The First Letter of Peter- 1

Subtitle: The Chosen Foreigners of Jesus Christ

1 Peter 1:1-4. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, November 16, 2025.

We start the first letter of Peter today.  It is one of two letters written by Peter, one of the three closest apostles of Jesus.  He was an eyewitness of the transfiguration of Jesus before His resurrection.  His actual name was Shimon (Hebrew) or Simon (Greek/Latin).  However, Jesus gave him the nick name in Aramaic of Kephas (also Cephas).  John 1:42 tells us this and that Peter is the Greek translation of his Aramaic name Kephas.  Both of these names mean “rock” or “stone.”

This fisherman from the Sea of Galilee is most known as being an apostle to the Jews following the death and resurrection of Jesus.  However, we did see in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles that Peter ministered to Samaritans and Gentiles as well, especially when he traveled outside of Jerusalem.

Paul mentions in his letter to the Galatians that Peter was at Syrian Antioch for a time.  It is quite likely that Peter also visited other Gentile dominated areas in order to vouchsafe for the churches that were cropping up particularly from the ministry of Paul and others with him.

This brings to a point about the audience of this letter.  Some believe that Peter is addressing Jewish Christians and only tangentially speaks to Gentiles.  However, the letter does not make this distinction.  Peter appears to be addressing churches as predominately Gentiles.

Let’s get into the letter.

Peter’s greeting (v. 1-2)

Peter starts out by identifying himself.  He is Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ.

There is a sense in which all Christians have an apostolic calling because we are sent by Christ to take the Gospel to the world around us.  In fact, this apostolic calling should be seen upon the background of what Hebrews 3:1 tells us.  Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.  Jesus was sent or commissioned by the Father to do a priestly duty among us. 

Yet, Apostle is used in a stricter sense throughout the New Testament.  Just as God moved upon the Old Testament prophets in order that Israel, and eventually the world, would know His will, so He worked in particular people in order to lay down a trustworthy record of what Jesus taught and did, including his death, resurrection and ascension.  They were eyewitnesses of these things.

These apostles were taught directly by Jesus and commissioned by him to lay the foundation of teaching for the church.  These basically became the requirements of any writing that was accepted as inspired by the Holy Spirit (1. Taught by Jesus, 2. Witnessed the resurrected Jesus, 3. Commissioned by Jesus to establish the Gospel in the world).

Notice that he says that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ.  It is easy to see “Christ” and forget that it is a declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One sent from God to save us.  Thus, Peter is one of the men specially sent by Jesus the Messiah in order to declare his teachings and the Good News of his work of salvation.

We should note that Revelation 21 presents the New Jerusalem as symbolically depicting the Church of Jesus.  It is a real place, but its design and setup are also symbolic.  Notice that the walls of this city, which speak of an impenetrable defense, are built upon the 12 foundations of the apostles.  This can also be interpreted as the 12 foundation stones of the apostles.  Thus, it could be picturing 12 layers of foundation, but most likely refer to 12 foundation stones placed side by side (3 to a side).

Peter then tells us who the recipients of his letter are to be.  These are not cities, but provinces of the Roman Empire.  Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia describe most of the isthmus we call Türkiye today.  These were the places where the Apostle Paul established churches during his missionary journeys.  Most likely, some of these churches were founded by churches that were founded by Paul.  Just as Peter eventually went to Antioch of Syria to see the Christians there so it is probable that he may have traveled through some of these areas.  If he did, then it would make sense to send a letter to these churches.  If he did not, then Peter did the next best thing.  He sent a letter to these churches in order to ensure that they would have solid doctrine and encouragement upon which to build the work of Christ in their cities and towns.

Peter also refers to them as “chosen.”  This is also translated as “elect.”  They have been chosen by God for salvation.  This is not in the sense that God plays favorites among humans.  Those who would humble themselves and embrace the crucified and resurrected Jesus as their savior, He chose in eternity past as the ones He would save.

Legally (if such can be said of God), He doesn’t have to save anyone, but His nature of Grace, Compassion, Slowness to Anger, Steadfast Covenant-Keeping Love, and Faithful Truth, compels Him to save those who can be saved.  Thus, the Good Samaritan does a good job of imaging God the Father.  He sees us bleeding and dying on the side of the road.  Instead of going on past us, He comes to our aid.  However, He will force no man.  If a person would rather wait for a Levitical Priest, Rabbi, anyone else but Jesus, then He will leave them be, though He may continue to appeal to them in love.

