Anchored #1 - Introducing 1 Peter (1 Peter 1:1-2)

Introducing 1 Peter as a Letter for Exiles

Faith family, I'm incredibly excited because we are beginning a new sermon series that will take us through the summer that I have called anchored. Anchored stabilizing truths for a shaky world. And as I mentioned We are going to be studying the letter of first Peter first Peter.

And as we study first Peter what we're going to find is That there is a lot of rich truth that acts as anchors and stabilizers for us in a world that continues to feel increasingly unstable for the people of God and So I'll say more about that as we start the message.

But for now if you have your Bibles and I hope you do take them and turn with me to two passages.

We're gonna read.

Of the letter in chapter 1 and then we'll read from the end of the letter in chapter 5 so first Peter chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 and Then first Peter chapter 5 verses 10 Through 12, so first Peter chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 and then first Peter chapter 5 verses 10 through 12 and If you're able to do so Can I invite you to stand with me out of reverence for God's Word as we come to the?

Hearing and the preaching of it first Peter chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 will return to our usual habits of reading responsibly, so I will read the odd numbered verses and We'll read the even numbered verses together, so I'll read the odd numbered verses by myself and the even numbered verses we'll read together.

So first Peter chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 and then chapter 5 verses 10 through 12. Text says Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ to those chosen Living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.

Through the sanctifying work of the Spirit to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Turn over to chapter 5 chapter 5 and verses 10 through 12 verse 10.

The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory will himself restore. Establish strengthen and support you after you have suffered a little while to him be dominion forever. Amen. Through Silvanus a fateful brother as I consider him I have written to you briefly in order to encourage you to testify that this is the true grace of God.

Stand firm in it. Pray that God will bless that reading of his word and grant us understanding. Let me pray ask the spirits help and we will get to work in this text. Heavenly Father we thank you so much for your goodness and your mercy to us.

Thank you that we have yet another opportunity to open up your word and to hear it speak to us as your people. Pray that as we begin this study in first Peter that you would open our eyes. That we would see wonderful things out of your law help us to see The blessing that is the Christian life even in the midst of suffering and instability and help us to see how we find Hope how we find Stability and security how we find an anchor not in ourselves.

But in our Lord Jesus Christ. Father as I pray that for us. I also pray that for Gold Valley Fellowship out there in Gold Hill pray for my brother Pastor Dave Gomez and the ministry has their pray for them as they Navigate a season of unsureness about what the next steps are.

Pray that you would be with them. Grant them wisdom grant them insight bless their ministry there. And father even as you bless the ministry of the word there pray that you would bless the ministry of the word even now.

We ask all these things in Jesus name and for his sake. Amen.

Please be seated if you were to ask me.

What I think the top invention of this millennium was. My answer might surprise you. It's some of you know, I love my books. But it's not the book because the book as we know it the codex Actually was invented in the 2nd century AD.

So not this millennium. It's not the Internet. I think we can all agree that the Internet is a blessing and a curse. Sometimes it's more curse than blessing.

No, you know what?

My top invention of the millennium is if you had to kind of pin me to the wall and say Kofi. What do you think is the greatest thing we've come up with in the last thousand years? Do you know what my answer would be?

Satellite navigation. Never again. Do I have to be lost going somewhere? It's wonderful. I hate being lost. Never have to do that again. Never do I need to spend more time going somewhere than I actually need to.

Some of you know, I travel a bit. I don't like traveling. I like getting to where I'm going. I hate traveling. But at least when I'm in my car, I can get there in the quickest amount of time possible.

I don't have to waste time if I just humble myself and listen to the instructions I get from point A to point B in lightning speed or what feels like it anyway, I Don't have to mess with maps. I don't have to remember how I got there.

I don't have to explore. Don't have time for that. Just nice and efficient movement from point A to point B. If I'm one of those people weird people that when I travel I look up where I'm going. I look up when I'm where I'm going to eat usually the same one or two places any other things I want to do even where I'm going to church and Generally, I won't go somewhere if I can't find a good church on a Sunday before I get there because again.

Efficiency. It's helpful to know where you're going before you go, isn't it? If you just kind of I mean some people thrive on that like I'm just gonna go and get lost. I don't have time for that. I'll just be honest.

I don't I like to know where I'm going. So when I get there, I can enjoy the destination and not spend my time planning the journey. Kofi what does this have to do with first Peter? Well actually has everything to do with first Peter.

Because I would argue that principle of knowing where you're going before you get there is a helpful principle when you come to study your Bible. That when you come to study a Bible don't just jump into chapter 1 verse 1 you might want to take a second.

