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April 27, 2021 12:00 am
Peter here is is written, you know truck loaded through the ugly point of his declaration was gone simply does every member of the Godhead is involved in the salvation of every member of God's family. You are chosen by God the father you are inhabited by God the spirit you are under orders and constantly cleansed by God the son. Salvation comes to us through the Trinity. It happens through the Trinity and will one day bring us home to the Trinity father-son aspects of the Trinity that we just can't seem to understand, however, the Trinity, being hard to understand, doesn't mean we can ignore it. More practically, though, is the reality that the Trinity father son and Spirit are all in trickle to our salvation organ to look at that truth today and I hope you'll stay with us. This is wisdom for the heart. And here's Stephen Devi with the message called the Trinity JI Packer once gave an illustration of the Christian life by imagining someone in a helicopter dropping somewhere in the Amazonian jungle picking up willing tribesmen could never been out of the jungle before flying him immediately to London or New York, dropping him off in the middle of the city and then telling him you're on your now make the best of it is all right were cruel to ourselves.
If we try to live in this world without knowing about the God's world is a new happens to run it disregard God and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you.
Was little surprise that in the beginning of this letter as he begins to address how to live for Christ in on unwelcoming world. Peter begins by describing God who is our refuge and strength, and more specifically Peter will describe how each member of the Godhead. Father, son and Holy Spirit intersection your life and mine to do it in three statements you get to do a lot more words can take time for three all right, you might want to number them in your text because it will necessarily follow the verses first Peter in chapter 1, the first statement begins with verse two according to the foreknowledge of God is the first prepositional phrase. The second phrase follows by the sanctifying work of the spirit and in the third phrase to obey Jesus Christ to be sprinkled with his blood, that sort of the long way of making the theological point that every member of the Godhead, father, son and Spirit is involved in the gospel. Every member of the Godhead is involved in the salvation of every member of God's family. That's the primary point and it is more than that effect. When you read on of the universe. Do you discover that on that basis. That is of each member. The train got investing in redeeming and sanctifying cleansing.
The believer then in any generation in any country under any government at any given time through any season of life in the first century all the way to this 21st century grace and peace can be multiplied to you in the fullest measure so it doesn't end with a sour so I guess we just pack up and go hide the grace and peace be multiplied to you in the fullest measure will get there eventually, but let's just go back to these three phrases and break them apart to get to the heart of why this would be so encouraging, let me just take those three phrases. In turn those into three points of an outline in good Baptist fashion, ranked number one.
The first point is this the believer is saved and scattered by God the father, the believer is saved and scattered by God the father go back and get a running start with verse one Peter and apostle of Jesus Christ to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia who are chosen and notice. According to the foreknowledge of God the father would Peter use the word here for foreknowledge prognosis verse two, he wasn't simply talking about God knowing in advance what would happen that word refers to God planning pre-determining by his loving and saving intention to redeem his beloved Peter. In fact, uses the same word in verb form. Later down in verse 20 to tell us that the death of Jesus Christ to redeem sinners was foreknown by God the father that I cannot mean that God the father looked in, you know, down the corridor, or a time and saw that Jesus would be willing to die and he said okay. Let's make that the way it works no effect Peter when he preached on the day of Pentecost that the death of Christ was fact. Here's what he said on the McLeod him that the death of Christ was according to the pre-determined plan and foreknowledge of God. God did not call an emergency meeting after Adam and Eve said is what we now Norfolk Creek. This is all actually discover part of his plan. Amazing, from eternity past the plans of God were made that the Pfizer comprehension because were talking about a Turk as if you're thinking that is okay.
This staggers my thinking that I think now were on the right path and I think it's consistent with Scripture, God the father chose you and me in a way that is beyond our comprehension, God the son paid the penalty for our sin in a way that is beyond our comprehension.
I mean, how did he do that pay the penalty for sin. Nearly 2000 years ago that you're going to commit two weeks from tomorrow. You figure that one out hello are added to Holy Spirit indwells us in a way that is beyond our comprehension.
He had internal person of the Godhead indwells us. That's understandable on by the way, you are added, our triune God has destined us and prepared for us and eternity and an immortal body to go in a way and in a place that staggers our comprehension.
Here's word immediately mattered to these believers scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia and Raleigh and apex and Mooresville, Holly Springs and even Chapel Hill, to these Christians who are foreigners who are in their own country, but now lost their marginalized or maligned their own loved her and wanted is where they could breathe a deep breath of hope and really Peter is telling them that the foreknowledge of God the father doesn't just relate to their salvation but to their situation. You can just as easily understand Peter to be saying here in verse two. You have been chosen by God to not only be say, but to be scattered.
Don't miss that. To these scattered electrons. That's all by means of the foreknowledge for planning for loving God the father told, according to the plan of God from eternity past nothing good ever happened in her life forgot as I did see that happening, and that would be good to come up with Plan B listeners before the creation of the world. God shows you he is about to lose sight of you now, like seed from the hand of the gardener you having just been scattered Peter once reinforced the concept that you have been planted according to the foreknowledge of God the father is for loving for planning, predetermining counsel in eternity past puts you here right now in that see going through whatever you're going through and that you find in him your refuge. The chaos of the Roman Empire is not call God by surprise.