We have a choice to make.  Will we let a Samaritan heal us and save us, or will we look for another?  You can step into the ranks of the Chosen today by putting your faith in Jesus.

Peter also describes these Chosen Ones as Strangers, Pilgrims, Foreigners, Aliens, Sojourners.  Those who have been chosen from among the Gentiles and Jews, in order to follow Messiah Jesus dwell, dwell in this world as if they were foreigners to it, no matter where they live.  Before you believed in Christ, you were a local, a citizen of the place you lived, but now in Christ, you have become a foreigner, a citizen of a heavenly kingdom.  You no longer live as you used to live following the vain culture of your people.

Peter is using terminology that was connected to the patriarchs of Israel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  In Genesis 23:3-4, Abraham asks the people of the land of Canaan for a plot of land.  “I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

Hebrews 11 emphasizes that the Patriarchs lived as foreigners in the Land of Promise awaiting the time in which God would give it over to them (Heb. 11:9-10, 15-16).  They did not take to the cities of the Canaanites, but dwelled as nomads, waiting for God’s timing.

This world is our inheritance.  Jesus said so in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek (humble) for they shall inherit the earth.”  However, we dwell as nomads within it today, Jews and Gentiles alike.  Yet, we have been chosen by God to receive it one day as an inheritance.

This brings us to the last reference in verse 1.  They are “scattered throughout” these areas.  The word behind this is where we get the idea of a diaspora, a dispersed people.  Like seeds, they will lay down their lives in death in order to bring forth life in the areas they have been planted.

In truth, both the wicked and the righteous of Israel were scattered among the nations.  It was a judgment to the wicked as their nation is destroyed and they are cast out into exile.  Yet, it was a blessing in the righteous ones.  They were broadcast like precious seed in order to be a blessing and raise up righteous fruit from among the Gentiles.  Righteous Israelites were literally scattered, but the Gentiles who join them, join the ranks of the Scattered Ones.  They will lay down their lives in death in order to bring forth the life of Christ in the lands in which they lived as foreigners!

In verse 2, Peter says that all of this was foreknown, or foreseen, by God.  By this, we speak of the need of salvation and the mechanism by which God would provide it.  He knew that we would fall into great sin and degradation.  We would need saving, but only some would embrace the salvation that God would provide.

This foreknowledge is partially the idea that God can see the future.  He didn’t actively choose to make something happen, but He knew it would.  Each of these items then could be permitted or stopped by God because He is sovereign over all things.  We should make a clear distinction between the things that God permits us to do and the things that He actively makes to happen.

Jesus came at just the right time, a time when the Law would have had a complete work upon the conscience of Israel, a time when men would rule over Israel that would kill His Anointed Son, a time when the faith of Israel would be hanging by a thread, and a time when the Gentiles would be weary of serving false gods that they had been serving.  At such a time, God sent His One and Only Son.

He foresaw how they would act and the choices that they would make.  He chose this time on purpose to accomplish His will, to provide a means for removing our sin and guilt.

God has also seen and chosen how to respond to the rejection of the Gospel of the Messiah by the nations.  We see it clearly that the politics of the nations, by in large, reject Jesus and his commands.  Even in the Christian West, we mostly see lip service to Jesus.

Thus, a day of judgment has been set by the Father.  A day has been appointed for the Son of Man, Jesus, to come on the clouds of heaven in order to put down the usurpers.  He will take up the kingdoms of the world with the saints at His side!  My friend, you want to be at his side on that day!

We are the chosen foreigners of Jesus the Messiah also by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.  The sanctifying work is the means by which He makes us holy.  This can be seen in two ways.

We are holy in that we have been set apart as belonging to Christ.  We are the people who bear His name and belong to Him.  It is like a legal status change.  This holiness of being takes place as the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us.

However, we are also holy in that the Spirit dwelling in us begins to teach us and empower us to live out the righteousness of Jesus.  This progressive holiness is a holiness of practice.  In our flesh, we fail and would be disqualified, but the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit teaches us to repent, to be cleansed by Him and to be renewed in our fervor for our Lord.

