LETTERS OF PETER
Part One: 1 Peter 1:1-2:10
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The Letters of Peter were
probably written around 62-64 A.D. to believers that were scattered
throughout what we now know as Asia Minor. These believers were not only
strangers in a foreign land they were also suffering for what it means to
be a Christian. The theme of the letters is hope. The suffering, scattered
strangers can have hope for the Lord will come and bring deliverance.
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LETTERS OF
PETER
LOVING LIFE AND SEEING GOOD DAYS
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Session
1: Process of Election
(1 Peter 1:1-2)
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The most dominant
individual of the earliest followers of Jesus was Simon Peter, son of
Jonah. Down through the centuries of church history, he has been
recognized as one of the closest companions of Jesus. In the writings of
the gospels, he stands out as the leader of the twelve apostles. His name
heads every list of the twelve apostles recorded in the gospels.
Being a part of the inner circle, he witnessed Jesus raising a young girl
from the dead. He saw the transfiguration of Jesus where Moses and Elias
appeared. He also was present during the agonizing prayers of Jesus in
Gethsemane. During the final passion week, he was sent with John to make
preparation for the last meal of Jesus with his disciples.
His prominent position is seen not only by being the spokesman for the
twelve but also by how much he monopolized the interaction between Jesus
and the twelve. Often he, along with James and John, is singled out for
intimate instructions and teachings directly from Jesus. His exploits are
the central theme of the early history of the Christian church.
Living and working on the north shore of Galilee, he became the first
apostle to be called into Christian service. He was the first apostle to
recognize Jesus as the Messiah. He was the first apostle to witness the
resurrection. He was the first to proclaim salvation to the Gentiles. He
simply was the foremost personality of the early followers of Jesus.
There can be no better introduction to the letters of Peter than the
account of the changing of his name. The account begins with Jesus raising
a question to his disciples: "Whom do men say that I the Son of man
am?" After the disciples gave various rumors of what they had heard,
Jesus asked them a more specific question: "But whom say ye that I
am?" Simon Peter spoke out, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God." This confession that Jesus was the Messiah, according to
Matthew, caused Jesus to rename Simon, Cephas (in Aramaic) or Peter (in
Greek).
From Simon to Peter, the changing of the name is the essence of the truth
that is revealed in the letters of Peter. The name Simon is of Hebrew
origin meaning, "hearing" with its root meaning, "to hear
intelligently." The name Peter means, "a rock." Peter would
become a rock, "complete, confirmed, strong, and solid" (1 Peter
5:10), because he would hearken attentively to the things of heaven (1
Peter 1:2).
When Peter told Jesus that He was the Christ, Jesus responded to Peter
with "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto thee, but my Farther which is in heaven." Simon had
heard from heaven, it would be the means by which his life would be
changed. Although his life at this time does not altogether appear to be
rock-like (he would yet deny Jesus), he knew there was no other place he
could find "the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). He would
continue to listen and he would become a rock of dependability. He would
be blessed.
Moreover, it is this principle (hearing from heaven) by which the entire
church would be built by God. After Jesus told Peter, "Blessed art
thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Farther which is in heaven," He added, "And I say also
unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." It is upon this
process, represented by that which was going on in the life of Peter that
changed his name, the church is built. The church is not built upon Peter
but upon that which made Peter the rock.
At this point in his life Peter was not rock-like, but kept hearing Jesus.
He heard Him through his failure in the garden of Gethsemane. He continued
to listen after he drew his sword and attempted to prohibit Jesus from
being attested. His listening became more intense through the ordeal of
denying that he knew Jesus. His hearing would became much more discerning
after he "followed afar off" when Jesus was being led to His
trial and crucifixion. It was in and through the trials of his life that
he learned to hearken attentively to Jesus.
This is the message of the letters of Peter to believers in Christ who
found themselves suffering, scattered, and strangers in a land they could
not call home. He admonished them to "gird up the loins of [their]
mind[s], be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought
unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." He wrote, "I have
written briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of
God wherein ye stand."
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CD 1 Is An Exposition of Verses 1:1-2
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PART ONE NOW
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Session
2: Begotten Again
(1 Peter 1:3-5)
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With every morning, there
is a new day. With every planting, there is a green tomato. With every
spring, there is a fresh rosebud. With every forgiveness, there is
anticipated love. God has begotten us again unto a living hope.