Do some background work. So that as you. Well walk your way through the book of the Bible that you find yourself studying. You'll actually get far more out of the book than you imagine. As I said, we are kicking off a summer series that we are quoting anchored Stabilizing truths from a shaky waters.

I've said we're going to be in first Peter. And if I'm honest, I can only think of a handful of books that are more relevant to this time Than the one that we're about to spend the next 13 weeks studying together in an age of frighteningly low levels of biblical literacy.

I'm firmly in agreement with Pastor David Helm. David Helm is director of the Charles Simeon Trust. Their job is they train preachers in expository preaching. Excellent ministry. Highly recommend them.

David Helm who's the director of that and the pastor himself pastors Christ Church Chicago in the downtown area of Chicago. He wrote this in his commentary on first Peter, which I recommend in this week's study guide.

Highly recommend it. He said quote life is difficult. But this harsh truth has not always been understood by those following Jesus Christ. Many Christians today have trouble sorting out the complexity of their identity and calling in Christ.

They were rare to believe that a Christian should only experience the joys of Being one of God's elect. They have been taught nothing of our exilic state. I don't disagree. I'll be honest we who stand behind the sacred desk have not always done a good job of getting people ready for Hard times and so when the hard times hit what usually happens is People go down like pins and bowling because they've not been adequately Grounded for when those times come and that's not to say when hard times come that we don't find them difficult that we kind of Adopt, you know the stiff upper lip.

No nothing. No, we're not saying that. But when tough times come we should not be completely flawed as though tough times are weirdness in the Christian life. Well as a Bible teacher and more importantly as a shepherd of souls who's one day going to give an account.

For how I shepherded I feel it's my duty as it were to give some anchors from God's Word for the days approaching us. I Feel that this letter that we're about to spend the rest of the summer Walking through is going to help us to gain some stability when it comes to the world in which we find ourselves because I don't know about you sometimes this world feels like it's moving a little too quickly and If I'm not holding on to something firm, I might be shaken.

Of course. So this afternoon I want to take a little time introducing first Peter. I want to take a little time introducing first Peter and I'm going to use verses one and two at least initially to give us a bit of a rubric for Introducing this letter that we're about to study.

To help us get oriented and to plan our journey through this letter because again I want to be able to plan this our journey through this letter so that as we get into the details of it We won't be lost along the way.

To help us get oriented this afternoon. I want to consider six questions. Six questions that are designed to open up our study of first Peter and to help us get our bearings as we begin I want to consider six questions.

I'll give you a heads up. The first two are gonna move really slow. The next four will move very quickly. So six questions two slow ones and four quick ones. Hopefully you have something to write with you grab the study guide on the way in.

And you may want one of those because I have some maps and stuff that I'm not gonna have on screen. So I hope that you have a copy of that with you. Six questions then are gonna help us open up our study of first Peter.

Peter’s Apostolic Authority and Maturity

Question number one. Who's our author? Who is our author? Well, we meet him in the first part of verse one. So verse one says Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ. Peter calls himself an apostle a term that I think if you read your New Testament, you're very familiar with it comes up over and over and over again, but I think at times is a term that we don't really grasp the full import of.

The word apostle is a literal translation is pulling the letters from Greek straight into English it means one who is sent an Emissary one who is going in the name and the authority of another. To be an apostle wasn't just a title.

It was a responsibility. It was a sacred Responsibility and not everybody was called to this responsibility.

The.

Quota as it were of Apostles was very very small. Not everybody who claimed the name of Christ was an apostle. There were certain qualifications that were required for an apostle. Let me just share some of them with you.

First of all Biblical Apostles had to have seen the risen Christ to be qualified to be an apostle. You had to have seen the risen Christ. So in Acts chapter 1 the disciples following the return of Jesus into glory Recognize that one of their number Jew.

I'm not you Judas. Excuse me is dead Recognizing that I'm that okay. We need somebody to fill up the place that was take that was left behind. I should say by Judas We need another one. Listen to what the Apostle see Acts chapter 1.

Because of time I won't read the whole thing I'm gonna jump to verse 21. Acts chapter 1 of verse 21. It says therefore in light of the fact that Judas had killed himself and was no longer part of the twelve.

Therefore from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out from among us Beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us from among these it is necessary that one become a witness with us and please know a Witness with us of.

His.

Resurrection so the specific thing at least one of them that made an apostle an apostle was the fact that an apostle was a witness to the resurrection. Paul could say of himself first Corinthians chapter 9 verse 1.

