1 Peter Lesson #02

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RETURN TO THE LIST OF LESSONS

1PETER 1:1-12
Lesson #02
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CHOSEN

• Memory Verse: 1Pet 1:6

 

• Read 1Pet 1:1-5
• Peter begins with his name and qualifications.
  • He uses his new name, Peter, that Jesus gave him. This is the name that means = a small stone.
    • Peter is a piece of the rock who is Jesus Christ. His life is dedicated to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
  • His qualification is that he is an apostle.
    • The word “apostle” means = to set apart for some specific purpose.
      • Chosen and anointed by Jesus Christ to preach the gospel among the Jews, planting churches for the glory of Christ.
  • Read Joh 21:14-19
    • Peter was chosen to specifically feed the Jews with the Word of God.
  • Read Mat 16:15-19
    • Peter was chosen to be in charge of the other disciples, having the keys of authority over the early church. Even though Peter was the chief apostle, he does not introduce himself with that title. He considered himself equal to the other apostles.
• Peter’s words are sent to Jewish believers scattered and dispersed throughout the Roman Empire, and specifically in Turkey.(1)
  • Notice that Bithynia is mentioned by Peter. Paul wanted to go there to preach the gospel, but the Spirit directed him to Macedonia. It is possible that Peter had already preached the gospel in the area of Bithynia.
• The Holy Trinity
  • In verse 2 we see the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the work that each member of the Trinity accomplishes in the life of the believer:
    • Chosen by God, the Father
    • Made Holy by the Holy Spirit.
    • Forgiven by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
• The elect: (2)
  • The word “elect” means = chosen.
    • All believers are chosen by God to be the children of God.
      • Believers are chosen “…according to the foreknowledge of God…” (2)
        • In other words, God, in His all knowing wisdom, knows the heart of every person. He knows which hearts are soft and open to God. Those are the ones He chooses to set apart for God’s special dealing. He gives them spiritual light and by the Holy Spirit He attracts those with a soft heart to receive Jesus Christ.
      • Believers are chosen for “…sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ…” (2)
        • The Holy Spirit chooses and sets apart the believer for the work of sanctification. What is this work?
          • The Holy Spirit has the responsibility to make the believer holy and pure, without sin in a gradual process called “sanctification”. This process includes the conviction of sin in the heart of the believer. As the believer is now aware of his sins by the conviction of the Spirit, he repents and receives forgiveness by the shed blood of Christ.
• The multiplication of grace and peace.
  • The believer, living in the close relationship with Jesus Christ and under the working of the Holy Spirit, will experience God’s great mercy and peace in every area of his life as the Holy Spirit takes the believer through life-changing experiences (2Cor 3:18).
• Praise to God: (3-5)
  • Peter gives praise to God, the Father of Jesus Christ.
    • We praise God for His plan that worked out our salvation.
    • We praise God because He sent His Son to this earth to die for us on the cross.
    • We praise God because of the mercy of God that permits the Holy Spirit to give us new birth.
    • We praise God because He has given us a living hope of resurrection through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
    • We praise God because He raised Jesus from the dead.
    • We praise God because He has given us an eternal, spiritual inheritance in heaven.
    • We praise God because He watches over us, guards us, protects us, and delivers us into the hands of God in the rapture of the church.
  • What are the characteristics of the Christian’s identity? (2-5)
    • The Christian’s identity can be expressed means of single words.
      • Chosen
      • Sanctified
      • Obedient
      • Sprinkled
      • Begotten (Birthed again by the Holy Spirit)
      • Hopeful
      • Resurrected
      • Heir
      • Guarded

 