Both the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are connected to the cleansing of the believer (Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5).  In this world and on our own, we become more and more defiled spiritually before God.  However, the Word and the Spirit work to cleanse us and make us holy in practice.

Of course, this sanctifying work of the Spirit is why Peter then refers to obeying Jesus the Messiah.  This is not an obedience where we never fail.  Repentance is just as much a part of obeying Jesus as the other commands.  In other words, his commands have incorporated our weaknesses through repentance and forgiveness.

Peter also mentions that we are sprinkled with His blood.  This furthers the picture of a holy people.  Just as the priests were sprinkled with blood as a consecration to their ministry for God so these are cleansed and consecrated to minister on behalf of Messiah Jesus.  Essentially, Peter is recognizing these Gentile Christians as being grafted into the Holy work that God has been doing through the Patriarchs, Israel, and now the Church of Messiah.  All of these are part of the same root.

His greeting then closes with a prayer that grace and peace would be theirs in the fullest measure.

Grace is a gift from God that should cause joy to the recipient.  Peace is the restful assurance that comes from God’s Spirit dwelling within us, teaching, correcting and leading us.  It is God’s desire that we receive and rejoice in His many gifts and grace to us.  It is also His desire that we have restful assurance of His faithfulness in saving us.

Of course, if we look at the storms, we can lose our peace and joy in God’s grace.  If we are to have His grace and peace to the fullest measure as much as is possible in this life, we will need God’s help.

Praise to God for His salvation (v. 3-4)

To bless God is to praise God.  The word has the sense of speaking good things to and about Him.  In this case, Peter is praising God for His wonderful work of salvation through Jesus.

Father God is the source of the purpose and will to save us.  The Father here emphasizes the relationship between God and man, but specifically God the Father and His eternal Son, the Word.  At a point in time, the Word took on mortal flesh and receives the name Jesus, Yeshua, the Salvation of Yahweh!

To speak of the Lord Jesus Christ emphasizes three aspects of the One whom the Father used to save us.  “Lord” speaks of his authority.  He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.  None are higher than him in heaven or on earth, other than God the Father (see Colossians 1:15-20.

“Jesus” speaks to his humanity.  He was fully human and lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father.  He is the Son of Man who perfectly imaged God the Father, and thus, he obtained all that God had delegated to humanity, making salvation possible for us in the midst of it.

“Christ” emphasizes his role.  He is the One who has the Anointing of God’s Holy Spirit in such a measure (full) that He can save and deliver the worst sinner, and the most wounded of people. 

“He has caused us to be born again…”  There is a true spiritual work that happens inside of a person when they repent and put their faith in Jesus.  This is the backdrop of the discussion Jesus had with Nicodemus in John 3.  To be born again is to have a spiritual birth.  It is also thought of as being born from above (a spiritual birth that is made possible by God Himself).  You were born in an earthly manner by the will of humans, but you must be born in a spiritual manner by the will of God.

We are now alive and able to respond to the Spirit of God.  Yet, we start as spiritual babies and must grow up spiritually.

“According to His great mercy,” this new birth makes us a new creation but also has a sense of mercy in it.  “Mercy” refers to the fact that our salvation is motivated by a pity or compassion over our destitute situation.  God is pained to see us in this condition and is moved to do a work of salvation for us.  This is a tension between the purpose for which God made us and our fallen condition.  He did not make us to suffer under sin on into eternity.

Humans can lose compassion and mercy very quickly, but God is full of mercy and grace.  It is great in quantity and great in quality.  We could say that the pain of the cross was more than counter-balanced by the pain of what would be in the heart of God if He didn’t pay the price to redeem us from sin.

We don’t deserve salvation, but God is pained to see us in a state of being lost.  How can I say, “No,” to such a love?

We were born again to “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.”  A dead hope may seem to be no hope at all, but the resurrection of Jesus changes everything.  Death suddenly is filled with hope in Him.  His resurrection from the dead assures our resurrection.  It also assures us of the fact that his sacrifice on behalf of our sins has been accepted by God the Father.

Jesus Himself becomes our hope, who is alive at the right hand of the father.  We hope in what he has done, but also in what He is going to do.  We live our life, not for the dead hopes of this world, but for the living hope of Christ Himself!