For these believers.
God is in control of the chaos. As I said in our last session, the world is never falling apart. According to the foreknowledge and for planning of God. The world is always falling in place. The believer is saved and scattered by God the father number two.
The believer is sanctified and set apart by God the spirit look again in verse two where Peter writes, according to the knowledge of God the father. Now notice by the sanctifying work of the spirits now watch this. Peter is moving us from the foreknowledge of God the father and eternity past to the work of God the spirit as he intersects our lives in time present the word Peter uses here refers to the spirits work in your life which is sanctifying. It is making you holy. It is making you a separate people unto God. This is the sanctifying activity by means of the spirit of God that starts and it never stops. By the way and be easier just to camp here for a while, but we dare not, but the Holy Spirit I can make a couple of points. According to Scripture, it is that is the third person of the Godhead who actually drew you to a saving relationship with God the father.
That was the Holy Spirit who opened your eyes so you can say yes to Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit who resonates in your heart regarding the truth of Scripture you happen to be odd you happen to believe odd things you your straying early career.
More and more off for an error in the world around you, why you believe this stuff it's the work of the spirit of God within you. For the unbeliever cannot receive the things of the spirit of God because they are discerned by means of the spirit to them. It is foolishness. First Corinthians 214 the holy spirit fuels genuine worship and what makes good worship is necessarily like those songs and acquire number and and the people in my surrounding Webb's great worship when makes good worship is the indwelling work of the Spirit of God that even even if you didn't have a 45 piece orchestra and a wonderful choir and people were smiling around you could leave the assembly saying that was a great worship. I connected with the truths about God is the work of the sanctifying spirit of God with any the Holy Spirit one more thing the Holy Spirit also provokes true prayer in your life because the Spirit helps us. Paul writes, because we don't know what to pray for many because we don't know how to pray as to the spirit intercedes for us.
Romans 826 a lot more but all of Christianity. The beginning in the middle and the end of the Christian life is the work of the holy spirit of God that now there are two different ways to think about the fact that he's always present and you can say it was just a little different emphasis. And you can catch what I mean by by that you can say one of two ways you can say God's spirit never leaves us alone, or you can say God spirit never leaves us alone. Both are true.
In fact, one of her biggest mistakes is to think that we can somehow get through the day, much less life without the indwelling sanctifying spirit of God, who gratefully doesn't leave us one of the tragic mistakes of the church is to think that our programs and our plans and our strategies can produce lasting fruit, independently of the work of the Holy Spirit, but somehow you can disciple someone in the maturity without the work of the spirit or somehow you can share the gospel with seminal believe in early and those of the great presentations. Another number one class were Howard Hendricks assess this question with great passion.
He said it this way if the spirit of God checked out of the average church in America.
How long do you think that church can operate before they figured it out. There are churches today that are meeting without the Holy Spirit because he's bound to the truth. The lights are on climate control, said vice chairs at the offering by singing in the spirit is absent both personalize and how long would it take you and me in our own lives discover were doing it on a Wii that some thunderstorms lately and couple of very brief temporary times when the power went out at our home. He was amazing to me how primitive life becomes when you lose power you to begin thinking thoughts like I should've dug a well and I really would have a real fireplace and so I guess I cattle whatever when the power in your house goes out. It didn't matter how much you paid for your washing machine or your dryer or your refrigerator or your microwave order new LED lights or your cell phone that you now can no longer charge or your computer. They are all worth less than the cardboard boxes they came in without power. Our lives are like those appliances there's not one function we can fulfill with God's pleasure, and according to his purposes without God's power and in the Holy Spirit, by the way is as an ethereal power source.
He is saying person and by means of a relationship with him. He has given us than the power to live and work in disciple and evangelize and stand and function for his glory. I think Peter would be encouraging these believers not only know that God had left them alone but he's at work because they would think are we alone now and were at work. We just feel so terribly encouraging to them and I don't really know what nuance Peter had in his mind, even from the language he provides us but I can't help believe that he knew it would be incredibly encouraging for his scattered believers who listened who were feeling so separated from the world to discover that the work of the spirit was to make them separated from the world feeling more like a foreigner these days. If you feel more separated and different from your world. Guess what, it is the spirit of God at work reminding you that you belong not to the kingdoms of earth. But to the kingdom of heaven, like all the scattered believers in Pontius and Galatia in Cappadocia and Asia and in Bithynia and our world today. The believer is saved and scattered among those locations by God the father and in the midst of it all. The believer is sanctified and set apart that never ends by God the spirit. Thirdly, the believer is surrendered to and sprinkled clean by God the son, the believer is surrendered to and sprinkled clean by God the son noticed the last part of the of the verse. According to the foreknowledge of God the father by the centerline with the spirit of notice, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood, to obey Jesus Christ word used here conveys the picture of listening to and coming under her submitting to that which is revealed. It refers to daily practice, though imperfect, of reversing by the way, the attitude that characterizes the unbeliever done care what God said I don't care what God says it was well God says is lying. God says see that is the characteristic of the unbeliever. They are in rebellion to what they hear from God. This is the reversing of that you are in submission to what you hear from God. That's why the word of God is so precious to you we care. Peter is going to stress this kind of obedience. In his letter fact out in verse 14. He challenges us to be like obedient children. How different is that is unique and right to be seen, then your children from time to time without further verse 22 uses the same wording in the challenges to be obedient to the truth and I was the work of salvation that was determined in eternity past by God the father brought about by means of the Holy Spirit to somewhere along the line show up as obedience to Jesus Christ. Peter then goes on a reference the cleansing we have by the blood of Christ that I did at the time we place to put that a timely reminder because we do not obey Christ perfectly sometimes not at all, but are assurances based on the blood he shed the payment made on our behalf. Now you getting back in the Old Testament for the sake of time when I can turn their abilities as revealed through the Peter is actually alluding back to the book of Exodus were Moses gathered the people at the base of Mount Sinai and deliver to them the commandments and the ordinances of God, the Israelites heard God's word in said quote everything the Lord has said everything we've heard the Lord say we will do. They were brought to obey the word of the Lord and then Moses sprinkled the people with the sacrificial animals, blood.
