Good day and welcome to the 5 Minute Challenge. The 5MC is written in an effort to encourage all to grow closer to God through spending daily time in His Word. Studying. Exploring. Going deeper than just the casual glance or quick read. The 5MC moves methodically through God’s Word, one chapter at time, one book at time. It follows the layout of God’s Word and has, in the last 9 months moved from the first book in the New testament, Matthew, to the book we will be starting today, 1 Peter.
1 Peter as you have probably, accurately surmised, is written by the disciple Peter. Peter is well known in the scriptures through his many interactions with Christ. He was one of the first disciples called by Jesus along with his brother Andrew. (Matt 4:18, Mark 1:16). He was the one that walked on water with Jesus (Matt 14:22-33). He denied Jesus 3 times (Luke 22:54-62) And then he gives the famous sermon on the day of Pentacost (Acts 2:14-41) Peter is well known throughout God’s Word.
Peter is responsible for two books in the New Testament, this book 1 Peter, and the book that follows it 2 Peter. 1 Peter was written after all of Paul’s letters in roughly 64-67AD. Peter was of course a fisherman, a blue collar kinda guy and thus he lends a certain reality to us in his walk with Christ and also his letters here in the New Testament. Peter was known to have had a temper and on many occasions it showed in how Jesus dealt with him and reacted to him. But throughout the journey following Peter in God’s Word, we see the portrait of a real man. A man that was vulnerable, a man that was flawed, a man that was a simple human sinner. It’s a joy to see the transformation that Christ had in his life from the time of him dropping his nets to go with Jesus, until his powerful preaching on the day of Pentacost. Christ has that effect on people, total and absolute transformation.
We’re going to focus on the first portion of Peters first letter today, verses 3-9 to be exact. Peter was thought to be an arrogant, dense fisherman. But we will see as we read this passage, when the Holy Spirit is our guide we are indeed new creatures. You will not hear a much more doctrinally sound, impactful and emotional passage than this one here from Peter. Let’s encounter it:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so 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. 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, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:3-9
Let’s look at some of the major points.
> “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” Peter here recognizes 2 parts of the Holy Trinity. God the father and Jesus the Son. He recognizes how we are ultimately saved, by mercy and grace. Some would say that we are saved by God’s Love but that is technically incorrect. God’s love caused him to send His Son in an act of grace and mercy upon us sinners. “ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” Eph 2:8-9. Now, note THE major point of this passage. How are we born again? “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Without the shedding of Jesus’ blood, there is no redemption for us. Period.
> “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Salvation is Jesus is an amazing thing. Peter here uses a few powerful words to describe the fullness of our salvation. Imperishable- It will endure forever. Undefiled- it is pure. Unfading- never losing brightness, vitality or strength. Kept in Heaven for you. Jesus sits at the right hand of God today. He is constantly interceding for us, even right now. Jesus is safeguarding our salvation for us. That’s better than any safe, vault or safety deposit box!
> “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so 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.” This is almost a perfect parallel to James 1:2-4. If you missed the full commentary on this topic, I highly suggest you go back to the5MC.com and read it. Just go to the book of James on the website and find chapter 1. Peter tells us trials WILL come into our lives to test our faith. By doing this God grows us. He builds our faith up like a muscle until it is strong and can lift what He needs us lift. This process is difficult. It hurts, it causes pain, but ultimately it will bring growth in God. So how are we to handle this painful process of working through trials? We rejoice. We are to smile and whistle a tune to God. You see, we should not focus on the trial but on the outcome. The outcome? An increase in faith and patience. Trials will not last forever, but the faith and patience they bring will.
> “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, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” You know all the US states have a nickname right? Do you recall what Missouri’s is? The “show me” state. Folks Peter had seen Jesus. He walked with Jesus for 3 years. He saw Jesus, knew Jesus and loved Jesus. But when Jesus ascended back into Heaven in Acts 1, Peter could no longer see Him. But that didn’t change how Peter felt about His Lord. He could no longer see Him, but he loved Him. He could no longer see Him but he believed in Him. You and I have NEVER seen Jesus. He ascended into Heaven over 2000 years ago. Folks, are from Missouri? Do you need to see to believe? When I called upon the name of Jesus to save me, He became real to me. I have never seen Him, but I love Him. I have never seen Him, but I believe in Him and the Salvation He offers.
I have met many people that do not believe because they cannot see. Apparently, there are more people from Missouri than I’m aware of, because a lot of people are only willing to commit to things that their eyes can physically process. I love the technology of Bluetooth. I am a lifelong fan of audio and thus speakers. I have ran enough speaker wire in my life to get to Dallas and back. But Bluetooth allows me to enjoy music anywhere with no wires. I love it! But you know what? I can’t see the music as it wirelessly travels from my phone to my JBL Flip speaker. As much as I strain, I just can’t see it. But it’s there, I know it is. There’s nothing more real than the music that comes forth from that speaker. I don’t have to analyze or go to deep, I just turn on my tunes and enjoy. I can’t see it, but it works and I believe in it.
Folks, out of this passage today, this is the crux. Do you believe? Do you have faith that Jesus is real? Do you have faith to believe that He lived, died, and was raised from the dead 2000 years ago for you. For me. For all mankind? If you believe, you can call on His name today and He will save you from the penalty of your sins against God. He paid the price so you will not have to. Through God’s grace He offered His only Son. You can’t see Him today, but He can save you today. You can’t see Him today, but He can change your life. You can’t see Him today, but through Him, you can have an eternal home in Heaven in the presence of God…today.
I pray today that Jesus is real to you. That you love Him, and your faith in Him is strong. If you are on a journey with Him, as I am, then God is going to bring trials your way. He will test our faith through trials and in doing so we will emerge from the flames even stronger in Him. And all the while we will rejoice. We will rejoice in a God that loved us first.
Rejoice in the Lord today.
Comments