1 Peter 1:1-12

1 Peter 1:1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

How sweetly the apostle is obeying his Master's command, «When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.» This is the same Peter who once began to sink beneath the waves, yet now he is helping others to stand. This is the very Peter who denied his master, but he begins his Epistle by owning himself to be «an apostle of Jesus Christ.» What wonders the Lord Jesus had wrought for Peter by his grace! It is no marvel, therefore, that he should say to others, «Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.»

1 Peter 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

And, truly, this is a blessing, beyond all comparison or imagination, that we have been begotten again by the Divine Father unto a «living» hope, for that is a better rendering than «lively.» Our first birth brought us into sin and sorrow, but our second birth brings us into purity and joy. We were born to die; now are we born never to die, «begotten again» unto a life that shall remain in us for evermore, a life which shall even penetrate these mortal bodies, and make them immortal, «by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.»

1 Peter 1:4. To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Joy, my brethren, in the glorious inheritance which is prepared for you, unstained, uncorrupted, perfectly pure, and therefore to last for ever, because the elements which produce decay are not in it. It is without sin, and therefore it shall be without end. What a mercy it is to be «kept by the power of God»! See, heaven is kept for us, and we are kept for heaven; heaven is prepared for us, and we are prepared for heaven. There is a double action of God's grace thus working in us, and working for us, unto bliss eternal.

1 Peter 1:6. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

Or, «trials.» Some people cannot comprehend how a man can greatly rejoice, and yet be in heaviness at the same time; but there are many things, in a Christian's experience, that cannot be understood except by those who experience them; and even they God many a mystery which can only be expressed by a paradox. There are some who think that God's people should never be heavy in spirit; but the apostle says, «Now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness.» He does not say, «If need be, ye are in manifold trials;» but, «If need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold trials,» for the «needs be» is as much for the depressed spirit as for the trials themselves.

1 Peter 1:7. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

And does not the joy agree well with the object of it? Paul said, «Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift;» and Peter, speaking of the same Saviour, says, «In whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.»

1 Peter 1:9. Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

Do you wonder if, sometimes, you find in the Bible a truth which you cannot quite comprehend? You ought not to marvel, for even the prophets, who prophesied of the grace which has come to us, did not always fully understand their own messages. I am sure that their inspiration was verbal, because the inspired men frequently did not themselves know the meaning of what they were moved to write.

1 Peter 1:12. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

See the kind of preaching that we should all desire to hear, and that all God's ministers should aim at: «them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.» Nothing but a gospel full of the energy of the Holy Ghost, and set on fire by him, can effect the eternal purposes of God; but this is the kind of preaching that will live, and that will also make men live. God send it to every church and congregation throughout the world! Amen.