This is the picture here. In fact, if you dig around in the Old Testament, you'll find are two other occasions worst people are sprinkled with blood when Aaron and his sons were dedicated set apart for their ministry and the goddess brace the sign of them being set apart as they were sprinkled blood, so also by the way the New Testament picks up on that analogy because you have any be a priest you have to go to anybody go directly to God as priest Peter says you are a royal priesthood hood even set apart even sprinkle with the blood of the Lamb final sacrifice. Secondly, I discovered that when a leper was healed. He was to go to the priest to be sprinkled with the blood of the sacrificial animal symbolize that he was now cleanse the writer of Hebrews picks up on that illustration as he encourages the New Testament believer to draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. Hebrews 1022, we were once leprous. We were once terminally infected with sin. We listen to the gospel. The spirit of God opened our eyes to the truth of it and we obey this command to call upon the Lord and be saved.
We did that in the spirit came into indwell us and the result of the spirits and dwelling is were cleansed forever. From that point forward by the blood of Christ, but we are now becoming obedient to Jesus Christ and we do it with joy.
Why, because the penalty of all of our sin and every time we do fall short every time we do have to have a fresh bath as it were our feet get dirty.
We know the penalty of all of our sin is been forgiven forever. We know that all the guilt of our sin has been swept away forever. Imagine Peter here as is written in a truckload of truth Edney. The point of his declaration is again simply this, every member of the Godhead is involved in the salvation of every member of God's family we don't tend to think of all three members of the Godhead at work on our behalf so much he for new and for love you.
You are chosen by God the father you are inhabited by God the spirit you are under orders and constantly cleansed by God the son. Salvation comes to us through the Trinity. It happens through the Trinity. It will one day bring us home to the Trinity. We will worship are true and living God the father, son and Spirit. Peter concludes his opening thoughts by writing a verse to look at the end there may grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure and I thought about doing just a sermon on this, but I want to get to the end of this introduction. This isn't a throwaway line is wonderfully deep truth.
Peter is writing to both Gentiles and Jews will try to be quick. He's writing about Jewish and Gentile believers here and in in this greeting.
He very wisely combines together expressions from a Gentile and Jewish custom as they greeted one another.
Gentiles would say hello to each other without the expression that involve the word caress or Grayson and Jews when they would greet each other would use something with the word shalom NNN and it basically had shallow meaning, wishing grace in the first century was kind like saying good luck in all. Hope your day goes great. Best wishes. Wishing piece or shalom was really nothing more than sort of saying I hope everything is peaceful. Hope everything smooth in your life today hope everything is your Rose petal covered Peter uses those and gives them deeper meaning. The piece that Peter has in mind is the lack of conflict are tribally's writing. The people who are in trouble.
For the believer piece is internal. It is the conscious awareness by means of a relationship with God. The peace treaties been signed were not in conflict with him. He's in charge of the conflict we face in the grace that Peter has in mind is good luck. It's living with eyes clearly seeing the fact that God in his providence is lavishing us is demonstrating to us enough grace to get through today and we have no way of calculating how much it took to get through today. We just had it even hardships have the purposes of God behind them, one for new and for computer by the way, wanted to be multiplied to notice that I just a little yellow shake of the subject I want I want I want the truck to back up and are more Grayson P is the giver is the multiplier is the donor you mentioned not immediately mention it's obvious in this context, the donor and the multiplier got the father son spirit. Thanks so much for joining us today as we brief elected on the Trinity and the role that the Trinity plays in our salvation. Did you know that you can download the audio file of this and every message Stephen has taught free of charge from our website.
You'll find us@wisdomonline.org this current series is called profiling Christians in today's message is entitled the Trinity at work. You'll also find each message on our smart phone app install the wisdom international app to your iPhone or android device and take the teaching you hear where ever you go. Are Bible teaching ministry is made possible by the support we receive from our listeners, we be grateful for your support as well. We also enjoy hearing from you. You can send Stephen a card or letter. If you address it to wisdom for the hard PO Box 37297, Raleigh, NC 27627. Join us next time.
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