1 Peter 1:1-12

1 Peter 1:1-12

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

This letter was written to "God's elect, exiles" who had been "chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father".  Sound familiar?

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

I have knife that was in my Great Grand Mother's kitchen.  Family tradition says the knife came from my Great Grand Father's Grand Mother.  If I do the math right, if originally belonged to my Great, Great Great Grandma. I can't prove it, but the story is nice and I value the knife.  Which is why it sits in a drawer.  Because this inheritance will eventually be ruined if I use it.


The inheritance God is keeping for us will NEVER "perish, spoil or fade".

  ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire —may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

The trials we endure now to prove and to strengthen our faith.  They are to teach us to value the things of God more than the value system here on earth.

  ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

I read this and ask if I really love God.  Some days I don't like the answer.

¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, ¹¹ 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. ¹² 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.

The Messiah was to come at a certain time and come from a certain place.  If memory serves there were 300 prophesies the Messiah had to fulfill.  Jesus filled them all. 

God Bless.