He's establishing why it's perfectly legitimate for him to receive payment for gospel ministry. First Corinthians chapter 9 verse 1. He says am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?

You read the New Testament. It's clear that one of the qualifications for being an apostle was that They had to have seen the risen Christ. But not only had they had to have seen the risen Christ secondly, they had to have been commissioned by Christ.

So in Matthew chapter 10 verses 1 through 4 We have a list of the 12 and it says that Jesus summons the 12. He gives them authority of the unclean spirits, and then he sends them out to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom.

So you couldn't just pick yourself up all morning and say I'm an apostle. No. You had to be commissioned by Christ. In Acts chapter 1 a verse that many people quote. But I don't think they get the full import of Acts chapter 1 and verse 8 it says but you were Jesus speaking to the 12.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth that term witnesses. There's an interesting one.

It literally means one who has seen these things and testifies of these things on pain of death. It's where we got one martyr from but again, who is the one who does the sending here? Jesus is the one who does the sending so Biblical Apostles had to have seen the risen Christ.

Secondly biblical Apostles had to be commissioned by Christ. They didn't send themselves. They were sent by Christ. The third mark that marked out true Apostles from false were that they performed authentic miracles.

They performed authentic miracles and these miracles were proof that they were sent from God. So in 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 verse 12 Paul will speak of himself and he will say the signs of an apostle were performed with unfailing endurance among you including signs and wonders and miracles.

Paul said you want to prove him. Second Corinthians is a fascinating letter. It's Paul's defense of his ministry against the claims of some who claim that they were apostles, but weren't and Paul says the signs of an apostle were performed among you and they included signs wonders and miracles.

Tell me to Hebrew chapter 2 this one. I want you to see for yourself. Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2 beginning in verse 1. Hebrews chapter 2 beginning in verse 1 text says for this reason. And who Jesus is that's chapter 1 for this reason.

We must pay attention all the war to what we have heard so that we will not drift away. For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding and every transgression of disobedience received the just punishment.

Verse 3, how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord. So you have number one Jesus who is the Lord here he comes and he proclaims his gospel.

Secondly it was confirmed to us by those who heard him so there were those who heard Jesus his apostles and Then the authors of the Hebrew says there was a group called us by the way. That's why I don't think Paul wrote Hebrews because Paul's in the category of the Apostles not those who heard.

That's a conversation for another time, but for now verse 4 is what I want to get to at the same time God also testified by signs and wonders and various miracles and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit.

According to his will. Oh. Here are those same three words in the English and the original language signs wonders and miracles. Being taught about in relation to the Apostles and the author to the Hebrew says that God Confirmed the message of the Apostles by the presence of these signs and wonders.

You read the book of Acts not everybody's out here doing miracles in the book of Acts. It's mostly the Apostles. Why? The the signs were basically proof that these men were from God and that the message.

Which was more important than the miracle that the message that they were bringing came from God and so those are your three signs as you think about an Apostle an apostle had to have seen the risen Christ.

He had to have been commissioned by Christ and he had to perform authentic miracles. Well, the question is did Peter meet that standard? Well, yes, he does you read the Gospels. Peter saw and interacted with the risen Christ.

The most notable a number of times actually the most notable of which is in John chapter 21. Remember the if you love me feed my sheep dialogue. That was with the risen Christ. Peter was a member of the twelve.

In fact in every list we have of the twelve Peter is top of the list every time. We have four lists of the Apostles given to us in the Gospels. I won't tell you where that's your homework for this week.

But in the four lists that we have, you know, whose name comes up every time top of the list.

Peter.

Okay, so Peter saw the risen Christ. He was sent by Christ. Okay. What about miracles? Did he do those actually. Read the early chapters of Acts and Peter is party to a number of miracles Including the raising of the dead and so Peter was absolutely an apostle.

He absolutely bore the marks of one who had been sent by.

Christ.

Peter seems pretty impressive when you first meet him and when you meet him here in first Peter. He's like he's quite put together. This is the reflections of a mature man. More about that in a moment.

But if you know Peter's backstory Peter was anything but polished and put together. So yes, he's something of a senior figure among the twelve. But Peter is pretty outspoken. In fact in one of my favorite books on the life of the disciples Twelve ordinary men by John MacArthur, you know the nickname that John MacArthur gave Peter in his book The Apostle with the foot shaped mouth.

Because when Peter opens his mouth, he's usually sticking his foot in it in some way. One moment he could say something that was so profound so deep with insight. My favorite of them is Peter the first time he meets Jesus, I believe it's a Mark's gospel.