Being born again, again, and again (whenever the times and the seasons are
right) throughout the journey of life is the blessed hope of every
believer. As Peter will eventually say, "But the God of all grace who
hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have
suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle . . .
." (1 Peter 5:10). Living in the flow of the times and the seasons of
life is the key of loving life and seeing good days (1 Peter 3:10).
Each of us has been called unto this eternal glory. The mystery of His
eternal glory is found in God’s statement after the great flood of Noah’s
day: "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and
heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease" (Gen.
8:22). His eternal glory is that which flows through the seedtime and
harvest, the cold and heat, the summer and winter, and the day and night.
It is not the actual seedtime or the actual harvest. For both the planting
of the seed and the harvest of the fruit will perish. As Peter will say,
"For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of
grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away" (1
Peter 1:24). The manifestation of the bloom of the rose, the fruit of the
tomato, the love of a human being is definitely glorious. Each is produced
by God, but they will eventually fall away. For His eternal glory is not
the rose or the rose bush, nor the tomato or the tomato plant, nor the
love or the human being. It is that which produces them, the Spirit of
life — Jesus Christ.
For example, plant a tomato seed in the ground. The outer casing or husk
of the seed must rot or decay before the essence of life within the seed
can come forth with tender sprouts of life. One pushes up through the
ground seeking the light of the sun. Another one pushing into the soil
seeking water and nutrients. Without this struggle for light and water, it
does not survive. This struggle is what it means to be a created entity.
It is the fact of any created existence.
Eventually, the essence of the seed comes forth from the earth into the
heaven producing a full grown tomato plant. Hanging on the branches of the
plant are fully developed tomatoes. They are the glory of the tomato
plant. The mature tomatoes are the fullest possible manifestation of life
the tomato plant can experience.
Within each tomato are many seeds. Within each seed is the same life that
was in the seed that was planted in the ground to start the cycle of life.
Although individual tomato plants with their tomatoes live and die, the
essence of life within the seed is eternal. This is the eternal glory to
which we have been called.
God will not suffer His holy One to see corruption. Every time the seed
(the outward manifestation of anything that has the essence of life
within) falls to the ground and dies, it will bring forth abundant life.
As Jesus stated, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of
wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24). It brings forth fruit
because the life within is eternal. It never dies.
There will be many plantings of the external manifestation or fruit of
life in our journey through this world. Each planting or the process by
which the outward man perishes always brings forth the harvest or the
renewing of the inner essence of life. Knowing this, especially knowing
that Jesus Christ was raised from his seedtime, we can be begotten again
unto a living hope. In the midst of the distress of things dying, we can
greatly rejoice for we know the harvest is coming. We will be kept by the
power of God through faith unto the salvation of our souls.
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CD 2 Is An Exposition of Verses 1:3-5
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PART ONE NOW
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Session
3: Salvation of Your Soul
(1 Peter 1:6-12)
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When God formed man out of
the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,
the created being became a living soul. The passion of God brought into
being an entity with personal identity. He who was not a person became a
person.
The created being now experiences a body. He is a flesh and blood body
with a sensing network consisting of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling,
and touching. He encounters his existence in the earthly world of material
experiences. The created being lives in the created world.
He lives because he experiences the breath of life. He has been
in-breathed with the Spirit of God. The physical body is animated by the
quickening spirit of life from heaven. The created being has his existence
by the essence of life itself, the Spirit of the Living God.
The breathing creature has been equipped to experience the life of God in
the full spectrum of his senses. The flesh and blood of the physical world
come together with the quickening Spirit of God from heaven in the soul of
man. His soul (his psyche, his breath) is the wonder of created existence.
The soul is all that the mind of man is experiencing in the current moment
of life. It is where the memories of the past and the anticipations of the
future come together in the present moment of our thought processes. It
can be overwhelmed by the earthly sensations (becomes fleshly) or the
heavenly Spirit (becomes spiritual). The soul of the created being is
where all of life comes together to be experienced.
