Sermon Tone Analysis

1 Peter

This morning I want us to consider the confidence Christians should find in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

To be careful not to separate this main idea from this message with the main idea of this passage we need to consider the confidence in the gospel in light of suffering, in light of being grieved by various trials, and in view of living as sojourners and exiles.

In other words, as we live as faithful Christians we will be persecuted, we will face various trials, but we must not lose faith in the good news of the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection and return of Jesus Christ.

The doctrinal truths of the person and work of Christ should give us as Christians confidence and courage to live as we have been called to live, with joy inexpressible and filled with glory!

Now the reason I believe this passage provides us with this confidence is because it tracks the progress of the gospel throughout redemptive history!

This is how we will consider this text this morning.

This text shows us the proof we have in the Gospel of Christ by the way it has been proclaimed and proven true.

Our salvation was,

First, prophesied by the prophets.

Secondly, predicted by the Spirit of Christ,

and Finally, preached by the apostles.

I.

The Prophesied Grace

Peter begins verse 10 pointing back to verse 9,

Concerning this salvation,

What salvation?

The salvation the elect exiles would be obtaining the outcome of their faith, the salvation of their souls.

The salvation that was a result of the work of their Triune God and merciful Father.

The salvation that was accomplished through the work of the Son.

The salvation that was applied to them by the work of the Holy Spirit.

The salvation that caused them to love Christ.

The salvation that brings a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,

Peter explains this salvation is not new, it is not something that God just decided to provide for them.

This salvation was one that had been planned and prophesied, foretold, declared and promised from the beginning.

These are just a few examples but, what do all of the Scriptures have in common?

They are all prophecies of future grace, grace that the prophets said were yet to come.

It wasn’t that these men had not recieved grace, but that they knew grace was yet to come, and not just to Israel but to the gentiles as well.

They did fully understand these things but they knew that Grace was coming, those who were undeserving of God’s salvation would receive it as a gift through faith.

Notice also, they didn’t just prophesy of coming grace, they searched and inquired carefully.

The prophets were given divine revelation about God’s gracious salvation, but they desired to know more.

I am reminded of Paul’s word to the Corinthians 13, they knew in part and they prophesied in part, but the knew the perfect was coming!

I love what Matthew Henry writes regarding the Prophets careful search and inquiry.

The words are strong and emphatic, alluding to miners, who dig to the bottom, and break through not only the earth, but the rock, to come to the ore; so these holy prophets had an earnest desire to know, and were proportionably diligent in their enquiries after the grace of God, which was to be revealed in the days of the Messiah: their being inspired did not make their industrious search needless; for, notwithstanding their extraordinary assistance from God, they were obliged to make use of all the ordinary methods of improvement in wisdom and knowledge.

Are you starting to see what we can learn from these prophets of old?

How did they search and inquire carefully?

They read, studied, and meditated on the Scriptures.

They sought God in prayer for wisdom and understanding.

How are we to search and inquire?

Through the same means of grace.

Reading the Scriptures, meditating on them, and asking God through his Holy Spirit to illuminate these Scriptures to us.

Henry goes on to give 4 observations that I thought were helpful.

1.

The doctrine of man’s salvation by Jesus Christ has been the study and admiration of the greatest and wisest of men; the nobleness of the subject, and their own concern in it, have engaged them, with most accurate attention and seriousness to search into it.

2. A good man is much affected and pleased with the grace and mercy of God to others, as well as to himself.

The prophets were highly delighted with the prospects of mercy to be shown both to Jews and Gentiles at the coming of Christ.

3.

Those who would be acquainted with this great salvation, and the grace that shines therein, must enquire and search diligently into it: if it was necessary for an inspired prophet to do so, much more for persons so weak and injudicious as we are.

4. The grace that came by the gospel excels all that was before it; the gospel dispensation is more glorious, evident, intelligible, extensive, and effectual, than any dispensation that ever did precede it.

Do you see why those who have recieved God’s grace through the Gospel of Christ, can rejoice in the midst of suffering.

We live in the greatest of gospel ages.

We live in the church age, when those who have been called out by God recieved justification by faith.

We no longer have to slay sheep, goats and bulls to atone for our sins.

We know longer have to work through a priest would go into the holy of holies for so that we might receive forgiveness for our sins.

We have recieved the grace of God because of the love of the Father and the mercy he has shown us through the punishing His Son in our place.

This is why as the prophesied of the grace to come, they searched and inquired carefully so that they might point us to the salvation to come or to,

II.

The Predicted Sufferings and Glories

These prophets not only proclaimed the words of God that foretold the coming grace of God, they also, were inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

Peter explains to us that with all the knowledge and understanding they had there were still things they did not fully understand.

They were still inquiring, searching, investigating that they might understand more fully.

They had been giving the knowledge of a future Messiah, a deliverer, a redeemer that was coming to save!

However, they were curious when He the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

Notice first, the Source of their Prophecies.

The Holy Spirit inspiration of these OT prophets, the Spirit of Christ in them.

These men were not just prophesying out of their own wisdom, the were not just guessing on these things that were to come instead they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak and write the promises of God.

Tom Schreiner writes, “Peter’s point, of course, was that the prophets predicted these matters but did not know when they would be fulfilled, and they hoped upon hope that they would be fulfilled in their days.”

Matthew 16:

This brings us to the Subject of their inquiries.

The prophets message of grace was pointing to the sufferings and glories of Christ.

Let’s look back at another example from Isaiah.

Do you see the suffering, he was crushed, put to grief, his soul makes and offering for guilt...

David reminds us that even Peter the author of this letter struggled with understanding that Christ must suffer before the cross.

These sufferings were not just prophesied and predicted, they were fulfilled.

Jesus was scorned and mocked.

Jesus was spit on.

Jesus was slapped.

Jesus was scourged with a cat of nine tails.

Jesus was suffocated as he was stretched out on the cross.

Jesus was speared in the side with a sword.

How about the coming glories...

The will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand!

From the beginning, the prophets prophesied about the coming Messiah and the suffering he would experience.

However they also understood there was greater glory to come.

The OT is replete with Scriptures pointing us to the coming glory.

A time when not only would their be glory in the Messiah, but glory for God’s people when because of the work of Christ, God’s people would experience the coming glory!

Revelation 21:

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.

He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Throughout the Old Testament the Prophets and even the Psalms pointed to a time when the suffering would end and the glory would be revealed.

They did not fully understand it but they recognized the certainty of it.

The apostle John gives us imagery of the coming glory throughout the book of Revelation.

Revelation 19:

Revelation 19:11-

Do you see what the apostle John is trying to tell us?

Jesus Christ is coming in all His glory!

His suffering has passed and now it His glory will be revealed.

Peter, James, and John recieved a glimpse of it on the mount of Transfiguration, but the full display of the glory of God is yet to come!

We would do well to consider glory prophesied, predicted and even pictured then, we can be sure post cross that Christ has suffered, died, and been resurrected for the salvation of our souls.