The first time that he meets Jesus Jesus tells him to go out to fish and he's like listen. We were out all night. Boss, we're fishermen. We know how this works. Like we caught nothing. But since you said we should go we'll go.

They go and they catch more fish than they know what to do with and Peter's response is I think very profound. I think it's an underrated response from him. He says Lord depart from me. I'm a sinful man.

There's something about you. That's different and I shouldn't be here. Peter was capable of profound insight one minute and. Then the next minute I imagine if we don't have our heads in our hands wondering if we were there like seriously.

Who is this guy like seriously? What are you talking about? The Apostle with the foot shaped mouth. Not only that Peter was brash and impetuous. Peter as far as we can tell from the Gospels is the only Apostle the only one of the twelve Who had the gall to tell Jesus he was wrong and no he does he does this more than once.

More than once you meet Peter and he's telling Jesus and allergies that can't go like that. Some people say that he was older than Jesus age-wise possibly. Kind of points to a bit of a brash and impetuous speak in him by the way Peter's the only one of the Apostles as far as we know who got violent for the cause.

They come to arrest Jesus. He's like nah, that's not happening today. Pulls out a sword and cuts off a soldier's ear. You eat pizza in the Gospels and Peter is a work in progress to put it mildly. But can I pause for a moment allow me to make a point of application real quickly we'll move on.

Isn't it good to know that God does his best work with works in progress? I don't know about you. But ain't it comforting to know that the kind of bumbling but kind of sincere guy with not much impulse control ended up being a pillar in the Lord's Church.

Isn't it reassuring to know that our flaws don't dissip don't disqualify us or basically kick us off from God being able to use us. In a lot of ways I mean Paul's actually my hero when I read the New Testament.

But I like Peter for a lot of reasons one of which is I know what it is for people who have told me. Tell my face. I think you're disqualified. You have no business being in ministry. Just like kick him to the curb I can multiply for you stories of people who told me that over the years mostly for minor things that okay.

He's young he'll grow out of it show some grace. No no grace. He's done, but isn't it good to know that's not how God deals with people. The flaws and Imperfections that we have might disqualify us before people.

But isn't it good to know that people don't qualify us for the Lord's use. It's the Lord who qualifies us. You see believer his faithfulness is our standing place and since his faithfulness is our standing place even with our imperfections We can still be used by him.

And I put it to you that the Peter that we meet here in first Peter knows that all too well. And that's why it colors the tone that we meet here I would argue that the Peter we meet in first Peter is an older man.

He's a wiser man. He's a man who's now been walking with Jesus for quite some time. If I flip over to chapter 5 for a moment first Peter chapter 5 and know how Peter describes himself there first Peter chapter 5 Peter says I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and Witness to the sufferings of Christ as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed.

We'll come to this in more detail when we come to chapter 5. But I think that when Peter calls himself an elder here. He's not just talking about as a fellow pastor Overseer elder. True, but I also think he's talking about his age.

This is not a young man at this point, so who's our author?

Our author.

Is Peter the Apostle. And I put it to you that Peter is nearing the end of his life. Not quite as close as second Peter, which Lord willing will come to in a future series.

But this is.

Older wiser slightly more mature Peter. Who as he's walked with Jesus over the years the Spirit of God has been able to do the work of? Sanctification and to do the work of making him like Christ more and more and that shines through as you read this letter.

So that's question number one question number two. Told you my two first questions gonna be a little long. Question number two Who's our who's his audience? Who is Peter actually writing to? So if question number one is who is our author question number two is who is his audience?

I think we get a clue from reading the end of verse 1 and the beginning of verse 2. Now it's easy to think that when we study our Bibles. This is an important after all you you know most of us. Have been taught you know you pick up your Bible you read it.

You just kind of figure out what the text is saying and then you get to the really important work. Which is not even what it says or what it means, but then you get to the work of applying it. But for a moment allow me to get technical and talk about how we read our Bibles.

I'll meet a little technical here and for this I'm going to borrow from a professor of Biblical theology who has long gone home to be with the Lord. His name was Edmund Clowney and Ed Clowney. Had something that's become known in some circles as Clowney Square.

The diagram you're about to see is often borrowed and recycled and today I'm borrowing it for the purpose of explaining something when we read our Bibles. We are making a journey from the text as it was written.

To the world of today. Now for many of us our temptation is to cross. From the world as it was back then. Straight to today, so I read this passage. It says something. It's speaking to me off I go. But can I put it to you that if you go just straight from your text to today?