Verse 4 ends with another thing that we have been saved to receive, an inheritance.  Our inheritance is to dwell with Jesus for eternity, wherever that may be.  Our mortal frame would rather have it all now, but we receive a foretaste of what awaits us.  Our resurrection becomes the moment of fully stepping into that inheritance that God has for those who believe in Jesus.

It is an inheritance that cannot perish, corrupt or die.  It is an inheritance that cannot be defiled by sin.  It does not fade, which speaks of the glory of the inheritance.  Like Moses coming down from the mountain with face all aglow, we will stand glowing in glory alongside of Christ.  However, in contrast to the glory of Moses then, we will all participate in the unfading glory of Christ along with Moses!

This inheritance is reserved for us in the heavens (at the right hand of the Father).  No person on earth or wicked spirit of the heavens can wrest our living hope from the hands of the Father.  May God help us to rejoice in His great purpose for us, both now in our mortal frame and then in our glorified bodies!

Chosen Foreigners audio

The Kingdom of God- 3

Subtitle:  How to Enter the Kingdom of God

Various passages.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on March 30, 2025.

Last week, we talked about the distinction between the present Kingdom of God and the future phase of that Kingdom at the Second Coming of Jesus.  This present phase is predominantly spiritual, but it makes an outward difference in our lives.  This is a strange kingdom that is not like any kingdoms of this world.  It is not limited to particular borders, and though it is world-wide, it is not an empire that forces nations into compliance.  Jesus is a different kind of king reigning over a different kind of kingdom, a Kingdom of God.

In Matthew’s account of the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus is presented as King Messiah calling people into his kingdom.  He is also presented as the New Moses, sent to set up the New Covenant with God.

Israel was under a true bondage.   Yes, the Romans had them under their boot.  However, their biggest bondage was spiritual.  They had a king who wasn’t even from the tribe of Judah.  The priesthood and leaders of the Sanhedrin had developed a corrupt system under the color of law, but working counter to the purposes of God.  The spiritual Pharaoh of this world kept them in servitude to his purposes every bit as much as was the case before the exodus.  Those who would follow Jesus would escape by God’s strong right arm.

An Israelite who was in Egypt when Moses appeared had a choice to make.  They could follow Moses out into the desert, risking death in one form or another, or they could stay in Egypt and not rock the boat.  Even when we want free from some things, we can fear what might happen.  They had worked out a compromise with their situation.  They knew exactly what to expect from the Egyptians.  The comfort of the devil we know can outweigh any promises of God to bring us into a better kingdom.  Yet, the only way they could have participated in the kingdom that God was promising was to follow Moses, the one He had sent.

The same is true of Jesus.  He was initiating a kingdom that would be different than what national Israel had become.  Those who wanted to participate in it would need to listen to him and follow him.  This is the template for entering the Kingdom of God.  We can even recognize that God did powerful signs and wonders with Moses and again with Jesus in order to help them to have faith for such a choice.

So, as we look at entering the Kingdom of God, let me just say this.  Entering the Kingdom now is prerequisite for entering the next phase of the Kingdom at the Second Coming of Jesus.

Let’s look at some passages.

Matthew 21:28-32

Jesus used this parable to challenge the religious leaders of his day.  The tax collectors and prostitutes (among others) of their day were like the first son.  They were not interested in being a part of the Father’s work and the fruitfulness He intended.  However, now they were regretting (repenting of) their callous response to the Father.  Now, they were believing God and entering the Kingdom. 

The religious leaders on the other hand were like the second son.  They had responded in their life like they were going to do the work of the Father, but they have not actually done it.

This would have seemed to be a false analogy to them.  However, Jesus points to the prophet, John the Baptist.  His message was a simple one.  It is hard to say that there was something wrong with it.  “Repent for the Kingdom of God is near.”  He also quoted a passage in Isaiah to highlight their need to get ready for Messiah.  Messiah was coming and they would want to be spiritually ready for him.  Many people in Israel responded to John’s teaching.  They recognized that they were not ready.  They needed cleansing in their life in order to be ready. 

