1 Peter 1:10-12

These *prophets of God lived before the birth of Jesus Christ. The ‘Spirit of Christ’ is another name for Christ or *Messiah or the Spirit of God. (In Romans 8:9-10 Paul, too, uses all these names to mean the same). The *prophets brought messages from God to the people. The messages are in the *Old Testament. For example, Isaiah 53 is about the *Messiah (Christ) and how he would suffer. The *prophets wanted to know about whom they wrote. They could not understand all the things that God told them. They did not know when these things would happen. They wanted to find out more. The message in verse 11 is about the *glories that would follow when Christ rose from death. This should encourage all Christians who suffer. All that the *prophets spoke about Jesus came true. Therefore, Christians can trust the Bible.

Verse 12 says that even *angels do not understand everything about God’s plans. They are eager to learn more.

Live holy lives

v13 God has prepared this wonderful *salvation for you. So now, you must concentrate on how God wants you to live as Christians. Put all your *hope in God’s goodness, when Jesus comes back to earth again.

v14 Obey God, because you are now his children. Before you knew Christ, you wanted to do evil things. You did those evil things because you did not know any better.

v15 God has called you to know him and to serve him. And God is holy. Therefore, you too must be holy in everything that you do. v16 This is what God commands in the Bible:

‘Be holy because I am holy’ (Leviticus 11:44; Leviticus 11:45; Leviticus 19:2; Leviticus 20:7; Leviticus 20:26).

v17 You pray to God as your Father. But remember that he deals with everybody in the same fair way. So, while you are living here on earth, honour God in all that you do.

v18 Remember that the life that you lived in the past was of no worth to God. Your parents, and the people who lived before you, taught you to live in that way. Now God has bought you and freed you from that way of life. He did not buy you with silver or gold, which people can destroy. v19 Instead God bought you with the precious blood of Christ. Christ was like a perfect lamb (young sheep) that the *Jews *sacrificed.

v20 God chose Christ before the world began. But Christ came into the world in these last days for your benefit. v21 Through Christ you believed in God who raised Christ from death. God gave Christ *glory. So, you believe and trust God that he will do what he has promised.

v22 You have obeyed the truth and made your lives pure. Now you can have a sincere love for all Christians. So, love each other deeply from your spirit. v23 Now you have new birth. This new birth did not come from something that dies. It comes from a seed that cannot die. The seed is alive. It is the permanent word from God. v24 The Bible says

‘All people are like grass.
All their *glory is only like flowers that grow in the field.
Grass dies and flowers fall off.

v25 But the word of the Lord lives for always’ (Isaiah 40:6-8).
And this word is the good news about Jesus that you have heard.