Salvation” (Part Two)

STUDY: #971-CHURCH IN THE HOUSES FROM: MARCH 13 @ 19, 2018

TOPIC: “Salvation” I Peter 1:3-12 (Part Two)

Persecutions and trials do not mean an end for Christians because beyond this is glory! And in the hope of that glory we can suffer through everything that life throws at us! I, the Pastor, have had to submit to counting carbohydrates in everything I eat. I stand by the treatment. I do it, and I accept the sacrifice and the inconvenience because I hope to recover my health and have renewed strength. I know this is what awaits me on the other side of this earthly life. This has allowed me to live better than when I did not have diabetes. It is one of the fundamental facts of life: what we can suffer through depends on what we expect! And the biggest thing is that we have an indescribable joy. There is no bitterness, no complaining in the difficult things we live through. We can endure anything that happens to us if we bear in mind that affliction is really a test! To purify gold, you have to submit it to fire! The tests that a person goes through prove their faith and leave them stronger than before. The rigors that an athlete has to endure are not to finish him or her off, but to train him/her to develop more strength and skill. Thus, the tests of this world are not designed to exhaust our resistance, but to increase it. They make us grow! I Peter 1:6 "... though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials..." At some point, for "a little while," we will suffer various types of tests. "Diverse" in Greek is "piikilos", which literally means many colors. Our trials or adversities may have many colors, but God's grace also has them. The grace of God can match the color of any human situation. THERE IS A GRACE THAT GOES WITH EVERY TRIAL. AND THERE IS NO TRIAL THAT DOES NOT APPLY TO A GRACE! You can overcome everything because at the end of it all, when Jesus Christ appears, you will receive from Him praise and glory and honor (I Peter 1:7 "... that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.) In life, we repeatedly make a supreme effort, not to get paid or rewarded, but to see the light in someone's eyes, and hear their words of appreciation. Those words are worth more than so many things in this world. Christians know that if they resist the test, they will hear the Master say: Well done…! (Matthew 25:21) This is the key to resisting when life and faith become difficult. We can endure anything because of what we expect from God. Each adversity is another test to "strengthen" and purify our faith because at the end of everything Jesus Christ is waiting to tell all His faithful servants: Well done! I Peter 1:8 "Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory..." Peter walked with Jesus. What consideration on Peter's part! He is drawing an implicit contrast between himself and his readers, you and I. Peter had the invaluable privilege of knowing Jesus during His life on earth. You and I did not. We have not had that joy. But in spite of that, we love Him. And although we do not see Him, we believe in Him. That faith produces a joy that transcends all expression (ineffable) and is covered with glory, because even here and now on earth, we are guaranteed a definite well-being for our souls. (I Peter 1:9 "... obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.") Peter speaks to us about that quality of faith with so much tenderness!

I Peter 1:10-12 Here Peter mentions the Spirit of Christ. Let's study the treasures in these verses. The wonder of Salvation that was to come to humanity in the Person of Jesus was such that the prophets inquired and asked about it. And even the angels were anxious to catch a glimpse. We are told two things about the prophets: the first, that they "inquired and asked" about the Salvation that was to come. The second says that the Spirit of Christ, who was in them, spoke to them about Christ. Here we have the great truth that inspiration depends on two things: the investigative mind of the person, and the revealing Spirit of God. It is said that those who wrote the Holy Scriptures were like feathers in God’s hands. This means that they were like unconscious instruments in the hands of God. The passage lets us see that God’s truth only comes to those who seek it. There is a human and divine element to inspiration. It is the product of the search of the human mind, and the revelation of God’s Spirit. We see that the Holy Spirit has always been active in the world. How beautiful! Whenever people have captured a glimpse of God’s beauty, have reached the truth or have felt the yearning of God; it has been because of the actions of the Spirit of Christ. There has never been a moment in the history of a nation when the Holy Spirit was not moving people to seek God and guiding them to find Him. Sometimes people were blind and deaf or misunderstood that direction; sometimes they caught only fragments of it, but the revelatory Spirit was always guiding the seeking mind. There are passages in the Bible that tell us clearly that the prophets spoke of Christ’s sufferings and glory: Isaiah 52:13-14, Isaiah 53:10-12, Psalm 22. It was and is for us the message of the glorious God's liberation in the person of Christ. That was the message they brought to humanity. A liberation that they (the prophets) themselves did not experience. Peter speaks not only of the prophets’ visions, but also of the preachers’ message. He says that to preach is to announce Salvation, the Gospel, the good news. The preacher warns, corrects, threatens with judgment, speaks of God’s anger and condemnation. But basically, and above all: the message is the announcement of Salvation! Preaching is through the Holy Spirit, sent from Heaven. The preacher's message is not his, it is given to him. The preacher gives the truth that the Holy Spirit has given him. We are told that the preacher's message is about the things that the angels wanted to glimpse. The preacher must always present himself with the message of Salvation and with the inspiration of the Spirit of Christ. The angels are bending down to look as if they were opening a small window in Heaven and bowing to see what is happening on earth regarding man’s salvation. Angels are not interested in temporary, political and economic instabilities, but the sinner’s conversion (Luke 15:7,10). There is joy! Amen. .