Why wouldn’t the religious leaders like this message?  It is because he called them to repentance as well.  Just read Matthew 3:7-12.  They were a brood of snakes who had no clue about the wrath of God that was about to pour out upon Israel.  The Messiah was coming as the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.  This baptism would be life to those who repented and believed, but it would be a fiery destruction for those who did not.  These religious leaders would not acknowledge John as a prophet, and therefore believe his message, because he dared to speak to them as if they were not right with God.

Thus, they refused to do the work of God, i.e., to believe upon the One He had sent.  This is the key to entering the Kingdom.  Repentance has two components to it.  It involves a change of mind that is spurred by the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  I realize that I have been rejecting the way of God and trying to forge my own way.  This change of mind about our way (and God’s way) leads to the second component: turning away from our sin and towards the way of the Lord.  These tax collectors and prostitutes were not just believing that Jesus was the Messiah.  They were also walking away from lives of sin and turning towards living out the words of Jesus.

Jesus is the litmus test for all mankind.  You can say that you love God, but what you do with Jesus and his teachings will reveal exactly what is in your heart.  Of course, no person is perfect in following Jesus.  We do not get into the Kingdom because we have a perfect record of obeying the words of Jesus.  It is his perfect performance that provides a place of grace by which we can spiritually grow to become like him, little by little.

These religious leaders probably fell into different categories.  Some of them really did think they were doing what they were supposed to do.  They had been taught by others that this system was God’s system, and that they were God’s faithful representatives.  However, they had to ignore all kinds of spiritual red flags that would have surfaced as they read the Scriptures.  On the other hand, there were most likely some of these men who really had no faith in God.  They simply had learned how to harness the system to their benefit.

The problem with self-justification is that it doesn’t serve you well in the end.  It only serves to blind you to the grace of God.  We would all do well to sleuth out the self-justifications that we are using to avoid obeying God.

Thus, Jesus points out that those who were believing in him, putting their trust in who he was and what he taught, were entering the Kingdom of God.

John 6:27-28

The work of God and the will of God are the same thing in this passage.  Jesus had performed a miraculous feeding of thousands in the wilderness around the Sea of Galilee.  He had then left the area at night without their knowledge.  Many of these people searched along the Sea of Galilee for Jesus, until they found him in Capernaum.

In this passage, Jesus is not mad that they worked so hard to find him.  Rather, he is pointing out that they were not as interested in what he was teaching as they were about a free lunch and a spectacle to see.  Jesus is challenging them to work for spiritual food that can give them everlasting life.  Again, it is not about the act itself.  It is about the internal intention of the doer.  Jesus wants us to come to him and learn.  However, he wants us to do it for the right reasons.

There are many today who have attached themselves to the Kingdom of God.  They call themselves Christians, but they are really looking for a free lunch.  They see it as a ticket to something in the natural: wealth, friends, good times, clean fun, etc.  However, their flesh resists the word of God making any real change in their life.  They are like the religious leaders of the days of Jesus, thinking they are good with God and incensed that anyone would say they need to repent.

This passage spells out exactly what God is asking of us.  “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”  This word for believe means to trust in him, to put the full weight of our life upon him.  It is far more than just believing that he existed, or that he is the Messiah.  It is about trusting that he is the Word of God to us, that we do or don’t listen to him at our own peril.

Even though it is true that putting our faith in Jesus is how we enter the Kingdom of God, we wouldn’t be able to do that if it weren’t for God’s grace.  It is He who has formulated a plan for redeeming us out of our sins.  It is He who sent Jesus to be the perfect image of Him and the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  It is He who wants us to trust in Jesus, promising to forgive us of our sins if we do.  Entering the Kingdom is a cooperation between what God does and how we respond.

Some people try to minimize our choice by saying that it threatens the sovereignty of God.  An example of their argument is this.  “You can’t really have a choice, otherwise God isn’t sovereign.”  Of course, that turns sovereignty on its head.  It is a human telling God that He can’t create humans with the ability to choose, even when they are stuck in sins.  If God truly is sovereign, then He can do whatever He wants.  A humble reading of the Scriptures will always see the absolute challenge from God to take hold of the salvation that He has made available to us.  God’s Word can be boiled down to His hand reaching down to us and saying, “Why will you die?  Take hold of My Hand!”

