Pastor David B. Curtis
Pastor David B. Curtis
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Good morning, Bereans. We are continuing our study of 1 Peter 1 this morning and will be looking at verse 21. This whole first chapter has been about re-affirming the truth of the Gospel in the minds of the dispersed believers. Peter begins this epistle by talking about the greatness of our salvation and continues right on down through verse 12.
Starting in verse 13, he explains what our response should be to that great salvation. In the first twelve verses, we find the use of indicatives (i.e., statements of facts). But in verses 13-16, there are imperatives or commands. Peter explains to his audience that in light of the great salvation that God had freely given to them, they and all believers are to respond with a holy lifestyle. But holiness is not an easy thing! It doesn't happen automatically. To be a holy person in a corrupt world, we must live carefully.
In verses 17-21 Peter continues the exposition of the Leviticus command to be holy because Yahweh is holy. Peter's point is that if he and his readers have a special relationship to God by virtue of their calling and their new birth, then it is all the more urgent that they remember who he is in himself and, as a result, display the reverence that God deserves. These verses give them motivations to be holy. These motivations would especially be important in the context of suffering for the faith.
We looked at verse 20 last week.
He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 1 Peter 1:20 ESV
Foreknown is the idea of loving beforehand. He is telling us that Christ was loved by the Father "before the foundation of the world." For all eternity, Christ has been with the Father. But in time, he became a man in order to die for men. This is the incarnation. He became a man, the God-Man, so that he could die for our redemption.
The "last times" refer to the "last times" or "last days" of national Israel, the last days of the Old Cove…
Christ left heaven's glory and became a man so that he could suffer and die for us! Peter says this all happened, "For the sake of you." Redemption was for us. Talk about love.
Paul puts it this way:
For you know the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV
The incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and the events of the Passover were all "for the sake of you." The "you" here is believers. This is made clear in the next verse which states: "who through him are believers in God."
who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:21 ESV
"Who through him are believers in God"—redemption is for us, and it is appropriated by faith. "Through Him," that is through Christ, we have become believers in God.
And because of him you are in Christ Yeshua, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctin and redemption, 1 Corinthians 1:30 ESV
The entire plan of redemption is a work of God. Not only did He provide the redemption but He provides the grace that grants the faith. If you believe, it's because God imparted saving faith to you through Christ. It is all by his grace.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, Ephesians 2:8 ESV
"Through faith"—when he says, "though faith," he's talking about the instrumentality of our salvation. The biblical ordo salutis is that Yahweh in His grace gives us life, then we hear and respond to the Gospel by faith and are then saved. The act of believing is our response. God doesn't believe. We believe. But that response is something created in us by God. By grace are ye saved through the instrumentality of faith.
To make sure that we don't make the mistake of thinking that God does the grace, and then we need to work up the faith within us to believe what God is saying, Paul says:
"And this is not your own doing." What is not of our own doing? What does "this" refer to? Is it the faith that is not of ourselves? Stay with me here because we need to get technical with the Greek grammar for a minute. The demonstrative pronoun, "this," is neuter in gender and the words grace and faith are feminine. Some contend that the neuter pronoun cannot refer to the feminine noun, therefore, it can't be referring to faith. Some jump on this to try to prove that faith is not something sovereignly given by God but that it is something men decide to have by their free will.
First of all, it is wrong to assume that in Greek a neuter pronoun can never refer to a feminine noun. There are illustrations in Classical Greek in which demonstrative pronouns in the neuter gender may refer to feminine antecedents. So, it is possible to interpret this, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that, faith, is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." But that is not how it would ordinarily be translated. Generally, when a neuter pronoun refers to something in the preceding context, if there is not something neuter, specifically, some noun, it usually refers to a statement. That is most likely what we have here. He may be referring to the whole statement: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And that, that by grace through faith salvation is not of your own doing."
So even if "this" does not strictly refer to "faith" in this case but, rather, to the whole idea of salvation by grace, this would not exclude faith. It would refer to something more than faith, but it would include faith.
Now if this "by grace through faith salvation" is not of our own doing, it's obvious that the grace is not of ourselves. Because the "grace" in salvation is by definition something that God gives and exercises and not something produced or exercised by men, it would appear redundant and unnecessary to say that the "grace" is "not from yourselves." And faith is not of ourselves either because the "by grace through faith salvation" is not of our own doing. If faith were of our own doing, he couldn't say, "by grace through faith salvation" is not of our own doing. So, when he says "not of our own doing," he means that our salvation is not of ourselves—faith included. Faith is the product of the working of God.
