. Notice the costly sacrifice of Christ was according to God's Plan. See Luke 9:31 and note. BEFORE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD. God chose Christ to be the costly sacrifice even before the creation of man! IN THESE LAST DAYS. Jesus came at the time the Jewish Age was near its termina... [ Continue Reading ]
THROUGH HIM. Peter preaches the same gospel that Paul preaches. Both show the importance of faith in Christ! Christ is the _door_ through which we may come to God! ARE FIXED ON GOD. "Our faith and hope are fixed on the power and truth of God, which Christ revealed to us through his Spirit!... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW THAT. "You have purified yourselves by obeying the truth which is the Good News, through the influence of the Spirit. _Johnson_ says: "The Spirit is inseparable from the gospel. The gospel dispensation is that of the Spirit. See Acts 15:8-9." AND HAVE COME TO HAVE A SINCERE LOVE. _Johnson_ says:... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THROUGH. "It is through God's _truth_ revealed in the Good News about the Kingdom (Matthew 13:19 and note) which is the seed that grew up in your hearts (compare Galatians 3:1-2), that you have been born again." The _life_ is planted by the word of God (Acts 10:36; James 1:18), and birth takes p... [ Continue Reading ]
AS THE SCRIPTURE SAYS. Isaiah 40:6-8 Septuagint. "Our human life, like the wild grass, doesn't last very long at the best! But a new birth from the living and eternal word of God is a birth to eternal life!!!... [ Continue Reading ]
REMAINS FOREVER. "Like its _source,_ it is eternal and never loses its power!" THIS IS THE WORD. "This living and eternal word of God is the same Good News brought to you by the preaching of us apostles and all who proclaim the truth!!!... [ Continue Reading ]