• Read 1Pet 1:6-12
• Rejoice in suffering
  • Peter says that he is greatly rejoicing because he is suffering temptation for a short period of time. (6)
    • Read Jam 1:2-4
      • James gives us the same message as Peter. We should rejoice when we suffer.
  • For what reasons does God permit Christians to face problems? (vs. 7 and Jam 1:2-4)
    • James tells us the reason why we should rejoice in these times:
      • Problems produce good character qualities in us; qualities like patience and faith.
  • What method does Peter use to lift the eyes of suffering believers from his earthly condition of suffering?
    • Peter began the chapter by telling us of all the blessings that the believer has in his position with God. In light of this spiritual position guarded by Jesus Christ, the believer can know that all things that happen to him are still under the control of the almighty God.
    • By raising the believer’s eyes to eternal, spiritual blessings, gives the believer eternal perspective. With an eternal perspective, the believer can better endure suffering.
  • Why can a Christian be joyful in adversity? (6-9)
    • Trials will not be long compared to eternity.
    • Trials are God’s training school.
    • Trials produce positive results that benefit the believer and that glorify God.
    • Trials are never for destruction of faith. God will never put more on the believer that he does not also give the believer the way of escape. (Rom 8:28-29)
  • Read 2Cor 4:17-18
    • This is the concept of an eternal perspective the believer needs to endure this life.
    • The rewards of suffering are reaped when Christ returns.
• Praise to the believer who loves Christ without having ever seen him. (8)
  • Peter walked closely with Christ for 3 years, denied him, and experienced Christ’s forgiveness and restoration. Through these experiences, Peter came to love the Lord more than his own life.
  • However, Peter praises the believer who comes to love Christ without this physical contact. It is the action of the Holy Spirit that produces this love in the life a believer today.
    • It is this kind of love that enables the believer to suffer successfully for Christ.
• The prophets sought God and searched the Word of God continually for the truths about the coming of the Messiah. What is it that the prophets puzzled over?
  • =1= They puzzled over salvation and the concept of grace that was yet to come with the first coming of Christ. (10-12)
    • While they wrote down their prophecies of Christ’s first coming, they did not fully understand what it meant to be born again.
    • The fulfillment of the prophecies of salvation and the new birth was kept for us in this New Testament age of grace. (12)
  • =2= They puzzled over the apparent conflict between a Messiah that would come to suffer in humility and a Messiah that would come to reign in glory.
    • What they did not understand was that the Messiah must come two times.
      • In the first coming, he came to suffer and die.
      • In the second coming, he will come to reign in power.
    • What they did not understand was the great span of time between the two comings that we now call the church age.
• What do the angels long to understand?
  • The angels long to understand salvation.
    • While the angels are a separately created being that were close to God face to face, some of them rebelled against God with Lucifer, a cherubim angel, that became Satan after his rebellion.
      • The angels do not get the same opportunity of forgiveness that rebellious humans get. Why?
        • Man does not experience God on an intimate and personal level until after he receives Jesus Christ in his heart. Therefore, man is deceived into thinking there is no God. The basis of man’s rebellion against God is this deception coupled with his flesh nature.
        • The fallen angels experienced God on an intimate and personal level. They were not deceived, but knew better. In their pride by an act of their own will, they chose to rebel against God.
        • Christ died for the sins of man so as to bring us salvation and forgiveness. He did not die for the sins of the angels. They are not redeemed and forgiven.
          • Therefore, the great mystery to the angels is that believers of the New Testament age believe in God by faith without having seen God with our eyes. By the action of the Holy Spirit in the heart, we come to see by faith and not by sight the existence of God and the reality of Jesus Christ.

HOMEWORK
1Peter 1:13-25
This is a self study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of 1Pet 1:1-12
  • If you are suffering through problems in your life, what can you learn from this lesson that helps you to endure?

• Preparation for 1Pet 1:11-25
  • Read 1Pet 1:13-25
    • Now that you have learned about suffering in the first part of this chapter, Paul gives you a command to do in verse 13. What is that command?

 

• Then he commands believers to be holy. What is the relationship between holiness and suffering?

 

• What does this passage teach you about Jesus Christ?

Memory Verse: 1Pet 1:20