You're going to end up making a text say things it was never intended to say. Why? Because you've ignored the point that the original author both human and divine. Intended to make you see the way that God actually inspired the Bible was he wrote the Bible.

And as he writes the Bible he writes it to a first audience. So Peter has an audience he has specific people. He's writing to with specific backgrounds and specific circumstances and specific events. That make them them.

Now you can't stop there and say okay now I understand who the first audience is. I can now go straight to me and not quite can't do that either because. That's how you end up with. Sort of moralistic or legalistic applications moralism try harder and do better legalistic do this so God will love you.

Why because you've missed out the key component you need to do some. Understanding of how this text fits in the wider story of what God is doing really the story of redemption. So in that sense you actually need to move One more latter remove across through some reflection thinking about the gospel.

Seeing how can this text connects to the gospel and then You can come on down and see how this text applies to me today. I Do that for a moment because I think it's important that we ask the question who's Peter writing to.

Because as we see who Peter is writing to we will see how they're different from us but we'll also see ways in which they're just like us and The ways in which they're just like us will help us to apply this book not in a sort of slapdash fashion.

But in the way that the Spirit of God.

Intended so for a moment.

Who's Peter's audience? Like I said, I think we get a couple of clues. From verse 1 and verse 2. First of all, this is a spread-out audience. This is a spread-out audience. So you see that there in verse 1 Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ to those Chosen living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia.

Now if you picked up one of the study guides this afternoon, you'll see that there's a map there the map there. Kind of shows the region to which this letter was written as you can see it covers a really wide area.

It's in Asia Minor what we today know as Turkey. Unlike the letters of Paul. Which are usually written to specific churches and they're written for specific purposes Peter is writing the kind of letter that is intended for mass readership.

But did you catch it? He said something else. He doesn't just say he's writing to those in Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia. He says he's writing to those chosen. We'll come back to that in a minute living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia.

This ties back with the theme of the exile in the Old Testament. God's people living in a land not their own. But call to glorify him while they're in this land. That's not their own. If I getting too theological this afternoon while I don't believe that the church replaces Israel I do believe that the church is the people of God just as saved Israelites were part of God's true people and in that sense the story of God's true people is The story of God's church in the New Covenant as well.

Just as God's people experienced times of being exiles and pilgrims language that Peter will pick up later on in our letter. So we to find ourselves as exiles in a world that isn't our home. So this is a spread-out audience.

But all these is a spread-out audience. Secondly, this is a select and a saved audience. It's a select and a saved audience. So again, look at verse 2 with me to those chosen according to the full knowledge of God the Father.

Through the sanctifying work of the Spirit to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. In verse 2 Peter gets into a little more detail about what it means for these people who are living as exiles to be chosen and In particularly he says three things.

He says first of all that they were chosen According to the foreknowledge of God the Father see out there in verse 2. According to the foreknowledge of God the Father. That the Father had loved these people from the foundation of the world and he had marked them out to be his forever people.

That's all that means when it says the foreknowledge of God the Father is pulling this language from the Old Testament where God says He knows his people. He has an intimate relationship with them, but Peter doesn't just posit that in time.

He says listen before time God knew these people and he marked out these people To be his. Secondly, he says that they were chosen not just according to the foreknowledge of God the Father but secondly through the sanctifying work of the Spirit the sanctifying work of the Spirit now.

What is his sanctifying work here? This is not a reference to the Ongoing sanctification of the Christian. That's how we often think when we hear that term sanctification. But the word here actually carries the idea of this once for all.

Oppositioning of the Christian the fact that the Christian when he becomes saved is set apart from the world and set apart for God. So when he says that they were chosen through the Sanctifying work of the Spirit is that when they were saved God took them and he set them apart through the Spirit and made them his.

They were chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Thirdly he says they were chosen to be spring to be obedient to excuse me to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus.

Now this is the most interesting of the three. What does Peter exactly mean when he ties obedience and being sprinkled with the blood of Jesus? If you're taking notes Exodus chapter 24 in your own time, I encourage you to read that Exodus chapter 24 and Exodus 24 the children of Israel are Entering formally into the covenant that they hadn't that God had made with them.

Allow me for a moment to read verses 3 through 8 Exodus chapter 24 verses 3 through 8 Moses came and told all the people told the people all the commands of the Lord and All the ordinances then all the people responded with a single voice.

We will do everything that Yahweh the Covenant God has commanded. And Moses wrote down all the words of Lord. He rose early the next morning and took an altar and 12 pillars for the 12 tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain.