Sermon Tone Analysis

Behold Your God 17:25 - 19:53

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-zd8sq-5228e1c

Why should I be surprised at the plow that makes such deeps furrow in my soul.

Whether God comes with a rod or a crown He comes with himself.

Samuel Rutherford

Do we think about suffering, trials, and affliction this way.

Peter is about to encourage and exhort the elect exiles to rejoice or to be glad in the midst of their grief.

However, the way Peter lays out these next couple verses he does not start with our grief, he starts by calling us to remember the Gospel of God, the good news of our salvation in Christ.

Here is what I believe is the MIT : When we start with the gospel we begin with gladness, so that when we come to times of grief, we walk through them with a view of the glory to come!

What We Rejoice In

In this you rejoice,

How would you define rejoicing?

to be exceedingly joyful, exult, be glad, overjoyed

ἀγαλλιάω (new formation in H. Gk. from ἀγάλλω, found only in Bibl.

and eccl.

wr.) seldom act.

(B-D-F §101; Mlt-H.

225f): ἀγαλλιᾶτε 1 Pt 1:8 v.l.

(for ἀγαλλιᾶσθε); Rv 19:7 ἀγαλλιῶμεν (v.l.

ἀγαλλιώμεθα); ἀγαλλιῶντα GJs 17:2; ἀγαλλιῶντες ApcPt Rainer. 1 aor.

(as POxy 1592, 4 [IV A.D.]) ἠγαλλίασεν Lk 1:47 (ἐπὶ τ. θεῷ, cp.

Hab 3:18 v.l.); usu.

dep.

ἀγαλλιάομαι (Syntipas p. 75, 28); fut.

ἀγαλλιάσομαι (LXX); 1 aor.

mid.

ἠγαλλιασάμην or pass.

ἠγαλλιάθην (v.l.

ἠγαλλιάσθην; B-D-F §78; Mlt-H.

225) to be exceedingly joyful, exult, be glad, overjoyed

It is used in the sense of feeling extreme happiness or elation.

This leads to the second question what do you find joy in?

What brings you happiness and elation?

Do we find this kind of happiness in:

Our Families (grandchildren)

Our Football teams.

Our Jobs

Our Hobbies

Even Our ministry?

All of these things may bring us happiness, but none of them is able to bring us everlasting, eternal joy!

They will all fail us, all of these things will pass away.

Peter explains as elect exiles, sojourners, and pilgrims,

In this?

In what?

In this?

In what?

We rejoice in the eschatological truth that God, has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Peter has just spent the first 5 verses of this letter unpacking the work of God in our salvation.

He has elected or chosen those whom he saves according to His foreknowledge.

He has and is sanctifying those whom he saves by His Spirit.

He has saved a people for obedience to and by the blood of Jesus Christ.

He multiplies grace and peace to his people.

That is all just in verse 1 and 2! Then Peter comes to verse 3 and bursts out in praise for His work in salvation proclaiming,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

According to His great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading kept in heaven for you who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you rejoice!

“Mere happiness comes from positive external events, but salvation joy results from the deep-rooted confidence that one possesses eternal life from the living God through the crucified and risen Christ, which joy will be fully realized in the glory of heaven.”

John MacArthur

Rejoice in God’s great mercy.

Rejoice in your regeneration.

Rejoice in your living hope.

Rejoice in Christ’s resurrection from the dead.

Rejoice in your inheritance.

Rejoice in God’s preserving power.

Rejoice in God’s gift of faith!

Rejoice in the second coming of Christ, the coming consummation of God’s kingdom.

IN THIS YOU REJOICE!

“Mere happiness comes from positive external events, but salvation joy results from the deep-rooted confidence that one possesses eternal life from the living God through the crucified and risen Christ, which joy will be fully realized in the glory of heaven.”

John MacArthur

The realities of our salvation which provides for us a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ should enable and empower us to overcome sadness and spiritual depression brought on by the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Understanding that the inheritance God has for us in heaven should cause us to keep our eyes on him and not on what we may think we are lacking in this world.

The doctrines of our regeneration, Christ’s Resurrection and return when truly understood and believed will bring us exceeding joy.

But there is more, our joy doesn’t just depend on our right understanding.

This eternal happiness and elation is supernaturally generated in us by the Holy Spirit.

If we have been brought from death to life by the power of the Holy Spirit and he has illuminated the truth of God’s love, grace, and mercy to us joy is a natural outflow of this new birth, the Spirit it is a fruit produced by the Spirit.

What then does this say about us if we refuse to rejoice in our living hope and in our eternal inheritance?

Could it reveal lack of conversion?

Could it reveal lack of understanding of the benefits of our salvation?

Could it reveal a lack of knowledge of God and His will?

Could it reveal a faulty faith?

If we refuse to rejoice how do we overcome this sinful attitude?

Repent, Trust, and Obey!

We see first of all what we rejoice in, Our living hope.

Notice next,

When We Rejoice

though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

Peter exhorts the pilgrims to be presently rejoicing, while they look forward to the parousia.

Peter encourages the elect exiles to be elated in the temporal while they long for the eternal.

Peter calls the Christian to rejoice currently, in view of Christ second coming.

Remember, Peter is writing to those,

5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials

5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.

Scot McKnight explains,

These verses depict the heart of Peter: He began theologically with praising God for his great benefits of salvation, but then he pauses pastorally to show that the Christians in Asia Minor can be exceedingly glad about the final day of salvation even though they are presently enduring various kinds of trials.

They can be glad because they will survive this trial and find themselves in the glorious situation of salvation.

No matter what we are currently experiencing we have an eschatological hope that we ought to be rejoicing in!

Consider the context of the believers Peter is writing to.

We must recognize the suffering they faced was vastly different than the suffering we face.