Of course, even our response to that is helped along by the grace of God.  When we take hold of His Hand, we find underneath of us the Everlasting Arms of God holding us up.  Entering the Kingdom is not just a choice of man, but also a choice of God.  His Holy Spirit not only transfers us from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, but He also makes our spirit come alive.  We are spiritually new babies, born into a Kingdom that has older siblings to help us grow.

John 3:5-6; 14-15

In this context, one of those religious leaders, named Nicodemus, had come to Jesus late at night.  He was bucking the trend of his peers, but didn’t want them to know that he was having second thoughts.  He knew that only Messiah could do what Jesus was doing, but he was perplexed by what Jesus taught.

In this passage, Jesus explains that natural birth is not enough to bring someone into the Kingdom.  It takes a spiritual birth.  It has to be an operation of the Holy Spirit that convicts a man to believe God and do what He is saying.  A person who refuses to do this remains dead spiritually, but a person who does is made spiritually alive, born again (or born from above).

As Jesus is explaining the need for a spiritual birth, he points to an event in Israel’s history to illustrate what he means.

 Numbers 21 tells a brief story of Israel in the wilderness.  They were complaining against God and even calling the manna that He supplied “worthless bread.”  God then sent poisonous serpents into their camp.  Many people were dying from the serpent bites.  When they came to Moses repenting and asking what they should do, God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole.  Those who are bitten could look upon the serpent and be healed.

This might seem strange.  Why would God make such a weird requirement of them?  When we compare this to what Jesus is talking about, spiritual birth, it is understandable.  They had sinned and were suffering the effects of their sins.  However,  the root of their sin was a lack of faith in God’s leadership and intentions for them.  Looking upon the serpent would be both simple (no great righteous work of their own) and an act of faith.

We see this in the story of Namaan the Syrian general who had leprosy.  The prophet told him to dip in the Jordan seven times and he would be healed.  Namaan did not want to do it at first.  He was headed home, incensed that the prophet didn’t come out to see him.  Yet, his servant talked him into doing it because it was a simple thing to do.

There is no healing properties in a bronze snake, but it represented something that they would not be inclined to go look at.  They would have to trust the Word of God through Moses.  It was their faith that allowed them to live.  Spiritual birth is similar.  We are all bitten by sin and dying from it.  Unless we look upon Jesus with simple trust in him, we will die in our sins.  Spiritual birth is listening to the Holy Spirit and doing what He is calling you to do.  It is saying no to the flesh and yes to the Spirit.  The Spirit is calling all men everywhere to put their trust in a crucified Lord.  This seems silly to our flesh, but it is the requirement of the Lord in order to receive eternal life.  When people put their trust in Jesus (look upon him), a real spiritual work of the Holy Spirit is done in their life.  They are made to be spiritually alive.

Let’s go back to Matthew 21 where Jesus tells a parable.

Matthew 21:33-42

Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who plants a vineyard.  It goes to great expense to set it up and create protections around it.  He then leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  At vintage time, he sent servants in order to receive its fruit.  Yet, the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.  The landowner sent more servants, but they did the same again.  Then, the landowner sent his son believing that they would surely respect his son.  However, when they saw the son, the wicked vinedressers killed him so that they could steal the inheritance.

After telling this story, Jesus asks the religious leaders what the landowner would do.  They answered rightly that the landowner would come and destroy them.  He would then lease the vineyard to others who would render to him the fruits of the vineyard in the proper season.

Of course, this story is about them.  They are the wicked vinedressers who are killing the prophets that God sent to them.  Last of all, they are even now preparing to kill Jesus, the Son of God.

Jesus then points them to Psalm 118:22.  There, the psalmist speaks of the builders rejecting a stone that then is chosen to be the chief cornerstone by the Lord.  The message is the same.  Those who were supposed to be leading Israel to be fruitful for the purposes of God were not doing that.  Those who were supposed to be building Israel into a great temple unto God the Father were rejecting the very rock of Israel that the Father had sent to be the Chief Cornerstone.

This is not so much about Israel as it is about the religious leaders of Israel.  They were being fired by God.  He was raising up new vinedressers from among Israel and even from among the Gentiles.  They would do a better job.  These vinedressers would be Jews and Gentiles working together.

It is important to see that the present phase of the Kingdom is about fruitfulness.  God wants those who have put their faith in Jesus to be fruitful and to help the Church be fruitful.  When Christ returns, will he find a harvest of righteousness and strong believers still trusting in him?  Or, will he find us drinking with the sinners and beating His servants?

Many have served Jesus and died through the centuries.  Yet, Jesus will resurrect all the righteous who have died and all of the righteous who are still alive.  These will then enter into the next phase of the Kingdom of God.

Are you in the Kingdom now?  Put your faith in Jesus and turn from your sin.  Live your life for His purposes instead of pleasing yourself.  This will give you a place in the Kingdom of God today, and an inheritance in the future phase when Christ returns to take over the kingdoms of this world.

Kingdom 3 audio

Hungry For God’s Word

Today we return to our study of 1 Peter, starting in Chapter 2.  Unfortunately we are unable to supply the audio for this sermon.

You may not connect being hungry with the Bible.  However, this is a metaphor that is employed throughout the scriptures.  Like bread is to the body, so God’s Word is to our spirit.  Just as some foods are not as good for us as others, so certain thoughts and ideas are not as good for us either.  What do you hunger to eat spiritually?  If it isn’t God’s Word then you might be in spiritual danger.  Let’s look at 1 Peter chapter 2.

We Need To Desire God’s Word

Peter ended chapter 1 with a powerful reminder of the place that God’s Word had in their salvation.  It was through the Gospel that was preached to them that they believed and were born again by the Holy Spirit.  However, the Word is not just powerful in making us spiritually alive.  It is not just something that we need to get started and then can go on without.  We need it every day.

Peter instructs them to have a desire or yearning for God’s Word.  It is not the Bible’s fault if I don’t desire it.  It is “good food.”  It is exactly what my spirit needs to grow and be alive in this world.  So, if I do not desire it then the problem is in me.  That is why Peter commands them to desire God’s Word.  Change your mind, change your actions and your heart will follow. 

Laying aside the old nature is a necessary component to approaching God’s Word.  In fact much of God’s Word reminds us of this need and explains why it is necessary.  Laying aside is a picture of taking off things that are hindrances.  Putting on the proper attire for dinner with your spouse also involves taking of the dirty clothes of the day.  When we approach the Word we are approaching a very intimate thing that God provided for us. This is clearly not an exhaustive list.  However, lets walk quickly through the five things mentioned.   Malice is any ill-will or evil inclination we might have towards others.  Deceit involves craftiness and hidden motives that are generally for the benefit of self.  Hypocrisy is a form of deceit in which we pretend or act differently than we really are.  Envy is a step beyond jealousy.  It doesn’t just wish it had what you have, but desires to take what you have and despises the benefit.  Lastly, evil speaking is a very broad category.  It can spoken behind another’s back or spoken to their face.  Either way it involves saying bad things with our mouth that hurt others.

This brings us to the analogy of a little baby.  All babies need to grow and all babies yearn for milk.  Our spirit has been born again by the Word and we need it to spiritually grow.  Thus we need to yearn for it.  Growth is not just about size.  A baby can grow in size and still remain a “baby” in mind.  Thus spiritual growth is not just a matter of a certain number of years reading Scripture.  Just as a baby takes in food, digests it, and draws life from it, so we too must spiritually take in God’s Word, digest it, and draw life from it.  Notice that food only gives a baby the strength to grow physically and mentally.  However, choices are made along the way.

The word translated “pure” in reference to the milk of the Word is closer to the idea of sincere.  It literally is “not deceitful.”  God’s Word does not have any hidden motives for its own ends.  It is the sincere Word of God.  To embrace it we are going to need to “un-embrace” those philosophies and ideas of the world that are deceitful.

Do you think that you can spiritually grow to the point that you are like Jesus?  God is able to do that which is impossible.  However, we must want it.  We are going to have to go after it by hungering for his Word.  When we receive God’s Word like a child it will yield spiritual growth.  But if we approach it as an adult who has it all figured out, our own deceived nature will blind us to the Truth and keep us from new birth and life.  In verse 3, Peter seems to be alluding to Psalm 34:8.  “O, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”  Taste points to an intimate experience.  I haven’t just observed the LORD.  Rather, I have fed upon his Word.  I have taken it in and found his ways to be good.  That doesn’t mean nothing bad happens.  It is good in that it is helpful and beneficial and righteous.  Peter is not so much questioning their experience as he is emphasizing the “oughtness” of their needed desire.  If you’ve found the LORD to be good then you “ought” to desire his Word.