But because faith is something that we do when we believe, Yahweh doesn't believe—we do. There are those who mistake it as a product of our own will and power, thinking that we have faith because we decide to believe by our "free will." It makes sense, then, for Paul to clarify the matter so that we would not conclude that grace comes from God but faith comes from ourselves. The "by grace through faith salvation" is all of God!
Everyone who believes that Yeshua is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 1 John 5:1 ESV
Until God gives life, we cannot believe. If you believe, it is because you have been born of God.
Also, the immediate context of verses 1-10 of chapter 2 forbids the idea that man has any role in his own salvation. Verses 1-3 describe our spiritual depravity before conversion (we were dead in sins). Then, verses 4-6 teach that it is by God's initiative—His love, grace, and kindness—that He has raised us from the dead and seated us with Christ. Verses 7-10 continue the above idea and are clearly intended to ascribe all of the power and initiative to God in our salvation. These verses include expressions like "by grace you have been saved," "this not from your own doing," "it is the gift of God," "not by works," "so that no one can boast," "we are God's workmanship."
The whole passage emphasizes our depravity and inability and God's grace and work. We were spiritually dead, and so every spiritual good produced in us comes from God's sovereign grace and power. So, if you have a faith that comes from "free will," it contradicts the content and the intent of this entire section.
Charles Hodge writes, "The object of the apostle is to show the gratuitous nature of salvation. This is most effectually done by saying, 'Ye are not only saved by faith in opposition to works, but your very faith is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.'"
Paul goes on to say of salvation that, "It is the gift of God"—salvation and everything involved in it is a gift of God. Although our faith is rightly said to be "our" faith, in the sense that it happens in our minds, it is, in fact, a gift from God because He is the one who produces this faith in us. Think back to the picture of a dead man. Can a dead man ask to be raised? Can he seek to ascend and be seated with Christ? Can he even believe it would be possible? No. He is dead. If we seek to add our faith to God's work, then salvation is a joint effort and we share the glory with God.
When someone gives you a gift, you don't ask "How much do I owe you?" Your only response should be "Thank you very much." If you need to pay the giver, then it is not a gift; you bought it or earned it.
The word "gift" here is from the Greek word doron, often used of sacrifices in the cultic system. It is often translated "offering." This word is used in Hebrews 8.
For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Hebrews 8:3 ESV
What is Yahweh's gift? It is the Lord Yeshua the Christ Who was an offering for our salvation. Our salvation is a gift paid for by the sacrifice of Yeshua.
Peter goes on in out text to say, "Who raised him from the dead." The "who" here is Yahweh. Peter has already talked about the resurrection back in verse 3.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Yeshua the Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:3 ESV
"Born again to a living hope" suggests that this hope was not a part of their natural experience but, rather, was distinctively s vital hope has its roots in "the resurrection of Yeshua the Christ from the dead." Our verse also ties the resurrection to hope. Because He lives, we shall live. Our new birth gave us this life. Yeshua's resurrection is a central truth of the gospel.
Believers, it is repeated over and over in the New Testament that the resurrection of Christ by the Father was the Father's approval of the work of the Son.
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Acts 2:24 ESV
This Yeshua God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Acts 2:32 ESV
and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. Acts 3:15 ESV
let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Yeshua the Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. Acts 4:10 ESV
Four times in the early chapters of Acts we learn that God raised Him up. Look at what Paul tells us about the resurrection in Romans 1:4.
and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Yeshua the Christ our Lord, Romans 1:4 ESV
"Who was declared to be the Son of God"—the word "declared" is translated from the Greek word horizo, which does NOT mean "declare" or "show." Throughout the New Testament, it consistently means "appoint, determine or fix." It literally means to "mark out, set a boundary" or "to decree, to appoint, to set limits." The passive voice points to God the Father's doing the appointing. The Tanakh background for this appointing is found in Psalm 2.
"As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Psalm 2:6-7 ESV
Here the Davidic Son is decreed to be the anointed King. What Paul implies is that by Christ's resurrection He was singled out in a distinct way as the Son of God with power.
"In power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead"—it was the resurrection that marked Yeshua out as "Son of God." The resurrection reversed the verdict that the Jews would have placed on a crucified Messiah.
"And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance. Deuteronomy 21:22-23 ESV
The Jews knew that Yeshua had died by crucifixion on a tree, therefore, according to Deuteronomy, he died under the curse of God. Thus, He could not possibly be the Messiah. Most of the Jewish people in Paul's day expected that the Messiah would come with power and political sway, would defeat the oppressive rulers of the world, the Romans, and would establish an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem and live forever triumphant with His people. Messiahs don't get arrested, beaten up, mocked, and crucified, and then leave their people destitute. This was absolutely devastating. But the resurrection changed everything. Notice what Peter preached on Pentecost.
"Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Yeshua God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Acts 2:29-33 ESV
The resurrection signals that the new age has begun. In Judaism, the resurrection of the dead was linked with the return from exile and the fulfillment of God's promises. So, the resurrection of Yeshua indicates that God has begun to fulfill His promises to Israel.
Let me give you a quote here from Sam Frost: "The promises were realized according to the Spirit, or in the spiritual realm, the heavenly city (Heb 12.22). Paul's assertion here is clear to any Jew: the promised seed-king of David's line has come and has been exalted, not on an earthly-fleshly throne, but on a heavenly throne. If that is the case, then the 'rule of God' spoken of in the Prophets has begun with the resurrection of Messiah and his ascension to the heavenly, true Tabernacle-Temple. Rome rules the world. Paul is asserting in this context of nationalistic-Jewish hopes that the kingdom has come, and is coming, and that it is heavenly, spiritual, not earthly, fleshly."
So, to the Jews the resurrection meant that the new age had begun and that the Messiah was seated on His heavenly throne and ruling.
What did the resurrection mean to the Romans? In the Roman world, Caesar had the power of death. Threats to Roman rule were mercilessly crushed. Everyone in the Roman world knew that the cross had a clear symbolic meaning. It meant that Caesar ruled the world, with cruel death as his ultimate and regular weapon. The problem, from the standpoint of Roman rule, is that Yeshua didn't stay dead. The resurrection demonstrates that the true God has a power utterly superior to that of Caesar. Rome crucified Yeshua. But God raised Him from the dead and made Him LORD!
"Resurrection from the dead"—the word "dead" is plural in the Greek. When it says, "by the resurrection of the dead ones," all of us are included in it. It is the hint of a promise there. It was His resurrection, but in His resurrection was the future resurrection of the dead. Notice what Paul says in Romans 6.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6:5 ESV
"We shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his"—this is future tense, meaning it hadn't happened yet. Resurrection was future at the time of Paul's writing. Is it still? Most believers think it is still future to us. John Piper writes: "This is a reference to some future resurrection that is certain because of our union with Christ."
The traditional view that is held by most of the Church is this: When a believer dies, his body goes into the grave and his spirit goes to heaven to be with the Lord. He is in a disembodied state awaiting the resurrection at the end of time. Then at the end of time, the Lord returns and resurrects all the decayed bodies of the dead saints, puts them back together, and changes the physically resurrected bodies into spiritual immortal bodies like Christ's.
When Adam sinned, he died spiritually, not physically. Man's problem is spiritual death—separation from God. Because of Adam's sin, we are all born dead (separated from God). But through Yeshua the Christ came the resurrection from the dead. Yeshua came to restore the fellowship with God that Adam had lost. Yeshua came to redeem man from death and to resurrect him back into the presence of God. Coming into the New Covenant by faith is resurrection from the dead. You can't get into the kingdom of God or the New Covenant if you have not been resurrected from the dead. The Bible is God's Book and about His plan to restore the spiritual union of His creation. Resurrection is not about bringing physical bodies out of the grave; it is about restoring man to the presence of God.
Again, resurrection has nothing to do with physical bodies coming out of graves. Our text in Romans says that, "For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his." The death was not physical, so why would the resurrection be? The words "like his" here is the Greek word homoioma. It denotes to be "similar, but different." Being united in His resurrection doesn't mean that my body is going to come out of the grave in exact likeness of Yeshua any more than the death on the cross means that I have been actually crucified. The resurrection is the spiritual application of Yeshua's death and resurrection on my behalf. I don't have to die to get eternal life and neither does my physical body have to be raised. Yeshua's resurrection life is applied to us so that we are now raised from the dead.
Not only was he raised from the dead but our text says, "and gave him glory"—this speaks of his ascension. To understand the idea of Yeshua's receiving glory, let's look at Philippians 2.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Yeshua, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, Philippians 2:5-9 ESV
This passage is a Christalogical gem. It teaches the doctrines of the Incarnation, the Kenosis, and the Hypostatic union. This is rich theological ground. Two things stand out. First, this passage was apparently an early Christian hymn in honor of Christ. When the early church sang this text, they were singing theology!
Secondly, Paul is not looking at the incarnation, kenosis, and hypostatic union for their own sake but as an illustration of humility. The main point is to show the humility of God becoming man.
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:7 ESV
The words "emptied himself" is the Greek word kenoo which means "to empty himself." What exactly did Christ empty himself of? Not his deity or he would have ceased to exist. Not the attributes of deity because it is impossible to surrender an attribute without changing the character of the essence to which it belongs. God cannot change. He is immutable! What then did he empty himself of? It was his glory.