Since the created being experiences life in a physical world through his
senses, he is constantly exposed to the deception that life can be
controlled by controlling the experiences of the senses. The problem with
this misguided thinking is that the ultimate experiences of life cannot be
controlled. The individual fleshly choices of man can somewhat control the
surface particulars of the physical world (where one might live, what
profession one might try to achieve, or how one might attempt to
experience life). The actual encounter of those particulars cannot produce
the ultimate life that man desires. The loving of life and the seeing of
good days (1 Peter 3:10) can be experienced in them, but it cannot be
produced by them.
Moreover, the good life encountered in the moment of the experience of the
physical is destined to fall. Although the moment produces the rose, the
tomato, and the love, the moment must pass away. The glory of man
experiencing life in the physical world is always subject to emptiness.
For the eternal glory of God is not the rose, the tomato, or the love, but
it is that which produces them.
The tomato seed is planted and germinates. Eventually, the new tomato
plant will produce new tomatoes. The mature tomato hanging on the tomato
plant is the glory of the tomato plant. It is this glory of the tomato
plant that will eventually fall to the ground. For if it does not, there
could never be another tomato. The seed within the new tomato must again
be set free to experience the continual glory of the life within the seed.
It is this passing away of those moments of glory that produces the
susceptibility of the hells of our lives. The dying of those moments
cannot be avoided. As long as the earth remains, there will always be the
seedtime, the cold, the winter, and the night. It is not the removal of
them, but rather deliverance from the effect of them that rescues our
souls. The memories of the past and the anticipation of the future coming
together in the current moment of our lives can be controlled by Jesus
Christ. He can bring salvation to our souls. For there will also always be
the harvest, the heat, the summer, and the day.
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CD 3 Is An Exposition of Verses 1:6-12
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PART ONE NOW
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Session
4: Loving Life
(1 Peter 1:13-25)
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The Morning Glory, a simple
flower, gives to man the beauty of experiencing and loving life. As the
dawning rays of the sun penetrates its surrounding, the petals of the
flower open ever expanding to its glow. The increasing warmth and
brightness of the sun causes the flower to raise its head, spread its
petals, and reach up to its source of life. Eventually, the flower will
stand as erect and as exposed as it can to take in the full effect of the
sun. Through the power of the sun, the glory of the flower is perfected.
Since the beginning of time, however, the night has always followed the
day. The sun will rise, but the sun will set. As the light of the day
begins to diminish, the petals of the Morning Glory begin to draw in unto
itself. With the passing of dusk and the approach of midnight, the flower
bends its head, gathers its petals, and prepares for the night.
Eventually, the flower will bow in perfect submission to its creator. This
humble submission in the midnight is also the glory of the flower.
The Morning Glory, without the capability to observe and to make judgment
on what is occurring in its life, lives the days and the nights of its
existence in simplistic harmony and in perfect glory to God. Peter also
shared this same truth throughout his letters. He quoted the Psalmist to
illustrate the simplistic, yet profoundly challenging, guide to loving
life and experiencing the glory of God:
What man is he that
desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy
tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil,
and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are upon
the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the
LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them
from the earth. The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth
them out of all their troubles. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a
broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the
afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them
all. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Evil shall
slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. The
LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in
him shall be desolate. (Ps 34:12-22).
Many are the afflictions of
the righteous, but none of the righteous that trust in the Lord shall be
desolate, shall perish, shall lose the love of life. There will always be
afflictions in life for bad things (the seedtime, the cold, the winter,
and the night) happen to everyone. It is only when the tongue becomes evil
(based in bad thoughts) and the lips speak guile (words that deceive or
are fraudulent) do the love of life and good days cease to exist. Yet,
when the righteous (those whose tongue is not evil and their lips do not
speak guile) cry, the Lord hears and delivers them (brings salvation) out
of all their troubles.
The Lord is always near to them that are of a broken heart. The Lord is
always close to them whose heart is bursting from the experiencing of bad
things in their lives. Conversely, the Lord is not near (He is always
near, but the effect of Him is not near.) when one is in denial. Accepting
the consequences of our mortality will always produce a broken heart. But,
the broken heart allows the Lord to be near to bring deliverance. He
always saves those of a contrite (not deceiving or fraudulent) spirit.