We Are Being Built By God

Next Peter uses two metaphors that come directly from the Temple in Jerusalem.  The first has to do with the temple building itself.  We are living stones in a new temple that God is building.  This building is a spiritual temple that is made of people instead of stones.  Thus, before God allowed the 2^nd Temple to be destroyed, he first had his faithful, Son Jesus lay a foundation for a new one.  The temple in some ways is finished in that it is spiritually functional and the Spirit of God dwells in it.  However, in another way it is still being built as new believers are added to its coursework every day.  Notice that these stones are rejected by the world but chosen by God.  He doesn’t choose us because we are perfect, but because we are shapeable.  Many great stones of this world will not allow God to shape them.  Many great builders of this world have no place for Jesus himself.  They reject him as an unfit stone.  When you embrace Jesus you are no longer a part of those who “fit” in this world.  But worry not.  God fits you into his spiritual temple.  You have a place in his temple given by him.  No one can take it from you and you have every bit as much right as any other stone to be a part of God’s temple.

There is a personal and a corporate sense to this.  In a personal sense, God works on you to make you into his temple.  It is a work that goes the length of our life.  All along, though, His Spirit dwells within us and communes with us.  On a corporate level, we have been placed in his temple.  We are already shaped and fitted into place.  Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you do not have a place in God’s people.  That is a work that God does by His Spirit through His Word.

The next metaphor is the priests who worked in the temple.  We are holy priests in His new temple. Israel was used to priesthood being defined by biology or genetics.  You had to be a levite.  However, all believers in Jesus become priests in God’s new temple.  Not just priests but holy priests.  God is holy so we need to minister before him in holiness.  How can I do this?  Clearly I must first be “clothed” with the holiness of Christ through faith in him.  But I also need to pursue personal holiness by repenting of sin and removing it from my life.  This is part of my spiritual act of worship.  When I lay sinful thoughts, desires, and actions on the altar, I am allowing them to be destroyed in honor of God.  I also minister to God through prayers, praise and self-denying acts of loving service in Jesus name.  Lastly we minister by mediating between God and the lost of this world.

Peter uses Scriptures from Isaiah and Psalms to point out that Jesus was rejected.  He was the chief cornerstone of the new temple, but the builders rejected him.  The builders also rejected those who believed on Jesus and followed him.  We must not reject God’s Word, but rather desire and yearn for it.  That is how God builds us up into his holy temple and his holy priests.  You cannot receive Jesus AND reject his word.  How often people try to say something like this, “I believe in Jesus, but I can’t accept this verse here….”  Or they say, “Jesus never said what the Old Testament says.  So I believe in him but reject it.”  Those who say such things are deluded.  Jesus is the Word and the Word is speaking of Jesus from Genesis 1:1 all the way to Revelation22:21.  None of the Scriptures are in contradiction to Jesus and Jesus is not in contradiction to the Scriptures.

In verses  9-10 Peter ends with reminding them that they had become the people of God.  Israel had been identified for so long as the people of God.  But in Jesus God is doing a new thing.  For “whosoever will” of Israel that would join themselves to him, he took a remnant and put it together with people from every tribe, race, and tongue on earth to be the people of God.  Jew and Gentile alike in one body that belongs to the Lord, we have been chosen by God, made royal through our adoption into his family, made holy by Jesus, and special to him.  Special is literally the idea of purchased.  God “paid good money for us.”  We are special not just because we cost so much, but because God was willing to pay so much.  In fact, it is he who makes you special.  Don’t look at yourself trying to find something special.  You look to Him.  He is the special one who makes us rejected ones special.

Food For Thought

The enemy knows that his only hope is to get us to reject or ignore God’s Word.  That way we will not only fail to grow, but we will also spiritually die.  He hates what you have and what you stand to gain.  He will do anything in his power to convince you to throw away the best thing you could ever have.  Don’t be deceived by this world.  Let God fit you into his people and shape you into his temple that he loves to dwell within.