And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. John 17:5 ESV
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. John 17:24 ESV
He surrendered His right to manifest Himself visibly as the God of all splendor and glory. He emptied Himself of His legitimate and natural desires and prerogative as deity. The natural desire and prerogative of deity is that of being glorified.
What is God's glory?
First, we must understand that God's glory is intrinsic. In other words, it belongs to His nature. We don't give this to Him; it is His by virtue of who He is. If neither men nor angels were ever created, God would still be a God of glory.
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:8 ESV
Adam and Eve lived in the presence of God. The Hebrews had a word for that presence—shekinah. It means "to dwell or reside." SHEKINAH is the transliteration of a Hebrew word not found in the Bible but used in many of the Jewish writings to speak of God's presence. The term means "that which dwells," and is implied throughout the Bible whenever it refers to God's nearness either in a person, object, or His glory. It is often used in combination with glory to speak of the presence of God's shekinah glory. Adam and Eve lived with the Shekinah glory of God.
How did He manifest Himself to Adam and Eve? What did they see? In the Scriptures we see Yahweh embodied.
And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth Genesis 18:1-2 ESV
Here Yahweh and two angels appear to Abraham as men. In this text, Yahweh has a body. In Ezekiel 1, Ezekiel sees a human figure seated on the throne, and he calls him the glory of Yahweh. So, the glory is a human figure seated on the throne. The glory has form. It's not just a light, and it's not just a formless spirit.
I believe that He appeared in a glorious spiritual body. That's the way He appears throughout Scripture. When God appears to man, when He walked in the garden with Adam, what member of the Trinity was this? It was the pre-incarnate Christ. Yeshua is always the visible member of the Trinity. So, God's intrinsic glory is simply the manifestation of Himself, and He does this by declaring His attributes. When we see God's attributes, we worship or glorify Him.
Moses said, "Please show me your glory." Exodus 33:18 ESV
This is Moses' request of God. Notice God's response.
And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Exodus 33:19 ESV
God's "name" is the embodiment of all of His attributes. So, what is God's glory? It is the embodiment of all His attributes. God reduced them to a glorious light in order to show them to Moses.
But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." And the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen." Exodus 33:20-23 ESV
The word "face" is used here for full glory. No one could ever see the full glory of God and live, so God showed Moses a little of His afterglow.
The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. Exodus 34:5-8 ESV
God's glory causes worship. That is exactly what the glory of God should cause us to do—worship, thereby, give to God His worth. Moses wanted to see God's glory, and God showed him His goodness, mercy, and grace because that's His glory. Seeing His attributes causes us to glorify Him.
In chapter 33 of Exodus, God shows Moses His glory, then in chapter 34, He proclaims His attributes of mercy, love, goodness—these are His glory.
We see God manifested by fire in the burning bush.
And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned." When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Exodus 3:2-6 ESV
We see Him manifested in the glory cloud in the sky.
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. Exodus 13:21 ESV
They followed the visible manifestation of God in the glory cloud.
God's intrinsic glory is not given to Him; it's already His. God's glory is as essential to Him as light is to the sun or as wet is to water. We cannot add one thing to God. You might have heard a preacher say, "God needs us." That is not true. God does not need anything or anyone because He is the self-existent One. If this is true, then why does the Westminster Shorter Catechism say that the chief end of man is "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever?" Let me make this distinction: We cannot add one thing to God, but we can adorn the doctrine of God.
not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. Titus 2:10 ESV
We can enhance the teaching of God in the world by our godly behavior. This is what Matthew 5:16 teaches.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 ESV
We cause men to glorify God by our good works. When we live a holy life, we adorn the doctrine of God. We don't adorn God, but we adorn the doctrine of God. God is glory, and we are simply to declare it.
In the Kenosis, Christ veiled His per-incarnate glory by taking on humanity, but He did not diminish or destroy any part of it. When the sun is obscured by a cloud, there is no real change of its glory, its beams are not extinguished, nor is it changed in any measure. Its luster is only for a time obscured. The sun was never affected by that cloud, but our vision of it was. Christ was never diminished in glory, but He veiled His glory.
who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:21 ESV
"So that your faith and hope are in God"—we were redeemed that we might enter into a living, vital relationship with the true God through which we can trust in Him in the present and hope in Him for the future.
In this context the Father's acceptance and approval of the Son's words and works are expressed in two great events: (1) Yeshua's resurrection from the dead and (2) Yeshua's ascension to the Father's right hand. Because of what God did for Christ in his resurrection and ascension, we can live in faith and hope in God. Believers, we are in Christ, we have all he is and has.
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