The Morning Glory, again, shows us the simplistic, yet profoundly
challenging, answer to the deliverance, the salvation of our souls. When
the diminishing rays of sunlight are causing the petals of the flower to
withdraw back into itself and its head begins to droop downward, the
Morning Gory does not resist the abatement--the diminishing glory of the
sunlight. It cannot because it does not have the capability to observe and
to pass judgment on what is happing to it.
Herein lies the difference between man and the rest of creation. Because
we can think about what is happing to us, our love for life and the
experiencing of good days are often destroyed. As the circumstances of
life (the afflictions) come our way, we observe what is happening, pass
judgment on it, and declare that we do not deserve what we are
experiencing. Evil words of deception proceed out of our mouth that run
the gamut from depressing resignation to belligerent defiance.
These words and thoughts, which war against our souls, produce the hells
of our lives. We are lost in the evil imaginations of our minds. What
should be the glory of man has become our shame. We now need
salvation--deliverance from a mind out of control.
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CD 4 Is An Exposition of Verses 1:13-25
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PART ONE NOW
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Session
5: Nature of the Beast
(1 Peter 2:1-10)
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When Nebuchadnezzar, the
king of Babylon in the first century before Christ, fell from the glory,
honor, and brightness of the kingdom God had given to him, his thinking
was changed from the heart of a man to the heart of a beast. The thinking
processes of his mind changed. The base of his understanding, his soul,
shifted completely. He lost the capacity to observe, to comprehend, and to
enjoy the glory, honor, and brightness of his existence. He became driven
by the simple motivations and drives of an animal. Although he was still
the king of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, he
experienced life as a lowly beast of the field.
The story of the fall of Nebuchadnezzar is the story of every man. It
seems that every man in the course of experiencing life loses sight of the
simple truth that God gives and rules the domain of which he lives. God
directs the course of events that transpires in every man’s life. When
any man perceives, as Nebuchadnezzar, that the world of his existence has
been built by the might of his personal power for his glory and honor, he,
too, will fall from the glory, the honor, and the brightness of the
kingdom given by God. When man toils and works at experiencing life
(attempting to control the times and the seasons of life), it has been
predetermined by God that man will struggle in life. He that seeks to save
his life will lose it. He will fall from the wonder of human existence to
act as a beast of the field.
When man becomes beastly, he attempts to live life in the nature of the
beast. He becomes animalistic in his motivations to experience life. All
the complexities of intellect, emotion, and will that enable man to
observe, comprehend, and enjoy the kingdom given of God are reduced to
three simple drives that dominate his thinking. The nature of the beast
puts man into the bondage of survival, procreation, and territorial
rights.
Becoming as a beast of the field, man’s primary purpose in life becomes
simply to survive. Everything that transpires in life is designed by the
man who attempts to control his life--to perpetuate his personal
existence. He is driven continually to hunt for food and for shelter--for
things that will meet his basic need to survive. This hunt for things
dominates his life.
Becoming as a beast of the field, man’s motivation for survival is
fueled by his procreative drives. He becomes consumed not only to
perpetuate his existence by fathering and mothering children but by the
greater urge to create life. The beastly ability and motivation to
perpetuate its kind becomes in fallen man the hunger to create the
happenings of life itself. Man becomes consumed with the notion and the
attempt that he can make life happen.
Becoming as a beast of the field, the drive for survival will force man to
protect the things and the happenings that he perceives is his life. He
will become territorial. He will mark the domain of his survival--the
place where he experiences his life. He marks them because he must protect
them. They are his rights. He becomes controlled by the self-preservation
of his existence.
When man falls from the glory and wonder of the kingdom given of God (by
grace, through relationships, and in innocence), there is nothing else he
can experience but the world of the nature of the beast. Working to make
life happen by the exercise of his own thinking, he becomes beastly in all
of his relationships. When the world he has created by his own effort is
threatened, he will attack with malice, guile, deceit, jealousy, and
defamation. He will strike out to destroy all that appears to challenge
his survival. Having his heart changed from the heart of a man to the
heart of a beast, there is nothing else he can do but attempt to protect
the domain which he has created to give himself purpose and meaning to
life. He has fallen from the kingdom given of God to a domain that is now
controlled by the nature of the beast.
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CD 5 Is An Exposition of Verses 2:1-10
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PART ONE NOW
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